Vorontsov Palace in Crimea: features, history and location

If we talk about the architectural monuments of Crimea, the first to come to mind is the famous Vorontsov Palace in Alupka. Even those who have never been there, only when looking at the photos can note that the beauty of this structure in the context of an equally impressive park towering over the Black Sea does not need to be assessed. I just want to see it with my own eyes!

The Vorontsov Palace is undoubtedly one of the outstanding examples of romanticism architecture. The Crimean residence of Count Vorontsov (by whose name we know the building today) took about two decades to build. In 1848, the palace finally saw the light of day.

Who is this Count Vorontsov? Information about him is eloquent: governor-general, aristocrat, Anglomaniac, count. He personally determined the place where his palace would be. A man, of course, with taste and analytical mind, decided that he could not find a better stone cape near Mount Ai-Petri. At the same time, today the city of Alupka is widely known, and at that time it was an ordinary Tatar village.

To carry out the work, the count decided to invite a by no means a local architect; the British Edward Blore (famous for the construction of Walter Scott's castle in Scotland) was honored to build the residences. He was the court architect of the English monarchs. Therefore, Blore built the future pearl of the Crimea in a stylistic plexus, where the English style was clearly guessed.

The Governor-General did not come immediately to the decision to invite Blore.Francesco Boffo, an eminent Italian master, was to become the author of the residence. And this choice was quite logical - it was he who built the Count's palace in Odessa. And the British Thomas Harrison, an admirer of neoclassicism, a very talented engineer, was chosen as Boffo's assistants. But in 1828, construction began, and a year later Harrison died. At the time of work, they calmed down, and the idea of ​​neoclassicism, apparently, seemed to Vorontsov not so interesting.

And so the count decides to turn to Blore, a very fashionable graphic artist in his circles, the historian of architecture. The eminent Briton was in no hurry with the presentation of the drawings, Vorontsov had to wait about a year. And here is the result: the Count likes Blore's ideas; in 1832, construction continues. The Governor-General did not regret that he trusted the Englishman: the architect managed to create a masterpiece in which there is nothing accidental.

The image of the palace demonstrates how medieval European and Moorish architecture developed. The building is deployed so that the features of the mountains visible from behind are guessed.

One of the hallmarks of the palace (and he has many of them) are the majestic lions. Three pairs of lions sit as if guarding a monumental staircase of precious white marble. Also noteworthy is the design of the palace, in which one can guess Tudor England, friezes with an inscription in Arabic, a keeled pointed arch, which can be guessed both in the lattice at the roof, and in the cast-iron balustrade. The palace really fascinated with every step taken along its square.

Finally, it is interesting that it was made extremely modern in the sense that it was the first palace in Russia with running water, hot water and sewerage. And this is the middle of the 19th century! Of course, the reader will have a question - what is the budget for this luxury? 9 million rubles in silver, a huge amount at that time. But the count, who married Elizaveta Branitskaya, had such opportunities. By the way, Vorontsov's wife herself followed the progress of the work, closely watched the decor of the park.

If you can't wait to be there, you need to get to Alupka, this is Crimea... There is a palace, as already mentioned, at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri.

Alupka, a city located on the southern coast of Crimea, is a seaside climatic resort. Once Alupka belonged to the Ottoman sultans, for some time it was owned by Prince Grigory Potemkin. Count Vorontsov became the owner of the village in 1823. In addition to the palace, the Governor-General built a mosque and a church in his possession.

After the Civil War, 22 health resorts operated on this territory. By the way, Gorky, Chaliapin, Bunin, Bryusov, Rachmaninov and others were treated in them. Alupka became a city in 1938.

On the map you can see that the city is located near Yalta. Indeed, there is only 17 km between the two settlements. The main attraction of Alupka is the palace itself, as well as the park adjacent to it. And also, if you go to this address, do not be lazy to visit the museum-apartment of Arkhip Kuindzhi.

Geographically, Alupka is a Yalta urban district. The town is located between Yalta and Sevastopol. This means that the excursion program will be extensive and interesting for the tourist. Buses run from Simferopol to Yalta every 20-40 minutes. If you arrived at the Crimean airport, you do not need the Central Bus Station, from where the buses go, but the Simferopol-Airport station.

There is also such an option as a trolleybus Simferopol - Yalta. By the way, this option is notable for the fact that it itself is a retro-excursion.

The airport is located in Simferopol, so if you are flying, the point of arrival is this beautiful city. A shuttle service can be booked directly from the airport. However, do it in advance.

From Yalta by minibus to get to Alupka for about half an hour. The road from Sevastopol will take a little more than an hour.

The palace was built from diabase - a natural, actually local stone (by the way, twice as strong as granite). It would seem that such a massive material should have made the palace heavy, even clumsy. But nothing of the kind!

What to see inside the castle.

• Chinese cabinet. This is the property of the count's wife, E. Vorontsova. It was not just a study, but also a boudoir, because the lady's character in the room is very guessed. The windows open onto the south terraces, the doors open onto the veranda. The name of the room is not embedded in every centimeter of the room, except that the panels decorated with rice mats give a reference to the word "Chinese". A Chinese motif is carefully embroidered on them with beads and silk thread: over time, of course, it faded, but the work of Russian embroiderers is visible and admires to this day. A lot in the office is decorated with wood carvings. The ceiling is decorated with stucco molding.

Entering here, the visitor's eyes run up - this is not at all a modest office of a writer or an official, this is a place where each carved figurine of an animal or flower is a small work of art.

• The front office. Despite its name, it looks more modest than the Chinese one. Just Spartan conditions regarding those expectations that have already arisen in the head of the visitor. But here, too, there is a fireplace made of the notorious Ural marble, a large bay window, and wooden panels. The count was a real Anglomaniac, and this office is a vivid confirmation of this. Restraint that does not contradict the style - this is how the ceremonial office can be characterized. While in this room, take the trouble to look up: the ceiling is gorgeous, it is painted under a tree on alabaster.

• Printed living room. The room serves as a connector for two offices - the Chinese one and the main one. The walls of the room are distinguished by chintz decoration, the style is French rococo. The chintz was not replaced with an analogue, these are the same walls that were under the owners of the palace. Of course, time made them pale a little, but not so much that it was impossible to appreciate the original beauty.

• Front lobby... And here is a reference to the earl's favorite English style. You enter through the front door, you find yourself in a large ceremonial room, which immediately makes you respect. As the visitors of the palace admit, one involuntarily wants to dignify within such walls. There is relatively little furniture in the lower part of the room, as well as two fireplaces with polished marble stylized. In the upper part are the owners, all the Vorontsovs, as well as the royal family. The portraits, as befits, are huge, ceremonial. Decor - sconces, candelabra.

• Front dining room... This is where the richness of the furnishings literally catches your eye. It seems that you find yourself in a medieval knight's castle. The room is a bit dark, although the bay windows are not conducive to that. The main decor is the same perfect wood carving: the ceiling, panels, as well as sideboards, sideboard. The ponderous long mahogany table with chairs in a row is also impressive.The bright red copper chandelier, as well as the curtains, which are surprisingly in harmony with the upholstery of the chairs, also attracts attention. There is a special balcony for the musicians, again, a carved wooden one. In this room there are also two fireplaces with diabase very fine finishes.

• Blue living room... Even if all the other rooms did not make you breathe more often and blink less often, the famous blue living room falls in love at first sight. Another name for the room is Siraskirskaya. The walls and ceiling of the room are decorated with an ornament. White stucco molding with plant motifs on a delicate background of a blue hue looks amazing. It covers not only the walls, but also the ceiling. The windows are located at the end of the room, which explores so much space and light that there is a complete feeling of being in the fresh air. This room was adjoined by an artistic room, which became famous only for a wall mirror in a massive baroque frame, an armchair and candelabra.

• Winter Garden. Initially, it was a gallery, and then a fountain began to purr, copies of antique sculptures and portraits of a family took their places. The heat-loving plants that are found here are unique. Ficus-repens is a real long-liver of the winter garden, which has found its original appearance.

• Turkish room. This is the southern vestibule, a small room with two real Persian rugs. One of them is skillfully embroidered with a Persian shah. The work was done in the stained glass technique of an unusual butt seam: today the information on how exactly the woven colored fragments of the master were connected is lost.

It is difficult to say who else is able to repeat this beauty without resorting to the possibilities of our time. This is a unique Russian estate, eclectic, verified in its stylistic persuasiveness to the smallest element.

Unfortunately, the heirs of Count Vorontsov could not themselves, without the insidious intervention of time, preserve the palace in all its splendor. At the end of the 19th century, the luxurious building fell into decay. But the new owners, who appeared at the palace in 1904, also related to Vorontsov, got down to business with an enviable grip. The lands of Countess Vorontsova-Dashkova were surrendered for boarding schools and sanatoriums.

When the Soviets came to power, the lands of the estate were nationalized. Lenin ordered the protection of art treasures, and soon a museum was opened in the palace. But his collection suffered greatly during the war, and the invaders managed to take out a lot.

A modern visitor can visit the exposition "The Main Halls of the Main Building", as well as the exposition "The House of Count A.P. Shuvalov". Also today you can see the Butler's apartment, the sculpture of the South Terraces, Vorontsov's kitchen.

These places, seaside, romantic, always attracting with their historical mystery, some timelessness, come from afar, ordinary tourists, people of art and novice artists, students and pensioners. Of course, if you are prepared for the visit, if the information base is already there, the excursion itself will seem to you more interesting, full of the smallest details and immersion in history. Probably, this will entail a desire to visit other glorious places, structures, buildings of the same era.

For an overview of the Vorontsov Palace, see the video below.