Kolomenskoye Museum and Reserve

Kolomenskoye is an ancient royal estate located a few kilometers southeast of Moscow. Perched on a bluff above the Moscow River, the estate served as a summer residence for the Grand Dukes of Moscow and Russian Tsars. In the 1920s, it became home to the first open-air museum of wooden architecture in Russia and today stretches over 900 acres.

One of the highlights of the estate is the Church of the Ascension, built in 1532 and considered to be a masterpiece of both Russian and world architecture, built in white stone with an octagonal “tent” topped by a small dome at the top. Another highlight is the reconstructed Palace of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich. Originally built in the mid-17th century, the wooden palace consisted of 250 rooms and a complex maze of corridors – all constructed without using nails, saws or hooks! Empress Catherine the Great demolished the palace in 1768, but a model survived, forming the basis for the full-scale reconstruction in 2010.

Other buildings to note include the 16th-century George Bell Tower, the 17th-century Vodovzvodnaya Tower and the 19th-century Hunting Pavilion.

Practical Info

Kolomenskoye is located several kilometers southeast of Moscow. To get there, take the Metro to the Kolomenskaya Station. Enter from Bolshaya street. Permanent exhibitions are open daily, except Mondays, from 11am - 7pm. Expositions at the Palace of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich are open weekends from 10am - 7pm. Multiple tours are also available upon request.