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The last grandiose "Khoromi,"
considered by its Russian contemporaries to be the "Eight wonder of this
world," was the tsar's wooden summer residence at Kolomenskoye, built by
Semen Petrov and Ivan Mikhailov and an army of carpenters. It defied any
symmetry and consisted of seven Khoromi with over two hundred rooms, most of
them decorated with icons, paintings and wood-carvings. Simon Ushakov was also
there to paint several icons and portraits. Among the paintings of Russian
grand dukes and tsars, there were also portraits of Darius I, Alexander the
Great, Julius Caesar, Augustus etc. The entire ensemble must had been very
impressive with all its towers, cupolas, Kokoshniks, ogee-shaped roofs, spires,
globes, gilded double headed eagles etc. There was much barbaric splendor in it
which undoubtedly amazed many visitors. The young Peter the Great was taken to
Kolomenskoye when the streltsi rioted; later, as tsar, he returned several
times, even coming once by boat, from the Kremlin, along the river Moskva.
Partly because of changes in taste, and because the capital had been moved from
Moscow to Saint Petersburg, the palace was neglected and the old wooden
structure became unsafe for living. In 1769 Catherine II ordered it to be taken
down. There were several models of the palace; the most successful was made by
the wood-carver Smirnov in the second half of the last century. The well known
art historian I. E. Zabelin did the research and gave Smirnov all the necessary
details. This model is exhibited at the Museum at Kolomenskoye. For photographs
of Kolomenskoye please go to the section on
Moscow.
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