Leo Tolstoy House-Museum in Khamovniki

About museum

Khamovniki is an old Moscow estate that Leo N. Tolstoy bought in 1882 from collegiate secretary I. A. Arnautov. Tolstoy lived here with his family for 19 winters and spent every summer at Yasnaya Polyana. Ten of the Tolstoys' thirteen children lived in Moscow. In this house the writer created more than 100 works, such as Resurrection, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, The Kreutzer Sonata, and Father Sergius. Since 1921 the house at 21 Leo Tolstoy Street has been a memorial museum and part of the State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy. The museum contains over 6,000 authentic items belonging to the Tolstoy family. The house and its interior have been restored to their condition from the mid-1890s, when the Tolstoys lived here. The estate grounds include a memorial garden of roughly one hectare. There is a contemplative linden-lined alley, a giant golden maple, and a children's playground. Nearby is a gazebo where visitors can rest and have tea. On the horizon a green hill is visible — a nod to the fashion of the century before last, inspired by the English landscape park.