Demyanki. The Gerard Estate.

At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century, an impressive two-storey brick manor house in the pseudo-Russian style with Art Nouveau elements was built on the right bank of the Iput.

In 1876, Nikolai Nikolaevich Gerard, a native of the Latvian nobility, became the owner of the village. He was a prominent Russian statesman, and in 1905-1908 he was the Governor-General of Finland. It was during his lifetime that the manor, which was extraordinary in its beauty, was built.

The project was created by a St. Petersburg architect. It was a luxurious house with a wrought-iron staircase and a lot of expensive elements. The house looked very beautiful and unusual. It stood on a high ground floor, with a quadrangular turret decorated with battlements. The house had a small side volume and a veranda. The walls and windows were decorated in the Old Russian style. The building had steam heating, and the remains of the boiler room have been preserved to this day.

An unusual object of the estate is a huge four-arch bridge - viaduct. The patterned masonry still amazes the imagination, although now only the frame remains of the original building. The bridge is 7 m wide, but it will not be possible to cross it, as the wooden flooring is almost completely rotted and overgrown with vegetation, and the stone itself is slowly collapsing.

The total area of the estate (together with the picturesque park surrounding the estate) - seven hectares. The uniqueness of the park lies in its two-tiered layout. 

The building itself is located on an elevation surrounded by an upper park, and a special staircase leads to the lower tier. Bitter chestnut, spiky irga, Tatar bumblebee, black pine, Shvedler's holly maple are just a few of the exotic plants that grow here now. Currently, the Gerard estate is in an abandoned state and has been mothballed. As long as it has a roof, the interior of the building is relatively protected from further destruction.

Like any decent palace, the manor has its own ghost. Rumor has it that the adviser's daughter, Rita, fell in love with a Russian soldier whose regiment was stationed in Demyanki. After sending the army on, she secretly went after her lover. Gerard brought his daughter back, but the girl could not stand the longing for her beloved and shot herself.  Locals say that her ghost can be seen in the vicinity of the palace.

Currently, the palace still looks majestic surrounded by greenery. Its windows are bricked up, but you can go inside. The space is cut through by a wide corridor with arched ceilings that abut on a beautiful, well-preserved, riveted wrought-iron staircase. In some places, remnants of pre-revolutionary fittings stick out in the walls - everything is only hand-forged (elements of the Old Russian style). The masonry of gorgeous and beautiful bricks, delivered for construction from France, has also been preserved. The letter "G" is visible on the flat side of the exterior decorative bricks. Many of the beautiful openings between the rooms were laid in Soviet times to destroy the grandiose format of the palace. The remains of the well have been preserved, framed by bricks that have turned green from time to time. 

After the revolution, the Governor-General's estate was given over to an orphanage, and Gerard himself emigrated to Finland. He died there at a very old age.

During the war, a police detachment was stationed in the Gerard house. In peacetime, the palace was again given to children for a special school for orphans. 

Before the Chernobyl accident, the estate's territory was also used as a health camp in the summer.

Gerard's descendants were also found in Finland. They tried to interest them in the fate of the family estate, but received thanks in return and a polite hint that they were not interested in the estate.

It is a pity that this beautiful palace continues to deteriorate. But there is little hope that anyone will pay attention to this unique historical site...