Senkov's manor, Vyazniki, Estate in Vyazniki, Russia

Senkov's manor stands on Yaropol hill in Vyazniki. Its two-storey main house mixes brick on the ground floor with wood above, and an octagonal west tower carries a crown of machicolated battlements under a glazed-tile tent roof. False stepped gables with pointed niches flank the central facade, and a partly surviving openwork fence with brick piers surrounds the grounds.

The estate on Yaropol hill existed by the early 19th century; its first known owners, the Vodovozov merchants, sold it after their St Petersburg warehouses flooded in the 1824 Neva flood. Mid-century, Osip Senkov bought it for his growing family and rebuilt the house. After a family division, it passed to his 18-year-old nephew Sergei, and repeated rebuilding gave it its final form around 1912. During World War II it housed evacuation hospital No. 5797, later a district hospital ward until a 2003 fire.

The house is known locally as the "Upper House" and "Senkov's dacha". Its Gothic details, such as the false stepped gables with pointed-arch niches, were added over repeated rebuildings, with the final appearance reached around 1912. The grounds were enclosed by an openwork fence on brick pillars, of which only parts survive.

The estate sits near the center of Vyazniki and is easily accessible from the main roads of the town. Visitors should be aware that viewing is typically from the outside, and access may vary depending on current status.

The west octagonal tower echoes the Alexandrian lighthouse, whose middle tier was also eight-sided, and its glazed-tile tent roof can be spotted from afar. The brick pillars of the fence are shaped like upright boats with two round projections standing for the masthead basket. The estate was bought by a private owner and is being restored after decades of neglect.