The Bezhin Lug Museum in the village of Turgenevo is located at Shkolnaya St., 13. Roads from Shchyokino, Arsenyevo, Belyov, and Orel lead here. Guests of the region can reach the museum by train. To do this, you need to get off at the Chern station and take a bus at the Filatyevo stop. It was at the Chern station that Ivan Turgenev boarded the train when he went to visit his friend Leo Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana. Trains still run along this railway line to the famous Kozlova Zaseka station. You can make up an excellent itinerary, which will include Yasnaya Polyana and the Turgenev Museum in Tula Region.
This place became famous thanks to the story Bezhin Lug included in Ivan Turgenev’s collection A Sportsman’s Sketches. The place, which the author described, is located a few kilometers from the estate, and it is possible to reach it on foot from the museum. Anyone can relive the story of the sketch’s protagonist, spending the night in a meadow by the Snezhed River under the starry sky.
The village of Turgenevo has been known since the late 18th century and was owned by the author’s grandfather, who built a church here.
Turgenev’s estate in the village of Turgenevo was his father’s estate, while the famous Spasskoye-Lutovinovo belonged to his mother Varvara Lutovinova. The writer often came here, wrote his enduring works, hunted, talked to peasants, listening to their stories, in order to immortalize them on the pages of his books.
Speaking of writing and printing, it is worth mentioning a local paper mill owned by Turgenev, which was the winter wing that housed Turgenev’s study. The author’s best works were created with the products of this small factory. Now the building houses the Bezhin Lug Museum.
The exposition includes precious vases, massive table clocks, and skillfully crafted furniture of the 19th century. Since Ivan Turgenev was a master of hunting, Turgenev’s estate is replete with paintings of hunting scenes and stuffed animals that populate the Chern area. Turgenev’s other hobby was chess. In the hall reconstructing the author’s study, there is a table and chess figures intended for play. Tourists will see a photo exhibition of representatives of the Turgenev family, their coat of arms, and the family tree on the walls of the museum halls.
While in the village, you can visit the restored Church of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos. This unusual church was painted by Grigori Myasoyedov in the 19th century, while representatives of the Russian Academy of Arts worked on the iconostasis.
Visitors may want to take a look at the old coach house, where you can get to know the typical features of such places. Here one can find a harness, a chaise, and a cute horse that loves sugar. After that, you can visit an old park on the estate grounds.
The Turgenev House Museum is expecting guests every day from 10:00 to 18:00 except Monday. To book a tour or to specify the price of tickets and services, please call 8 (48756) 2-35-10.
