In the northern part of Alexandrovsky Park are located the Imperial Farm and a large plot of land once intended for grazing livestock. The complex of buildings, resembling a small knight’s castle more than a cattle yard, was constructed between 1817 and 1822 by architect Adam Menelas at the behest of Alexander I. The complex consisted of the Pavilion of the Highest Presence, the Dairy, the Cowhouse, sheds for merinos, the Caretaker’s House, and other structures. Cattle grazed on the meadows of the park adjacent to the Imperial Farm complex.

The establishment of a farm near the imperial residence was not an invention of Alexander Pavlovich. Cowhouses to supply the royal family with dairy products had always been built. There was also a Cattle Yard in Tsarskoye Selo near the Catherine Palace. The farm was founded not only to serve the imperial court; it was tasked with selecting the best breeds of livestock for all Russian animal husbandry. In 1822, bulls and cows of Tyrolean, Swiss, English, Dutch, Kholmogory, and Little Russian breeds were imported for this purpose, along with 100 merinos from Troppau. However, due to diseases, almost all the imported livestock perished by the mid-1820s, and a decision was made to breed only purebred Kholmogory cattle on the farm. In the 1860s–1880s, the grand duke Nikolai Nikolaevich took over the patronage of this enterprise, renewing the import of various breeds and the sale of calves. After numerous experiments, by the beginning of the 20th century, it became possible to consistently produce and sell offspring, use dairy products for the needs of the Highest Court, and sell surpluses (with the permission of the head of the Palace Administration) to anyone interested.

Besides the cowhouse with 84 stalls, the Imperial Farm complex included the Dairy Wing, which housed an icehouse, a butter churn with a separator, a dairy cellar, and a cheese factory; the “Caretaker’s House,” where the farm caretaker lived; sheds for carriages, hay storage, and other utility buildings. The architectural “highlight” of the project was a round tower containing rooms “for the Highest Presence”: four rest rooms, an office, two living rooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. On its upper platform, 15 meters high, an observation deck was equipped. A herd of 110 pedigreed Spanish merinos was transported to St. Petersburg by sea, supervised directly by Chancellor and Minister of Internal Affairs Nesselrode. The emperor proudly wore a uniform made from the wool of his own sheep.

When the emperor’s wife, Elizabeth Alexeievna, was prescribed kumis by doctors to maintain her health, mares with foals were purchased in Orenburg. They were “accompanied” by three Bashkirs and a Bashkir woman who possessed the secrets of making this healing exotic drink for St. Petersburg. Besides cows, horses, and sheep, the farm also kept goats, deer, and birds (swans, pigeons, etc.).

Access to the territory was strictly controlled, and the health of the farm workers was carefully monitored. They were forbidden to keep personal livestock and, in case of epidemics in nearby villages, were strictly prohibited from visiting them. Numerous wings on the farm’s territory housed the veterinary service and stockmen’s apartments. In the Dairy — one of two pavilions facing the park — there was a large icehouse and a butter churn. The other pavilion, consisting of two living rooms, a dining room, a kitchen, and four lounge rooms upstairs, remained in the early 20th century in the form created by architect Menelas (in case the farm was visited by the highest dignitaries).

From 1913, the farm buildings were used as apartments. Architect Sidorchuk, who was involved in the construction of the War Chamber, lived here with his family. Colonel D.N. Loman hosted the entire elite of Russian art in his six-room apartment at the Imperial Farm. Artists such as Bilibin, Nesterov, the Vasnetsov brothers, and poets Sergey Yesenin and Nikolai Klyuev were among his guests.

After the revolution, the Imperial Farm was nationalized and transferred to the Agronomic Institute. During the hungry years of 1919–1920, Anna Akhmatova often visited here, coming to see her friends the Gukovsky-Rykov family, who lived in an apartment on the farm’s territory and maintained a small vegetable garden.

During the Great Patriotic War, the main farm buildings were not severely damaged, but for a long time the farm gave a bleak impression. Partial restoration was carried out in 1988. Currently, the best-preserved buildings of the Imperial Farm are the Cowhouse and the Caretaker’s House, built of red brick. The central part of its facade is decorated with small octagonal “Gothic” towers; the triangular pediment crowning the facade and the towers are adorned with a battlement parapet. The facade is pierced by a tall pointed-arch window, and the pediment features a small round dormer window.

Since 1992, the territory has housed the equestrian complex of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve.

Sources:

https://www.tzar.ru/objects/alexandrovskypark/newgarden/ferma