Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea) is a unique monument of 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

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea) is a unique monument of architecture and history, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. Next to the palace there is another object, a monument of park and garden art, which has been created over the years. 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 described in this essay.

Construction history. Start

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was built over two decades - from 1828 to 1848. It was intended for the Governor-General of Count Vorontsov M.S. as a summer residence. The author of the palace project was famous architect from England 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 related to 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 initially the palace was supposed to be built according to another 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 masters, hereditary skilled stone cutters and stone cutters 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 by hand, using the simplest tools.

Continuation of construction

After the architect of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, E. Blore, finished work on the project, the workers began to erect the building. From 1830 to 1834, the construction of the building lasted, in which the dining room was located. From 1831 to 1837, the most important, the central building, was under construction. From 1841 to 1842, a billiard room was built, attached to the building of the dining room. In 1838-1844, the eastern wings, the guest building, as well as all the palace towers and the pentagon of the farm buildings were built. The library building was the last to be erected (from 1842 to 1846), at the same time the finishing 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 palace facade. In the summer of 1848, sculptures of lions were erected by workers on the central staircase that leads to the main entrance. These figures were created by the Italian master D. Bonnani, a famous sculptor of the time. The installation of these figures not only gave the name to the terrace (lion), but also completed the construction, decoration and decoration of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka.

Palace architecture

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

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was erected in the spirit of the English canons of architecture, while both in the decoration and in the building itself there is eclecticism. So, for example, you can see elements of different eras - from the early periods of architecture to the XVI-XVII centuries. Elements originate from the western gate - the closer to the extreme point of the palace, the later architectural style will open to your eyes.

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 an oriental splendor. A horseshoe arch, a two-tiered vault, Arabic-style carvings intertwined with the Tudor flower pattern (English rose), harmoniously combine with the Arabic script, made on the frieze in gold.

Palace interior

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

The lobby immediately brings 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. There is an English-style fireplace in the room, parquet floors made of precious woods, walls and ceilings 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-arms in the war of 1812. The cabinet is finished with wood and fabric, there is also a fireplace. The furniture is very exquisite, it was ordered from the best craftsmen in Europe at that time.

The study successfully combines various styles such as Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque. A magnificent view of the Ai-Petri mountain opens from the windows of the office. Count Vorontsov was very fond of this office and spent a lot of time here, working with documents.

Printed reception room and Chinese study

Photos inside the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka show all the beauty of the halls, including the chintz reception. The walls of this cozy hall are covered with fabrics painted in warm colors with beautiful patterns. Initially, it was an office in crimson tones of E. K. Vorontsova, but later it was redesigned. The parquet in this room is made of different types of wood, which have different colors. The walls are decorated with portraits and landscapes, and the study itself is furnished with Italian furniture.

The Chinese cabinet is designed in soft orange tones and decorated with wood and fabric. Furniture and interior elements, however, are not Chinese, but English, so the cabinet can be called Chinese conditionally. This room contains several portraits, a baroque fireplace, and 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 sustained in oriental tones. The composition of the blue living room is perfectly complemented by a stucco ornament of snow-white color on the azure ceiling and walls. The hall has a Renaissance style white stone fireplace. The living room is furnished with gorgeous white furniture, inlaid with gold and upholstered in yellow silk. The furniture is complemented by large chic blue vases and a snow-white grand piano, also inlaid with gold leaf.

The boudoir is small in size, but, like in the previous room, the classic style reigns. The light color of the walls is in harmony with the parquet, and the comfortable upholstered furniture immediately speaks of the purpose of the room. The walls feature portraits of family members and beautifully carved mirrors.

Front dining room

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

The style of the carving, the pattern and the color of the ceiling are exactly the same as the execution of the wall panels, tops of doorways and window sashes. All the pomp and grandeur of the ceremonial dining room is emphasized by the furniture. Four large tables are pushed together and have mahogany tabletops. The legs of the tables are made of oak and carved in the shape of animal paws.

Around the table are more than 20 chairs made of precious woods, with plant carvings and upholstered in French fabric. The dining room has large English style fireplaces. Sideboards and tables for serving guests are located by the walls.

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

Palace park

The Vorontsov Palace and the park in Alupka were built at the same time, but it took a lot of time. KA Kebach, a talented gardener and botanist from Germany, worked on the creation of this masterpiece of park and garden art from the end of 1824 to the middle of 1851. The palace park is part of the museum exposition, 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 glades. Each of them grows various types of plants and trees (oriental plane tree, Italian pine, berry yew, Chilean araucaria, Himalayan cedar, etc.). In addition, there is Swan Lake with these beautiful birds, as well as a waterfall and two lakes - Zerkalnoye and Verkhnee. At the bottom of the park 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, as well as from other Crimean museums.

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

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

After the war, for 10 years, the palace was used as a state dacha, and in 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 has been created in the center of this garden, and sculptures are scattered throughout the hall.

The composition was 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 in harmony with both the interior of the hall and 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 displayed in the guest building, in the halls of the main building and in the teahouse. Here you can get acquainted with the canvases of famous painters and decoration items of that time.

The exposition of the museum presents about 27,000 exhibits in the main fund alone, as well as the rich library of Count Vorontsov, numbering more than 10,000 folios. In addition, here you can see a rich variety of plants, as well as enjoy the 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 of the trip will amaze you, leaving pleasant memories of this excursion for a lifetime.

Kievyan street, 16 0016 Armenia, Yerevan +374 11 233 255

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is one of the most visited Yalta palaces and the only one that I visited, and even then by accident. 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 this time.
The palace was built in the English style, and the building contains elements of various eras, from the early forms to the 16th century. The further from the western gate, the more recent the style of construction. English style is combined with neo-Moorish style. For example, Gothic chimneys resemble the minarets of a mosque. 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 the comfort of living.

The 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 dacha for the party leadership. Now it is a museum again.

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 the clearings, placed the trees according to their size. It was a matter of principle, because according to Karl's plan, the trees were not supposed to block the gorgeous view of the top of Mount Ai-Petri.

The park is spread over an area of ​​40 hectares. Geographically it is divided into the Upper and Lower parks. The park is designed in such a way that it complements local nature... More than two hundred species of plants grow here, which were brought from the regions of North and South America, the Mediterranean. The cost of setting up a park is twice as high as building the palace itself. Up to 36,000 rubles were spent on the maintenance of the park in 1910 - a huge amount at that time.

Vorontsovsky Park Map

The attraction of the park is the piles of stones made of solidified magma, thrown out by the volcano back in time immemorial, which received the names "Big Chaos" and "Small Chaos". These chaos were meticulously inscribed in the park's layout, a dozen paths were laid through the piles of stones, forming an almost labyrinth, benches were set up, viewing platforms 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 abandoned.

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

Three ponds were also artificially created on the territory of the park: Verkhniy, Zerkalny and Swan. Maples, ash and dogwood 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 indescribable play of light.

The owner drives the ducks out of his domain

A couple more interesting facts about the park, according to the guides. Vorontsov Park literally grew out of blood, for the soil under the trees was abundantly fertilized with the blood of freshly killed animals. A separate gardener was assigned to each tree, who did not sleep, did not eat, but watched over his ward, cared for, and cherished.

Araucaria Chilean owes its name to the Araucanians - Indians living in Chile, for whom the fruits of this tree form the basis of the 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, has a trunk up to one meter in diameter. 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 blunt-leaved

Lower park

The fountain "Maria" is based on the famous Bakhchisarai fountain, sung by Pushkin. The fountain is made of white and colored marble and is 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)

The famous lion's terrace is located on the sea side.

The southern entrance is decorated with oriental splendor. The Arabic inscription translates as: "And there is no conqueror but Allah."

Coral tree

Fountain of Bakhchisarai

I didn’t go inside the palace, I really don’t like a slender run in a crowd. Maybe some other time I'll visit.

Winter garden of the palace

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

Sleeping lion

Fountain "Sink"

Fountain "Sink"

The southern facade of the Vorontsov Palace and the Lion's Terrace

The address: Russia, Republic of Crimea, Alupka, sh. Dvortsovoe, 18
Build date: 1840 year
Architect: Furasov P.I.
Coordinates: 57 ° 19 "07.5" N 43 ° 06 "40.4" E

Content:

Short story

The luxurious palace, named by Vorontsovsky in honor of Count M. Vorontsov, is a unique structure that has become the embodiment of the era of Romanticism. It is located on the Crimean peninsula in the city of Alupka.

The beginning of its construction dates back to 1828, when the Governor-General Vorontsov, responsible for the Novorossiysk Territory, chose the site for the construction of the future main building and drove pegs on it. However, the palace did not appear quickly - it took 20 years to build it.

Initially, the project of the future Vorontsov Palace was developed in the style of strict classics, and the famous Italian architect Francesco Boffo and his colleague from England Thomas Harrison worked on it.

The year 1829 marked the beginning of the implementation of their joint project, and as all the preparatory work was completed, the foundation was immediately laid and the first masonry was made. However, an unpleasant surprise soon happened - in the midst of preparing the working drawings, the architect Harrison died.

For construction to go on as usual, Boffo needed a new partner. It was Edouard Blore, a young architect working in the romantic direction of English architecture.

Stone staircase with white marble sculptures of lions

Why did Count Vorontsov choose him and decided to make changes to the project of the future palace in the Crimean Alupka? The fact is that in those years he was in England, and he was impressed by the local architecture and the new fashion trends in the construction of buildings. Therefore, the count revised the already developed project and entrusted the new architect to adjust it so that the result of the work was a real castle, combining the severity of English architecture and the luxury inherent in Indian palaces.

And since 1832, construction work on the construction of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea has already been carried out according to an updated project, but without distorting the previously passed stages. The execution of all work was entrusted to the best craftsmen - masons, molders, stone and wood carvers, artists, furniture makers and other workers, who approached the orders entrusted to them with all responsibility. As a result, the construction of the palace cost Vorontsov 9 million rubles..

From left to right: front dining room, winter garden

Vorontsov Palace layout

The entire palace complex, built by order of Vorontsov, is represented by several solid buildings, designated as:

• central;
• dining room;
• guest;
• library;
• economic.

The building, intended for receiving guests, was later named Shuvalovsky, since on its right side there was a room for Vorontsov's daughter, who after marriage became Countess Shuvalova.

North facade of the main building

Oddly enough, the construction of the palace began with the construction of the dining building, and this work took 4 years (from 1830 to 1834). The construction of the central building took 6 years - 1831 - 1837. From 1841 to 1842, work was carried out on the construction of a billiard room, which supplemented the building of the dining room. It also took a lot of time to erect the guest building, all the towers, outbuildings, outbuildings and the decoration of the Main Courtyard (these were 1838 - 1844). And finally, the library building, built from 1842 to 1846, joined the palace complex.

The central staircase is decorated with sculptures of lions, the production of which was entrusted to the Italian master Giovanni Bonnani. And the entire luxurious palace ensemble ended with a lion's terrace, that is, with many figures of lions.

Right - Clock Tower

Features of the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace

The Vorontsov Palace, which became an adornment of Alupka in Crimea in the middle of the 19th century, was a kind of innovation that violated some architectural and construction principles. In those days it was customary to arrange the buildings of palace ensembles in a strict geometric grouping, but the architect Blore deviated from this rule and distributed all the structures that make up the Vorontsov Palace on the terrain so that they stood in the direction from west to east, as if in accordance with with the movement of the mountains. This approach allowed all buildings to harmoniously fit into the local landscape - the Vorontsov palace complex found its place in the Crimean expanses.

Moving from case to case, you can visually trace the stages of development of medieval architecture, from its earliest forms to the traditions of the 16th century.

Shuvalov building

However, the emphasis in the development of projects for all structures was still placed on the English style. What is so attractive about the Vorontsov Castle in Crimea? Its peculiarity is the appearance, reminiscent of a castle-fortress from the ancient VIII-XI centuries.... Getting into the courtyard of the utility buildings, you involuntarily stumble upon blank walls and find yourself in confined spaces, and when you try to get to the central building, you find yourself surrounded by round watchtowers. Further general impression inaccessibility is complemented by narrow loopholes and high rough masonry walls. But suddenly an openwork suspension bridge made of cast iron appears and brings a festive touch to this austere composition. And so, as you move away from the arch of the western entrance, the signs of architecture of the following eras are more and more manifested.

West Entrance Towers

Having climbed over the openwork bridge and getting rid of the feeling of isolation, you can find yourself in the Front courtyard, from which you can see the Ai-Petri mountain. But this is not just a view - it is a kind of picture, because the landscape is, as it were, limited by an architectural frame, represented by a clock tower, an eastern wing and a retaining wall with a fountain.

The architecture of the main building of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea is also interesting. Its walls are pushed out of the plane at different levels, as required by the English Tudor style. The central part is decorated with a main entrance and is framed by bay window ledges and side projections. Onion domes serve as the roofs of the towers. The northern facade of the building is decorated with narrow polyhedron semi-columns, the crowns of which are pinnacles (decorative tops).

Chapel

Graceful pinnacles and battlements, domes and chimneys, decorated with flower-shaped tops, smooth out the roughness of the stone texture of the walls and their massive luggage.

Considering the carved stone decorations that decorate the Vorontsov Palace, it is worth noting their pronounced similarity with some elements of Western and Eastern architecture. So, true connoisseurs of architecture immediately notice the Gothic chimneys and minarets of the mosque, and it is precisely this compatible incompatibility that makes the palace complex special. This similarity is especially acute as one moves to the southern facade of the building named as the main one. In the rays of the sun, its outlines seem unusual, bizarre.

From left to right: front dining room, winter garden, main building

But the main motive for the design of the palace is the arches of the most diverse forms - they are gentle, and keeled, and horseshoe-shaped, and lancet. And you can see them everywhere, from the balustrade of balconies to the decoration of the portal of the southern entrance to the Vorontsov Palace. Moreover, architectural ensemble, erected by the order of the Governor-General, has its own "zest" - these are 6 identical lines in Arabic, indicating that only Allah is the winner. You can see the inscription in a niche decorated with a Tudor flower and Indian lotus.

Description of the park surrounding the Vorontsov Palace

During the years of the construction of the palace, work was also carried out on the laying of the adjacent park. But if the construction of the Vorontsov Palace took two decades, the work on the creation of the park does not stop to this day. A wide variety of plants brought from all over the world harmoniously coexist on an area of ​​40 hectares.

Shuvalovsky passage with a view of the openwork bridge

In general, the palace park is subdivided into Upper and Lower. The upper park is decorated with several glades - Kashtanova, Kontrastnaya, Solnechnaya. And each of them is remarkable for its trees (Italian pine, oriental plane tree, berry yew, Himalayan cedar, Chilean araucaria, or monkey tree, etc.). In addition, on the territory of the Upper Park there is Swan Lake, where these beautiful birds really live, the Upper and Zerkalnoye Lakes and a waterfall.

In the Lower Park, surrounded by the most beautiful and rare representatives of the flora, there is a small teahouse, which the Vorontsov family used to spend their holidays on the seashore. Then this place was often lit with salutes and fireworks.

Shuvalovsky passage overlooking the western gate

Being here, you can really feel the atmosphere of the holiday, because it is not without reason that the architect chose the place for the construction of the house here. Surrounded by many unique plants, it creates the feeling of being in a fairy tale, as the entire territory Lower park disposes to create an enchanting mood. And the lower part of the Vorontsov Park in Crimea is decorated in the Italian style of a regular park.

The use of the Vorontsov Palace complex in different years

Since 1990, the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka has become a palace and park museum-reserve... Several interesting exhibitions are located in nine state rooms. Thanks to their content, everyone can get acquainted with the way of life of the count's family, who lived in the palace before the October Revolution, and the nature of the palace's interiors.

Exit from the yard

But in 1990, the opening of the Vorontsov Palace as a museum was secondary - for the first time its building was used as a museum in 1921.

But with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, valuable museum exhibits could not be saved, and the building itself was repeatedly threatened with destruction. However, thanks to the efforts of one of the employees of the museum Shchekoldin S.G. The Vorontsov Palace Museum still survived. Of course, many art treasures were lost during the war years, but after its end, some of the paintings were still found and returned to the museum.

Alupka- a resort town as part of Big Yalta, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri, 17 km south-west of the city of Yalta in Crimea.

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

the main attraction of the seaside town.

Holidays on the Black Sea in Alupka attracts 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 a Russian seaside town on the southern coast of Crimea.

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

Ai-Petrinsky mountain range - one of the highest in Crimea. Like a shield, it closes Alupka from the northern cold winds, and the largest number of sunny days per year (in comparison with the Black Sea resorts of the Caucasus) make this town on the Black Sea coast an excellent resort - the second after Yalta on the southern coast of Crimea.

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka.

Vorontsov Palace(Alupka) 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 - the commander of the Russian occupation corps in France. In 1823-1854 - Novorossiysk and Bessarabian Governor-General; in this position he contributed a lot to the economic development of the region, the construction of Odessa and other cities.

The customer and the 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 the 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 possessions of the Revelioti family, who owned most of the southern coast of Taurida, were acquired. Vorontsov invites the German botanist Karl Kebach, who took up the first plantings, from which the Vorontsov Park appeared.

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

Mikhail Vorontsov himself in 1831 decides to suspend construction and decides to change the style of the palace. He goes to England to Edward Blore and he only from the presented drawings of the area created his own project based on English Gothic. Blore himself never appeared in Alupka - Vorontsov Palace in Crimea It was erected 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, which was so popular in England in the 16th century. But given that Turkish influence was still felt in Crimea, then south gate in contrast to the northern ones, they are made in the eastern Indo-Moorish style. The composition was complemented by marble lions by the sculptor Giovanni Bonnani. The palace was under construction until 1848. The park was finished 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 side - 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 hanging over it.

For the manufacture of the palace, a local stone was used - diabase (a greenish-gray stone of volcanic origin), which was located in abundance in the district. It was blown up with dynamite and turned into blocks. In the park, you can still see many fragments of rocks from diabase.

Foreign masters who worked in the garden and serfs of Count Vorontsov took part in the work. Particularly successful was the modeler Roman Furtunov, who was the only serf who received a salary equal to that of foreign masters.

After the death of Count Mikhail, the Vorontsov Palace of Crimea was inherited by children. First along the male line, then along the female line. During the years of Soviet power, it was nationalized. It housed the dacha of the NKVD, and since 1952 a sanatorium. At this time, part of the furnishings of the palace was lost, in particular, the billiard table was lost, which after the collapse of the USSR was replaced by another one 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 that rise uphill from the sea coast.

It is built from diabase- a material that is twice as strong as granite and is mined on the Crimean peninsula. The gray-green color of the stone creates a single architectural composition of the Vorontsov Palace with nature.

The palace was designed by an English architect Edward Blore. Construction was carried out from 1828 to 1848. The decoration lasted until 1852. The architecture of the palace is unique. It consists in a combination of different styles:

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

Shuvalovsky passage.

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

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

North facade

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

Fountain "Selsibil" - a copy of the "Fountain of Tears" from the Khan's palaces in Bakhchisarai, praised by Pushkin.

Nearby, at the left wing of the palace - white marble fountain "Source of Cupid".

The southern facade of the palace.

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

"There is no conqueror 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 ceilings. The excursion begins through a side entrance leading to the corridor that led to the count's office. Initially, the rooms on the lower floor served as a bedroom for the Vorontsov couple. The main rooms opened in the exposition "state halls of the main building":

1. Front office;

2. Dining room with 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 that is not original in Vorontsov's interior.

Each of the 150 rooms that make up the palace ensemble is unique: the Calico Room, the Blue Living Room, the Front Dining Room, the Winter Garden, the Chinese Study, the Billiard Room, and the 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.

"Front lobby

The front lobby is located in the center of the palace. Two small vestibules are symmetrically adjacent to 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 rather restrained, in English, but the abundance of wood in the room gives warmth and coziness to the interior. The wallpaper was specially ordered in England.

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

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

A round table, English chairs and armchairs with Gothic carvings are snugly nestled next to a bookcase. This arrangement of furniture gives the office an atmosphere conducive not only to business conversations, but friendly meetings.

Another reminder of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov's Anglomania is a bay window-shaped window. This element, often found in English architecture, visually enlarges the space of the study and gives more light. A table covered with a green cloth and two armchairs were placed in the bay window. Sitting in an armchair, you can admire the upper park, and in clear weather and the peaks of Ai-Petri.

"The calico room"

From the study we find ourselves in the Calico room. It is called chintz because the walls of the room are really covered with chintz.

On the walls there is an original fabric, the only flaw of which is the faded color. Originally, 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.

Through the Calico room we pass into Chinese study of the hostess of the house Elizaveta Ksaveryevna Vorontsova, whose portrait by George Doe can be seen on the right wall from the entrance.

Portrait of Elizabeth Ksaveryevna Vorontsova, by George Doe.

"Chinese Cabinet"

The room is decorated in the then fashionable oriental style, but without any specific ties to China, India or the countries of the East in general. Oak panels, tall lancet windows and doors leading to the south terrace, to the sea, are unexpectedly but successfully combined with silk and beaded rice mats on the walls and wood carvings in the interior.

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

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

It is made in the form of a tortoise shell in the Boulle style, decorated with bronze, but it is especially valuable that it is a gift from Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I, as a token of gratitude for the hospitality shown by him to the owners of the house in Alupka.

And some lyrical digressions. From school, many know that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was carried away by the wife of the Novorossiysk Governor-General. It is believed that it was Elizaveta Vorontsova that Pushkin dedicated the poems "Burnt letter", "Rainy day went out ...", "Desire for glory", "Talisman", "Keep me, my talisman ...".

It was rumored that it was Pushkin who was the father of one of the daughters of Elizabeth Ksaveryevna. However, the researchers of the poet's biography have reason to believe that Pushkin was only a cover for the novel of Elizaveta Ksaveryevna 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 link to a link to 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.

"Front dining room"

The “Parade Dining Room” is the most magnificent hall of the Vorontsov Palace.

The dining room area is about 150 square meters, the ceiling height is 8 m. Under the Vorontsovs, it was lit by dozens of candelabra and chandeliers. A huge table, made up of four shifted parts with polished mahogany countertops, rises on beast-pawed pedestals and takes up a large portion of the room. A massive sideboard was installed near the window on the same lion's legs as the tables, and under the sideboard there was an Egyptian-style bathtub for cooling the wine, which was filled with crushed ice.

In the center north wall the main dining room between the fireplaces is a fountain, the niche of which is decorated with a majolica panel depicting fantastic birds and dragons. Above the fountain there 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", where a set of furniture was located, 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, a grand piano is installed in the northern part of the Blue Living Room. In 1863, one of the founders of the Russian realistic theater Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin performed here. In 1898, Fyodor Chaliapin sang at the Vorontsov Palace to the accompaniment of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

"Billiard room"

There is a lot of wood here: panels, ceiling, parquet floor.

The sofas and chairs are upholstered in expensive olive satin satin. There are many paintings on the walls. The canvases of the painters of Holland, Flanders, Italy of the 16-18 centuries were especially appreciated then.

From the Blue Drawing Room the guests of the Vorontsovs went out to 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 glazed 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 Ksarevna. Next to them is a marble bust of Catherine II by Johann Esterreich. 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 expelled the sculptor from Russia within 24 hours.

The winter garden serves as a transition from the central building to the dining room. Initially, it was a loggia, which was later glazed, constructing a large lantern on top for better illumination. The walls of the winter garden are surrounded by ficus repens. The fountain and marble sculptures are surrounded by araucaria, cycad, date palms and monstera.

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

"Vorontsov Park"

The work on the creation of the park, begun even a little earlier than the construction of the palace, in 1820, was entrusted to the chief gardener South Shore Crimea Karl Antonovich Kebakh. When laying 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, the murmur of water is incessantly heard.

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

The largest of the park's lakes is Swan Lake. The gardener deliberately gave it an irregular shape in order to create the illusion of its natural rather than artificial origin. Under the Vorontsovs, the bottom of the lake was strewn with semiprecious "Koktebel pebbles" - jasper, carnelian, chalcedony, which were found in abundance in Koktebel.

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

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

Above the ponds, along a path through the Hall of grottoes, between skillfully placed fragments of rocks, the path leads to the Great and Lesser Chaos. Millions of years ago, frozen magma as a result of earthquakes and landslides turned into a scattering of huge debris. The creators of the park left the boulders intact, only removed small fragments and planted the top with pine trees. This is how the famous "Alupka chaos" turned out.

The presence of a huge fortune in someone always raises questions. But still there were and will be people who know how to spend a lot of money (received in different ways) not only on pleasing themselves, irreplaceable. Yes, representatives of the richest Russian noble families were serfs. But they were also patrons of arts and sciences, and left to their descendants the masterpieces of architecture paid for by them by millions. Such as the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea.

Where is the Vorontsov Palace on the map

Looking at the map of Crimea, it becomes clear that the palace and park ensemble is located on the territory of Big Yalta, in the small but picturesque village of Alupka, which is why the palace is often called as Alupka. Its territorial location is the center of a resort village, on the Black Sea coast.

History of the Alupka Palace

Crimea and England

The family of Counts Vorontsov is known in Russian history. Its representatives held the most important government posts. The family was also one of the richest in the country and could afford to realize any of their most incredible fantasies.

A representative of this genus, M.S. Vorontsov, was a brave officer, a participant in the war of 1812. He was also the nephew of the famous Ekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, which already meant that his upbringing and education were good. More than others, the earl liked the English tradition - people like him were called Anglomaniacs in the 19th century.

In the mid-20s of the XIX century, this nobleman was appointed to the Crimea - the governor of Novorossiya and Bessarabia. After taking office, the governor looked out for a good estate not far from - near the small Tatar village of Alupka. In 1828, they began to build a residence there on his order - a real palace on a grand scale.

As an Anglomaniac, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov wanted to see features of English architecture in his home. Therefore, he rejected the original project of E. Boffo and T. Harrison in the classical style and turned to E. Blore, the architect of Walter Scott and the British royal family. Certainly a master who brought to mind Buckingham Palace, was also suitable for a Russian count.

Blore has never been to Crimea. But he received from the customer comprehensive data on the terrain, as well as materials from his predecessors. And he did a miracle - he designed a masterpiece building, which naturally combined several eras of English history with an oriental flavor.

Incredible construction

Then everything became even more wonderful. The main building stone for the implementation of the idea of ​​the great Englishman was the Crimean diabase - the breed is even too strong. It is very difficult to process. In the conditions of the Russian Empire in 1830 (just then the direct construction work began) did not imply the mechanization of labor.

The main labor force in the construction was quitrent peasants from the owner's numerous estates (mainly from near Moscow and Vladimir). Vorontsov's people tried to select for work the maximum number of people with specialties - stone cutters and stone cutters. We were guided by the participation of candidates in the construction and decoration of rich stone churches. These craftsmen worked in the Crimea with superhard material practically with their bare hands - they worked the stone with axes and chisels! It is not surprising that the construction took a lot of time.

However, Blore's project had one advantage - the palace was, as it were, a complex of buildings of different styles. So they built it in parts, and not all at once. In the years 1830-1831. a canteen building was erected. In 1831-1837. a central building was added to it. In 1838-1844. they built all the towers, the eastern wings, the guest wing, decorated the front yard. At the same time in 1841-1842. a billiard room was being built next to the dining room. The library was finished later - in 1846.

At the same time, individual elements of the building demonstrated different stages in the development of English architecture. The "timeline" ran from west to east: the farther west an element was located, the more ancient style it represented.

Then the governor began to equip a park near the palace, reprehensibly using soldiers for earthwork. In 1848, the palace ensemble was supplemented with a terrace and stairs, decorated with sculptures of lions. But this M.S. Vorontsov did not see him any more - in 1844 he was assigned to serve in the Caucasus.

Noble Nest

Further, the whole case almost perished, and all because the eldest son of M.S. Vorontsov did not bother to provide him with grandchildren. CM. Vorontsov, the son of the governor, lived in the palace with his wife and was gradually engaged in the completion of the construction and finishing of his property. However, he died without acquiring heirs. And his widow did not want to live in the Crimea and drove off abroad, taking with her from the Crimean estate a lot of artistic treasures.

Because of this, the palace almost fell into disrepair, because for a long time nobody lived. But then the estate went to the governor's relatives through the Vorontsov-Dashkovs and Shuvalovs. These noblemen turned out to be enterprising people - they set up summer cottages for rent on the territory of the estate. It happened in 1904. But in 1917, a revolution broke out, ravaging the old noble nests.

With the establishment of Soviet power in Crimea, the estate was nationalized. And on February 22, 1921, the telegraph sent Lenin's personal order to the peninsula: to take all possible measures to preserve the valuables from the palaces of the Crimean nobility. And the order was carried out. Already in the middle of the same 1921, the palace was opened to the public as a museum.

Saved value

It should be noted that the Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea has been perfectly preserved, and today it looks almost the same as in the days of the last owners, the earls. But it was not easy for him.

After the invasion of Crimea in 1941, the Nazis shamelessly plundered the locals. They brought to Germany everything that was not nailed down, and what was - they broke and also took away. The Soviet command did not manage to evacuate most of the Crimean museums, and the Vorontsov Palace was one of them. The conquerors took out a lot of valuable things from there and threatened to destroy the building.

But the palace survived, and a significant part of its collections also survived. This became possible thanks to the dedication of the researcher S.G. Shchekoldin. The Nazis appointed him director of the museum, which meant that he had to pass on to them the most valuable of the exhibits. But Shchekoldin hid part of the collections, supplied the invaders with inaccurate information, and also prevented the explosion of the building during the retreat of the Nazis.

It was Stepan Grigorievich who compiled a complete inventory of the exported exhibits for an absolutely wild amount of 5 million rubles at that time (thanks to which some of them were later found and returned).

The worst part of this whole story is that the defender of the museum collections later served several years "for collaboration". True, Shchekoldin was still lucky - he left the places of detention relatively quickly, relatively healthy, and then spent a long time doing what he loved, looking for values ​​that had disappeared from the museum (he died in 2002, at the age of 98).

In 1945 the Vorontsov Palace was in such good condition that it was used to accommodate the participants. English architecture predetermined the choice of the guest for the estate - it was the British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

Here the first meeting of the leaders of the Anti-Hitler coalition took place within the framework of the conference (further, all events for convenience were moved to). Then, for several years, the castle was used as a departmental dacha for the NKVD officers, and in 1955 it again became a museum, which it is to this day.

The architecture and decoration of the palace

Mixing styles and peoples

As already mentioned, in general, the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace is of the English style. Moreover, this is, as it were, the history of foggy Albion in miniature, since the structure combines features of different eras - from William the Conqueror to the Tudor dynasty.

But in the century in England (and in other European countries too), in connection with the expansion of colonial expansion, a fashion for the East arose. Pseudo-Indian and pseudo-Egyptian elements appeared in literature, clothing, interiors; architecture did not pass them either. And in the building of the Vorontsov Palace, E. Blore in an incomprehensible way managed to harmoniously combine his contemporary ideas about the East with the traditions of medieval England.

The western facade of the palace is a real castle of a medieval robber baron (you see, the work for W. Scott affected the royal architect!). This is a perfect example of the skillful use of the neo-gothic style. Almost the same era is represented by the so-called Shuvalov Passage - a driveway that rather resembles a fortress gallery. The inner courtyard is decorated with uneven "torn" stone, which also suggests the Middle Ages.

The northern facade demonstrates a completely different style and a different time period. This is the beginning of modern times, the Tudor 16th century - straight lines, large tall windows and chimneys.

The southern facade manages to form a harmonious whole with the rest of the palace and at the same time represent the Moorish style - with splendor befitting the East. Particularly interesting is the arch, in which the architect somehow managed to combine the motives of the Tudor rose and the oriental lotus, and also added a saying from the Koran, without fear of harming the English idea of ​​the whole structure. E. Blore was able to add a Moorish touch to old England - for example, the purely English appearance of the northern facade is crowned with tent-shaped roofing elements, and the long pipes are made similar to the eastern minarets.

Although the palace actually consists of 5 buildings, all of them are successfully integrated into the ensemble and are perceived as a whole. Moreover, the architect, who had never seen the Crimea, managed to successfully fit his creation into the landscape. He took into account not only the technically important features of the area, but also its aesthetics (according to the sketches given to him). As a result, the silhouette of the palace repeats, as it were, the outline of the plateau, against which it is located.

Dacha with comfort

In the view of the governor Vorontsov and his heirs, the palace in Crimea was not an official residence, where ceremonial secular hospitality should be demonstrated, but something like a summer residence. The family was supposed to spend the summer here, as well as relatives and close friends to visit the owners. Nevertheless, the count invested 9 million rubles into the construction (wild money by the standards of the 19th century!), And his heirs also invested additionally in the arrangement of the interior.

The palace inside is very well preserved, so you can be sure that even at the dacha representatives of the Vorontsov family preferred to live both beautifully and comfortably. In total, this "summer house" has 150 rooms, located with English austerity - doors to doors. Another English detail - there is a fireplace in every room (although in the Crimea it is not as necessary as in England).

Each room in the palace is decorated in its own style and has its own name. There is a Blue Lounge, a Calico Room, a Chinese Study, and similar themed rooms. The large palace living room, as it were, copies the main hall of the feudal castle - dark colors, solid oak and family painting reign there.

The blue living room is not only designed in this color, but also decorated with unusual stucco molding, depicting 3 thousand embossed flowers, each of which is not like the others. At the time of Count Vorontsov, chintz was considered a fashionable and rather expensive material, and even now it is successfully used in interiors. And the walls of the Chinese study are decorated with inlays made of rice straw (and they are well preserved).

There is also a greenhouse in the palace, called a winter garden in the traditions of that time. By analogy with summer garden Petersburg, it is decorated with beautiful statues.

The owner-graphs cared not only about the beauty, but also about the practicality of their home. In the Vorontsov Palace, one of the first internal water pipelines (with uninterrupted hot water supply!) Was installed and a sewerage system, normal according to modern concepts, was arranged. In 1914, they switched to electric lighting.

All work was carried out with high quality, and this is not last reason excellent preservation of interiors. Artistic parquets and wall panels remain the same as in the days of the Novorossiysk governor. A lot of old furniture, utensils, ornamental knick-knacks have survived. The art collection suffered the most, as the Nazis took more than 500 paintings from Germany to Germany. And only an insignificant part of the stolen was found and returned.

Photo inside the Vorontsov Palace

Screen star

Due to its excellent preservation and noticeable "appearance", the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is always popular among camera masters. His photos are adorned with all kinds of calendars and advertising posters, and indoor spaces and the adjacent park area have become the filming locations of many loved by the audience.

The most famous of the films filmed here was 1961. In this most popular film, the Vorontsov Palace "played" the rich mansion of the Gray family. 30 years later, he was "retrained" into the interior of the American millionaire's estate during filming (the exterior of Francis Morgan's estate was filmed).

The complex also appears in "Heavenly Swallows", "Hamlet", "Ten Little Indians", "An Ordinary Miracle" (not the most famous version from M. Zakharov, but earlier, from E. Garin). Of the more "innovative" films, the palace had to take part in the creation of "Assa" and the Ukrainian film "Sappho" (for an amateur, but at one time the cinema made a splash).

It is quite difficult to list the entire filmography of the Vorontsov Palace - filmmakers often used it. The reason, among other things, lies in its architectural diversity - having chosen the right angle, you could shoot literally anything.

Vorontsov Palace - visits and excursions

Despite the exclusively museum status of the complex, it cannot be said that it is so easy to visit the Vorontsov Palace. The reason is not in the desire to hide something from tourists, but in the need to observe a rather strict security regime.

You will be able to explore the palace for free and completely independently only from the outside. The entrance is free. In Alupka, many vacationers use it, combining two amenities at once. Reviews of many tourists claim that an external examination is enough to get a strong impression.

The internal premises are visited for money and with a guide. But this has its own complexity: the Vorontsov Palace is actually not one museum, but several. It constantly organizes temporary exhibitions of a wide variety of content. Accordingly, there are many excursion programs, and the work schedule of different departments may differ.

Experienced tourists recommend before going on an excursion to inquire by phone about the opening hours (it may change for permanent exhibitions, especially depending on the season), the availability of temporary exhibitions and current benefits.

You can also get information on the official sites. It's even easier to sign up for an excursion through the bureau (Vorontsov Palace is an obligatory element of the "Parks and" route, one of the most popular in travel bureaus throughout the peninsula), where everyone is aware of the peculiarities of the visited objects.

Data on the cost of an excursion in the palace occupy more than one page, because a tourist can choose to visit only one particular exposition, several of them, or sightseeing tour throughout the complex. At the same time, the price range can differ significantly.

Speaking of prices, they cannot be called low, but the costs of maintaining such a large and expensive complex are also high. In addition, the Vorontsov Palace has a complex system of payment incentives and rights to free admission (in particular, for young people under 16).

But beneficiaries should remember that they will receive their discount or free ticket only if they have an original document confirming their status (for example, a birth certificate or an award certificate). Some categories of beneficiaries are required to pay a fee for excursion services, but you cannot call it high.

The exposition is based on several main palace halls, a visit to which allows you to get acquainted with the history of the Russian nobility, and specifically the Vorontsov family and its outstanding representatives. Many original items that belonged to the owners of the estate and their relatives are also exhibited there.

A separate exposition in one of the outbuildings tells about the Vorontsovs' relatives - the family of the Shuvalovs. In the museum, you can get information about people who are not as influential as the multimillionaire counts. In particular, the premises of the palace kitchen (with original tableware and all the cooking equipment) and the apartment of the count's butler were decorated in the Economic Wing.

Among the permanent exhibitions there is also a collection of avant-garde paintings, a collection of artistic porcelain and faience (Russian and foreign production), and works of art depicting flowers. Temporary exhibitions replace each other, as a result of which unexpected things appear in the palace, such as a collection of fans.

The museum is technically advanced. Here, technical innovations such as audio guides in different languages ​​and virtual exhibitions are widely used.

It is not worth bringing preschool children here - a long one may seem tiresome and boring to them (although such visits are not prohibited, and you do not have to pay for preschoolers at all). But for middle-aged schoolchildren, a visit to the palace is even highly recommended - and the taste will be better, and the level of knowledge of history will increase.