Grotto in Kuskovo

One of the most interesting buildings in Kuskovo is the Grotto of 1755-1761. built by F. Argunov. The baroque stone pavilion is lavishly decorated with sculptures, lion masks over the windows. The walls of the Grotto are richly decorated with shells, limestone tuff, glass, pieces of mirrors and plaster stucco. You involuntarily plunge into a fabulous, exotic world: the bizarre curves of fantastic plants alternate with stripes of fish scales, images of outlandish animals, birds and fish, and patterns of 24 types of mollusk shells ("ton helmet", "pinna noble", "arch noe", "pelican leg ”,“ abalone ”,“ astrea rugoza ”, etc.) against the background of white, yellow and pink tuff. Wooden and clay dolls of half human height, bought by P.B.Sheremetev in 1775. specially for the Grotto, elegant rooms "revive".
The grotto in Kuskovo is the only pavilion in Russia that has retained its unique "grotto" decoration since the 18th century.