Swallow's Nest Castle is a business card, emblem and symbol of the Crimean Peninsula. Outwardly, it is very reminiscent of the knightly castles of the Middle Ages, once common in European countries, and is the most miniature palace. Famous directors have repeatedly filmed films in Swallow's Nest. The most famous film is “10 Little Indians” by Govorukhin, based on the novel by A. Christie.
Where is the Swallow's Nest Castle?
Swallow's Nest Castle, which has become an important architectural and historical monument, is located in Crimea (Ukraine), in the village. Gaspra, belonging to the Yalta City Council. It stands on the Aurora rock, which is part of Cape Ai-Todor (Tatar name - translated into Russian it means “St. Fedor”). This most picturesque place on the Black Sea coast has been balancing over the depths of the sea for several decades, threatening to throw off a grandiose structure erected by the hands of a talented architect: the height of the rock is 40 meters.
Height of the Swallow's Nest castle
The Swallow's Nest Castle really amazes with its “bird-like”, that is, quite compact dimensions and is the smallest palace in the world. The height of the Swallow's Nest castle reaches about 12 meters, and the total area is only 10 m x 20 m. In addition, to the height of the castle it is also worth adding the height of the rock on which it stands - and this is an additional 40 meters. Thanks to this arrangement, the palace became incredibly famous and acquired a compact stepped composition architecturally. The internal structure of the building includes 2 bedrooms, successively located one above the other, a staircase, a living room and a hallway. The tower is two-story, proudly rising above the abyss. Previously, there was a garden next to the building, but due to a strong earthquake it collapsed into the sea.
History of the Swallow's Nest Castle
The first building on the indicated site was made of wood. It was built after the war with the Turks of 1877-1878 for one of the retired Russian generals. Then it went into the possession of A.K. Tobin, who was the court physician at that time. Although incredibly little information about him has survived to this day, it is known that this acquisition was his tribute to the fashion of having a “dacha on the seashore,” which became incredibly widespread at that time among the palace - and not only - nobility.
After the death of the court doctor, his widow took possession of the Black Sea dacha, who subsequently sold the plot along with the house to Rakhmanina, a merchant from Moscow. It was she who put a lot of effort into giving the house a noble appearance, destroying it to the ground and building a castle (at that time wooden), which she called the Swallow's Nest.
The castle received an appearance closer to the modern one thanks to the efforts of Baron Steingel, a Baku oil magnate who loved to go on vacation to the Crimea. Having bought a summer cottage located on the Aurora Rock, he decided to turn this building into a romantic palace, reminiscent of medieval castles from the banks of the Rhine. He entrusted the plan of the new building to L. Sherwood, a hereditary architect, the son of V. Sherwood, who is the author of the museum on the Red Square of the capital. So, in 1912, on a tiny piece of rocky land on the Monastyr-Burun spur, a unique Gothic palace was already rising.
Then it passed into the hands of P. Shelaputin, a Moscow merchant who acquired the estate at the beginning of the First World War. He founded a restaurant in Swallow's Nest, which was soon closed due to the death of the owner. In the 30s of the 20th century, a reading room was located there, which belonged to one of the local rest houses. After the building was declared unsafe, it was also closed. The reason was more than objective: the earthquake of 1927 caused considerable damage to the castle, creating a deep fault from the center to the upper platform, so the building could collapse at any moment (a piece of the support tower did fall down, and the platform curled menacingly over the abyss).
Only 40 years later, the site of that natural disaster was able to restore the Swallow's Nest, without dismantling the walls themselves. This was in 1967-1968. The work was headed by architect G. Tatiev, the author of the project was designer N. Timofeev. After this, the palace became earthquake-resistant and acquired an additional 4 spiers. Then the architectural monument was re-opened to the public. Now again, preparations are underway to reconstruct and strengthen its external structures.
In addition, the charming castle, as if frozen in weightlessness, has always attracted the attention of worthy representatives of creative professions. So, in 1901, when his close friend Lagorio (the artist) was vacationing with Baron Steingel, he could not help but capture this unique structure on his canvas - and painted a landscape, the central composition of which was a dilapidated mansion. And the painting was called “Swallow’s Nest.” The castle is also present in paintings created by famous marine painters - Aivazovsky and Bogolyubov.
The legend of the Swallow's Nest castle
Of course, the original Swallow's Nest castle, located between heaven and earth (more precisely, water), cannot but have its own legend. And it says that the goddess Aurora once loved to greet the dawn in those places. And she was so beautiful that she charmed Poseidon, the god of the seas. But the girl could not live without the dawn of the sun and rejected his love.
Poseidon, knowing that his feelings for the beauty were unrequited, destroyed one ship after another off the coast with strong storms, until he remembered the wonderful diadem: only with its help he could bewitch the goddess Aurora. Then Poseidon decided to use cunning and persuaded the lord of the winds, Aeolus, to cover the dawn sky with lead clouds, through which not a single ray would break through.
And so, when Aurora dozed off, waiting for the sun to rise, the great god of the seas crept up to the girl to enchant her. But the diadem slipped out of Poseidon's hands and fell. One of the diamond fragments that bounced off her got stuck in a crevice between the rocks and, illuminated by the rays of a bright light, turned into an amazing castle, forever remaining a symbol of unrequited love.
Art history lesson
My son loves to draw. He draws with great pleasure, using paints, pencils, and felt-tip pens. When we sent him to art school, we realized that we had taken the right step. My son rushes there with great desire...
2017-09-30 16:30:33Today in our project “Corridors of Time” we have the famous Swallow’s Nest in Crimea, a real architectural symbol of the sunny peninsula.
Prokudin-Gorsky rented this villa on a cliff presumably in 1904, and then it had a completely different appearance than we all know well.
This is a comparison of 2016 with a fragment of a Prokudinsky photograph:
Full photo comparison:
Alas, the original shooting point was located lower, but now there is a closed territory of the Zhemchuzhina sanatorium, which I was too lazy to enter)) Therefore, I filmed from a pedestrian bridge, thrown over for tourists to access the attraction.
According to Wikipedia, the first wooden structure on this site was erected for a retired Russian general after the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878; it can be seen on the canvases of famous marine painters: I.K. Aivazovsky, L.F. Lagorio, A.P. Bogolyubov, as well as in photographs of that time.
The second owner of this amazing dacha was the court doctor who served in the Livadia Palace, A.K. Tobin. There is also very little information left about him. After his death, the house was owned for some time by a widow, who sold the plot to the Moscow merchant Rakhmanina. She demolished the old building, and soon a wooden castle appeared, which she called “Swallow’s Nest.”
This is probably what we see in Prokudin-Gorsky’s photograph, although the building he captured gives the impression of being made of stone, not wood:
“Swallow’s Nest” received its current appearance thanks to the Russian oil industrialist P. L. Steingel (nephew of the famous builder of Russian railways, Baron Rudolf Steingel), who loved to vacation in Crimea. Steingel purchased a summer cottage on Aurora Rock and decided to build a romantic castle there, which is reminiscent of medieval buildings on the banks of the Rhine. The design of the new house in 1911 was commissioned from the engineer and sculptor Leonid Sherwood, the son of the architect Vladimir Sherwood.
The old wooden building was demolished and already in 1912 the original Gothic castle stood on the cramped area of the Monastyr-Burun spur. The stepped composition conceived by the architect was based on the small size of the site. The 12-meter-high building was located on a foundation 10 meters wide and 20 meters long. The “birdlike” volumes were matched by the internal structure: the entrance hall, living room, steps and two bedrooms were successively located in a two-story tower that rose above the rock. A garden was laid out next to the building.
Here you can see the site from which Prokudin-Gorsky filmed:
In those years there was no sanatorium at the foot of the cliff:
Colorized version of a pre-revolutionary postcard
Now every piece of land is built up there, but 100 years ago there was simply freedom:
In 1927, a strong earthquake occurred in Crimea. A deep oblique crack formed in the rock under the castle, part of it, along with the garden, collapsed into the sea, and the observation deck hung over the abyss.
Despite serious damage, the building generally survived.
Vacationers at the Swallow's Nest, 1928:
In the 1930s, there was a reading room here for the local Zhemchuzhina holiday home, but the building was soon declared unsafe and closed.
The decorative castle acquired this “shortened appearance” after the earthquake (photo from the 1930s):
And this look persisted for several decades.
1934:
Fortunately, military destruction bypassed the southern coast of Crimea.
Swallow's Nest in 1955 (personal archive of P.A. Sokolov):
The earliest known color photograph from a perspective close to the “Prokudin” one was taken only 54 years after Prokudin-Gorsky himself, in 1958:
Photo of Israel Ozersky 1966:
One of the last pre-restoration photographs of the Swallow's Nest was taken in 1967, almost exactly from the Prokudin perspective:
Restoration began in the late 1960s. The rock was strengthened, a reinforced concrete slab was placed under the base of the castle, and the rotunda tower was again decorated with high battlements and spiers.
The progress of restoration work in 1968 is captured here:
Bird home. Skladnov A. A., 1968-1970:
The already familiar Swallow's Nest in a photograph from 1972 (by Henk Bakker):
Following this, in the first half of the 1970s, construction of new buildings of the Zhemchuzhina sanatorium began under the rock:
After the development of the sanatorium beach and the creation of a pedestrian bridge over it for tourists, filming from the Prokudinsky point became difficult, if not impossible.
1989:
By the beginning of the 21st century, the area near the Swallow's Nest looked like this:
This is what the approaches to the famous rock look like today:
2007:
The small castle “Swallow’s Nest” is one of the most popular attractions of the Crimean peninsula. For a century now, this Gothic structure has been attracting people with its position on a steep cliff.
History of the Swallow's Nest castle in Crimea
The history of this place dates back to the end of the 19th century. To this day, the original purpose of this building is not known exactly - a tourist site or a place for living and recreation.
The first building on this site was the wooden dacha of a general in the Russian-Turkish war. After this, the building began to belong to the doctor from the Livadia Palace, Tobin. Later, his widow sold the house to the merchant Rakhmanina, who gave the castle the name “Swallow’s Nest.”
The building received its current appearance thanks to the German oilman Steingel. In 1912, an ordinary wooden building turned into a stone castle with a tower.
The owners were constantly changing, the building had restaurants, a reading room and more, and renovations were often carried out. From 1971 to this day, the castle has been a tourist destination. For the Russian Federation, this place is a cultural heritage of federal significance.
The place also attracts filmmakers with its beauty and atmosphere. For example, such cult Soviet films as “Amphibian Man” and “Ten Little Indians” were filmed in the vicinity and walls of the building.
Castle inside: interior and main exhibitions
The interior of the castle is proportional in size to the castle itself. The rooms are quite minimalist and neat. The original interiors of the castle were lost due to the difficult history of these places. It is known that from the neo-Gothic style it acquired the Old Russian style, thanks to one of its owners. Today the walls are decorated with decorative drawings, paintings and museum exhibits.
In addition to its beauty, the architectural and exhibition complex offers a range of various services that will certainly bring joy to visitors.
Sightseeing tour
The history of the surrounding area is rich in various ancient tales and legends, which, along with historical facts, the castle staff are happy to tell visitors on every excursion.
Visiting exhibitions
Today the walls of the Swallow's Nest are decorated with exhibition exhibits. Here you can see ancient works of painting, archaeological finds and other historical values.
Evening at the castle
In the summer, the cultural event “Evening at the Castle” takes place on the territory of the Swallow’s Nest. In the open air of these unique fabulous places, concerts of different styles of music, vernissages and events of masters of various types of art are held.
Wedding ceremonies
The many love stories of these places make Swallow's Nest a very good place for a wedding. The romantic atmosphere of the castle can make your wedding ceremony the happiest moment in your life.
Wish tree
The ancient ritual of making wishes in such fabulous places has survived to this day. Even the most skeptical tourist cannot resist hanging a wish ribbon on a tree near the castle.
Swallow mail
Sending a postcard to loved ones from an iconic place in the world is a fashionable tradition today. There is a mailbox on the territory of the Swallow’s Nest, letters from which will be quickly delivered by “swallow” to any corner of the world.
Ticket prices for Swallow's Nest in 2019
The ticket price depends on the exhibitions visited and the age of the visitor.
Entrance to the castle grounds with participation in events and visiting the exhibition in hall No. 2:
- 50 rub. for adults;
- 25 rub. for children, students and pensioners;
Visiting a creative event and exhibition in hall No. 1:
- 200 rub. for adults;
- 100 rub. for children, students and pensioners;
- free for children under 16 years old.
Some people fall under the preferential category and can visit the Swallow's Nest completely free of charge on an ongoing basis. These include war veterans, disabled people, certified tour guides and others. You can find out the full list on the official website of the facility.
Operating mode
During the cold season, the flow of tourists in Yalta is not so large, so from November to May the castle is open from 10:00 to 16:00, with one day off - Monday.
In the warm months, that is, from May to October, opening hours are from 10:00 to 19:00, no days off.
How to get to the Swallow's Nest castle in Crimea
In addition to organized tourist trips, you can visit the architectural monument on your own. Bus routes pass through the “Swallow's Nest” stop, which is near the castle, and boats and ships sail in the summer.
You can also get there by your own transport, but you will have to pay for parking. Cost from 100 to 200 rubles, depending on the distance to the castle.
Taxi services operate on the peninsula; some have their own applications, which can be found on Google Play and the Apple Store. For example, taxi Shark, METRO, VEZET.
Tourist routes that include a visit to the Swallow's Nest also pass by the Vorontsov and Livadia palaces; it makes sense to visit them too.
From Yalta
From this city it is easiest to get to the Swallow's Nest. From the bus station there are minibuses No. and. In the summer from the embankment pier. Boats and motor ships go from Lenin to the castle.
Route from Yalta to the Swallow's Nest castle for a car - Google Maps
From Alushta
To get to the facility from Alushta by public transport, you will first have to get to Yalta, having made at least one transfer before that. Target trolleybuses - No. and
8627Ask Russians to name the symbol of Crimea - and 9 out of 10 will remember the Swallow's Nest. The grey, Gothic castle with graceful turrets fits perfectly into the Crimean landscape. It soars above the waves, and from below it seems that its spiers can reach the clouds. The Swallow's Nest is located in the village of Gaspra on the southern coast of Crimea: if you are vacationing nearby, spend a few hours visiting this attraction of Greater Yalta, you will not regret it!
Where did the name "Swallow's Nest" come from? This name was given to her palace by one of the owners, Rakhmanin’s merchant’s wife. It seemed symbolic to her to call the building hanging over the sea on the edge of a cliff Swallow’s Nest. True, at that time the palace did not even remotely resemble a modern majestic castle: it was a two-story wooden house.
The address of the Swallow's Nest is Gaspra village, Alupkinskoe highway, 9A. Gaspra itself is a small resort village near the sea. It is located 12 km from Yalta. To get here, you need to drive along the Yalta-Sevastopol highway.
Here's a map to help you navigate the area:
There are several ways to get to the Swallow's Nest in Crimea:
- By your own car: you need to drive along the highway to the turn to Gaspra and enter the village. Once you see a large cluster of souvenir shops, you can look for a parking spot.
- By bus from Yalta. Anyone traveling in the direction of Alupka or Simeiz will do: for example, No. 102,132,115. Get off at the "Swallow's Nest" stop.
- By boat from Yalta. They depart at intervals of half an hour from the Marine Station. In addition, private boats and yachts offer their services, but the cost of tickets will be significantly higher.
Here is the schedule of boats and ships to the Swallow's Nest from Yalta for 2020:
The history of the Swallow's Nest castle in Crimea
The rock near the modern village of Gaspra, according to historians, was chosen by primitive people: for example, now a cave is hidden under the palace, in which they supposedly lived. During antiquity, the Kharaks fortress was built on Cape Ai-Todor. In the middle of the 19th century there was a lighthouse here.
The history of the Swallow's Nest castle begins in the 80s of the 19th century. Then a house was built on Aurora Rock for a general who took part in the Crimean War. Unfortunately, there are no more details about this historical figure and the building itself. You can form an opinion about it from the paintings of artists - for example, a small house on a cliff was captured by I.K. Aivazovsky and A.P. Bogolyubov.
The next period in the history of the Swallow's Nest in Crimea begins with the transfer of the wooden structure to the merchant Rakhmanina. It was she who gave the name to the most famous Crimean landmark and built the first semblance of a palace on the rock - albeit wooden and not distinguished by exquisite architectural solutions.
The Swallow's Nest acquired its modern appearance by 1912. By that time, its owner had become the wealthy oil industrialist P.L. Steingel, connoisseur of Crimean beauties. He wanted a building in the Gothic style to be erected on a picturesque rock, reminiscent of the medieval palaces around the Rhine. His idea was realized by the architect L.V. Sherwood.
The palace has changed hands more than once. So, after the First World War, P.G. became its owner. Shelaputin, who opened a restaurant in the palace. However, the times were bad, and soon the unprofitable palace was forgotten. After Shelaputin’s imminent death, it passed to the merchant’s wife Rokhmanova, and then, after the Civil War, it was transferred to the Main Administration of State Farms of the Crimea.
The dark streak in the history of the Swallow's Nest in Yalta continued in the 20s. Due to the earthquake, a crack appeared in the rock. A large piece broke off from it (there was a beautiful garden on it). The castle itself was not damaged, but hung dangerously over the sea. For a short time there was a reading room here at the local Zhemchuzhina holiday home, but it was also closed for security reasons.
Restoring the Swallow's Nest
The first work to preserve the unique castle began in the 60s. The employees of the Yalta branch of the Institute of Urban Design have managed the almost impossible. In order to secure the building, they installed a monolithic reinforced concrete foundation underneath it. It was necessary not only to manually lift all the building materials to a great height, but also to literally disassemble the Swallow's Nest brick by brick (each of them was numbered!) and put it back together in the same form.
From the 70s to 2011, a restaurant was opened in the castle. In 2012, the building was once again closed for reconstruction, but a museum was organized on the territory. Today it is a cultural monument. Work on the reconstruction of the Swallow's Nest continues. Thus, the balcony, the most beautiful viewing point of the castle, is closed (the reason for dissatisfied comments from tourists). In addition, only a limited number of tourists are allowed into the territory - groups of no more than 15 people. We hope that the work will be crowned with success and one of the main attractions of Crimea will be preserved in its original form!
What's inside the Swallow's Nest?
If you study the history of the Swallow's Nest and look at photos from the inside, it will become obvious: no interesting historical interiors have been preserved here. This is partly the fault of the first owners: according to historians, the first owner of the Gothic castle, Steingel, simply did not have time to furnish it in accordance with the exterior, and the last pre-revolutionary owner decorated the interior in the old Russian style, which is absolutely incompatible with Gothic architecture. Then for many years there was a restaurant here. To make visiting the museum interesting, exhibitions are regularly held here.
Ticket prices to Swallow's Nest in 2020
Since the restaurant was removed from the palace, entry to the castle itself is free. You can examine the exterior of the building and admire the view from the steep Aurora cliff.
Excursions inside the palace are paid. For 2020 the cost is:
Schedule
The opening hours of the Swallow's Nest vary depending on the season:
- November - May: from 10.00 to 16.00. Closed on Monday.
- May - October: from 10.00 to 19.00. Seven days a week.
Legends of the Swallow's Nest
In Crimea, almost every rock has its own history: the peninsula has been inhabited since time immemorial and beautiful legends have been passed down from people to people. There is a mythology around the Swallow’s Nest, and in order to make visiting the castle more interesting (and let’s face it, get more money from tourists), legends are still being invented in our time.
The most beautiful story relates to the name of the rock. The goddess of the dawn, Aurora, loved to meet the dawn at this place. Poseidon fell in love with her, but Aurora rejected his feelings. The god of the seas agreed with Aeolus, who commanded the winds, and he filled the sky with clouds that did not let in the sun's rays. The next time Aurora came to the rock to greet the sunrise, the sun did not appear. The girl waited for a long time, got tired and fell asleep. Poseidon wanted to sneak up and grab her, but Aurora was faster - she managed to escape. The diadem fell from the head of the upset Poseidon, the magic lost its power and the sun rose again.
Interesting stories surround the castle itself. The main reason is that no one knows for sure who built the Swallow's Nest, who the subsequent owners were, and there is even debate about the identity of the architect. According to one legend, the first owner of the Swallow's Nest was a horseman general who entertained people by jumping from a cliff into the sea on a horse, having previously blindfolded it. The horses did not survive, but the general himself miraculously always survived. There are a great many similar stories about daredevils diving from the castle platform: most often they are associated with people suffering from unrequited love.
The most modern legend of the Swallow's Nest appeared along with the Tree of Happiness and the chest that was installed next to it. Allegedly, the merchant Shalaputin put money in the chest, and in the morning a magic tree grew next to it. The man wished for a castle to appear on the rock, and a few years later the Swallow's Nest was actually built there. Now everyone is invited to tie a ribbon to the Tree of Happiness (they are sold nearby for 150 rubles) and throw coins into the chest to return to this place.
Interesting facts about Swallow's Nest
- This is one of the most “cinematic” places in Crimea: about a dozen films and TV series were filmed here, the most famous being “10 Little Indians”.
- Today the palace is still in disrepair. A large crack has been discovered in the rock on which it stands, and no way has yet been found to strengthen it without adding more weight and increasing the risk of splintering.
- Under the palace there is a cave, which today is flooded. Scientists believe that ancient people could have lived there. The walls of one of the cave halls are completely black.
- It makes sense to visit the Swallow's Nest in the evening. Firstly, because of the stunning illumination, and secondly, because of interesting cultural events - for example, open-air symphony orchestra concerts.
- From a distance the castle looks like a toy, but up close it is the smallest in Crimea. Its height is 12 m and its area is 120 sq. m.
- You can send a letter directly from the Swallow's Nest - there is a mailbox where you can throw a postcard with the “business card” of Crimea.
- A road with 1200 steps leads from Gaspra to the Swallow's Nest. There are benches along the edges of the road, however, if you believe the reviews of tourists, the path to the palace will still be difficult, especially in the summer heat. We recommend choosing a cloudy day to visit or going on an excursion early in the morning or evening.
- If you plan to travel by boat from Yalta, take tickets in both directions: it will cost less - 600 rubles round trip versus 400 rubles one way. True, the disembarkation usually lasts 50 minutes - barely enough to run to the palace, take a few pictures and return back.
- People who came to Gaspra on their own or by car will have to try to find out where the swallow's nest is. Unfortunately, there are no signs. If you arrive during a non-tourist time and cannot follow tour groups, ask locals for directions.
- Do you want beautiful shots of the Swallow's Nest in Crimea? Wear comfortable shoes. The most spectacular views open from the rocks surrounding the path to the castle.
- As an independent object for an excursion, the castle is boring. Due to its small size and uneventful history, the Swallow's Nest boasts an interesting exhibition inside. Usually tourists are offered to visit a short historical excursion (remember that the interior of the 19th century has practically not been preserved!) and an art, archaeological or local history exhibition (they change approximately every 2 months).
Guides recommend a more complex route: for example, combine a trip to the Swallow's Nest with a tour of the Vorontsov Palace (it is located very close, less than 15 minutes by car) or a walk around Yalta. By the way, the city where Swallow's Nest is located in Crimea also has other objects. Here you can look at the famous Parus rock, the Ai-Todor lighthouse, the ruins of the ancient fortification of Gaspra-isar, and the Panina palace.
