Melikhovo, Literary museum estate in Melikhovo, Russia
Melikhovo is a literary museum estate in Melikhovo, Russia, comprising a main residence, several outbuildings, an orchard, and a medical consulting room. The rooms display nineteenth-century furniture, personal belongings of the writer, and a collection of manuscripts and photographs documenting his years in the countryside.
Chekhov purchased the estate in 1892 and lived there for seven years, writing more than forty works including The Seagull and Uncle Vanya. After his departure in 1899, the property changed hands several times before being converted into a museum in the mid-twentieth century.
The estate's name refers to the village of Melikhovo, home to farming communities for centuries and later associated with the writer who settled here in the 1890s. Visitors today see the main house with its simple rooms where the author worked at a desk facing the garden, as well as the small clinic where he treated hundreds of patients each year.
The museum grounds are located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Moscow and are accessible by car or public transport, with guided tours available through the buildings and gardens. Most visitors spend around an hour and a half to two hours exploring the rooms and outdoor areas, and warm footwear is recommended for walking the garden paths during cooler months.
Chekhov built three schools for village children on the estate grounds, funding them from his own resources and helping with teaching despite being fully occupied with his writing. The small wooden structure at the edge of the property served as a bathhouse where the writer relaxed and contemplated new stories.
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