Institutskaya St., 1, Belogorka, Leningrad Region, Russia, 188338
One of the most stunningly beautiful estates has been preserved on the picturesque bank of the Oredezh River near Siverskaya station. This is the Belogorka estate, famous not only for its historical past but also for its manor house in the Art Nouveau style, unparalleled in its architectural features. Locals and nearby summer residents call it the Eliseev Castle. The history of the Belogorka estate begins in 1796, when these lands were granted by Emperor Paul I to General Petr Malyutin. Soon the general sold the gift. The lands were acquired by Franz Bell, a native of Strasbourg and the leader of the nobility of the Tsarskoye Selo district. His memory lives on forever in the name of this place — the estate he founded was called Bellya Gorka and only at the end of the 19th century did it become Belogorka.
Bell built the estate on the high right bank of the Oredezh, opposite the village spread out on the low left bank of the river. The wooden manor house was placed at the edge of the riverbank cliff. Outbuildings formed a parade courtyard, vegetable gardens and fruit orchards were laid out, greenhouses, conservatories, and storage facilities were built. On both sides of the buildings, along the river, a landscape park was created based on the natural forest massif, intersected by gentle paths. The riverbank was reinforced with a zigzag retaining wall; terraces were arranged on the slope, and stairs were laid leading from one ledge to another.
The heirs of Franz Bell, who became the owners of Belogorka after him, practically changed nothing in it. The estate, covering 30 desyatins (about 32 hectares), was quite representative and comfortable for the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, an unusual palace-like house appeared again on the bank of the Oredezh, resembling a stern romantic castle. Such a building could only be afforded by a very wealthy person. And so it was. Since 1898, Belogorka belonged to the richest family of St. Petersburg, the Eliseevs. The famous merchant, Supplier to His Imperial Majesty’s Court Alexander Grigorievich Eliseev, gave it to his daughter Elizaveta Alexandrovna as a wedding gift.
Eliseev’s beloved daughter Elizaveta was ill with tuberculosis. A caring father purchased lands in Belogorka on the bank of the Oredezh River: it was believed that the air there was healing, and the waters were rich in radon, beneficial for nervous system diseases. The stone building in the form of a princess’s castle was built by 1912.
In front of the manor house, a linden alley was planted in a fashionable but barbaric way at the time: young trees were cut at both ends and planted upside down in the ground. The branches were supposed to grow from the roots and give the lindens an unusual appearance. However, only 1 out of 50 seedlings took root and developed.
The manor house in Belogorka is open to the surrounding expanses and looks magnificent from all sides. The house was built in 1912 in the Art Nouveau style according to the project of architect Tavlinov, although for some time the authorship of the Belogorka castle was attributed to architect Gavriil Baranovsky. The building is distinguished by dynamic, complex facades in composition. The front facade consists of flat wall planes pierced by small gables. The verticals of cylindrical bay windows alternate with round and faceted towers with various tops.
On the facade facing the river, volumes of different heights transition into each other. This restless rhythm is enhanced by numerous chimneys. The stepped structure and height differences in the building harmonize beautifully from afar with the terraces of the bank. Smooth wall planes clad with light ceramic tiles contrast sharply with the plinth made of roughly hewn stone blocks. The main entrance portal, window openings, and the multi-flight staircase on the river side are also made of natural stone.
The church, built in 1904–1906 by railway engineer Stepan Ovsyannikov, had no specific historical prototype. The architect created a free improvisation of easily recognizable ancient Russian motifs. The epic quality of the small temple was given by enlarged decorative forms. Arched openings and zakomary (curved gables), cornices, and ornate window frames vividly stood out against the colorful wall background, giving the building softness and picturesqueness.
The church was consecrated in 1906 in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, in memory of Elizaveta Alexandrovna’s husband, Guard Captain Nikolai Novinsky, who died three years earlier. Elizaveta Alexandrovna remarried to State Councillor Ivan Fomin. Initially, the church served as a house chapel, and in 1910 it became a parish church. Next to the church, a two-story priest’s house and a two-class public school building were erected.
Services in the church were held until 1936. Then its rector was arrested and sent to a camp, and the church itself was turned into a warehouse. By the mid-1960s, it was converted into a local House of Culture. For this, the domes and bell tower were demolished, and the interior space of the church was rebuilt. The church became a parish church again in 1993.
In the new socialist era, Belogorka repeated the fate of many Russian estates. Belogorka was confiscated, and in 1925 an experimental agricultural station was opened here. During the war, the house housed the intelligence headquarters of the 18th German Army. All the wooden “interior” of the castle was destroyed by a fire caused by the Nazis during their retreat in 1944.
After the Great Patriotic War, it was handed over to the Northwest Research Institute of Agriculture (now the Leningrad Research Institute of Agriculture of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences). The former manor house-castle housed rest rooms for the institute’s employees.
At the end of the last century, with the arrival of new times again, the estate was abandoned and fell into neglect. Filmmakers began to use the ownerless building and neglected park for shooting horror films. Currently, plans are being discussed to restore Belogorka and create a holiday home here.
Sources:
http://history-gatchina.ru/article/belogorka.htm
