Holidays in Crimea can turn into interesting adventure, which will remain in memory forever. The main thing is to properly plan your visit to the most interesting and exciting attractions. One of them is noble Vorontsov Palace, which definitely deserves attention. The building is located in a picturesque location by the sea and the foot of Ai-Petri. It is surrounded by a magnificent park, which harmoniously complements the amazing view. A visit to the palace will give you truly unforgettable emotions and the opportunity to feel like a guest of an eminent prince.

Vorontsov Palace in Crimea: history

The exquisite Vorontsov Palace combines the rigor of English architecture and the luxury of Indian palaces. The building is in harmony with the local landscape and mountain-sea panorama. It also has interesting story, which dates back to 1828.

Construction of the palace began by order of Count Mikhail Vorontsov, known for his courage and participation in many military events. He personally chose the ideal location for his estate and invited an Englishman, Edward Blore, as an architect. The architect supervised the process remotely and never came to the construction site. The process of constructing the palace itself was quite lengthy and took 20 long years - from 1828 to 1848.

The count's estate was built from a very strong stone that must be handled confidently and skillfully - diabase. It was he who magnificently decorated the exterior of the building. The stone was processed by hand by specialist stone cutters who were called from central Russia. The costs of building the palace reached a tidy sum - 9 million silver rubles.

Vorontsov himself did not live in the palace for a very long time, since he had to leave for an appointment in the Caucasus. However, his daughter and her children settled there. Then, after the count's death, the estate was inherited by his son. After the revolution and change of power, the palace and its lands were nationalized. In 1945, Vorontsov's estate became the residence of the British delegation for some time. The heads met in the Main Dining Room allied states– Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt.

Later, the palace acted both as a state dacha for the NKVD and as a sanatorium. Only in 1956 did it become a museum. Nowadays, it is very popular among tourists who come even from abroad. Here you can see various works of painting, applied art, and sculpture. Also ancient documents, lithographs, drawings.

What else is interesting about the Vorontsov Palace in Yalta?

The overall impression of the grandeur and sophistication of the palace is complemented by the unique Vorontsov Park, which arouses the same interest of tourists as the estate itself. It allows you to enjoy unique plants that have been carefully selected taking into account the local climate and topography. They were brought to Crimea with different corners world, there are about 200 different types of vegetation in the park.

The park was created by a German gardener, Karl Kebach, who happily set to work. He planned the area on the principle of an amphitheater with a clear structure. The park itself had to maintain its connection with the palace and complement the chosen style of architecture. Karl Kebach managed to achieve his goal, because the park fits perfectly into the overall concept.

The park is conventionally divided into lower and upper. Its lower territory is decorated in the style of Renaissance gardens. There are elegant fountains, stone benches, Byzantine columns, beautiful vases, and marble sculptures here. There is also access to the beach.

The upper territory was created in the English romanticism style, which was characterized by naturalness and naturalness. Here you can find shady ponds, a well-thought-out system of lakes, picturesque meadows, sections of the Crimean forest, rocky debris, grottoes, and small waterfalls. This part of the park was conceived as an ideal place for contemplating the mountains and the sea.

The park almost always remains green, as pines, spruces, cypresses, cedars, and firs grow here. In the warm season, delicate magnolias, amazing cercis, and various exotic shrubs bloom here. The territory of the park is captivating with its beauty and elegance; many guests of the peninsula often visit only the park and enjoy the exterior of the palace. Photos of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea and its original park will be an excellent souvenir that will remind you of an unforgettable vacation.

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace in Yalta?

The exact address where the Vorontsov Palace is located in Crimea: Alupka, Palace Highway 18. You can get there in several ways:

1. Take advantage public transport. If you get from the Yalta bus station, you should take buses No. 107 or No. 115. The stop where you will need to get off is called “Bus Station” and is located in Alupka. Then you need to go to the western gate and through it enter the palace territory. You can also get to the complex from the city center. To do this, you should use minibus No. 132, which will take you to the final stop called “Vorontsov Palace”. Then you need to go to the northern main entrance of the building.
2. Get there by car. This travel option is the most comfortable and fastest. From Yalta you should take the Yalta-Sevastopol highway and move to the Alupka sign. Travel time may take 15-20 minutes.
3. Use taxi services. In Yalta, you can order a taxi directly to your hotel and from there get to the palace. Such a trip will be as comfortable as possible, but its cost is more expensive than other options.
4. Take a ride on a regular boat. The journey starts from the sea station in Yalta, from which a boat departs every 2 hours. Travel time will take about 35 minutes. A ticket costs 100 rubles, the price is quite affordable. You will need to get off the boat in Alupka and go up a little towards Vorontsovsky Park.

The ticket price to visit the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea is 350 rubles for adults and 200 for children. This price includes a sightseeing tour. Visiting thematic exhibitions in the palace is paid separately if you want to see them. A tour of the complex's park is also paid separately. There is a souvenir shop in the palace where you can buy small souvenirs.

Where to relax after visiting the sights of Yalta?

The best choice for a perfect holiday will be the unique Villa Elena Hotel & Residences. Here guests can enjoy an atmosphere of luxury that gives incredible home comfort. You can stay in a magnificent historical building, which has its own unusual history since 1912. A modern building is also available, which will delight you with rooms with a refined interior. On the territory of Villa Elena you can visit the restaurant, relax near the pool, and spend time in the spa center.

Alupka- a resort town consisting of Big Yalta, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri, 17 km southwest of the city of Yalta in Crimea.

Vorontsov Palace and its park complex - "highlight" Alupka landscape and

the main attraction of the seaside town.

Holidays on the Black Sea in Alupka attract tourists with a mild climate without sharp seasonal fluctuations, healing sea and pine air in which one can breathe easily and freely, as well as a picturesque view of the surroundings of the Russian seaside town on the southern coast of Crimea.

A particularly mesmerizing view of Alupka opens from the sea: in the center of the panorama on the hill stands the magnificent Alupka Palace (Vorontsovsky); the buildings of coastal sanatoriums stretch out in a chain along the sea and are buried in the greenery of parks, and the battlements dominate over them majestic mountain Ai-Petri.

Ai-Petri mountain range- one of the highest in Crimea. Like a shield it covers Alupka from the cold northern winds, and the largest number of sunny days a year (compared to Black Sea resorts Caucasus) make this town on the Black Sea coast a wonderful resort - second after Yalta in South coast Crimea.

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka.

Vorontsov Palace(Alupka) - this is the former summer Crimean residence Governor General of the Novorossiysk Territory Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov.

Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov

Portrait of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov by Lawrence, 1823.

Count, since 1845 - prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov(May 18 or 19, 1782—November 6 or 7, 1856) - Russian statesman from the Vorontsov family, Field Marshal General (1856), Adjutant General (1815), hero of the War of 1812. In 1815-1818 - commander of the Russian occupation corps in France. In 1823-1854 - Novorossiysk and Bessarabian governor-general; in this position he contributed greatly to the economic development of the region, the construction of Odessa and other cities.

Customer and first owner of the Alupka Palace. In 1844-1854 - governor in the Caucasus.

HISTORY OF THE VORONTSOV PALACE

The estate was conceived as the summer residence of Governor General Mikhail Vorontsov, who had many estates in different regions of the country and was considered the richest landowner in Russia. In 1824, the properties of the Revelioti family, who owned for the most part south coast Taurida. Vorontsov invites the German botanist Karl Kebach, who took up the first plantings from which Vorontsov Park appeared.

In 1824 they began to build and Vorontsov Palace. The architects were Thomas Harrison (Vorontsov spent his entire childhood and youth in England, so he decided to trust an experienced British architect) and Francesco Boffo (he created the Vorontsov Palace in Odessa). The palace was conceived in the neoclassical style. Four years later, the foundation was laid, but Harrison died suddenly in 1829.

Mikhail Vorontsov himself decided to suspend construction in 1831 and decided to change the style of the palace. He goes to England to see Edward Blore, who, based only on the submitted drawings of the area, created his project based on English Gothic. Blore himself never appeared in Alupka - Vorontsov Palace in Crimea It was built by his student William Gunt, who was recommended by the architect himself.

Gunt made a number of changes to the project. Thus, the Vorontsov Palace of Alupka is designed in the Tudor style, so popular in England in the 16th century. But given that Turkish influence was still felt in Crimea, the southern gate, as opposed to the northern one, was made in the eastern Indo-Moorish style. The composition was complemented by marble lions by sculptor Giovanni Bonnani. The palace was built before 1848. The park was completed 3 years later. The palace has 150 rooms, divided between 5 buildings.

The peculiarity of the architecture of the palace is clearly visible from the sea - it is in harmony with the Ai-Petri massif. This is not surprising, since the walls were supposed to be an extension of the mountains overhanging it.

To make the palace, a local stone was used - diabase (a greenish-gray stone of volcanic origin), which was found in abundance in the area. It was blown up with dynamite and ground into blocks. In the park today you can see many fragments of diabase rocks.

Foreign craftsmen who worked on the garden and the serf peasants of Count Vorontsov took part in the work. The modeler Roman Furtunov was especially successful, the only one among the serfs who received the same salary as foreign masters.

After the death of Count Mikhail, the Vorontsov Palace of Crimea was inherited by the children. First through the male line, then through the female line. During the years of Soviet power it was nationalized. It housed the NKVD dacha and, since 1952, a sanatorium. At this time, part of the palace's furniture was lost, in particular the billiard table was lost, which after the collapse of the USSR was replaced by another, found in warehouses in Yalta.

The Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve fits perfectly into the amazing landscape with a mountain range, evergreen vegetation and several narrow streets of the town, rising uphill from the sea coast.

It's built from diabase- a material that is twice as durable as granite and is mined on the Crimean Peninsula. The gray-green color of the stone creates a unified architectural composition of the Vorontsov Palace with nature.

The palace was designed by an English architect Edward Blore. Construction took place from 1828 to 1848. The finishing process lasted until 1852. The architecture of the palace is unique. It consists of a combination of different styles:

• The North Front is late English Gothic;
• The Western Facade is a European medieval castle, a fortress from the 8th to 12th centuries;
• Southern - elements of India and the East. Huge dome of the South facade with Arabic inscriptions, open towards the Black Sea, has a romantic appearance. The “Lion Terrace” with gradually wary “kings” of animals adorns the magnificent staircase leading to the entrance to the castle from the park. Three pairs of lions made of Carrara white marble were made in the workshop of the Florentine sculptor Bonnani, but the most famous (lower) is “Sleeping Lion”

Shuvalovsky proezd.

The palace ensemble consists of 5 buildings, open and closed courtyards, and terraces. The Vorontsov Palace looks both stern and elegant, stable and romantic.

Western part of the palace (the so-called Shuvalovsky passage) appears to tourists in the form of a stone-paved street medieval city with old fortress walls powerful towers and narrow loophole windows. The daughter of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, after getting married, became Countess Shuvalova, and her apartments were located in the right building.

North façade

In front of the palace there are two parterres with marble fountains in the center of each. He took refuge in a shady pergola of blooming wisteria

The "Selsibil" fountain is a copy of the "Fountain of Tears" from the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai, glorified by Pushkin.

Nearby, at the left wing of the palace, there is a white marble fountain "Source of the Amur".

Southern facade of the palace.

The southern facade is famous for its high portal with a deep niche, on the frieze of which a saying is inscribed in Arabic script

“There is no winner but Allah.”

Marble lion on the south terrace.

PALACE INTERIORS

The main exhibition includes 10 rooms. The rooms on the upper floor are closed so as not to overload the weakened floors. The tour begins through the side entrance, which leads into the corridor that leads to the count’s office. Initially, the rooms on the lower floor served as a bedroom for the Vorontsov couple. The main rooms open in the exhibition “the main halls of the main building”:

1. Front office;

2. Dining room, where there is a balcony for musicians;

3. Greenhouse, including a collection of rare plants from distant countries;

4. Billiard room;

5. Calico room;

6. Chinese cabinet;

7. Lobby;

8. Blue living room, the walls of which are decorated with stucco roses. Also on display here is a grand piano, which is not original to Vorontsov’s interior.

Each of the 150 rooms included in palace ensemble, is original: “The Calico Room”, “The Blue Living Room”, “The State Dining Room”, “Winter Garden”, “Chinese Study”, “Billiard Room”, “Vestibule”. The luxury and love of the owners for their home is visible everywhere.

The special pride of the Alupka Palace is luxury fireplaces in the Gothic style, made of marbled limestone and polished diabase stone.

"Great lobby

The main entrance hall is located in the center of the palace. Two small vestibules symmetrically adjoin it from the south and north, and offices and lounges are located from the west and east. The northern vestibule, like the northern facade of the palace, is made in the English style. In contrast to the Englishness, the southern vestibule is decorated with carpets depicting the Persian Shah Fath-Ali.

"Front office"

The office looks quite restrained, English, but the abundance of wood in the room gives warmth and comfort to the interior. The wallpaper was specially ordered in England.

The central place on the western wall of the office is occupied by a portrait of Count Vorontsov by Louise Dessemé.

Massive wooden doors are complemented by oak panels on the walls and a stucco wood-like ceiling. Against the wall is an antique ebony bookcase in the Boulle style, bought by the owner of the palace himself. The cabinet is decorated with tortoise shell and intricate carved bronze inlay.

Next to the bookcase there is a round table, English chairs and armchairs with Gothic carvings. This arrangement of furniture gives the office an atmosphere conducive not only to business conversations, but also to friendly meetings.

Another reminder of the Anglomania of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov is a window in the form of a bay window. This element, often found in English architecture, visually increases the space of the office and gives more light. A table covered with green cloth and two chairs were placed in the bay window. Sitting in a chair, you can admire the upper park, and in clear weather, the peaks of Ai-Petri.

"The Calico Room"

From the office we find ourselves in the Calico Room. It is called chintz because the walls of the room are actually covered with chintz.

There is original fabric on the walls, the only flaw of which is the faded color. Initially, the chintz was a crimson shade with small splashes of blue, which was combined with a fireplace made of pink Ural marble and a basket-shaped chandelier. The pinkish-blue reflections of the pendants on the chandelier echoed the color of the chintz on the walls.

We pass through the Calico Room into Chinese office of the mistress of the house Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova, whose portrait by George Dow can be seen on the right wall from the entrance.

Portrait of Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova, painted by George Dow.

"Chinese Cabinet"

The room is decorated in the then fashionable oriental style, but without any specific links to China, India or the countries of the East in general. Oak panels, high lancet windows and doors leading to the southern terrace, to the sea, unexpectedly but successfully combine with silk and beaded rice mats on the walls and wooden carved details in the interior.

The ceiling in the room is not wooden, as it might seem, but stucco. Russian peasant Roman Furtunov skillfully made a ceiling from plaster, imitating wood carving.

In the corner between the windows there is a most valuable piece of furniture, a small corner cabinet.

It is made in the shape of a turtle shell in the Boulle style, decorated with bronze, but what is especially valuable about it is that it was a gift from Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Nicholas I, as a token of gratitude for the hospitality he showed to the owners of the house in Alupka.

And a few lyrical digressions. Many people know from school that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was infatuated with the wife of the Novorossiysk governor-general. It is believed that it was to Elizaveta Vorontsova that Pushkin dedicated the poems “The Burnt Letter”, “The Rainy Day Has Extinguished...”, “The Desire for Glory”, “The Talisman”, “Keep Me, My Talisman...”.

There were rumors that it was Pushkin who was the father of one of Elizaveta Ksaveryevna’s daughters. However, researchers of the poet’s biography also have reason to assume that Pushkin was only a cover for Elizaveta Ksaveryevna’s affair with her relative and friend of Pushkin, Alexander Raevsky. In any case, we can say thanks to Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, who “contributed” to the change of the poet’s southern exile to exile in Mikhailovskoye. Because it was there that Alexander Sergeevich wrote not only the novel “Eugene Onegin,” but also his other poetic works, which became the pride of Russian literature. And by the way, the same researchers claim that Vorontsov himself had an illegitimate daughter with his wife’s best friend Olga Stanislavovna Naryshkina. Portraits of Olga Stanislavovna and her daughter were always kept among Vorontsov’s personal belongings and even stood on the desktop of the front office.

"Great Dining Room"

“The State Dining Room” is the most majestic hall of the Vorontsov Palace.

The area of ​​the dining room is about 150 sq.m., the ceiling height is 8 m. Under the Vorontsovs, it was illuminated by dozens of candelabra and chandeliers. A huge table, consisting of four offset parts with polished mahogany tops, rises on pedestals with animal paws and occupies a significant part of the room. By the window there is a massive sideboard on the same lion's paws as the tables, and under the sideboard there is an Egyptian-style bathtub for cooling wine, which was filled with crushed ice.

In the center of the northern wall of the formal dining room, between the fireplaces, there is a fountain, the niche of which is decorated with a majolica panel depicting fantastic birds and dragons. Above the fountain is a carved wooden balcony for musicians.

"Kitchen"

"Blue Living Room"

The living room is divided into southern and northern parts by retractable wooden curtains, which are almost invisible when folded. In the southern part there was an “auditorium”, which housed a set of furniture transported to Alupka at the end of the 19th century from the Odessa Palace. The interior is complemented by a carved fireplace made of white Carrara marble and huge vases - craters, painted in blue tones.

For musical evenings and theatrical performances, there is a grand piano in the northern part of the Blue Drawing Room. In 1863, one of the founders of the Russian realistic theater, Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin, performed here. In 1898, Fyodor Chaliapin sang in the Vorontsov Palace to the accompaniment of Sergei Rachmaninov.

"Billiard room"

There is a lot of wood here: paneling, ceiling, parquet flooring.

The sofas and chairs are upholstered in expensive olive green satin. There are many paintings on the walls. At that time, paintings by painters from Holland, Flanders, and Italy from the 16th to 18th centuries were especially valued.

From the Blue Living Room, the Vorontsovs' guests went out into the Winter Garden. In the 19th century, almost every European palace had its own winter garden, which was used for reading and relaxation.

"Winter Garden"

Near the glass wall, consisting of huge French windows, there is a row of marble busts, among which are sculptural portraits of representatives of the Vorontsov family - Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, Mikhail Semenovich himself and his wife Elizaveta Ksaryevna. Next to them is a marble bust of Catherine II by Johann Oesterreich. They say that for the excessive realism of her image in stone, the aging empress not only did not pay for the work, but also sent the sculptor out of Russia within 24 hours.

The winter garden serves as a transition from the central building to the dining room. Originally it was a loggia, which was later glazed and a large lantern was constructed on top for better illumination. The walls of the winter garden are covered with ficus repens. The fountain and marble sculptures stand surrounded by araucarias, cycads, date palms and monstera.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/u7-r7cK5dUE

"Vorontsovsky Park"

The work on creating the park, which began even somewhat earlier than the construction of the palace, in 1820, was entrusted to the chief gardener of the Southern Coast of Crimea Karl Antonovich Kebakh. When laying out the park, the abundance of mountain springs was taken into account, which were used to create artificial lakes, numerous cascades and small waterfalls. In this part of the park you can constantly hear the murmur of water.

Most of the paths in the Upper Park lead to lakes and the Big Chaos - a huge stone blockage of natural origin.

The largest lake in the park is Swan Lake. The gardener deliberately gave it an irregular shape to create the illusion of its natural rather than artificial origin. Under the Vorontsovs, the bottom of the lake was strewn with semi-precious “Koktebel stones” - jasper, carnelians, chalcedony, which were found in abundance in Koktebel.

Near Swan Lake is the Trout Pond and even further away is the Mirror Pond. On the Mirror Pond, the water seems motionless, which is why the trees and sky are reflected on its surface as if in a mirror.

To the east of the lakes in the landscape part of the park there are four picturesque meadows - Platanovaya, Solnechnaya, Contrastnaya, where Himalayan cedar and yew berry rise in the middle of the lawn, and Kashtanovaya.

Above the ponds, along the path through the Hall of Grottoes, between skillfully placed rock fragments, the path goes to the Greater and Lesser Chaos. Millions of years ago, frozen magma turned into a scattering of huge debris as a result of earthquakes and landslides. The creators of the park left the stone blocks untouched, they only removed small fragments and planted the top with pine trees. This is how the famous “Alupka chaos” turned out.

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea) is unique monument architecture and history, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. Next to the palace there is another...

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka: history of creation, photo, description, architect

From Masterweb

01.06.2018 20:00

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea) is a unique architectural and historical monument, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. Next to the palace there is another object, a monument of park and garden art, which was created over many years. About the history of the creation of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, the park next to it and interesting facts related to this place will be discussed in this essay.

History of construction. Start

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was built over two decades - from 1828 to 1848. It was intended for the Governor General Count Vorontsov M.S. as a summer residence. The author of the palace project was the famous English architect Edward Blore. E. Blore himself did not come to Alupka and made design calculations at home, but he was well aware of all the nuances concerning the local relief.

In addition, the foundation, as well as the first masonry of the portal niche in the central building, were already ready. This was due to the fact that the palace was initially supposed to be built according to a different project, the authors of which were T. Harrison and F. Boffo.

All work on the construction of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was carried out by ordinary serfs from the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. Real craftsmen, hereditary skilled stonecutters and masons, were involved in the construction. They had extensive experience in the field of relief decoration, acquired during the construction of white stone cathedrals. Absolutely all work was carried out manually, using the simplest tools.

Continued construction

After the architect of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, E. Blor, completed work on the project, the workers began construction of the building. From 1830 to 1834, the construction of the building in which the dining room was located lasted. From 1831 to 1837, the most important building, the central building, was built. From 1841 to 1842, a billiard room was built, attached to the dining room building. In 1838-1844, the eastern wings, the guest building, as well as all the palace towers and the pentagon of economic buildings were built. The very last building to be erected was the library building (from 1842 to 1846), at the same time the decoration of the front yard was being completed.

The largest volume of earthworks was carried out in the period from 1840 to 1848. Soldiers of a separate sapper battalion created park terraces near the southern facade of the palace. In the summer of 1848, workers installed lion sculptures on the central staircase that leads to the main entrance. These figures were created by the Italian master D. Bonnani, a famous sculptor of that time. The installation of these figures not only gave the name to the terrace (lion terrace), but also completed the construction, finishing and decoration of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka.

Palace architecture

The palace of Count Vorontsov was built, in comparison with classicism, according to completely new construction and architectural principles. An important and one of the main architectural features was that it was located according to the relief of the mountains. Thanks to this innovation, the building blends extremely organically with the surrounding landscape. This amazing combination helped give the entire complex a unique artistic image.

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was built in the spirit of the English canons of architecture, while there is eclecticism in both the decoration and the building itself. For example, you can see elements from different eras - from the early periods of architecture to the 16th-17th centuries. The elements originate from the western gate - the closer to extreme point palace, especially the later one architectural style will be revealed to your eyes.

The neo-Moorish style goes well with English Gothic. For example, chimneys made in the Gothic style resemble minarets. The southern entrance of the palace is made in oriental style. The horseshoe-shaped arch, two-tier vault, Arabic-style carvings, which are intertwined with a Tudor flower pattern (English rose), are harmoniously combined with Arabic script, made on a gold frieze.

Palace interior

The interiors of the palace have been preserved almost in their original form. It is worth noting that each room has an individual finish, which creates a unique image of the room. A description of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka and its interiors will take a lot of time, but it is necessary to briefly talk about them.

The lobby immediately takes you back to Russia in the 19th century. Its walls are decorated with large portraits of Catherine II, as well as members of the count's family. The room has a fireplace made in the English style, the floor is covered with parquet made of precious wood, the walls and ceiling are also decorated with wood.

Front office

The count's front office is very spacious, but very restrained in design and decoration. In the room there are many portraits of military generals who were his comrades in the War of 1812. The office is decorated with wood and fabric, and there is also a fireplace. The furniture is very exquisite; it was ordered from the best European craftsmen of that time.

The office successfully combines various styles, such as Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque. From the windows of the office there is a magnificent view of Mount Ai-Petri. Count Vorontsov loved this office very much and spent a lot of time here working with documents.

Calico reception room and Chinese office

Photos inside the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka show all the beauty of the halls, including the chintz reception room. The walls of this cozy room are covered with fabric, painted in warm colors with a beautiful pattern. Initially, it was an office in crimson tones by E. K. Vorontsova, but later it was remodeled. The parquet in this room is made of different types of wood that have different colors. There are portraits and landscapes on the walls, and the office itself is furnished with furniture by Italian masters.

The Chinese cabinet is designed in soft orange tones and trimmed with wood and fabric. The furniture and interior elements, however, are not Chinese, but English, so the office can be conditionally called Chinese. This room contains several portraits, a fireplace in the Baroque style, as well as exquisite parquet flooring to match the walls.

Blue living room and boudoir

The blue (artistic) living room amazes with its beauty. However, initially this hall was called Turkish and was designed in oriental colors. The composition of the blue living room is perfectly complemented by the snow-white stucco ornament on the azure ceiling and walls. The hall has a white stone fireplace, made in the Renaissance style. The living room is furnished with magnificent furniture in white, inlaid with gold and upholstered in yellow silk. The furniture is complemented by large, chic blue vases and a snow-white piano, also inlaid with gold leaf.

The boudoir is small in size, but, like the previous room, it has a classic style. The light color of the walls harmonizes with the parquet, and comfortable upholstered furniture immediately speaks of the purpose of the room. On the walls there are portraits of family members and mirrors in beautiful carved frames.

State dining room

Looking at the photo of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, we will see a complex of buildings, one of which is the dining room building. This room has 150 m2 of area and eight-meter ceilings. The dining room is in Tudor Gothic style. The carved wooden ceiling successfully conveys the shape of the Gothic ceilings.

The style of carving, pattern and color of the ceiling absolutely accurately replicate the design of the wall panels, doorway finials and window frames. All the pomp and grandeur of the formal dining room is emphasized by the furniture. Four large tables are pushed together, their tops made of mahogany. The table legs are made of oak and carved in the shape of animal paws.

Around the table there are more than 20 chairs made of noble trees, with floral carvings and upholstery in French fabric. The dining room has large fireplaces in English style. Along the walls there are sideboards and tables for serving guests.

Right there, in the dining room, there is a small fountain recessed into a niche. It is decorated with white and blue tiles, as well as paintings. Above the fountain is a wooden balcony where musicians were stationed to play for guests.

Palace Park

The Vorontsov Palace and the park in Alupka were built simultaneously, but it took a lot of time. A talented gardener and botanist from Germany, K. A. Kebach, worked on the creation of this masterpiece of park and garden art from the end of 1824 to mid-1851. The palace park is part of the museum exhibition part, the total area of ​​which is 361,913 m2. It is a monument of national importance, striking in its beauty.

The creator of the park managed to collect plants from all over the world and ensure that they coexist peacefully. The park itself is divided into lower and upper parts. On the upper part there are sunny, chestnut and contrasting meadows. Each of them grows different types of plants and trees (oriental plane tree, Italian pine, berry yew, Chilean araucaria, Himalayan cedar, etc.). In addition, here is Swan Lake with these beautiful birds, as well as a waterfall and two lakes – Mirror and Verkhneye. At the bottom of the park there is a small tea house surrounded by beautiful trees and plants.

History of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka

The palace belonged to three generations of the Vorontsov family, but after the October Revolution it was nationalized. In 1921, the palace and park were opened as a museum. In 1941, after the start of the Great Patriotic War, the exhibits in the museum did not have time to be evacuated, just like from other Crimean museums.

The museum could have been destroyed twice, but miraculously this did not happen, but the Nazis managed to take away a large number of valuable exhibits. After the war, the curator of the museum, S. G. Shchekoldin, presented an inventory, from which it followed that the damage caused amounted to about five million rubles (at that time a colossal amount).

The Vorontsov Palace became the residence of British Prime Minister W. Churchill during the Yalta Conference, which took place in early February 1945.

After the war, for 10 years the palace was used as a state dacha, and since 1956 it was returned to the status of a museum and opened to visitors. In 1990, the complex was given the status of a palace and park museum-reserve.

Sculptures of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka

A winter garden was created in one of the halls of the palace. It contains a huge number of exotic tropical plants brought from South America and from the islands of Oceania. A neat white marble fountain was created in the center of this garden, and sculptures were placed throughout the hall.

The composition is created from famous copies of sculptures from ancient times and the Renaissance. Among them are statues: bathing Aphrodite, Apollo Belvedere, sculptures “Girl”, “First Steps” and the muse of astronomy - Urania. The stone is processed so perfectly that the statues seem very realistic.

On the other side of the winter garden there is a composition of busts famous people of that time and family members. For example, Catherine II, Count Vorontsov himself, his wife and father. All sculptures are harmoniously combined with both the interior of the hall and the beautiful plants.

Wealth of exhibits

In the photo, the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka amazes with its monumentality, elegance and architectural aesthetics. In addition to its beauty, this palace will surprise the visitor with its exhibits, which are exhibited in the guest building, in the halls of the main building and in the tea house. Here you will be able to see paintings by famous painters and furnishings of that time.

The museum's exposition includes about 27,000 exhibits in the main collection alone, as well as the rich library of Count Vorontsov, numbering more than 10,000 volumes. In addition, here you can see a rich variety of plants, as well as enjoy views of the park itself and Mount Ai-Petri.

Once in Crimea, you should definitely go to Alupka and visit the Vorontsov Palace. The impressions from the trip will amaze you, leaving pleasant memories of this excursion for life.

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Palace M.S. Vorontsov in Alupka is one of the most famous attractions of the Crimean peninsula. It is at the foot of mountain range Ai-Petri. The beautiful park surrounding it, like the palace itself, has been a museum since 1956.

Photo of Vorontsov Palace:

Palace architecture

The style in which the building was built is a combination of English and neo-Moorish styles; they not only combine perfectly with each other, but also perfectly take into account the surrounding terrain. The author of the project, the English architect Edward Blore, managed to organically combine elements of the English style from the ancient period to the 16th century, which is observed in its western part. Oriental elements are presented at the South Entrance, where the horseshoe arch and two-tiered vault are richly decorated with carvings. There is even an Arabic text that says: “and there is no winner but Allah.” The chimneys in this part resemble the towers of minarets.

Historical reference

The Vorontsov Palace took 20 years to build, in 1828 - 48. for Count M.S. Vorontsov, who was at that time the governor of the Novorossiysk region. Architects F. Boro and T. Harrison began construction. The English architect E. Blore replaced them after the sudden death of Harrison. He never came, he only studied the area well, on the basis of which he created his masterpiece. The construction was supervised by U. Gunt, his student.

Interesting:
The palace was built by serfs from the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. When performing the most complex relief decoration, only manual labor and primitive tools were used.

The first was in 1830 - 34. a dining building was erected, construction was completed in 1840 - 46. library building. At the same time, in 1840 - 48 Large-scale work was carried out to build the park. Even sapper soldiers were involved in the construction of terraces at the southern facade.

The park was created by the German K.A. from 1824 to 1851. Kebakh, who was the main gardener of the entire South Coast. The park area is 40 hectares. More than 200 plant species are represented here.

Interesting:
20 bags of semi-precious stones were poured into the bottom of Swan Lake, which adorns the park, to create an extraordinary play of light in sunny weather.

The final point in the creation of a magnificent garden and park ensemble was the installation of marble lions created by Italian masters on the central staircase at the main entrance.

A little about the customer and the first owner

Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov is best known to us from a not very flattering side. And this, thanks to the caustic epigrams of A.S. Pushkin, who was under his supervision during his southern exile. And really, how can you treat someone whose wife you are in love with without reciprocity? So our great poet took it out on Elizaveta Ksaveryevna’s husband with all his fervor. Every schoolchild is familiar with Pushkin’s characterization of the general:

Half my lord, half merchant,
Half-sage, half-ignorant,
Semi-scoundrel, but there is hope
Which will be complete at last.

In reality, M.S. Vorontsov is an intelligent, respectable person and a true hero. It is no coincidence that his figure is presented on the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia. He was born into a famous family, Catherine II became his godmother. The young man received his (brilliant) education in London, where his father served as an envoy.

Having begun military service at the age of 21, he participated in many battles. Here are just a few of them:

• - 1804 - storming of the Ganja fortress in the Caucasus;
• - 1809 - storming of the Bazardzhik fortress in the Balkans;
• - 1812 - Borodino (bayonet wound in hand-to-hand combat);
• - 1813 - battle near Leipzig;
• - 1814 - capture of Paris.

M.S. Vorontsov led the occupation forces in Paris, and when they left France, he collected information about the debts of officers and soldiers to the local population and compensated everything from his personal funds (almost 1,500,000 of those rubles), selling one of his estates for this.

He did a lot for the economic development of Bessarabia, Odessa, Crimea, the Novorossiysk region, and all of Southern Russia.

Military service M.S. Vorontsov continued in the Caucasus in 1844. For his successes he received the title of prince, then, his Serene Highness, the rank of field marshal general, the position of the Caucasian governor.

Personal qualities of M.S. Vorontsova.

He was a bibliophile and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He had a unique library, which his father and his own aunt E.R. began to collect. Dashkova.

His awards for military and public services make up a huge list, among them

• St. George Cross of three degrees (for personal courage);
• - 2 golden swords (for bravery),
• — Order of St. Vladimir;
• — Alexander Nevsky;
• — Andrew the First-Called and many more Russian and foreign orders and awards.

He was loved by the soldiers, for whom he abolished physical punishment, was easy to handle and approachable with them, and was loved and respected by the officers. After his death, a sad saying was born among the military: “God is high, the Tsar is far away, but Vorontsov died.”

There are several monuments to the general, created with money collected by people grateful to him. He died in 1856 and was buried in Odessa. WITH military honors in 2005, his ashes and the ashes of his wife were transferred to the Transfiguration Cathedral.
In general, the great poet was wrong.

Governor General's Palace

Today the Southern Coast of Crimea is a luxurious and popular resort destination, and in the first years XIX V. he was just gaining fame. Russian landowners developed fertile places, and M.S. was no exception. Vorontsov is one of the richest people of his time. His choice fell on the small Tatar village of Alupka.

What attracted the Novorossiysk Governor-General? Of course, the same thing that modern tourists highly value:

• - healing climate;
• — luxurious landscapes;
• - warm sea;
• - surrounding springs.

The architects paid tribute to the love of M.S. Vorontsov to everything English, but at the same time they emphasized the recent Turkish influence that remained in Crimea. All this is taken into account in a harmonious mixture of English and oriental styles, participation in the formation of the image of the palace of the Ai-Petri mountain range has not been forgotten.

Interesting:
To increase seismic resistance, lead is poured into the foundation slabs.

Continuation of a story

After the death of the owner, the palace passed to his nephews, Pavel Andreevich Shuvalov, then Mikhail Andreevich. The last owner was the granddaughter of M.S. Vorontsova Elizaveta Andreevna Vorontsova-Dashkova.

During the Soviet period, the estate was nationalized. At first there was a NKVD dacha here, and in 1921 a museum began operating in the palace.

During the Great Patriotic War, the exhibits did not have time to be evacuated; 4,980,000 rubles worth of rarities were exported to Germany (in 1945 terms)

Interesting:
The museum was twice saved from destruction by S.G. Shchekoldin, a museum employee appointed by the Germans as its director. He prevented an explosion from dynamite planted by the NKVD. He managed to save the building from air bombs. He also provided a list of stolen items. BUT! He was sentenced “for collaboration with the occupiers” to 10 years. Rehabilitated only in 1991.

In February 1945, during the Yalta Conference, a British delegation led by W. Churchill lived in the palace. Until 1955 there was a state dacha here.

Since 1956 it has been a museum, and since 1990 a museum-reserve, including a park and a palace.

Palace interiors

The building has 150 rooms located in 5 buildings. It also combines elements of English style and oriental motifs.

The rooms are symmetrical, their doors are opposite each other. Each room has a fireplace, and there are portraits of famous people and landscapes on the walls. The sculptures in the greenhouse are depictions of family members of the first owner.

In 1914, electricity appeared in the palace.

Currently, 10 rooms on the ground floor are available to visitors. They practically preserved the original interior. These are the ceremonial rooms where the owners received guests, and the greenhouse. Some of the furniture is original. The rest are selected with such skill that they do not disturb the overall picture.

Interesting:
The parquet flooring of the palace is authentic - it is almost 200 years old.

Video review of the palace:

Tourist Information

In addition to the main exhibition, visitors are offered the following exhibitions:

• - butler's apartment;
• — Vorontsov’s kitchen;
• - Shuvalov's house;
• - park sculpture
• and a number of others.

Important:
You can buy tickets for each exhibition separately, but it is more profitable to buy a single ticket for 650 rubles. Children under 16 years old visit the palace for free. Students, pensioners and citizens 16-18 years old for 325 rubles.

You can ride around the park in an electric car. The cost of such an excursion is 800 rubles for the entire group (from 4 to 20 people.) Excursion services are also provided in the museum.

The main exhibition is open seven days a week from 8:00 to 20:00. The remaining exhibitions are closed on Monday and Wednesday.

Detailed and up-to-date information on the palace website: http://worontsovpalace.org (official website)

How to get to Vorontsov Palace

Buses go here from Yalta central bus station. Go to the stop " Alupka Palace" Continue through the park on foot. You can take a minibus to the local bus station and, following the signs, walk 850 m. You can take a boat on the sea - this is an additional pleasure and experience. Then from the beach uphill. Address: Alupka, Dvortsovoye Highway, 18.

Vorontsov Palace on the map of Crimea

GPS Coordinates: N 44.419861, E 34.055972 Latitude/Longitude