Popov's estate is the only landowner's castle building in the Zaporozhye region that has survived to this day. It is a striking architectural monument of the 19th century.

The estate is located 36 km south of Zaporozhye in the city of Vasilyevka, which received its name in honor of the owner of the castle, Major General Vasily Popov. The estate was built similar to the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea).

Construction began in 1864 and was completed only in 1884. The buildings combine elements of the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles. The palace was also original from the inside. It contained the famous mirror and mechanical rooms. The territory of the estate, located on a high hill, was framed by an elegant fence resembling a rampart. Its components were three outbuildings, an observation tower and a stable, the facade of which was a fragmentary copy of the Moscow Kremlin. In the center of the estate there was a majestic palace with a perimeter of 42 by 45 meters.
The whole complex, the construction of which lasted more than 5 years, was built by local craftsmen from local materials. The palace was designed by Melitopol architect Alexander Aggeenko. The authors of the rest of the buildings were other architects, whose names are still unknown. There are suggestions that the stable was built according to the project of Leonty or Nikolai Benois. The authoritative Orientalist professor Hovhannes Bayramyan has no doubts that in Eastern Europe this is the second building after the Kremlin, built in strict accordance with the canons of Northern Italian architecture.

Unfortunately, during the October Revolution of 1917, very difficult trials fell on the lot of the estate. As the old-timers recall, by no means the most industrious teetotalers came to power in the town. By that time, the Popovs had managed to take out a carload of property from the estate, and all the remaining local Bolsheviks ordered to be divided. And bonfires blazed from unique books, paintings, furniture that had no practical value in peasant farms, as well as marble sculptures thrown from the highest tower of the palace.
When at the end of November 1925 A.S. Makarenko visited the Popov estate, intending to set up his colony there, the following picture opened up before his eyes. "Through a gate in a two-story lace tower we entered a huge courtyard paved with square slabs, between which protruded with gloomy insolence the dry stalks of Ukrainian weeds, trembling with frost, and on which cows, pigs, goats threw the devil knows what. We entered the first palace. Nothing there was no longer anything in it, except for drafts that smelled of lime, and in the lobby on a heap of garbage lay the plaster Venus de Milo, not only without arms, but also without legs. In other palaces, just as tall and graceful, there was still a strong smell of revolution. These were the consequences of owning the estate of the commune, which, according to Anton Semenovich, "had a disgusting management." "The endless stable was full of manure, and in the manure heaps, for a long time already without bedding and cleaning, there stood here and there classic nags with protruding sharp bones and with dirty backs, many bald. The huge pigsty was all through holes, there were few pigs, and there were pigs On the frozen hummocks of the yard, stray wagons, seeders, wheels, separate parts were sticking out and lying around, and all this was covered, like varnish, with a wild, stupefying desertion. By the way, it was no coincidence that the writer did not say a word about the manor park, because by that time it no longer existed. Centuries-old trees were mercilessly harassed for firewood by soldiers of the 364th Ural Regiment. In a word, as Makarenko concludes: "The Commune was seriously ill, but was not going to die ..." And, unfortunately, this illness turned out to be too long in time.
Today this monument is in a dilapidated state. On its territory there is a residential building, a boarding school and a museum "Popov's Estate". The museum is located in the western wing. Previously, servants lived within its walls, but now there are permanent exhibitions. An ethnographic hall, a hall dedicated to the events of the Second World War, an exhibition of local artists and a hall displaying exhibits related to Popov's castle were opened: photographs, documents, a model-reconstruction of the estate, elements of the internal decor of the castle, some items from its rooms. To the left of the museum is an abandoned building of the complex.
Now away from the main building. there was only a tower for observing the moon and stars, as well as a pile of bricks. In the 19th century here were mechanical and mirror rooms, members of the Popov family lived. To the right of the foundation left after the palace, there is the so-called "English House", built for servants. An observation tower is located between the "English House" and the western wing. Its height is about 5 m. The tower is interesting for its unique masonry. Immediately behind the foundation is an impressive carriage house. Today, it houses the living quarters of the boarding school. Behind the carriage house is a spectacular building with two towers at the edges, reminiscent of a fortress. These are the stables. In Soviet times, this building was a sports hall. The premises of the first floor of the southern tower are occupied by the "Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos" of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Kiev Patriarchate.