The southern coast of Crimea is strewn with a scattering of chic palaces, magnificent old villas and elegant green parks. Almost all of them were created by skillful hands of European craftsmen throughout the 19th century. The real decoration of the Crimean coast is Haraksky park. It will be discussed in our article.
Pearl of the South Coast - Gaspra
About halfway between Yalta and Alupka, on the cape Ai-Todor, lies the beautiful Gaspra. In addition to magnificent health resorts and beaches, many attractions are concentrated here. The first number among them, of course, is the Swallow’s Nest Palace. But there are others: Villa Kichkine, the estate "Yasnaya Polyana", Haraksky park.
Crimea in the XIX century became a favorite place for the elite and bohemians from different parts of the Russian Empire. In those days, it was rightly called Russian California. Has not ignored Gaspra. The tiny Crimean Tatar village very soon turned into a full-fledged and respectable resort.
This transformation was largely contributed by the climatic and natural conditions of the area. Gaspra is reliably protected from the cold northern winds by the monolithic wall of Ai-Petrinskaya Yaila. Winters are very mild, and summers are warm and long. The average air temperatures in July reach + 23 ... + 25 degrees. The swimming season in the village lasts almost until the end of October.
Haraksky park: photos and description
The Charaks estate was founded in the middle of the 19th century by Prince Mikhail Romanov (the son of Nicholas I). It is located on Cape Ai-Todor, in one of the warmest places on the Crimean peninsula.
The Haraksky Park in Gaspra covers an area of 22 hectares. It combines elements of both regular and landscape (landscape) planning. About 200 species and forms of trees, as well as shrubs, grow in the park. Among them - yew berry, Lusitian cypress, winter flowers, cedar, phyllaera and others. The age of some trees is very solid - from 500 to 1000 years.
The palace, built by the famous architect N.P. Krasnov in the early twentieth century, has been preserved within the estate. The style of construction is Scottish Art Nouveau. The palace is covered with beautiful orange tiles. A wide stone staircase leads directly to the sea from it.
Today Haraksky Park, along with the palace and some other buildings of the estate, is run by the Dnepr sanatorium, established back in 1955.
History of the park and the estate
The word "character" in Greek means "strengthening." And this is not surprising, because the estate and the park were created on the site of the ancient Roman fortress of the same name, which existed here from the first to the third century AD. The first archaeological excavations at Cape Ai-Todor were carried out in 1897. The finds found here (fragments of buildings, mosaics and the remains of clay pipes) served as the reason for the creation of the antiquity museum in the Charaks estate.
Built in 1908 according to the design of Krasnov, the palace blends in perfectly with the landscape of Haradsky Park. The owners of the estate stayed here almost every year, right up to the 1917 revolution. It is known that in 1909 Sovereign Nicholas II visited the Haradsky park.
Shortly after the October Revolution, the estate was turned into a Rest House for party leaders. In the 1920s, it housed a sanatorium, which operates to this day. By the way, in one of the buildings of the health resort there is a museum in which vacationers can familiarize themselves with the history of the Kharaks estate.
Park Highlights
Haraksky park is not just a beautiful and cozy corner of the Southern coast of Crimea. On its relatively small area, many interesting objects are hidden. Some of them are reliably hidden from the eyes of tourists, starved by the southern heat, in subtropical thickets of Crimean greenery. For example, in a dense blackthorn, you can find the remains of a tank in which the garrison of the Roman fortress "Haraks" stored water.
But the most interesting ancient monument in Haradsky Park, undoubtedly, is the so-called antique arbor, consisting of twelve columns. According to the assumptions of historians, these columns may be the remains of a burnt down Roman palace.
Another interesting object in the park is a juniper grove, whose age is estimated by botanists at 600-800 years! That is, it is much older than the park itself. If you go along one of the paths to the sea, you can go to the "Captain's bridge", which offers a magnificent view of the "Swallow's Nest" and Ai-Todorovsky lighthouse.