In the 17th century a royal estate was built in the historical village of Izmailovo which was then located outside of Moscow. The estate was built on an island surrounded by ponds. The land had been held by the Romanovs since 1571 when it was given by Ivan the Terrible to his brother-in-law Nikita Romanovich Zakharin-Yuriev, who is considered the founder of the Romanov dynasty. When the Romanovs became tsars the estate was developed and a palace, a cathedral and governmental buildings were constructed here.  By the reign of Empress Catherine the Great the palace complex had fallen into disrepair and she had it demolished. Further ruin was brought by French soldiers during Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia. In 1837 Emperor Nicholas I ordered the construction of a military almshouse on the location of the former royal estate.  The construction was designed by the famous architect Konstantin Ton and built onto the Intercession Cathedral.

After the revolution the estate was nationalised and the whole island became known as Gorodok imemi Baumana (Bauman Settlement) and the buildings were converted for use as accommodation.  In 2007 the complex became part of the Moscow State Unified Art, Historical, Architectural and Natural Landscape Museum-Reserve which includes the Kolomenskoe, Lefortovo and Lyublino Estates. Since 2007 two exhibitions have been run here by the museum reserve: the exhibition on porcelain tiles which is housed in the Mostovaya Tower and the exhibition on the history of the Royal Estate in the large exhibition hall.

Intercession Cathedral in Izmailovo

Between 1671 and 1679 the beautiful Intercession Cathedral in Izmailovo was built in the complex, replacing an earlier wooden church. The four-pillar, red-brick cathedral features five black domes and the upper section is decorated with colourful porcelain tiles.  After the Revolution the cathedral was closed and used as an NKVD archive; after its relics were transferred to museums.  In the 1990s the cathedral was returned to the Orthodox Church and reopened, later gaining a new wooden iconostasis.

Mostovaya Tower and Front and Back Gates

As well as the Intercession Cathedral, other surviving 17th century buildings here include the Mostovaya Tower which was built between 1671 and 1679 and the Front and Back Gates which were built between 1679 and 1682.

Peter the Great Monument

In 2008 a Peter the Great Monument was unveiled in the estate. According to a legend it was at this estate that Peter the Great discovered a boat, which some say was a gift from Queen Elizabeth of England to Tsar Ivan the Terrible, however this is unlikely to be true. In any case the discovery of the boat, kindled young Peter's passion for sailing and later he would then go on to found Russia's first navy.