Pyotr Baranovsky

Pyotr Baranovsky was an enthusiastic researcher of architecture. Throughout his life, he tirelessly searched, measured and described the monuments of Russian architecture, which were destroyed over time, suffered as a result of hostilities or were intended for demolition.

It was thanks to him that scientific historical restoration entered a new stage of development, and his work on the search and study of ancient monuments seriously influenced the development of the history of Russian architecture.

Here are just a few of those monuments that Baranovsky once found, restored and saved, preserving their appearance for you and me:

• Krutitsky courtyard,
• Pyatnitskaya Church in Chernihiv
• Andronikov and Donskoy monasteries,
• Kazan Cathedral and St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square,
• complex of buildings of the XVI century Boldin Dorogobuzh monastery,
• Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, the Churches of Peter and Paul, as well as the Metropolitan's Chambers in Yaroslavl.

Becoming the director of the Kolomenskoye Museum in 1922, Baranovsky was engaged in the restoration of the Church of the Ascension, St. George's Church, the Front Gate and the Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist, restoring their original appearance. The first exposition he created was dedicated to ancient Russian craftsmen and construction techniques.

During numerous expeditions, Baranovsky explored architectural monuments located on the territory from the Russian North to Azerbaijan. From expeditions, he brought icons, church utensils, elements of architectural decoration - all this became the basis of the museum collection.

Baranovsky brought the idea of creating the Museum of Wooden Architecture in Kolomna after traveling around the Russian North. “I don’t know anything more wonderful than Russian wooden architecture!” he wrote. So in Kolomenskoye there appeared an outbuilding (“Medovarnya”), the House of Peter I from Arkhangelsk, the towers of the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery and the Sumy prison.

Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky lived on the territory of the museum in Kolomenskoye, in the Front Gate complex, as evidenced by a commemorative plaque today.

Baranovsky's whole life was devoted to ancient Russian architecture, and the legacy left by Pyotr Dmitrievich gave an invaluable amount to the study of the history of Russian architecture. Thanks to these data, in our time it was possible to recreate some of the lost historical buildings - such as, for example, the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square.

Now, more than a hundred years later, we continue to carefully preserve the architectural monuments located on the territory of Kolomenskoye, study and replenish the collections of the museum-reserve. Those that were still under Peter Baranovsky began to take shape with items brought from expeditions in the Russian North, as well as things of peasants who lived in the villages of Kolomenskoye, Dyakovo and Sadovaya Sloboda.

Kolomenskoye has its own restoration workshops. Our specialists carry out scientific research on the objects stored in the museum funds, restore them, and then they can be seen at exhibitions and expositions.

The museum is open to visitors: employees share their knowledge about the history of Kolomenskoye and new research data at conferences, round tables, during excursions, museum classes and lectures.

The work of Pyotr Baranovsky continues: one person has been able to inspire several generations to develop and increase the historical wealth of an amazing place, which is Kolomenskoye even now.

We are always happy to share with you the atmosphere of creation and give you the opportunity to become a part of the great history of these places.