But admit it yourself, it's quite another matter. My deer's eyes! What pensive genius there is in them, And how much childish simplicity, And how many languid expressions, And how much languor and dreaminess!..
The Venevitinov estate in Starozhivotinny is one of the oldest. Its numerous owners have preserved its original appearance. The building has never been rebuilt, and this is what makes it unique.
The main one-story building of the estate is a typical manor house in the classical style. The house overlooks a pond and a church, also built by the Venevitinovs. The veranda was heavily damaged, but its remains can still be seen. The house has many large windows. According to old property inventories, there were 26 of them.
The house was once richly decorated: varnished alder columns, alabaster busts and statues, oil-painted family portraits, a Viennese piano, and much more. All of this befitted the status and position of the Venevitinovs – one of the most distinguished dynasties in the Voronezh province.
In addition to the manor house, the estate included several stone outbuildings, log stables, a carriage house, a greenhouse, a barn, a watermill on a pond, and an orchard.
The first owner, Terentiy Venevitinov, built a house here in the mid-17th century. This marked the beginning of the estate's development. Over time, the Venevitinov family estate expanded significantly: they owned numerous villages along the banks of the Voronezh and Don rivers: Gorozhanka, Gvozdevka, Novozhivotinnoye, Mokhovatka, Pokrovka, and several others.
In the 1780s, Starozhivotinnoye was given as a dowry to Elizaveta Venevitinova, who married Nikanor Olenin (the stone Church of the Forerunner on the shore of the pond was built during his reign). The son of their marriage, Grigory Olenin, who held government positions in the capital, married his distant relative Varvara Olenina, the daughter of the president of the Academy of Arts and director of the public library, A. N. Olenin.
Translated by Google •
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