Kolomenskoye Museum-Preserve

The Moscow's suburbs attract by many Museums-Preserves and the Museums-Estates, which are the favourite places of the Muscovites, who like to rest and walk here on weekends. One of the most interesting museum under the open sky is "Kolomenskoye" Museum-Preserve (open from 11.00 to 17.00, except Mondays). This architectural and historical preserve built in the 16th - 17th centuries used to be a village residence of the Russian Tsars (Peter the Great spent his early years here, in Kolomenskoye). The museum is famous with its outstanding example of 16th-century tent-roof architecture, i.e. the Church of the Ascension (1530-1532) (see Chapter "Churches and Monasteries") and the interesting samples of the Russian wooden architecture brought here from different regions of Russia. Many tourist service centers organise interesting excursions in Kolomenskoye (the summer season is preferable). The guide wearing national clothes, horse-riding, sailing ancient wooden boats along the Moskva-River in a company with folk-music ensemble, visiting the store-rooms of museum and testing of the Russian "sbityen" in the Fryazhsky cellar with the famous Russian pancakes may attract any visitor.