If you have a soft spot for Russian poetry, then the name Gavrila Derzhavin might ring a bell. If not, Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin was Russia's greatest and most original 18th-century poet, whose finest achievements lie in his lyrics and odes and who recognized the genius of Alexander Pushkin during Pushkin's own childhood. As was common at the time, the country’s literary elite either lived or spent a considerable amount of time in St. Petersburg and Derzhavin was no exception. This grand old St. Petersburg residence (now the Derzhavin Museum Estate) was the home of the court poet and prominent statesman, who bought this plot of land next to the Fontanka River for his suburban villa in 1791.
Today, the museum is made up of three wings and displays manuscripts, illustrations, and rare books from the 18th century, journals, furniture, ornaments, paintings, and prints from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and also portraits of the poet and his contemporaries. There is not much information available in English but visitors can nonetheless feel the spirit of those times and see how the city’s cultural elite lived back then. From the 1790’s right up until Derzhavin's death, the poet's house was one of the cultural centers of St. Petersburg, a focus for the creative life of the capital and a gathering point for the artistic, literary, and political elite of Russia. Maximum effort has been made to recreate the exact interiors of Derzhavin's day, including the poet's study, the Yellow Drawing Room, the Love Seat and Derzhavin's house theater. The museum regularly hosts concerts and literary evenings. After exploring the house, you can take a stroll in the pretty gardens with all the little bridges and tiny canals.