The address: Russia, Republic of Crimea, Alupka, sh. Palace, 18
Date of construction: 1840
Architect: Furasov P.I.
Coordinates: 57°19"07.5"N 43°06"40.4"E

Content:

Short story

The chic palace, named Vorontsov in honor of Count Vorontsov M.S., is a unique building that has become the epitome of the era of Romanticism. It is located on the Crimean peninsula in the city of Alupka.

The beginning of its construction dates back to 1828, when Governor-General Vorontsov, responsible for the Novorossiysk Territory, chose the site for the future main building and drove pegs on it. However, the palace did not appear quickly - it took 20 years to build it.

Initially, the project of the future Vorontsov Palace was developed in the style of strict classics, and a famous Italian architect named Francesco Boffo and his colleague from England, Thomas Harrison, worked on it.

1829 was the beginning of the implementation of their joint project, and as all the preparatory work was completed, the foundation was immediately laid and the first masonry was made. However, an unpleasant surprise soon happened - in the midst of the preparation of working drawings, the architect Harrison died.

In order for the construction to go on as usual, Boffo needed a new partner. It was Edward Blore, a young architect working in the romantic direction of English architecture.

Stone staircase with white marble sculptures of lions

Why did Count Vorontsov choose him and decide to make changes to the project of the future palace in the Crimean Alupka? The fact is that in those years he was in England, and he was impressed by the local architecture and new fashion trends for the construction of buildings. Therefore, the count revised the already developed project and entrusted the new architect to adjust it so that the result of the work was a real castle, combining the rigor of English architecture and the luxury inherent in Indian palaces.

And since 1832, construction work on the construction of the Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea has already been carried out according to an updated project, but without distorting the previously completed stages. The execution of all work was entrusted to the best craftsmen - masons, sculptors, stone and wood carvers, artists, furniture makers and other workers, who approached the orders entrusted to them with all responsibility. As a result, the construction of the palace cost Vorontsov 9 million rubles..

Left to right: front dining room, winter garden

The layout of the Vorontsov Palace

The entire palace complex, commissioned by Vorontsov, is represented by several solid buildings, designated as:

• central;
• canteen;
• guest;
• library;
• economic.

The building, intended for receiving guests, was later called Shuvalovsky, since on its right side was the room of Vorontsov's daughter, who after marriage became Countess Shuvalova.

North facade of the main building

Oddly enough, the construction of the palace began with the construction of a dining building, and this work took 4 years (from 1830 to 1834). The construction of the central building took 6 years - 1831 - 1837. From 1841 to 1842, work was underway on the construction of a billiard room, which supplemented the dining room building. It also took a lot of time to build the guest building, all the towers, outbuildings, outbuildings and the decoration of the Front Courtyard (these were 1838-1844). And finally, the library building, built from 1842 to 1846, joined the palace complex.

The sculptures of lions, the production of which was entrusted to the Italian master Giovanni Bonnani, became the decoration of the central staircase. And all the luxurious ended palace ensemble lion terrace, that is, many figures of lions.

Right - Clock Tower

Features of the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace

The Vorontsov Palace, which in the middle of the 19th century became the decoration of Alupka in the Crimea, was a kind of innovation that violated some architectural and construction principles. In those days, it was customary to arrange the buildings of palace ensembles in a strict geometric grouping, however, the architect Blor deviated from this rule and distributed all the structures that make up the Vorontsov Palace on the ground so that they stood in the direction from west to east, as if in accordance with with the movement of the mountains. This approach allowed all the buildings to harmoniously fit into the local landscape - the Vorontsov Palace Complex found its place in the Crimean expanses.

Moving from building to building, one can clearly trace the stages of development of medieval architecture, starting from its earliest forms and ending with the traditions of the 16th century.

Shuvalov Corps

However, the emphasis in the development of projects for all structures was nevertheless placed on the English style. Why is the Vorontsov Castle in Crimea so attractive? Its peculiarity is its appearance, reminiscent of a castle-fortress from the ancient VIII - XI centuries.. When you get to the courtyard of the utility buildings, you involuntarily stumble upon blank walls and find yourself in closed spaces, and when you try to get to the central building, you find yourself surrounded by round watchtowers. Further general impression inaccessibility is complemented by narrow loophole windows and high walls of rough masonry. But suddenly an openwork suspension bridge made of cast iron appears and brings a festive touch to this harsh composition. And so, as you move away from the arch of the western entrance, signs of architecture of the following eras become more and more apparent.

West entrance towers

Having crossed the openwork bridge and getting rid of the feeling of isolation, you can find yourself in the Front Courtyard, from which you can see Mount Ai-Petri. But this is not just a view - it is a kind of picture, because the landscape is, as it were, limited by an architectural frame, represented by a clock tower, an eastern wing and a retaining wall with a fountain.

The architecture of the main building of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea is also interesting. Its walls are pushed out of the plane by different levels, as required by the English Tudor style. The central part is decorated with the main entrance and is decorated with projections of bay windows and side projections. The roofs of the towers are onion domes. The northern facade of the building is decorated with narrow semi-columns-polyhedrons, the crowns of which are pinnacles (decorative tops).

Chapel

Graceful pinnacles and battlements, domes and chimneys, decorated with flower-shaped tops, smooth out the roughness of the stone texture of the walls and their massive luggage.

Considering the carved stone decorations that decorate the Vorontsov Palace, it is worth noting their pronounced similarity with some elements of Western and Eastern architecture. Thus, real connoisseurs of architecture immediately notice the Gothic chimneys and minarets of the mosque, and it is this compatible incompatibility that makes the palace complex special. This similarity is especially sharply felt as you move to the southern facade of the building, called the main one. In the rays of the sun, its outlines seem unusual, bizarre.

From left to right: front dining room, winter garden, main building

But the main motive for the design of the palace are the arches of the most diverse forms - they are gentle, and keeled, and horseshoe-shaped, and lancet. And you can see them everywhere, from the balustrade of the balconies to the decoration of the portal of the southern entrance to the Vorontsov Palace. Besides, architectural ensemble, erected by order of the Governor General, has its own “zest” - these are 6 identical lines in Arabic, indicating that only Allah is the winner. You can see the inscription in a niche decorated with a Tudor flower and an Indian lotus.

Description of the park surrounding the Vorontsov Palace

During the construction of the palace, work was also carried out on laying the adjacent park. But if the construction of the Vorontsov Palace took two decades, then work on the creation of the park does not stop to this day. On an area of ​​40 hectares, a wide variety of plants brought from all over the world harmoniously coexist.

Shuvalovsky passage overlooking the openwork bridge

In general, the palace park is divided into Upper and Lower. The upper park is decorated with several glades - Chestnut, Contrasting, Solnechnaya. And each of them is remarkable for its trees (Italian pine, oriental plane tree, yew berry, Himalayan cedar, Chilean araucaria, or monkey tree, etc.). In addition, on the territory of the Upper Park there is Swan Lake, where these beautiful birds really live, the Upper and Mirror Lakes and a waterfall.

In the Lower Park, surrounded by the most beautiful and rare representatives of the flora, there is a small tea house, which the Vorontsov family once used to celebrate holidays on the seashore. Then this place was often illuminated by salutes and fireworks.

Shuvalovsky passage overlooking the western gate

Being here, you can really feel the atmosphere of the holiday, because it was not without reason that the architect chose a place to build a house here. Surrounded by many unique plants, it creates the feeling of being in a fairy tale, since the entire territory of the Lower Park is conducive to creating an enchanting mood. And the lower part of the Vorontsovsky Park in Crimea is decorated in the Italian style of a regular park.

Use of the Vorontsov Palace complex in different years

Since 1990, the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka has become a palace and park museum-reserve. Several interesting expositions are located in nine main halls. Thanks to their content, everyone can get acquainted with the way of life of the count family, who lived in the palace before the October Revolution, and the character of the interiors of the palace.

Exit from the yard

But in 1990, the opening of the Vorontsov Palace as a museum was secondary - for the first time its building was used as a museum in 1921.

But with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, valuable museum exhibits could not be saved, and the building itself was repeatedly threatened with destruction. However, thanks to the efforts of one of the employees of the museum Shchekoldin S.G. The Vorontsov Palace Museum still survived. Of course, many art treasures were lost during the war years, but after it ended, some paintings were still found and returned to the museum.

Architecture Crimean peninsula fascinates: there are many famous historical monuments attracting the attention of tourists from all over the world. The Vorontsov Palace, as seen in many photos, is one of the most majestic buildings in Crimea.

It was built by Count Mikhail Vorontsov in the small Tatar village of Alupka at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. The mansion gained fame architectural masterpiece era of romanticism.

The Vorontsov Palace is located in the town of Alupka in the southern part of the picturesque Crimean peninsula. The city is part of the urban district of Yalta and stretches along the coast for 4 km. Not far from Alupka are the resorts of Simeiz and Katsiveli.

Geographical coordinates on the map Crimea GPS N 44.4197, E 34.0430

How and by whom the construction was carried out

Count Vorontsov first visited the Crimea in 1822 and was delighted with the beauty and wealth of the southern region. Under him, the rapid development of winemaking began, fish factories were created, salt production was established, roads and a port were built. The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea, the photo of which is presented in the article, was built as the summer residence of Count Mikhail Vorontsov.

The governor-general of Novorossiya was a very wealthy and educated man. He took the planning of the project seriously and personally supervised the construction until the last day. Initially, the building complex was planned in the style of strict classicism by famous architects Thomas Harrison and Francesco Boffo.

The earl approved the project, but after visiting England, where he met the talented royal architect Edward Blore, the creator of Buckingham Palace and a great connoisseur of medieval architecture, he changed the drawings. The famous architect never came to the Crimea, but thoroughly studied the area around the construction site from drawings and sketches.

He designed a magnificent castle that fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape.

The palace with a total area of ​​40 hectares was built for 20 years from 1928 to 1948. The material was a local durable stone diabase of volcanic origin. It was delivered in blocks to the construction site, where it was cut by hand.

The palace complex consists of five buildings, connected by open and closed passages, which were built alternately in the style of a certain era. Inside the palace there are 150 rooms equipped with running water and sewerage. A lot of money was invested in the construction of the palace, but richest man Russia could afford such a luxury.

History of the palace

The noble family of the Vorontsovs is one of the most ancient. Mikhail grew up in the family of a famous politician and diplomat, and spent his childhood in England. A brilliantly educated young man, upon returning to his homeland at the age of 19, he entered the military service. Mikhail made a successful career and received the rank of general very young.

In 1823, the count and his family arrived in Odessa, where he was appointed governor-general. Knowing about the wealth of the southern region, Mikhail was interested in obtaining this position. Under his rule, the city prospered, and the count decided to invest his personal income in the construction of a magnificent estate. After the construction was completed, the palace belonged to the Vorontsov family for a long time, and then to his descendants.

But by the end of the 19th century, the estate was abandoned:

1. In 1904, a distant relative of the Vorontsovs began to build summer cottages on the territory and rent land for sanatoriums.
2. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the advent of Soviet power, the mansion became national museum.
3. During the Second World War, the palace was practically not damaged, only some valuable exhibits were taken out. Hitler promised the mansion to Field Marshal Manstein and he took care of the preservation of his property.
4. During the Yalta Conference, the British delegation lived in the palace.
5. In the post-war years, there was a dacha for high-ranking officials, and then in 1956 the mansion again acquired the status of a museum.

Since 1990, the palace complex has been called Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve.

Architecture. Palace interiors

main feature the palace is an original fusion of different styles. The famous architect managed to organically combine the themes of the West and the East. The Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea, whose photo conveys a knightly interior and elements of stylized Gothic, corresponded to the character and lifestyle of the count, reflected his male interests.

The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea looks great not only live, but also in the photo.

Both European masters and stone cutters, cabinetmakers, sculptors, embroiderers from all provinces of Russia, and the serfs of the count himself had a hand in creating a magnificent interior. Up to three hundred names of skilled craftsmen have been preserved in the archives.

Western facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The western façade or Shuvalovsky passage with its high watchtowers, narrow loopholes and thick walls made of gray diabase blocks resembles a medieval European castle. From this side passes the main entrance to the palace ensemble.

Architecture of outbuildings of the Vorontsov Palace

The utility buildings are located in an elongated closed polygon, to which two separate gates lead. The architecture of these buildings corresponds to English medieval castles. The facades are decorated with clear geometric lines of door and window openings, the walls are processed using the “torn” stone method.

On the ground floor there were various household services, and servants lived in the upper rooms.

Northern facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The north side of the mansion resembles a 16th-century country house in England. Tall chimneys give a special touch to the northern façade.

The north side is illuminated by the sun only in the morning and evening, the rest of the day it seems to merge with the gray rocks. Mount Ai-Petri towering behind the palace harmoniously complements the architectural ensemble.

Front office of the Vorontsov Palace

The office is decorated in a traditional English style:

• bay windows;
• oak panels and doors;
• inlaid furniture from London;
• fireplace.

On the walls with painted wallpaper are commemorative portraits of combat comrades-in-arms in the Patriotic War of 1812 and a portrait of the owner himself in military uniform.

The office is decorated with a bookcase made of ebony fine workmanship, English chairs and armchairs with Gothic carvings, bronze sculptures, candelabra, gilded clocks depicting folk heroes Minin and Pozharsky. Here the governor-general held meetings and friendly meetings.

Chintz living room of the Vorontsov Palace

A small chintz room served as a reception room, where they waited for an audience with the count. The walls are upholstered with expensive English fabric with an elegant pattern, the furniture is inlaid with bronze, there is a blue crystal chandelier on the ceiling, and mosaic parquet.

The walls are decorated with landscapes by Russian artists.

Chinese Cabinet of the Vorontsov Palace

This is the countess's boudoir. In its design, one can feel a delicate feminine taste and a passion for the Far Eastern exoticism that was fashionable at that time. The walls are decorated with thin rice straws, silk embroideries, and carved decor.

portraits on the wall famous people, a portrait of the Countess herself by an unknown artist and family coats of arms.

The lobby of the Vorontsov Palace

The front lobby is decorated in the English style and was designed to welcome guests. There are two fireplaces in polished diabase.

On the walls are portraits of the count's relatives, Empress Catherine II, who was Mikhail Vorontsov's godmother. The interior is complemented by rare Persian carpets.

Living room of the Vorontsov Palace

The bright festive room was used as a home theater. The blue walls are decorated with alabaster flowers. Artistic modeling was carried out by the serfs of Count Vorontsov. In the living room there is a white marble fireplace with floral ornaments, huge porcelain vases, Bohemian glass chandeliers and a beautiful white grand piano.

Hospitable hosts willingly received poets and musicians in their apartments. Zhukovsky, Alexei Tolstoy, Shchepkin, Rachmaninov performed here. The countess herself played the piano beautifully and sang.

Winter Garden of the Vorontsov Palace

The winter garden connects the inner chambers and the main dining room. The Vorontsov couple loved to relax here. Rare ornamental plants from Africa, Australia, and Japan were grown in the garden. The garden was traditionally decorated with white antique sculptures, busts of family members, and a white marble fountain. The sculpture of a laughing girl is considered one of the most skillful in the world.

The main dining room of the Vorontsov Palace

The most solemn and spacious room of the palace resembles the knights' halls of the Middle Ages. The ceiling height reaches 8 meters, and total area about 150 sq. m. The design of this room was personally done by Edward Blore. Bay windows, an oak ceiling in the form of Gothic vaults, carved wood, family coats of arms, strict colors of wood and stone.

The architect ventured to complement the cold interior with picturesque panels in carved frames by the French artist Robert.

Between the two fireplaces there is a room fountain, and above it a balcony for musicians. Sparkling dining tables, a sideboard with lion legs, openwork sideboards, crystal vases, dozens of chandeliers and candelabra decorated with Ural malachite.

Billiard room of the Vorontsov Palace

In the billiard room, the owners and guests played and had fun. There is a walnut set, a mahogany table. The room is decorated in English style. The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea (the photo below represents paintings by European artists) is famous for its numerous collection of works by famous masters different eras. In the billiard room a large number of picturesque canvases.

South facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The southern facade faces the sea and is constantly illuminated by the sun. In its design there are characteristic elements of Muslim architecture. These are huge windows, deep niches, verandas with openwork lattices, horseshoe arches, ornate carvings with flowers, Arabic inscriptions on the cornice.

The monumental staircase descending to the sea is guarded by six lions carved from white marble. The Lion's Terrace has become a favorite place for photo shoots and selfies.

Library of the Vorontsov Palace

The library of Count Vorontsov, not without reason, was considered one of the largest in Russia. Thousands of books in various languages ​​were placed on the four-meter shelving of the vault. The owner was interested in science, as evidenced by rare manuscripts, old maps and globes. The father and aunt of the count began to collect the unique library.

Alupka park

The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea (every tourist wants to take a photo with a view of the park today in order to preserve the memory of its beauty) began to be built after the laying of a luxurious park. The German gardener Karl Kebach created a real miracle for 1/4 century. At the personal request of the countess, the territory of the estate was literally buried in greenery and flowers.

Once upon a time, more than 2 thousand rose bushes bloomed here.

The lower park with its flower beds on the terraces, fountains, benches, marble vases resembles the gardens of the Middle Ages. The proximity of mountain springs made it possible to create artificial cool reservoirs with cascades and small waterfalls, swimming swans. Water constantly murmurs here, harmony and order reign.

By order of the count, the bottom of Swan Lake was strewn with semi-precious stones to create sun glare. The upper park was designed to imitate wildlife. It is hard to believe that the stone chaos in the form of gorges, cliffs, grottoes was made by human hands. Near wide glades, specially cleared of piles of stones. Each lawn has its own romantic name.

The park contains the richest collection of age-old trees and shrubs of rare species imported from other countries. Tourists can admire the cozy Tea House, the amazing Freishütz waterfall, the Maria fountain - a copy of the “tears” fountain in Bakhchisarai.

The Vorontsov Palace and its magnificent park were immortalized in their paintings by Levitan, Surikov, Lentulov. Being in the Crimea, he wrote his seascapes Aivazovsky. The rock on which he worked bears the artist's name. Beautiful photos in memory of the wonderful nature of the Crimea and its amazing sights are taken away by thousands of tourists.

Museum expositions

The interior of the palace has changed little over the past 100 years. The museum has several permanent exhibitions. Tourists can see 10 ceremonial halls on the ground floor.

The following exhibitions are also available to visitors:

• Shuvalov's house;
• kitchen;
• butler's apartment;
• sculptures in the park.

Here are collected valuable collections of paintings, porcelain, sculptures, elegant antique furniture, which have a large historical value. The guides are very interesting and tell in detail about the buildings and life of family members.

Palace opening hours

The main expositions of the museum are open seven days a week from 9:00 to 18:00. Other exhibitions are weekends on Mondays and Wednesdays. Tickets are sold at several ticket offices, which start working from 9 o'clock.

Information for tourists. Visiting Rules

Tourists are familiarized with the rules of visiting the museum in advance.

Here are the main ones:

How are the tours

Each tour begins with a tour of the stands, where the history of construction is presented. Then visitors inspect the rest of the halls on the first floor. Tourists are not allowed in the upper sleeping quarters. They obviously look more modest, but the situation has not been preserved.

Thematic exhibitions are often held on the territory of the park, excursions around the park on electric vehicles are offered. Individual excursions are conducted on a contractual basis.

Cost of visits

Entrance to Alupka Park is free, except for some places popular with tourists.

Prices for visiting the museum are acceptable:

Services	Ticket price for adults (rub.)	Reduced ticket price (rub.)
Main expositions	300	200
Exhibitions	110-150	55-80
Tour of the park	50-100	25
Walking in the park in an electric car	800	800
single ticket	650	Z25
Event with photo accompaniment for one academic hour	2500

Commercial video filming is paid in advance.

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

From any locality South Coast is easy to get to Alupka, both by sea and by land.

From Yalta

From Yalta to Alupka 17 km. You can get here by regular boat, which departs from the maritime station. FROM central bus station There are buses with special routes - No. 132 (from the center) and No. 102 (from the bus station).

From the stop "Vorontsov Palace" you can go to the castle through the park. Minibuses No. 107 and No. 115 take tourists to the bus station, and from there you have to walk. By car from Yalta you have to go through Vinogradnoye, Livadia, Gornoye.

From Alushta

From Alushta to Alupka it is easier to get through Yalta, where shuttle trolleybuses leave every half an hour. At the Yalta bus station, transfer to buses to Alupka. On passing intercity buses"Simferopol-Simeiz" in two hours you can directly get to Alupka (highway). This option is suitable for active tourists not burdened with luggage.

From Simferopol

First you need to get to the Yalta bus station by bus "Simferopol-Yalta", and from there by shuttle bus to the stop "Avtostanciya" and another 10-15 minutes on foot.

From Sevastopol

On the Sevastopol-Yalta bus, get to the Pitomnik stop, cross to the other side of the road and take route No. 1A and go to the Avtostanciya stop. There is also a direct flight "Sevastopol-Alupka". good option there will be an acquisition excursion tour, which will eliminate the problems with transport.

majestic palace has its secrets and mysteries.

Some of them remain unsolved to this day:

The Vorontsov Palace is the brightest sight of the peninsula. It is impossible to visit the Crimea and not visit the famous palace ensemble and its magnificent park. Here you can admire beautiful views, get unforgettable vivid impressions. Tourists who come to Alupka like to take photos against the backdrop of the palace and the battlements of Mount Ai-Petri.

Article formatting: Lozinsky Oleg

Video about the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea

Vorontsov Palace. Alupka. Sights of Crimea:

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is one of the most visited Yalta palaces and the only one that I visited, and even then by accident. It’s not that I didn’t want to see it, but I really didn’t want to do it in the summer, it’s too crowded at this time.
The palace was built in the English style, and the building contains elements of various eras, from early forms to the 16th century. The farther from the western gate, the more recent style of construction. The English style is combined with the neo-Moorish style. For example, Gothic chimneys resemble the minarets of a mosque. The palace was built from 1828 to 1848 as the summer residence of the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory Count Vorontsov. Interestingly, the Vorontsov Palace is one of the first buildings in Russia, where sewerage and water supply were built for the comfort of living.

The main facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The palace was owned by three generations of the Vorontsov family. Since 1921, a museum has functioned in the palace complex. After the Great Patriotic War, for about 10 years, the territory of the Vorontsov Palace was secret facility and there was a dacha for the party leadership. Now it is a museum again.

The Vorontsov Palace is located on the territory of Alupka Park, which was created by the famous botanist and gardener Karl Antonovich Kebach for 25 years. He designed clearings, placed trees according to their size. This was a matter of principle, because, according to Karl's plan, the trees should not have blocked the gorgeous view of the top of Mount Ai-Petri.

The park is spread over an area of ​​40 hectares. Geographically divided into Upper and lower parks. The park is designed in such a way that it complements the local nature. More than two hundred species of plants grow here, which were imported from the regions of the North and South America, Mediterranean. The cost of laying out the park is twice as high as the construction of the palace itself. Up to 36,000 rubles were spent on the maintenance of the park in 1910 - a huge amount at that time.

Map of Vorontsovsky park

The attraction of the park are piles of stones from solidified magma, ejected by the volcano since time immemorial, called "Big Chaos" and "Small Chaos". These chaoses were carefully inscribed in the layout of the park, a dozen paths were laid through the piles of stones, forming almost a labyrinth, benches were placed, viewing platforms were arranged. Separate blocks are entwined with ivy and wild grapes. Sometimes it is very difficult to believe that you are in a park, and not abandoned.

A large number of fountains have been built in the park. Most of them were built according to the designs of V. Gunt.
In general, in Crimea, there has long been a tradition of respect for water. The construction of a fountain, both in the Muslim Crimea and in Russia, was considered a worthy deed, and even charitable. Where at least some trickle flowed, they put a fountain, decorated it with a saying from the Koran or the emblem of an engineering department, sometimes they beat out the date. Along the old roads, in the old Crimean settlements, a lot of these ancient fountains have been preserved, many are still functioning.

Three ponds are also artificially created on the territory of the park: Upper, Mirror and Lebediny. Around the ponds grow maples, ash and dogwood.

To decorate the bottom of Swan Lake, Count Vorontsov ordered 20 bags of semi-precious stones, which were delivered by ship. In sunny weather, they created an indescribably beautiful play of light.

The owner chases the ducks out of his property

A couple more interesting facts about the park, according to the guides. Vorontsovsky Park literally grew on blood, because the soil under the trees was abundantly fertilized with the blood of freshly killed animals. A separate gardener was assigned to each tree, who did not sleep, did not eat, but watched his ward, cherished and cherished.

The Chilean Araucaria owes its name to the Araucans - Indians living in Chile, for whom the fruits of this tree form the basis of the diet. This copy is over 130 years old. It does not develop well in our conditions. In its homeland, it grows up to 50 meters in height, has a trunk up to one meter in diameter. There are only 5 such trees in Crimea. Araucaria branches are covered with sharp thorns, so neither monkeys nor birds sit on them.

Chilean araucaria

Crimean pine

pistachio

lower park

The fountain "Maria" is made based on the famous Bakhchisarai fountain, sung by Pushkin. The fountain is made of white and colored marble and decorated with shells and rosettes. Water falls in small drops from one bowl to another, forming a quiet, even rhythm of drops - “tears”.

Mary Fountain (Fountain of Tears)

From the sea is the famous lion terrace.

The southern entrance is decorated with oriental splendor. The Arabic inscription translates as: "And there is no winner but Allah."

coral tree

Fountain of Bakhchisarai

I didn’t go inside the palace, I really don’t like a slender run in the crowd. Maybe some other time I'll visit.

Winter Garden of the Palace

During the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the British delegation headed by W. Churchill lived in the Vorontsov Palace. Associated with him curious story, which occurred during a walk in the park of Churchill and Stalin. Churchill, who really liked the sleeping lion sculpture, said that he looked like himself and suggested that Stalin ransom him. Stalin refused this offer, but suggested to Churchill that if he answered his question correctly, then Stalin would present a sleeping lion. "Which finger on the hand is the main one?" - such was Stalin's question. Churchill replied: "Of course, index." “Wrong,” Stalin replied and twisted the figure from his fingers, which is popularly called the figurine.

sleeping lion

Fountain "Sink"

Fountain "Sink"

The southern facade of the Vorontsov Palace and the Lion's Terrace

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is a palace of stunning beauty, surrounded by a charming park, located at the foot of Mount Ai Petri. There are a huge number of attractions on the southern coast of Crimea, but Alupka is always full of tourist groups. There is something special and attractive about this place. The English castle of Count Vorontsov in the Crimea, surrounded by greenery, does not leave anyone indifferent, and makes you return there again and again.

The palace in Alupka is a former dacha, the summer residence of a prominent political figure of the 19th century, the former governor of Novorossia, Mikhail Vorontsov. The love of the Russian politician for everything English was understandable - the father of Count Vorontsov was an ambassador Russian Empire in England, so Michael's entire childhood was spent in London. After nationalization, the former residence became a museum.

I went on excursions in the Crimean Vorontsov Palace twice: the first time in April, the second time in August. In every season, the palace and the territory that adjoins it looked amazing. It is best to choose April or September to visit the palace, but during the season it is not overcrowded.

In order to approach the main entrance to the palace, you need to go along the narrow corridor of the palace walls (Shuvalovsky passage). It is quite cool here in summer, as there is almost always shade here. When you come here for the first time, you don't expect to see a real English castle in Crimea. Passing through the narrow, harsh passage, the heart stops in anticipation of something unusual. And very soon curiosity will be rewarded with a vengeance.

After the path through the corridor of powerful walls has been passed, tourists find themselves in a small square in front of the palace. A castle appears in front of your eyes, built in the English style, and by the same architect Edward Blair, who was the author of Buckingham Palace in London.

The first thing you notice is the unusual material of the castle walls and walls. Later, according to the guide, we learned that this is a very hard and rare stone of volcanic origin - diabase. The palace was built by more than 6 thousand serfs of Vorontsov, as well as craftsmen-masons specially brought from Moscow and Vladimir regions. To create an unusual surface, each stone was processed by hand! The work must be said to be skillful and very painstaking. Vorontsov built this castle with his own money, for himself, in good conscience.

In the yard we waited for the tour group to form and, looking up, we saw the teeth of Ai-Petri brightened by the sun's rays - a kind of pointed rocks located at the very top of the mountain. This is one of the best landscapes of Crimea!

You can get on an excursion to the Vorontsov Palace freely, they are held daily. Each group is accompanied by a guide, the tour takes place in Russian. It was very interesting to listen to the guide, from her lips we heard a lot of interesting information about the history of the palace.

A few minutes later we crossed the threshold and felt like we were in an old English castle. The palace has many architectural features: on one side (northern) the building resembles an English castle, and on the southern facade - a Moorish mosque. In addition, the castle is so skillfully inscribed in the mountain landscape that it seems that nature itself created and placed it here.

The castle has more than 150 rooms, but about 9 state rooms are open for tours.

This palace belonged to three generations of the Vorontsovs, so the interior elements changed a little, because each owner wanted to bring something of his own, modern.

We first entered the main dining room. Special attention I was attracted by a small bowl, which somewhat resembled a miniature fountain. As it turned out, this bowl served to cool drinks.

Each room of the Vorontsov Palace has its own unique style and color. It was very pleasant to be in the blue room, I liked it the most. Here the walls are blue, they have stucco flowers and golden furniture.

The dining room, decorated in the English style, is very interesting.

In the office

After visiting several other rooms, we went out into the winter garden, where we saw a variety of tropical plants and elegant figurines.

Winter Garden

From the winter garden leads to a terrace overlooking the sea. When we arrived there, we saw a beautiful sunset, which looked very romantic against the background of the sea horizon.

View of the sea from the terrace of the Alupka Palace

On the way to the sea there is a staircase, on both sides of which there are sculptures of lions made of Carrara marble by an Italian master. There are also features here. At the very top of the terrace, there are awake lions, at the very bottom of the terrace there are figures of sleeping lions.

Lions, terrace of the Palace in Alupka

Sleeping lions, Alupka

The Vorontsov Palace is surrounded by a magnificent park with many unusual plants from the subtropics and beyond. Walking along it in the summer, when everything is blooming and pleasing to the eye, is a pleasure.

Alupka Park is divided into two parts: Upper and Lower. The upper part of the park is more "wild", while the lower part is a well-groomed classic park in the English style.

In the park you can see a copy of the Bakhchisaray fountain.

Copy of the Bakhchisaray fountain

Numerous waterfalls, lakes, quinoa, trees of unusual shape are hiding in the "wild" part of the park.

Alupka Park also has its own attractions, such as "Big" and "Small Chaos". - a huge pile of diabase stones.

Big Chaos

Swan lake in Alupka park.

I recommend after the tour to take a walk in this garden, relax in the shade from the summer heat and, of course, do a lot beautiful photos. This park is also called Alupka Park, where you can see about 200 species of various plants: exotic plants, various shrubs, acclimatized plants from other continents.

View from Vorontsovsky Park

Vorontsovsky park

The landscape of the park is presented in the form of an amphitheater, at the bottom of which there is an exhibition park pavilion "Tea House". We did not manage to visit it, because it was closed for restoration.

Prices for visiting the Palace

The cost of an adult ticket is 70 hryvnias (8.75 dollars), for children - 35 hryvnias (4.38 dollars), photography - 10 hryvnias (1.25 dollars).

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

You can visit the Vorontsov Palace by getting to Alupka at the following address: st. Palace Highway, 10. By car, you can get here along the South Coast Highway, this route runs along the sea through the entire South coast Crimea. If you go along this highway to the Vorontsov Palace from the side of Sevastopol, then there will be a right turn to Alupka, and if from the side of Yalta, then to the left.

From Yalta from the bus station can be reached by the following bus routes: 27, 26, 107, 42.

Passing buses go from Sevastopol: "Sevastopol - Miskhor", "Sevastopol - Yalta".

From Simforopol: buses "Simferopol - Simeiz", "Simferopol - Kastropol".

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The presence of someone of a huge fortune always raises questions. But still there were and will be people who can spend a lot of money (obtained in various ways) not only to please themselves, irreplaceable ones. Yes, representatives of the richest Russian noble families were serf-owners. But they were also patrons of the arts and sciences, and left to their descendants masterpieces of architecture paid for by their millions. Such as the Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea.

Where is the Vorontsov Palace on the map

Looking at the map of Crimea, it becomes clear that palace and park ensemble is located on the territory Big Yalta, in the small but colorful village of Alupka, which is why the palace is often called Alupka. Its territorial location is the center of the resort village, on the Black Sea coast.

History of the Alupka Palace

Crimea and England

The genus of Counts Vorontsov is known in Russian history. Its representatives occupied the most important government posts. The family was also one of the richest in the country and could afford to realize any of their most incredible fantasies.

The representative of this genus, M.S. Vorontsov, was a brave officer, a participant in the war of 1812. He was also the native nephew of the famous Ekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, which already meant that his upbringing and education were good. More than others, the earl liked the English tradition - such as he was called Anglo-lovers in the 19th century.

In the mid-20s of the XIX century, this nobleman was appointed to the Crimea - the governor of Novorossia and Bessarabia. Having taken office, the governor looked after himself a good estate not far from - near the small Tatar village of Alupka. In 1828, they began to build a residence there according to his order - a real palace on a grand scale.

As an Anglo fan, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov wanted to see features of English architecture in his home. Therefore, he rejected the original design of E. Boffo and T. Harrison in the classical style and turned to E. Blore, the architect of Walter Scott and the British royal family. Certainly a master who brought to mind Buckingham Palace, fit for a Russian count.

Blore has never been to the Crimea. But he received from the customer comprehensive data on the terrain, as well as materials from his predecessors. And he did a miracle - he designed a masterpiece building, which naturally combined several eras of English history with oriental flavor.

Incredible construction

Then everything became even more wonderful. The main building stone for the realization of the idea of ​​the great Englishman was the Crimean diabase - the breed is even too strong. It is very difficult to process. In the conditions of the Russian Empire in 1830 (just then, direct construction work began) did not involve the mechanization of labor.

The main labor force in the construction were quitrent peasants from the numerous estates of the owner (mainly from near Moscow and Vladimir). Vorontsov's people tried to select for work the maximum number of people with specialties - masons and stone cutters. Oriented by the fact of the participation of candidates in the construction and decoration of rich stone churches. These craftsmen worked in the Crimea with superhard material with their bare hands - they worked the stone with axes and chisels! Not surprisingly, the construction took a lot of time.

However, Blore's project had one advantage - the palace was, as it were, a complex of buildings of different styles. So they built it in parts, and not all at once. In 1830-1831. built a canteen. In 1831-1837. a central building was added to it. In 1838-1844. they built all the towers, the eastern wings, the guest wing, decorated the front yard. At the same time in 1841-1842. a billiard room was built next to the dining room. The library was completed last of all - in 1846.

At the same time, individual elements of the building demonstrated different stages in the development of English architecture. The “time line” ran from west to east: the further west the element was located, the more ancient style it represented.

Then the governor began to equip a park near the palace, reprehensibly employing soldiers for earthworks. In 1848, the palace ensemble was supplemented with a terrace and stairs, decorated with sculptures of lions. But this M.S. Vorontsov no longer saw - in 1844 he was appointed to serve in the Caucasus.

Noble Nest

Further, the whole business almost died, and all because the eldest son of M.S. Vorontsova did not bother to provide him with grandchildren. CM. Vorontsov, the son of the governor, lived in the palace with his wife and little by little completed the construction and decoration of his property. However, he died without heirs. But his widow did not want to live in the Crimea and drove off abroad, taking with her a lot of art treasures from the Crimean estate.

Because of this, the palace almost fell into disrepair, because no one lived in it for a long time. But then the estate went to the relatives of the governor through the Vorontsov-Dashkovs and Shuvalovs. These nobles turned out to be enterprising people - they set up summer cottages on the territory of the estate for renting. This happened in 1904. But in 1917 a revolution broke out, ruining the old noble nests.

With the establishment of Soviet power in the Crimea, the estate was nationalized. And already on February 22, 1921, the telegraph transmitted Lenin's personal order to the peninsula: to take all possible measures to preserve the valuables from the palaces of the Crimean nobility. And the order was carried out. Already in the middle of the same 1921, the palace was opened to the public as a museum.

Saved value

It should be noted that the Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea is perfectly preserved, and today it looks almost the same as in the days of the last owners-counts. But it didn't come easy for him.

After the invasion of Crimea in 1941, the Nazis shamelessly robbed the locals. They brought to Germany everything that was not nailed down, and what was, they broke and also took away. The Soviet command did not have time to evacuate most of the Crimean museums, and the Vorontsov Palace was one of them. The conquerors took out a lot of valuable things from there and threatened to destroy the building.

But the palace survived, and a significant part of its collections also survived. This became possible thanks to the dedication of researcher S.G. Shchekoldin. The Nazis appointed him director of the museum, which meant that he had to give them the most valuable of the exhibits. But Shchekoldin hid some of the collections, supplied the occupiers with false information, and also prevented the explosion of the building during the Nazi retreat.

It was Stepan Grigoryevich who compiled a complete inventory of the exhibits taken out for a completely wild amount of 5 million rubles at that time (due to which some of them were later found and returned).

The worst detail of this whole story is that the defender of the museum collections later also served several years "for collaborationism." True, Shchekoldin was still lucky - he left the places of detention relatively quickly, relatively healthy, and then for a long time he did what he loved, looking for the valuables that had disappeared from the museum (he died in 2002, at the age of 98).

In 1945, the Vorontsov Palace was in such good condition that it was used to accommodate participants. English architecture predetermined the choice of a guest for the estate - British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill became it.

The first meeting of the leaders of the Anti-Hitler Coalition was held here as part of the conference (further, all events for the sake of convenience were moved to). For several years, the castle was used as a departmental dacha for NKVD officers, and in 1955 it again became a museum, which it is to this day.

Architecture and decoration of the palace

Mix of styles and peoples

As already mentioned, in general, the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace represents the English style. Moreover, this is like the history of foggy Albion in miniature, since the building combines the features of different eras - from William the Conqueror to the Tudor dynasty.

But in the century in England (and in other countries of Europe too), in connection with the expansion of colonial expansion, a fashion for the East arose. Pseudo-Indian and pseudo-Egyptian elements appeared in literature, clothing, interior; architecture did not pass them by either. And in the building of the Vorontsov Palace, E. Blore, in an incomprehensible way, managed to harmoniously combine his contemporary ideas about the East with the traditions of medieval England.

The western facade of the palace is a real castle of a medieval robber baron (you see, the work for V. Scott affected the royal architect!). This is an excellent example of the skillful use of neo-gothic style. Almost the same era is represented by the so-called Shuvalov passage - the driveway, reminiscent rather of a fortress gallery. In the courtyard, uneven “torn” stone trim was used, which also suggests the Middle Ages.

The northern facade demonstrates a completely different style and a different time period. This is the beginning of a new time, the Tudor XVI century - straight lines, large tall windows and chimneys.

The southern facade manages to form a harmonious whole with other parts of the palace and at the same time represent the Moorish style - with splendor befitting the East. Particularly interesting is the arch, in which the architect somehow managed to combine the motifs of the Tudor rose and the oriental lotus, and also added a saying from the Koran, without fear of harming the English idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe whole building. E. Blore managed to add Moorish notes and old England - for example, the purely English appearance of the northern facade is crowned with tent-shaped roofing elements, and long pipes are made similar to eastern minarets.

Although the palace actually consists of 5 buildings, they are all successfully linked into an ensemble and are perceived as a single whole. Moreover, the architect, who had never seen the Crimea, managed to successfully fit his creation into the landscape. He took into account not only the technically important features of the area, but also its aesthetics (according to the sketches handed over to him). As a result, the silhouette of the palace, as it were, repeats the outline of the plateau against which it is located.

Cottage with comfort

In the view of Governor Vorontsov and his heirs, the palace in the Crimea was not an official residence where one should demonstrate ceremonial secular hospitality, but something like a dacha. The family was supposed to spend the summer here, as well as relatives and close friends of the owners to visit. Nevertheless, the count swelled 9 million rubles into the construction (wild money by the standards of the 19th century!), And his heirs further invested in interior design.

The palace inside was very well preserved, so you can be sure that even at the dacha, representatives of the Vorontsov family preferred to live both beautifully and comfortably. In total, this "summer house" has 150 rooms, arranged with English austerity - doors within doors. Another English detail is that each room has a fireplace (although in Crimea it is not as necessary as in England).

Each room in the palace is decorated in its own style and has its own name. There is a Blue Living Room, a Chintz Room, a Chinese Study and similar themed rooms. The large palace living room, as it were, copies the main hall of the feudal castle - dark colors, solid oak and family paintings reign there.

The blue living room is not only designed in this color, but also finished with an unusual stucco depicting 3 thousand relief flowers, each of which is not like the others. Chintz in the time of Count Vorontsov was considered a fashionable and rather expensive material, and even now it is successfully used in interiors. And the walls of the Chinese Cabinet are decorated with rice straw inlays (and they are well preserved).

There is also a greenhouse in the palace, which was called the winter garden in the traditions of that time. By analogy with the summer garden of St. Petersburg, it is decorated with beautiful statues.

The count owners cared not only about the beauty, but also about the practicality of their home. In the Vorontsov Palace, one of the first internal water pipes was installed (with an uninterrupted supply of hot water!) And a sewage system, normal according to modern concepts, was installed. In 1914 they switched to electric lighting.

All work was done with high quality, and this is not last reason excellent preservation of the interiors. Artistic parquets and wall panels remained the same as during the time of the Novorossiysk governor. A lot of antique furniture, utensils, decorating knick-knacks have been preserved. The art collection suffered the most, as the Nazis took more than 500 paintings from Germany to Germany. And only a small part of the stolen was found and returned.

Photo inside the Vorontsov Palace

screen star

Due to its excellent state of preservation and conspicuous “appearance”, the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is always popular with camera masters. All sorts of calendars and advertising posters adorn his photos, and the interiors and the adjacent park area have become filming locations for many beloved viewers.

The most famous of the tapes filmed here was 1961. In this most popular film, the Vorontsov Palace "played" the rich mansion of the Gray family. 30 years later, it was "reclassified" as the interior of the estate of an American millionaire during filming (the outside view of Francis Morgan's estate was filmed).

The complex also appears in "Sky Swallows", "Hamlet", "Ten Little Indians", "An Ordinary Miracle" (not the most famous version from M. Zakharov, but earlier, from E. Garin). Of the more "innovative" tapes, the palace had to take part in the creation of "Assy" and the Ukrainian tape "Sappho" (an amateur, but at one time the movie made a noise).

It is rather difficult to list the entire filmography of the Vorontsov Palace - filmmakers often used it. The reason, among other things, lies in its architectural diversity - by choosing the right angle, you could shoot literally anything here.

Vorontsov Palace - visit and excursions

Despite the exclusively museum status of the complex, it cannot be said that visiting the Vorontsov Palace is so easy. The reason is not the desire to hide something from tourists, but the need to observe a rather strict security regime.

It will be possible to inspect the palace for free and completely on your own only from the outside. Entrance is free. In Alupka, many vacationers go through it, combining two amenities at once. Reviews of many tourists claim that an external examination is enough to get a strong impression.

Internal premises are visited for money and with a guide. But there is a difficulty here: the Vorontsov Palace is actually not one museum, but several. It constantly organizes temporary exhibitions of the most diverse content. Accordingly, there are many excursion programs, and the work schedule of different departments may vary.

Experienced tourists recommend that before going on an excursion, inquire by phone about the opening hours (it may also change for permanent expositions, especially depending on the season), the availability of temporary exhibitions and current benefits.

You can also get information on the official websites. It’s even easier to sign up for a tour through the bureau (Vorontsov Palace is an obligatory element of the Parks and route, one of the most popular in travel agencies throughout the peninsula), everyone is aware of the features of the visited objects.

Data on the cost of an excursion in the palace takes up more than one page, because a tourist can choose to visit only one of some expositions, several of them, or sightseeing tour throughout the complex. The price range may vary greatly.

Speaking of prices, they cannot be called low, but the costs of maintaining such a large and expensive complex in proper condition are high. In addition, the Vorontsov Palace has a complex system of payment benefits and free admission rights (in particular, for young people under 16).

But beneficiaries must remember that their discount or free ticket they will receive only if they have the original document confirming their status (for example, a birth certificate or an award certificate). Some categories of beneficiaries are required to pay a fee for excursion services, but you can’t call it high.

The basis of the exposition is made up of several main palace halls, a visit to which allows you to get acquainted with the history of the Russian nobility, and specifically the Vorontsov family and its prominent representatives. There are also exhibited many original items that belonged to the owners of the estate and their relatives.

A separate exposition in one of the outbuildings tells about the relatives of the Vorontsovs - the family of the Counts Shuvalovs. In the museum you can also get information about people who are not as influential as the multimillionaire counts. In particular, the premises of the palace kitchen (with original tableware and all cooking equipment) and the apartment of the count's butler are decorated in the Household Wing.

Among the permanent exhibitions there is also a collection of avant-garde paintings, a collection of artistic porcelain and faience (Russian and foreign production), and art works depicting flowers. Temporary exhibitions follow each other, as a result of which unexpected things appear in the palace, such as a collection of fans.

The museum is technically advanced. Here, such technical innovations as audio guides in different languages ​​and virtual exhibitions are widely used.

Bringing preschool children here is not worth it - a long one may seem tedious and boring to them (although such visits are not prohibited, and you do not have to pay for preschoolers at all). But for middle-aged schoolchildren, a visit to the palace is even highly recommended - and the taste will be better, and the level of knowledge in history will increase.