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«the Museum’s sites»

Kolomenskoye Kolomenskoye is one of the most ancient places of human habitation in the area of modern Moscow... Izmailovo In 1676 – 1678, a wooden tsar’s mansion was built at the Tsar’s Court, on the Izmailovsky Island. Lefortovo Park and Palace Ensemble is a unique imperial residence, which keeps an original lay-out of the times of Peter the Great... Ljublino Ljublino, first mentioned in documents of XVI-th century, is one of the most interesting historical territories...
The Mostovaya (Bridge) Tower, built in 1670, served as the main entrance to the Izmailovo estate.

«Izmailovo»

The present-day Izmailovo is a district on the East of Moscow, located between the Shchelkovskoye highway and the highway of the Enthusiasts (earlier known as Stromynka and Vladimirka respectively). Its northern part is a complex of many-storied buildings, while the southern part is occupied by the Izmailovsky forest, one of the capital’s largest green areas.

In 1676 – 1678, a wooden tsar’s mansion, with a stone basis, living chambers and upper premises for summer (the so-called cherdak’s – “garrets”) was built at the Tsar’s Court, on the Izmailovsky Island. It resembled the palace of the Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye. The children of Alexey Mikhailovich often stayed at the palace. There, at the industrial part of the Tsar’s Court, the young Tsar Peter Alexeevich found the famous boat that was later called “grandfather of the Russian fleet”.

After the death of the Tsar Ivan Alexeevich, his wife, widow Tsarina Praskovia Fedorovna, lived at the Izmailovo palace with her daughters: Praskovia, Ekaterina and Anna, who was later to become Russian empress. In early XVIII-th century, the palace was reconstructed. The new two-storied palace with stone living chambers on the lower level, had a little central tower surmounted by the double-headed eagle. In 1767, the palace was demolished. Later, the dwelling unit of the Nikolaevsky military hospice was built on its place by order of the Tsar Nikolay I, projected by architect Mikhail Bykovsky.

The Mostovaya (Bridge) Tower, built in 1670, served as the main entrance to the Izmailovo estate and was part of an arched stone bridge across the Serebryany (Silver) Pond. The Tower’s composition is typical of the middle-age architectural style of the second half of the XVII-th century and similar to some of the Moscow Kremlin towers.
The lower (ground floor) level of the Tower had gates and served as a gateway. At the lower, as well as at the second level, there were guardrooms of the streltsy (the Tsar’s guard). The belfry of the Pokrovsky cathedral was on the third level. The gulbische (broad promenade gallery) above the first level served as a patrol ground. A double-headed eagle made of metal used to surmount the Tower. The Tower is smartly decorated by lines of coloured glazed tiles. The tiles are decorated with images of birds of paradise, peacocks, turkey cocks among leaves, berries and flowers.
In 2007, the Izmailovsky Island and the Mostovaya (Bridge) Tower were taken under the jurisdiction ofthe Moscow State Integrated Museum-Reserve.

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