The Church of Vladimir Icon of Mother of God located in the village of Bykovo (Moskovskaya oblast) was built in 1789. White stone church constructed in Russian Gothic style has no worthy counterparts in the church architecture of Moscow region, and, perhaps, in the church architecture of Russia in general. By the side of the street on which the church is standing, in the depths of the old park, Bykovo mansion is located. The current building of the estate was built in 1856. The photos were captured by Denis Frantsouzov.

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Tags: Bykovo · church · estate · mansion · Moskovskaya oblast

The following mansion was constructed in Samara city on the bank of Volga river in 1908-1909 by the local merchant K.P.Golovkin.  The whole idea of the project and all the details belong to the merchant himself. Today the place is also known as “The mansion with elephants”. The photos were captured by golema.

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Tags: mansion · Samara city

According to the legend Russian hussar colonel Vladimir Khrapovitsky had a bet with his friends that he would build a castle comparable to Louvre (Paris, France) with the park better than the Park of Versailles. The colonel was a successful merchant and had all the resources to win the bet. The castle was built by Moscow architect P.S.Boytsov.

During the Soviet times there was a technical secondary school here. After several fires the building was abandoned.

The castle is still one of the most beautiful places of Vladimir oblast. The following photos were captured by ta-samaya-juli (all photos are clickable).

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Tags: Abandoned · mansion · Vladimir oblast