Vorontsov Palace. Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, Crimea

16.10.2019

In 1823, the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, became governor-general of the Novorossiysk region, which at that time included Crimea. The development of Crimea owes a lot to this strong-willed and energetic person. Under his leadership, a highway is being built on the southern coast of Crimea, rapid development The agricultural and especially wine industries are benefiting, and the number of industrial enterprises is growing rapidly. The history of the Black Sea shipping company began in 1828. During these same years, the count was actively buying land from the local Tatar population and dreaming of creating his own palace.

Construction of the palace lasted for 20 years.

After the death of Thomas Harisson in 1829 in 1831, Count Vorontsov suddenly ordered to stop the construction of the palace and radically change the neoclassical style of the palace. The Count invites one of the most talented architects of that time, Edward Blore. According to the architect's idea, the palace is being built in the English Gothic style. In the same year, construction of the main building begins. The building material for the construction of the walls was diabase, a rock of volcanic origin that is several times stronger than granite. Deposits of this stone are found in abundance nearby. Diabase is very difficult to process, but this does not stop Count Vorontsov, because he was the richest man in the country and more than 60,000 serfs worked under his leadership. Even a sapper battalion took part in the excavation work, whose soldiers worked on the construction of terraces on the southern side of the facade.

Interesting fact: the architect Blore never visited the construction site. He got his entire idea of the terrain from numerous drawings and engravings.

In 1948, construction of the palace came to an end. The Vorontsov Palace consists of five buildings, decorated with towers, which are connected by various passages, stairs and courtyards. The architect managed to organically fit the buildings stretched from west to east into the mountainous landscape of the area. Externally, the palace very much resembles a family feudal castle in England.

Palace interiors

The interiors of the Vorontsov Palace are in no way inferior to the Livadia Palace in the luxury of its decoration. The decoration of the rooms has been almost completely preserved. Each room, and there are about 150 of them, is designed in a personal style. The materials that were used in the decoration are reflected in the names of the rooms. The Chinese cabinet is decorated with the finest rice straw, decorative elements are embroidered with beads and silk. The decoration of the Chintz room is skillfully made from this fabric. The brightest room of the Vorontsov Palace is the Blue Living Room, the highlight of which is the stucco ornament in the form of petals and leaves. There are about three thousand of them in total and each of them is different from the other. The fireplaces of the palace are a separate masterpiece of architectural art. In each room they are unique and made of different materials.

Alupka Park

The Vorontsov Palace is located on the territory of Alupka Park, which is a pearl of landscape design. This masterpiece was created by the Chief Gardener South Bank Crimea Karl Antonovich Kebakh for 25 years. The park spreads over an area of 40 hectares. More than two hundred species of plants grow here, which were brought from the regions of Northern and South America, Mediterranean. Geographically it is divided into Upper and Lower parks. The park is designed in such a way that it complements local nature. Three reservoirs have been artificially created in the park.

Interesting fact: To decorate the bottom 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 attraction of the park is the piles of stones from solidified magma, thrown out by the volcano back in time immemorial, called “Great Chaos” and “Little Chaos”. Also built in the park a large number of fountains.

clearing in the park

Interesting facts about Vorontsov Palace

The palace was owned by three generations of the Vorontsov family. The cost of laying out the park is twice as high as the construction of the palace itself. In 1910, up to 36,000 rubles were spent on maintaining the park, a huge amount at that time. The Vorontsov Palace is one of the first buildings in Russia where sewerage and water supply were built for comfortable living. Since 1921 in palace complex there is a museum. Only after the Great Patriotic War, for about 10 years, the territory of the Vorontsov Palace was a secret object and there was a dacha for the party leadership here. During the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the British delegation led by William Churchill lived in the Vorontsov Palace. There is an interesting story connected with it that happened during a walk in Churchill and Stalin Park. The fact is that the staircase on the side of the facade, which faces the sea, is decorated with sculptures of guarding lions. Churchill, who really liked the sculpture of the sleeping lion, said that it looked like himself and offered Stalin to buy it. Stalin refused this proposal, but suggested to Churchill that if he answered his question correctly, Stalin would give him a sleeping lion. “Which finger on your hand is the main one?” - that was Stalin’s question. Churchill replied, “Of course the index finger.” “Wrong,” Stalin answered and twisted a figure from his fingers, which is popularly called a fig.

For more than a hundred years, one of the favorite and popular attractions of Crimea, created by man, is the amazingly beautiful Vorontsov Palace. In the middle of the 19th century, it was the residence of the famous Russian count, and today it has become a museum visited by tourists not only from Russia and Ukraine, but also from foreign countries. History of the palace

In 1828, in Crimea, in Alupka near Mount Ai-Petri, they began to build the residence of Count M. S. Vorontsov, a prominent Russian figure, and part-time governor-general of the Novorossiysk region. They didn’t even build a house or a mansion, but a huge palace from the strongest diabase, which was mined nearby. The residence project was developed by the English architect Edward Blore. The Englishman had never been to Crimea, but before starting to create the project, he studied the relief of the mountainous area from books and drawings.

Construction of the palace took twenty years. It was truly a grandiose construction site, where soldiers from the sapper battalion and serfs from the Moscow and Vladimir provinces worked. They did all the menial work, but were not allowed to cut stones - this was done by hereditary stonecutters who took part in the construction of white stone Moscow palaces.

Palace architecture

The palace was built gradually, building by building. First they built the dining room, then the central building and added a billiard room to it. After this, the eastern wings, guest and utility buildings, and palace towers appeared. Construction ended with the design of the Main Courtyard and the construction of the library.

It is not for nothing that the architect studied the local landscape so scrupulously - he managed to position the palace according to the relief of the mountains and make it seem like one with them. You see him and understand that he is really in the right place.

The architect created the palace in the English style, mixing several eras at once, the latest of which is the 16th century. In this case, the elements are arranged chronologically - the closer to the gate, the older the style. There is Gothic here, there is classicism, there is the richness of the East: arches, vaults, inscriptions in Arabic.

Is it worth talking about the richness of the palace’s interiors? Expensive wood, natural stones, and precious metals were used in their design. Each room was decorated in a special way, in the spirit of a certain era or country. For example, there is a Calico Room, a Chinese Study, and a Blue Living Room. The dining room is like in a medieval castle - it is decorated with giant panels and rich wood carvings.

The fate of the palace

Until the revolution, the Vorontsovs owned the palace. But when the government changed in the country, the owner of the famous castle also changed - it was nationalized, and in 1921 a museum was opened here.

During the war, they did not have time to remove the most valuable exhibits from here, and they went to the occupiers. The Germans transported to Germany collections of paintings, antique utensils, figurines and other things that the Vorontsovs had once owned. Some paintings were returned after the war, but most of them ended up in private collections.

Winston Churchill himself was able to appreciate the decoration of the Vorontsov Palace - during the Yalta Conference the palace was his residence.

From 1945 to 1955 the palace was a government dacha, and from 1956 to the present day it has been a museum-reserve.

What do they show tourists?

Visitors begin their tour of the palace with a unique park, which was created by the gardener-botanist Karl Kebach back in the days of the Counts Vorontsov. For more than 25 years, on an area of 360 thousand square meters, he bred and grew the rarest flowers and shrubs. The garden is also decorated with stone lions, created specially by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonnani.

Today, in the halls of the palace, several exhibitions are constantly running that tell about the palace itself and the Vorontsov family. It also displays works of art that were saved and returned. In total, the palace has 27 thousand exhibits, and the library, which Count Vorontsov himself began to collect, contains more than 10 thousand books!

The material was prepared by Yulia Savoskina.

Palace architecture

The Vorontsov Palace was built according to new (compared to classicism) architectural and construction principles. An important architectural feature was the location of the palace in accordance with the mountain topography, thanks to which the palace blended very organically into the surrounding landscape and acquired its original artistic and expressive image.

The palace was built in the spirit of English architecture, and the construction contains elements of various eras, from early forms to the 16th century. The arrangement of elements starts from the western gate - the further from the gate, the later the style of construction.

The English style is organically combined with the neo-Moorish style. For example, Gothic chimneys resemble mosque minarets. The southern entrance is decorated with oriental splendor. A horseshoe-shaped arch, a two-tiered vault, plaster carvings in a niche where a Tudor flower pattern and a lotus motif are intertwined, culminate in the Arabic inscription repeated six times across the frieze: “And there is no victor except Allah.”

History of construction

The palace was built from 1828 to 1848 as summer residence a prominent statesman of Russia, Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, Count M. S. Vorontsov.

The palace was built according to the design of the English architect Edward Blore. The architect did not come to Alupka, but he was well aware of the terrain. In addition, the foundations and the first masonry of the deep portal niche of the central building were already ready (the palace began to be built according to another project - by architects Francesco Boffo and Thomas Harrison).

In the construction of the palace, the labor of quitrent serfs from the Vladimir and Moscow provinces was mainly used. Hereditary masons and stone cutters who had experience in the construction and relief decoration of white stone cathedrals were involved in the construction. All work was done by hand, using primitive tools.

The construction of the palace began with the dining building (1830-1834). The central building was erected in 1831-1837. In 1841-1842, a billiard room was added to the dining room. In 1838-1844, the guest building, the eastern wings, all the towers of the palace, the pentagon of utility buildings were built, and the Main Courtyard was designed. The last building to be built was the library building (1842 - 1846).

The largest volume of earthworks was carried out from 1840 to 1848 with the help of soldiers of the sapper battalion, who built the terraces of the park in front of the southern facade of the palace.

In the summer of 1848, sculptural figures of lions were installed on the central staircase leading to the main entrance, made in the workshop of the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonnani. The Lion's Terrace completed the construction and decoration of the palace and park ensemble.

History of the palace after construction

Before the October Revolution, the Vorontsov Palace belonged to three generations of the Vorontsov family.

After the advent of Soviet power, the Vorontsov Palace was nationalized.

In mid-1921, the Vorontsov Palace opened as a museum.

In 1941, the Great Patriotic War began. There was no time to evacuate the museum exhibits from Alupka, as well as from many other museums in Crimea. Twice the museum was threatened with destruction, and both times it was saved by the museum’s senior researcher S.G. Shchekoldin. The occupiers took away many artistic values, including 537 works of painting and graphics, and only a small part of the paintings were found after the war and returned to the palace. This is written in detail in the book written based on Shchekoldin’s memoirs, “What Lions Are Silent About.”

From 4 to 11 February 1945, during the Yalta Conference, the Vorontsov Palace became the residence of the British delegation led by Winston Churchill.

From 1945 to 1955 it was used as a state summer house.

In 1956, by decision of the government, a museum began to function in the palace again.

Since 1990 - Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve.

Palace interiors

The ceremonial interiors of the palace have almost completely preserved their original decoration. Each of the rooms is individual, has its own unique flavor, reflected in the names: Chinese Cabinet, Calico Room, Winter Garden, Blue living room. The decoration of the State Dining Room resembles the decoration of the knights' halls in medieval castles. It is decorated with rich wood carvings and four monumental panels by the famous French artist Hubert Robert (1733-1808).

Alupka Park

A masterpiece of landscape art - Alupka Park. Its creator, gardener-botanist Karl Antonovich Kebach (1799-1851), was involved in planning and planting plants in the park for more than a quarter of a century. The park, being a park-monument of national importance, is included in the exhibition part of the museum territory, which totals 361,913 m².

Museum expositions

Currently, in the Alupka Museum there are several permanent exhibitions. Nine state rooms introduce you to the life of the first owners of the palace and the character of the palace interiors of the 30-40s of the 19th century. In the former guest building there is a permanent exhibition “Vorontsov Family Gallery”. “The Gift of Professor V.N.” is exhibited in separate rooms. Golubev" (Russian and Soviet avant-garde), painting by Ya. A. Basov "Poetry of Landscape", art exhibitions "Ukrainian Painting", "Inhaling the Scent of Roses" (flowers in painting). In the park pavilion “Tea House” there are exhibitions “Maps Crimean peninsula", "Vorontsov and Russian admirals", "Sea battles" of the 18th-19th centuries.

In 2007, a new museum exhibition “The House of Count A.P. Shuvalov” was opened in the Shuvalov wing. It is based on previously unexhibited furnishings and personal belongings of the Vorontsovs, Shuvalovs, Vorontsovs-Dashkovs. The interiors of the house display works of art that reflect the stylistic features of the residential premises of palaces of the mid-18th century.

The collection of the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve consists of almost 27 thousand exhibits of the main fund, and the memorial library of M. S. Vorontsov contains more than 10 thousand books.

One of the museum’s paintings, “Portrait of Prince Grigory Potemkin” by Levitsky, was donated to him by Baron Falz-Fein.

Vorontsov Palace in cinema

The territory of the palace and the adjacent park is often used for filming. Among the most famous works:

1961 - " Scarlet Sails»
1964 - “An Ordinary Miracle”
1964 - “Hamlet”
1972 - “Stoves and benches”
1976 - “Heavenly Swallows”
1986 - “The Journey of Pan Blobs”
2003 - “Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro”
2008 - “Sappho”
2009 - “Hamlet. XXI Century"
2014 - “Belovodye. The Secret of the Lost Country”
2015 - “Belovodye. Source of knowledge"

Vorontsov palaces in other cities

Vorontsov Palace in Odessa
Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg
Vorontsov Palace in Tiflis
Vorontsov Palace in Simferopol

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 the 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 perfect place 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 is not very for a long time lived in the palace, as 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 of allied states – Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt – met in the State Dining Room.

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, which have been carefully selected, taking into account local climate and relief. They were brought to Crimea from different parts of the world; in total, 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 according to 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 there are shady ponds, a well-thought-out system of lakes, picturesque meadows, sections of the Crimean forest, rocky debris, grottoes, 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:

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.
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.
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.
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 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. Available and modern building, which will delight you with rooms with exquisite interiors. On the territory of Villa Elena you can visit the restaurant, relax near the pool, and spend time in the spa center.

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 that time.
The palace was built in the English style, and the construction contains elements of various eras, from early forms to the 16th century. The further from the western gate, the later the style of construction. The English style is combined with the neo-Moorish style. For example, Gothic chimneys resemble mosque minarets. The palace was built from 1828 to 1848 as the summer residence of the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, Count Vorontsov. It is interesting that the Vorontsov Palace is one of the first buildings in Russia where sewerage and water supply were built for comfortable living.

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 a secret object and there was a summer house for the party leadership. Now it is again a museum.

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

The park spreads over an area of 40 hectares. Geographically it is 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 brought from the regions of North and South America and the Mediterranean. The cost of setting up the park is twice as high as building the palace itself. In 1910, up to 36,000 rubles were spent on maintaining the park - a huge amount at that time.

Map of Vorontsovsky Park

The attraction of the park is the piles of stones from solidified magma, thrown out by the volcano back in time immemorial, called “Great Chaos” and “Little Chaos”. These chaos were carefully included in the layout of the park, a dozen paths were laid through the piles of stones, forming almost a labyrinth, benches were placed, and viewing areas were arranged. Individual blocks are entwined with ivy and wild grapes. Sometimes it is very difficult to believe that you are in a park, and not an abandoned one.

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

Three ponds have also been artificially created in the park: Verkhniy, Zerkalny and Swan. Maple, ash and dogwood trees grow around the ponds.

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 drives the ducks away from 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. Each tree was assigned a separate gardener, who did not sleep, did not eat, but watched over his ward, cared for him, and cherished him.

Araucaria Chilean owes its name to the Araucanians - Indians living in Chile, for whom the fruits of this tree form the basis of their diet. This specimen is over 130 years old. It develops poorly in our conditions. In its homeland, it grows up to 50 meters in height and has a trunk with a diameter of up to one meter. There are only 5 such trees in Crimea. The branches of Araucaria are covered with sharp thorns, so neither monkeys nor birds sit on them.

Chilean Araucaria

Crimean pine

Pistachio obtufolia

Lower Park

The “Maria” fountain is based on the famous Bakhchisarai fountain, glorified 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”.

Fountain "Maria" (Fountain of Tears)

On the sea side there is the famous lion terrace.

The southern entrance is decorated with oriental splendor. The Arabic inscription translates as: “And there is no winner except Allah.”

coral tree

Bakhchisarai Fountain

I didn’t go inside the palace; I really don’t like running smoothly through the crowd. Maybe I'll visit some other time.

Winter garden of the palace

During the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the British delegation led by William Churchill lived in the Vorontsov Palace. There is an interesting story connected with it that happened during a walk in Churchill and Stalin Park. Churchill, who really liked the sculpture of the sleeping lion, said that it looked like himself and offered Stalin to buy it. Stalin refused this proposal, but suggested to Churchill that if he answered his question correctly, Stalin would give him a sleeping lion. “Which finger on your hand is the main one?” - this was Stalin’s question. Churchill replied: “Of course the index finger.” “Wrong,” Stalin answered and twisted a figure from his fingers, which is popularly called a fig.

Sleeping lion

Fountain "Sink"

Southern facade of the Vorontsov Palace and Lion's Terrace