The diorama of the Battle of Maloyaroslavets brings together several historical periods. It opened on September 12, 1987, in a chapel built in 1860 beside the mass graves of those killed in the 1812 battle. The battle, the chapel’s construction, and the diorama therefore date from very different periods. The diorama is located at 13 Moskovskaya Street, Maloyaroslavets; check the address before you travel.
Two eras of remembrance
The Ilyinsky Lines are associated with a different era: during the Great Patriotic War, young cadets from the military schools of Podolsk died there while holding back German troops. In recognition of their bravery, German soldiers called them “red junkers.” The lines are located at 62a Podolsk Cadets Street, in the village of Ilyinskoye. Check this address before you travel as well. Together, the two sites represent widely separated wartime periods: the Battle of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War.
Monastery history on the Luzha River
The St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky Convent combines an older history of churches and monasteries with a striking riverside setting. It was founded in the late 16th century on the site of a church built by the Obolensky princes in the 14th century. The time between the earlier church and the later foundation of the monastery helps distinguish these two stages. The convent stands on the high bank of the Luzha, a tributary of the Protva, at the summit of Special Mountain, also known as Black Ostrog. Its name evolved from “Chernoostrozhsky” to “Chernoostrovsky.” In 1812, the convent grounds were the site of a decisive battle in the war against Napoleon. Its founding history, changing name, and riverside location together shape the site’s historical character.
From Art Nouveau to Neoclassicism
The Vorobyovo estate is recognized as a cultural heritage site of regional significance. Its two-story main house was built between 1898 and 1904 in the Art Nouveau style, based on a design by Swedish engineer Gunnar Svensson. The grounds and the surviving main house are in a neglected state.
The Mansurovo estate dates from a different period and reflects a different style: it was built in the last third of the 18th century in the Neoclassical style and belonged to Count Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy, son of the writer Leo Tolstoy, from 1901 to 1918. Mansurovo is located in Dubrovka, on the banks of the Pesochnya River, 13 km from the village of Detchino. Its construction period and ownership history offer a different historical perspective from the considerably later main house at Vorobyovo.
Two landscape parks
The landscape parks also add to the picture of the estates. Vorobyovo Park features trees of various species and a pond dating from around the turn of the 20th century; it lies on a slope leading down to the Sukhodrev River. Mansurovo’s overgrown landscape park also contains various tree species, as well as the remains of ponds. The architecture, water features, and descriptions of the landscapes offer different ways to consider the two estates.
Discover more destinations: Dzerzhinsky District, Dzerzhinsky District, Zhizdrinsky District, Ferzikovsky District, Medynsky District, Zhukovsky District, Peremyshlsky District, City of Obninsk.
For the overview of the wider region: Kaluga Oblast.
