They say that, creating the Crimean peninsula, the Lord especially tried. Using his example, he wanted to show people what Paradise looks like. I must say that he succeeded. The magnificent nature, wonderful climate, diverse animal and plant world - all this really reminds paradise on Earth. Inspired by the extraordinary natural beauties of these places, people began to build luxurious palaces and castles of the Crimea, set up gardens and parks.
Most of these magnificent buildings make us happy today. In some of them there are museums today, in others - motels. In this article we will present the most popular sights of Crimea - the palaces of the peninsula, we will talk about unusual parks. The list of such attractions is great, but we will try to tell you about the best of them. Perhaps this will help you plan your trip to the peninsula in advance to see for yourself its beauty.
Palaces of Crimea: list, description
From ancient times, prosperous people of Russia began to build luxurious palaces on the Black Sea coast of Crimea. They are all very different. In this article we will talk about the following structures:
- Livadia Palace.
- Palace of Alexander III.
- "Swallow's Nest".
- Khan's palace.
- Bukhara.
- Vorontsovsky.
- Yusupovsky.
- Karasan.
They are distinguished not only by their architectural style, but also by the material used in the construction and decoration, as well as the landscape design of the adjacent gardens and parks. Let's take a closer look at the magnificent structures.
Livadia Palace
We begin our journey with the former summer residence of Emperor Nicholas II. This is truly a magnificent palace. It has 58 rooms, decorated with exquisite taste. Luxurious and solemn White Hall, exquisitely elegant Italian courtyard with a fountain, made in oriental style Arab courtyard.
Many palaces and museums of Crimea are known not only for their unique architecture. The Livadia Palace went down in history as the venue for the Yalta meeting of the heads of state of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA in 1945. Today, visitors to the palace-museum can see the meeting room, a large round table where documents were signed, which became crucial for the whole world. In the palace you can see the rooms in which F. Roosevelt, the head of the American delegation, lived during the conference.
The palace is surrounded by a picturesque landscape park, which was built at the beginning of the XIX century.
Palace of Alexander III
Another attraction of the Crimea. Palaces on the peninsula were built at different times, and, of course, they differ in style, design of facades and interior. This was purchased for Emperor Alexander III and his family.
The inner chambers of the palace are magnificent - they are trimmed with panels of precious wood. The lavishly served dining room deserves special attention.
The palace complex includes a magnificent park with stately firs and sequoias, slender cypresses, magnolia blooming with pink and white flowers in front of the palace windows. From the windows of the palace, located on a ledge of mountain spurs, offers a unique view of the Yalta Valley and the sea.
"Swallow's Nest"
Many palaces of the Crimea, the list of which in this article continues this particular structure, become a symbol, a visiting card of the peninsula. This statement fully applies to the "Swallow's Nest." This complex structure, which resembles a medieval castle in miniature, stands on the very edge of the Aurorina rock, which is located on Cape Ai-Todor. Its height is 40 meters.
The palace is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide. In the front room there is a fireplace, the walls are decorated with 11 medieval coats of arms. Inlay and wood carving, a ceiling decorated with dragons, and bronze sconces - all this creates a romantic, fairytale setting. Today it houses an Italian restaurant.
Khan's Palace
The palaces of Crimea, the description of which can now be found in all advertising booklets of travel agencies, amaze with their diversity. Undoubtedly, the main attraction of Bakhchisarai is the Khan's Palace, the creation of which dates back to the XVI century. His many richly decorated rooms, courtyards were sung by the great A.S. Pushkin. Particular attention of tourists is attracted by the Fountain of Tears, on which fresh roses always lie.
Bukhara Palace
Not all Crimean palaces have a long history. For example, the palace of the Emir of Bukhara appeared on the peninsula in 1911. It was built according to the design of N. Tarasov. The ruler of the Bukhara Khanate Seid-Abdul-Akhat Khan became the owner of the magnificent building. He came to power in 1885 and held this post for about 25 years. Emir went down in history as the publisher of many progressive laws. For example, he abolished slavery, torture and execution in his country.
Almost every summer, the emir rested in the Caucasus or in the Crimea. He donated large sums of money for the needs of Yalta, as this city was one of his most beloved. In gratitude for the generosity, the city authorities elected the emir an honorary citizen of the city. In addition, one of the streets was named after him.
At first, the palace was called "Dilkiso." This name is translated from the Turkic language as “captivating”, “charming”. That is what the emir himself called him.
The architecture of this castle is based on a harmonious combination of rectangular and semicircular volumes. There are many terraces, porticoes, various elements of Arabian architecture. The palace building is two-story, built of Kerch stone. The structure is decorated with openwork carvings of columns and numerous oriental ornaments.
The palace was nationalized after the revolution. The Oriental Museum was opened in its premises. During the Second World War, a fire destroyed the palace building. Most of the museum exhibits have been stolen, and their whereabouts are still unknown. Now in the restored premises of the palace is the sanatorium "Yalta" of the Black Sea Fleet.
Vorontsov Palace
The palaces of Crimea, photos of which you see in our article, are still of great interest not only to tourists from our country and foreigners. They are interested in scientists, researchers, historians.
In their opinion, the Vorontsov Palace can rightfully be called the best palace and park ensemble of Crimea at the beginning of the 19th century. It captivates with its extraordinary architectural style. From the west it is very reminiscent of the castle of the Middle Ages, its southern facade is strictly designed in the Muslim style, and the northern one is in the style of the English Renaissance. It would seem that these elements are incompatible, but they are combined very harmoniously and skillfully connected with the landscape.
The interior of the palace is unusually beautiful. The ceremonial halls, carved living rooms, decorated with sculpture, delight. In addition, a winter garden is very attractive. The palace has a large collection of paintings - works by Levitsky, Rokotov, Aivazovsky, Repin, Kramsky.
Yusupov Palace
According to many studies, the palaces and parks of Crimea occupy leading positions in the ranking of such structures in the world. On the southern coast of the peninsula, where the mountain spurs of Ai-Petri abruptly break off to the sea, in ancient Koreiz, there is the Yusupov Palace and Park Complex-Reserve.
The palace building was designed by the talented and famous architect N. Krasnov. The main part of the palace’s decoration is made in the Art Nouveau style - white enamel panels with shelves for porcelain and bronze dishes, Viennese chairs, nice sofas with chinton cretonne upholstery. An exception is the owner’s office. It has a massive carved desk and wardrobe, the walls are decorated with French tapestries.
Karasan Palace
This palace combined the various architectural styles of many countries and different eras. On the old driveway (from the north) you can drive up to the main facade of the palace. Graceful faceted columns, protruding risalit, large "Moorish" windows, stucco ornaments and stained glass windows are the main decorations of the palace.
At the northern facade is an extension with an internal staircase. This small building is decorated with marble boards and a large "eastern" window.
The southern facade of the castle is park. It is executed in the style of "country". It is decorated with many balconies decorated with exquisite wood carvings, and columns with delicate patterns. Here you can see a beautiful terrace, which you can reach by climbing the stone stairs. They are placed symmetrically on both sides.
Since 1924, Karasan, the famous sanatorium, has been taking vacationers here.
Botanical Garden "Nikitsky"
Undoubtedly, palaces and parks of Crimea deserve much attention. It will take a lot of time to study them or even a cursory inspection. Nevertheless, I would like to briefly talk about the green wealth of the peninsula. These are magnificent examples of landscape gardening art.
On the beautiful shady alleys of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, you can see plants that were imported from around the world. Previously, there was a forest at this place, so here you can also meet centuries-old trees - a 1000-year-old pistachio tree is an old-timer of the garden. Relict plants include high juniper and small-fruited strawberries.
The garden strikes with an abundance of greenery, and throughout the year. In summer and spring it is an unusual riot of colors, bright and lush flowering plants, luxurious cascades of golden rain and wisteria, exquisite irises and roses reign here.
Foros Park
This park was founded at the beginning of the XIX century. It covers an area of 70 hectares. In Foros Park grows more than 200 species and forms of shrubs and trees. Most of them are exotic breeds.
The most attractive place is located in the center of the park - this is the Russian Corner, in which six artificially well-equipped lakes are picturesquely located at different levels. They are united by ducts into a common cascade, which makes this place attractive and original.
Miskhor park
It appeared much earlier than other Crimean parks (XVIII century). The park is located on an area of more than twenty hectares.
Here, groups of trees and shrubs and solitary plants alternate with glades. Arizona and Guadalupe cypresses, Aleppo pine, bamboo, oleander, palm trees are adjacent to the rocks of local flora in Miskhor Park . A special pride of the park is its beautiful color music fountain.
Gurzufsky park
And now we will introduce you to the oldest park on the peninsula. It was laid in 1808, and today it is a natural monument of republican significance. 128 species of trees and shrubs grow here, many of them (cypresses, yews, olives) are real veterans - their age has exceeded 200 years. There are many sculptural compositions in the park, among them a monument to young A. Pushkin, located in an olive grove, park sculptures “Goddess of the Night”, “Rachel”, “Fountain”, etc.
In this article we could not describe all the palaces of Crimea. We hope that you will have the opportunity to visit the amazing peninsula and see all its beauty.