In the town of Gatchina Leningrad Region, on Chekhov Street in the house at number 4, it is a literary and memorial museum-estate of the famous cartoonist Paul Zhukovsky Scherbova. The museum is one of the regional branches of state institutions "Museum Agency". Museum-estate built in the style of the Northern Art Nouveau and is one of the most unusual architectural works of the early 20th century in Russia.

The first museum exhibition was opened here in 1992. The exposition is divided into a part of local history exhibition and memorial. Part devoted to local history, talks about the history and architecture of Gatchina. A separate exposition is devoted to Gatchina as the place where the emerging Russian aviation. The memorial part of the exposition is an exhibition called "The Memorial Study PE Scherbova "," PE Shcherbov - life and work. " Here visitors can learn about the creative way, interesting facts from the life of the famous cartoonist, to get acquainted with his friends, it is often in the estate: AI Kuprin, M. Nesterov, FI Chaliapin, KK Pervukhin, Andreeva.

Even before the founding of the museum in the manor house was very popular among visitors and locals alike. He was considered a local landmark. Built in 1911 the building. The authorship of the project belongs to the architect Stepan Samoilovich Krichinsky. At the time, external and internal layout of the estate caused much murmuring among his contemporaries, and even during the construction of the building it was considered quite extraordinary, to match the character of the owner-artist.

We have heard the recording daughter Alexander Kuprin, Xenia .  Sharing feelings from this unusual structure, she described his plan .  He seemed kind of a medieval castle surrounded by a high wall .  Interestingly, the stone fence collected Shcherbau whole family .  The walls and roof are covered with crimson and had red tile .  Inside, thanks to witty constructive solution, always felt a certain gulkost .  The center of the house was located in a large lobby with a fireplace, around which were all kinds of iron tools and weapons collection .  The middle of this "medieval" Hall graced the skin of a large bear .  On the second floor, where there was a workshop Scherbova, he led a fairly wide staircase .  From the hall you can get to the small rooms that have been furnished and decorated in oriental style - low round tables with trays of copper, polished to a shine, ottomans, hookahs, different length and shape of the tube . 

The architectural composition of the estate was not only the main building, and outbuildings. And outbuilding and sheds were piled in the same way as the central building of large concrete blocks, large rocks, bricks and roofed with red tiles. The central building - the owners of the house - a two-story, with the street facing one floor, and the courtyard - two. The estate - ten living rooms. Before our time is preserved tiles, in the east wing of the house - part of a stone fence and gate, inside the building - fireplaces, carved oak staircase and basement and outbuildings of not only preserved the glacier.

With the assistance of Maxim Gorky Shcherbau family continued to live in the estate, and after the October Revolution. Paul Ye Shcherbov died in 1938. Until 1952, the mansion was living his widow AD Scherbova. From 1941 to 1944, the estate was billeted German soldiers. In the years AD Scherbova lived in the kitchen. When the German troops retreated, representing most of the value of things, paintings, decorations were taken to Germany. Once in 1952, the artist's widow died, the mansion was divided into 12 municipal apartments, and, 40 years later, here was created by "Literary-Memorial Museum-Estate of artist PE Scherbova. "