The Khmelita estate, one of the most romantic and inspiring places in the Smolensk region, preserves the memory of Alexander Sergeyevich Griboedov, an outstanding figure of the first third of the 19th century. Griboedov is known as a writer and playwright, the author of the famous work "Woe from Wit." He was also a musician, statesman, diplomat, and scholar.

Since 1680, Khmelita became the ancestral estate of the Griboedov family, and from then on, locals began to refer to the surroundings as "Griboedovshchina." In 1747, the estate was owned by Fyodor Alexeyevich Griboedov, the playwright's grandfather, who gave the estate an elegant and rich appearance. In 1753, the construction of the main estate house in the Elizabethan Baroque style began, which was a rarity for provincial architecture.

An unknown architect created a palace and park ensemble that, according to the General Land Survey Plan of 1778, included a two-story stone manor house and four wings, a regular park with alleys, two fish ponds, flowerbeds with stone statues, as well as a landscape park and outbuildings.

In 1759 and 1767, the ensemble was supplemented by a stone church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God with a three-tiered bell tower, a refectory, and two chapels: the Nikolsky and the Ioanno-Predtechensky. In 1780, the estate was inherited by Alexey Fyodorovich Griboedov, the brother of Alexander Griboedov's mother, Anastasia Fyodorovna. It was with his mother and sister Maria Sergeyevna that the future author of "Woe from Wit" often visited and lived in the estate during the 1790s and 1810s. He spent summers at his uncle's house, and Khmelita likely became the sweetest memory of his childhood.

In Khmelita, young Griboedov, along with his sister Maria and cousins Elizabeth and Sophia, improved their foreign languages, studying French, German, English, and Italian. He also took music lessons, practiced drawing, and horseback riding.

In the second half of the 19th century, the estate fell into decline and lost its furniture. In 1894, it was purchased by Count P.A. Heyden, who not only restored the palace but also transported a collection of 130 paintings from his father-in-law Prince Dondyukov-Korsakov, including works by Guido Reni, Raphael Mengs, and Corot.

After the October Revolution, the collection was nationalized and removed, and the palace and park ensemble began to deteriorate. The destruction of World War II was exacerbated by a fire in 1954, after which the manor house was left without a roof and gradually fell into ruin, while locals dismantled it for bricks.

The fate of the estate could have been tragic if not for the efforts of architect P.D. Baranovsky and his students V.E. Kulakov and M.M. Yermolaev. According to their project, restoration began in 1968, thanks to which this unique monument of history, culture, and architecture was revived. In 1990, by the decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the State Historical, Cultural, and Natural Museum-Reserve of A.S. Griboedov "Khmelita" was established.

The territory of the Khmelita Reserve contains numerous archaeological and natural treasures, such as ancient settlements, burial mounds, as well as the Semyonovskie and Traslivskie swamps, which support the ecological balance in the basins of the Volga and Dnieper rivers. Today, the territory of the "Khmelita" museum-reserve is a specially protected natural area.