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 this time.
The palace was built in the English style, and the building contains elements of various eras, from early forms to the 16th century. The farther from the western gate, the more recent style of construction. The English style is combined with the 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. Interestingly, 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 Alupka Park, which was created by the famous botanist and gardener Karl Antonovich Kebach for 25 years. He designed clearings, placed trees according to their size. This was a matter of principle, because, according to Karl's plan, the trees should not have blocked the gorgeous view of the top of Mount Ai-Petri.

The park is spread over an area of ​​40 hectares. Geographically 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 imported from the regions of the North and South America, Mediterranean. The cost of laying out the park is twice as high as the construction of the palace itself. Up to 36,000 rubles were spent on the maintenance of the park in 1910 - a huge amount at that time.

Map of Vorontsovsky park

The attraction of the park are piles of stones from solidified magma, ejected by the volcano since time immemorial, called "Big Chaos" and "Small Chaos". These chaoses were carefully inscribed in the layout of the park, a dozen paths were laid through the piles of stones, forming almost a labyrinth, benches were placed, viewing platforms were arranged. Separate blocks are entwined with ivy and wild grapes. Sometimes it is very difficult to believe that you are in a park, and not abandoned.

built in the park a large number of fountains. Most of them were built according to the designs of V. Gunt.
In general, in Crimea, there has long been a tradition of respect for water. The construction of a fountain, both in the Muslim Crimea and in Russia, was considered a worthy deed, and even charitable. Where at least some trickle flowed, they put a fountain, decorated it with a saying from the Koran or the emblem of an engineering department, sometimes they beat out the date. Along the old roads, in the old Crimean settlements, a lot of these ancient fountains have been preserved, many are still functioning.

Three ponds are also artificially created on the territory of the park: Upper, Mirror and Lebediny. Around the ponds grow maples, ash and dogwood.

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 chases the ducks out of 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. A separate gardener was assigned to each tree, who did not sleep, did not eat, but watched his ward, cherished and cherished.

The Chilean Araucaria owes its name to the Araucans - Indians living in Chile, for whom the fruits of this tree form the basis of the diet. This copy is over 130 years old. It does not develop well 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. Araucaria branches are covered with sharp thorns, so neither monkeys nor birds sit on them.

Chilean araucaria

Crimean pine

pistachio

lower park

The fountain "Maria" is made based on the famous Bakhchisarai fountain, sung 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”.

Mary Fountain (Fountain of Tears)

From the sea is the famous lion terrace.

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

coral tree

Fountain of Bakhchisarai

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

Winter Garden of the Palace

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

sleeping lion

Fountain "Sink"

Fountain "Sink"

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

Palace of M.S. Vorontsov in Alupka is one of the most famous sights Crimean peninsula. It is located at the foot of the Ai-Petri mountain range. The beautiful park surrounding it, like the palace itself, has been a museum since 1956.

Photo of the Vorontsov Palace:

Palace architecture

The style in which the building was built is a combination of English and neo-Moorish trends, they not only blend perfectly with each other, but also perfectly take into account the surrounding terrain. The author of the project, the English architect Edward Blore, managed to organically combine elements of the English style from the ancient period to the 16th century, which is observed in its western part. Oriental elements are presented at the South Entrance, where the horseshoe-shaped arch and the two-tier vault are richly carved. There is even an Arabic text, it says: "and there is no winner but Allah." The chimneys in this part resemble the towers of minarets.

Historical reference

The Vorontsov Palace was erected for 20 years, in 1828 - 48. for Count M.S. Vorontsov, who at that time was the governor of the Novorossiysk Territory. The construction was started by architects F. Boro and T. Harrison. The English architect E. Blore replaced them after the sudden death of Harrison. He never came, he only studied the area well, on the basis of which he created his masterpiece. U. Gunt, his student, supervised the construction.

Interesting:
The palace was built by the serfs of the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. When performing the most complex relief decoration, only manual labor and primitive tools were used.

The first was in 1830-34. a canteen building was erected, construction was completed in 1840 - 46. library building. At the same time in 1840 - 48 years. large-scale work was carried out on the arrangement of the park. Even sappers were involved in the construction of terraces near the southern facade.

The park was created from 1824 to 1851 by the German K.A. Kebakh, who was the chief gardener of the entire South Coast. The area of ​​the park is 40 hectares. More than 200 plant species are represented here.

Interesting:
20 bags of semi-precious stones were poured onto the bottom of the Swan Lake, which adorns the park, to create an extraordinary play of light in sunny weather.

The final point in the creation of a magnificent garden and park ensemble was the installation of marble lions, created by Italian masters, on the central staircase at the main entrance.

A little about the customer and the first owner

Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov is best known to us from a not very flattering side. And this, thanks to the caustic epigrams of A.S. Pushkin, who was under his supervision during the southern exile. And really, how can you treat someone whose wife you are in love with without reciprocity. So our great poet took revenge on the husband of Elizabeth Ksaveryevna with all the ardor. Every student is familiar with Pushkin's description of the general:

Half my lord, half merchant
Half wise, half ignorant,
Semi-scoundrel, but there is hope
What will be complete at last.

In reality, M.S. Vorontsov is an intelligent, respectable person and a true hero. It is no coincidence that his figure is presented on the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia. He was born into a famous family, Catherine II became his godmother. The young man received an education (brilliant!) in London, where his father served as an envoy.

Starting military service at the age of 21, he participated in many battles. Here are just a few of them:

• - 1804 - assault on the Ganja fortress in the Caucasus;
• - 1809 - assault on the fortress of Bazardzhik in the Balkans;
• - 1812 - Borodino (bayonet wound in hand-to-hand combat);
• - 1813 - battle near Leipzig;
• - 1814 - the capture of Paris.

M.S. Vorontsov led the occupying troops in Paris, and when they left France, he collected information about the debts of officers and soldiers to the local population and compensated everything from personal funds (almost 1,500,000 of those rubles), selling one of his estates for this.

He did a lot for the economic development of Bessarabia, Odessa, the Crimea, the Novorossiysk region, and all of southern Russia.

Military service M.S. Vorontsov continued in the Caucasus in 1844. For his successes, he received the title of prince, then, his lordship, the rank of field marshal general, the post of Caucasian governor.

Personal qualities of M.S. Vorontsov.

He was a bibliophile and was a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He had a unique library, which his father and aunt E.R. Dashkov.

His awards for military and state merit make up a huge list, among them

• St. George Cross of three degrees (for personal courage);
• - 2 golden swords (for courage),
• - Order of St. Vladimir;
• - Alexander Nevsky;
• - Andrew the First-Called and a lot more Russian and foreign orders and awards.

He was loved by the soldiers, for whom he abolished physical punishment, he was easy to handle and accessible with them, loved and respected by the officers. After his death, a sad saying was born among the military: “God is high, far from the tsar, and Vorontsov died”

There are several monuments to the general, created with money collected by people grateful to him. He died in 1856 and was buried in Odessa. With military honors in 2005, his ashes and the ashes of the wife were transferred to the Transfiguration Cathedral.
In general, the great poet was wrong.

Governor General's Palace

Today the Southern Coast of Crimea is a luxurious and popular resort place, and in the first years of the 19th century. he was just gaining fame. Russian landowners mastered fertile places, and M.S. was no exception. Vorontsov is one of the richest people of his time. His choice fell on the small Tatar village of Alupka.

What attracted the Novorossiysk Governor-General? Of course, the same thing that modern tourists highly appreciate:

• - healing climate;
• - luxurious landscapes;
• - warm sea;
• - nearby springs.

The architects paid tribute to the love of M.S. Vorontsov to everything English, but at the same time they also emphasized the recent Turkish influence that has been preserved in the Crimea. All this is taken into account in the harmonious mixture of English and Oriental styles, and participation in the formation of the image of the palace of the Ai-Petri mountain range is not forgotten.

Interesting:
To increase seismic stability, lead is poured into the foundation slabs.

Continuation of a story

After the death of the owner, the palace passed to his nephews, Pavel Andreevich Shuvalov, then Mikhail Andreevich. The last owner was the granddaughter of M.S. Vorontsova Elizaveta Andreevna Vorontsova-Dashkova.

During the Soviet period, the estate was nationalized. At first, there was a dacha of the NKVD here, and in 1921 a museum began to work in the palace.

During the Great Patriotic War, the exhibits did not have time to be evacuated; rarities worth 4,980,000 rubles were taken to Germany (in terms of 1945)

Interesting:
The museum twice saved S.G. from destruction. Shchekoldin, a museum employee appointed by the Germans as its director. He prevented an explosion from the dynamite planted by the NKVD. He managed to save the building from bombs. He also provided a list of the stolen. BUT! He was sentenced "for cooperation with the occupiers" for 10 years. Rehabilitated only in 1991.

In February 1945, during the Yalta Conference, a British delegation headed by W. Churchill lived in the palace. Until 1955 there was a state dacha here.

Since 1956 it has been a museum, and since 1990 it has been a museum-reserve, including a park and a palace.

Palace interiors

The building has 150 rooms located in 5 buildings. It also combines elements of the English style and oriental motifs.

The rooms are symmetrical, their doors are opposite each other. Each room has a fireplace, portraits of famous people and landscapes on the walls. The sculptures in the greenhouse are images of the first owner's family members.

In 1914, electricity appeared in the palace.

Currently, 10 rooms on the ground floor are available to visitors. In them, the original interior was practically preserved. These are front rooms, where the owners received guests, and a greenhouse. Some of the furniture is original. The rest are chosen with such skill that they do not violate the overall picture.

Interesting:
The parquet of the palace is authentic - it is almost 200 years old.

Video review of the palace:

Information for tourists

In addition to the main exhibition, the following exhibitions are offered to the attention of visitors:

• - Butler's apartment
• - Vorontsov's kitchen;
• - Shuvalov's house;
• - park sculpture
• and a number of others.

Important:
You can buy tickets for each exhibition separately, but it is more profitable to buy a single ticket for 650 rubles. Children under 16 visit the palace for free. Students, pensioners and citizens aged 16-18 for 325 rubles.

You can ride an electric car in the park. The cost of such an excursion is 800 rubles for the entire group (from 4 to 20 people.) Excursion service provided in the museum.

The main exhibition is open seven days a week from 8:00 to 20:00. Other exhibitions are weekends on Monday and Wednesday.

Detailed and up-to-date information on the palace website: http://worontsovpalace.org (official site)

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

Buses go here from Yalta central bus station. Go to the stop "Alupka Palace". Continue walking through the park. By minibus you can get to the local bus station and, following the signs, walk 850 meters on foot. You can take a boat on the sea - this is an additional pleasure and experience. Then uphill from the beach. Address: Alupka, Palace highway, 18.

Vorontsov Palace on the map of Crimea

GPS Coordinates: N 44.419861, E 34.055972 Latitude/Longitude

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

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

the main attraction of the seaside town.

Rest 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 the Russian seaside town on south coast Crimea.

A particularly bewitching view of Alupka opens from the sea: in the center of the panorama on a hill flaunts the magnificent Alupka Palace (Vorontsovsky); buildings of coastal sanatoriums are stretched in a chain along the sea and are buried in the greenery of parks, and the teeth of the majestic mountain Ai-Petri dominate over them.

Ai-Petrinsky mountain range - one of the highest in the Crimea. Like a shield, he closes Alupka from the northern cold winds, and the largest number of sunny days per year (compared to Black Sea resorts Caucasus) make this town on the Black Sea coast a wonderful 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, from 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 he was 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.

Customer and first owner of the Alupka Palace. In 1844-1854 he was 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 Vorontsov Park appeared.

In 1824 they begin to build 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 the Vorontsov Palace in Odessa). The palace was conceived in the neoclassical style. Four years later, the groundbreaking was completed, but Harrison died 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 created his own project based on English Gothic based on the presented drawings of the area. Blor himself did not appear in Alupka - Vorontsov Palace in Crimea 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 in 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 the Crimea, the southern gate, as opposed to the northern one, was made in the eastern Indo-Moorish style. Complementing the composition are marble lions by sculptor Giovanni Bonnani. The palace was built until 1848. The park was completed 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 - 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. Even today you can see many fragments of diabase rocks in the park.

The work was attended by foreign masters who were engaged in the garden, and the serfs of Count Vorontsov. The sculptor Roman Furtunov was especially successful, who was the only one of the serfs who received an equal salary with foreign masters.

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

It's built from diabase- material, which in its strength exceeds 2 times 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. Finishing lasted until 1852. The architecture of the palace is unique. It consists in a combination of different styles:

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

Shuvalovsky passage.

The palace ensemble consists of 5 buildings, open and closed courtyards, terraces. The Vorontsov Palace looks both stern and elegant, 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 loophole windows. 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 stalls with marble fountains in the center of each. Hidden in a shady pergola of flowering wisteria

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

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

South facade of the palace.

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

"There is no winner but Allah."

Marble lion on the south terrace.

PALACE INTERIORS

The main exposition includes 10 rooms. The rooms of the upper floor are closed so as not to overload the weakened ceilings. The tour begins through the side entrance, leading to the corridor that led to the count's office. Initially, the rooms on the ground floor served as a bedroom for the Vorontsovs. The main rooms opened in the exposition "ceremonial 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. Chintz room;

6. Chinese cabinet;

7. Lobby;

8. Blue living room, the walls of which are decorated with stucco roses. Also exhibited here is a grand piano, which is not original in Vorontsov's interior.

Each of the 150 rooms that make up the palace ensemble is unique: the Print Room, the Blue Living Room, the Grand Dining Room, the Winter Garden, the Chinese Study, the Billiard Room, and the Lobby. Everywhere you can see the luxury and love of the owners for their home.

A special pride of the Alupka Palace - luxury fireplaces in the Gothic style, made of marble-like limestone and polished diabase stone.

"Front lobby

The front vestibule is located in the center of the palace. From the south and north, two small vestibules adjoin symmetrically to it, and from the west and east there are offices and lounges. 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 study looks quite restrained, in English, but the abundance of wood in the room gives warmth and comfort to the interior. The wallpaper was specially ordered in England.

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

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

Next to the bookcase, a round table, English chairs and armchairs with Gothic carvings were comfortably attached. This arrangement of furniture gives the office an atmosphere conducive not only to business conversations, but also to friendly meetings.

Another reminder of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov's Anglomania is a window in the form of a bay window. This element, often found in English architecture, visually enlarges the space of the office and gives more light. A table covered with 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, the peaks of Ai-Petri.

"The Chintz Room"

From the office we get into the Chintz room. It is called chintz because the walls of the room are really covered with chintz.

There is original fabric on the walls, the only flaw of which is the faded color. Initially, 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.

We pass through the Chintz Room to Chinese study of the mistress 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 office"

The room is decorated in the then fashionable oriental style, but without any specific references to China, India or the countries of the East in general. Oak panels, high lancet windows and doors leading to the southern terrace, to the sea, unexpectedly but successfully combine with rice mats embroidered with silk and beads on the walls and wooden carved details in the interior.

The ceiling in the room is not wooden, as it may seem, but stucco. Russian peasant Roman Furtunov skillfully made a plaster ceiling, imitating wood carving.

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

It is made in the shape of a tortoise shell in the Bull style, decorated with bronze, but what is especially valuable about it is that it is a gift from Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I, as a token of gratitude for the hospitality he showed to the owners of the house in Alupka.

And a few lyrical digressions. From the school bench, many people know that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was carried away by the wife of the Novorossiysk Governor-General. It is believed that it was Elizabeth Vorontsova who Pushkin dedicated the poems "The Burnt Letter", "The Stormy Day Has Extinct...", "The Desire for Glory", "The Talisman", "Keep Me, My Talisman...".

There were rumors that it was Pushkin who was the father of one of the daughters of Elizabeth Ksaveryevna. However, researchers of the poet's biography have reason to assume that Pushkin was only a cover for the novel by Elizaveta Ksaveryevna with her relative and Pushkin's friend Alexander Raevsky. In any case, one can say thanks to Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, who "contributed" to the change of the poet's southern exile to an exile in 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 Grand Dining Room is the most majestic hall of the Vorontsov Palace.

The area of ​​the dining room is about 150 sq.m., the height of the ceiling is 8 m. Under the Vorontsovs, it was illuminated by dozens of candelabra and chandeliers. An enormous table, composed of four offset pieces with polished mahogany tops, rises on pedestals with animal paws and occupies a large part of the room. By the window there is a massive sideboard on the same lion's paws as the tables, and under the sideboard there is an Egyptian-style tub for cooling wine, which was filled with crushed ice.

In the center northern wall In the main dining room, between the fireplaces, there is a fountain, the niche of which is decorated with a majolica panel depicting fantastic birds and dragons. Above the fountain 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", which housed a furniture set, 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 crater vases 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 in the Vorontsov Palace to the accompaniment of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

"Billiard room"

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

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 valued at that time.

From the Blue Drawing Room, the guests of the Vorontsovs went out into the Winter Garden. In the 19th century, almost every European palace had its own winter garden, which was used for reading and relaxing.

"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 Ksarievna. 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 sent the sculptor from Russia within a day.

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

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

"Vorontsovsky Park"

The work on the creation of the park, which began even a little earlier than the construction of the palace, in 1820, was entrusted to the chief gardener of the Southern coast of 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 constantly heard.

Most of the paths of the Upper Park lead to the 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 to create the illusion of its natural rather than artificial origin. Under the Vorontsovs, the bottom of the lake was strewn with semi-precious "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 to be still, which is why the trees and the sky are reflected on its surface as in a mirror.

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

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

The architecture of the Crimean peninsula is fascinating: there are many famous historical monuments that attract the attention of tourists from all over the world. The Vorontsov Palace, as seen in many photos, is one of the most magnificent buildings in the Crimea.

It was built by Count Mikhail Vorontsov in the small Tatar village of Alupka at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. The mansion gained fame architectural masterpiece era of romanticism.

The Vorontsov Palace is located in the town of Alupka in the southern part of the picturesque Crimean peninsula. The city is part of the urban district of Yalta and stretches along the coast for 4 km. Not far from Alupka are the resorts of Simeiz and Katsiveli.

Geographical coordinates on the map of Crimea GPS N 44.4197, E 34.0430

How and by whom the construction was carried out

Count Vorontsov first visited the Crimea in 1822 and was delighted with the beauty and wealth of the southern region. Under him, the rapid development of winemaking began, fish factories were created, salt production was established, roads and a port were built. The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea, the photo of which is presented in the article, was built as the summer residence of Count Mikhail Vorontsov.

The governor-general of Novorossiya was a very wealthy and educated man. He took the planning of the project seriously and personally last day supervised the construction. Initially, the building complex was planned in the style of strict classicism by famous architects Thomas Harrison and Francesco Boffo.

The earl approved the project, but after visiting England, where he met the talented royal architect Edward Blore, the creator of Buckingham Palace and a great connoisseur of medieval architecture, he changed the drawings. The famous architect never came to the Crimea, but thoroughly studied the area around the construction site from drawings and sketches.

He designed a magnificent castle that fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape.

The palace with a total area of ​​40 hectares was built for 20 years from 1928 to 1948. The material was a local durable stone diabase of volcanic origin. It was delivered in blocks to the construction site, where it was cut by hand.

The palace complex consists of five buildings, connected by open and closed passages, which were built alternately in the style of a certain era. Inside the palace there are 150 rooms equipped with running water and sewerage. A lot of money was invested in the construction of the palace, but the richest man in Russia could afford such a luxury.

History of the palace

The noble family of the Vorontsovs is one of the most ancient. Mikhail grew up in the family of a famous politician and diplomat, and spent his childhood in England. A brilliantly educated young man, upon returning to his homeland at the age of 19, he entered the military service. Mikhail made a successful career and received the rank of general very young.

In 1823, the count and his family arrived in Odessa, where he was appointed governor-general. Knowing about the wealth of the southern region, Mikhail was interested in obtaining this position. Under his rule, the city prospered, and the count decided to invest his personal income in the construction of a magnificent estate. After the construction was completed, the palace belonged to the Vorontsov family for a long time, and then to his descendants.

But by the end of the 19th century, the estate was abandoned:

1. In 1904, a distant relative of the Vorontsovs began to build summer cottages on the territory and rent land for sanatoriums.
2. At the beginning of the 20th century, with the advent of Soviet power, the mansion became a national museum.
3. During the Second World War, the palace was practically not damaged, only some valuable exhibits were taken out. Hitler promised the mansion to Field Marshal Manstein and he took care of the preservation of his property.
4. During the Yalta Conference, the British delegation lived in the palace.
5. In the post-war years, there was a dacha for high-ranking officials, and then in 1956 the mansion again acquired the status of a museum.

Since 1990, the palace complex has been called Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve.

Architecture. Palace interiors

The main feature of the palace is the original fusion of different styles. The famous architect managed to organically combine the themes of the West and the East. The Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea, whose photo conveys a knightly interior and elements of stylized Gothic, corresponded to the character and lifestyle of the count, reflected his male interests.

The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea looks great not only live, but also in the photo.

Both European masters and stone cutters, cabinetmakers, sculptors, embroiderers from all provinces of Russia, and the serfs of the count himself had a hand in creating a magnificent interior. Up to three hundred names of skilled craftsmen have been preserved in the archives.

Western facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The western façade or Shuvalovsky passage with its high watchtowers, narrow loopholes and thick walls made of gray diabase blocks resembles a medieval European castle. From this side passes the main entrance to the palace ensemble.

Architecture of outbuildings of the Vorontsov Palace

The utility buildings are located in an elongated closed polygon, to which two separate gates lead. The architecture of these buildings corresponds to English medieval castles. The facades are decorated with clear geometric lines of door and window openings, the walls are processed using the “torn” stone method.

On the ground floor there were various household services, and servants lived in the upper rooms.

Northern facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The northern side of the mansion resembles Vacation home 16th century England. Tall chimneys give a special touch to the northern façade.

The north side is illuminated by the sun only in the morning and evening, the rest of the day it seems to merge with the gray rocks. Mount Ai-Petri towering behind the palace harmoniously complements the architectural ensemble.

Front office of the Vorontsov Palace

The office is decorated in a traditional English style:

• bay windows;
• oak panels and doors;
• inlaid furniture from London;
• fireplace.

On the walls with painted wallpaper are commemorative portraits of combat comrades-in-arms in the Patriotic War of 1812 and a portrait of the owner himself in military uniform.

The office is decorated with a bookcase made of ebony fine workmanship, English chairs and armchairs with Gothic carvings, bronze sculptures, candelabra, gilded clocks depicting folk heroes Minin and Pozharsky. Here the governor-general held meetings and friendly meetings.

Chintz living room of the Vorontsov Palace

A small chintz room served as a reception room, where they waited for an audience with the count. The walls are upholstered with expensive English fabric with an elegant pattern, the furniture is inlaid with bronze, there is a blue crystal chandelier on the ceiling, and mosaic parquet.

The walls are decorated with landscapes by Russian artists.

Chinese Cabinet of the Vorontsov Palace

This is the countess's boudoir. In its design, one can feel a delicate feminine taste and a passion for the Far Eastern exoticism that was fashionable at that time. The walls are decorated with thin rice straws, silk embroideries, and carved decor.

On the wall are portraits of famous people, a portrait of the Countess herself by an unknown artist, and family coats of arms.

The lobby of the Vorontsov Palace

The front lobby is decorated in the English style and was designed to welcome guests. There are two fireplaces in polished diabase.

On the walls are portraits of the count's relatives, Empress Catherine II, who was Mikhail Vorontsov's godmother. The interior is complemented by rare Persian carpets.

Living room of the Vorontsov Palace

The bright festive room was used as a home theater. The blue walls are decorated with alabaster flowers. Artistic modeling was carried out by the serfs of Count Vorontsov. In the living room there is a white marble fireplace with floral ornaments, huge porcelain vases, Bohemian glass chandeliers and a beautiful white grand piano.

Hospitable hosts willingly received poets and musicians in their apartments. Zhukovsky, Alexei Tolstoy, Shchepkin, Rachmaninov performed here. The countess herself played the piano beautifully and sang.

Winter Garden of the Vorontsov Palace

The winter garden connects the inner chambers and the main dining room. The Vorontsov couple loved to relax here. Rare ornamental plants from Africa, Australia, and Japan were grown in the garden. The garden was traditionally decorated with white antique sculptures, busts of family members, and a white marble fountain. The sculpture of a laughing girl is considered one of the most skillful in the world.

The main dining room of the Vorontsov Palace

The most solemn and spacious room of the palace resembles the knights' halls of the Middle Ages. The height of the ceilings reaches 8 meters, and the total area is about 150 square meters. m. The design of this room was personally done by Edward Blore. Bay windows, an oak ceiling in the form of Gothic vaults, carved wood, family coats of arms, strict colors of wood and stone.

The architect ventured to complement the cold interior with picturesque panels in carved frames by the French artist Robert.

Between the two fireplaces there is a room fountain, and above it a balcony for musicians. Sparkling dining tables, a sideboard with lion legs, openwork sideboards, crystal vases, dozens of chandeliers and candelabra decorated with Ural malachite.

Billiard room of the Vorontsov Palace

In the billiard room, the owners and guests played and had fun. There is a walnut set, a mahogany table. The room is decorated in English style. The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea (the photo below shows paintings by European artists) is famous for its numerous collection of works by famous masters from different eras. The billiard room has a large number of paintings.

South facade of the Vorontsov Palace

The southern facade faces the sea and is constantly illuminated by the sun. In its design there are characteristic elements of Muslim architecture. These are huge windows, deep niches, verandas with openwork lattices, horseshoe arches, ornate carvings with flowers, Arabic inscriptions on the cornice.

The monumental staircase descending to the sea is guarded by six lions carved from white marble. The Lion's Terrace has become a favorite place for photo shoots and selfies.

Library of the Vorontsov Palace

The library of Count Vorontsov, not without reason, was considered one of the largest in Russia. Thousands of books in various languages ​​were placed on the four-meter shelving of the vault. The owner was interested in science, as evidenced by rare manuscripts, old maps and globes. The father and aunt of the count began to collect the unique library.

Alupka park

The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea (every tourist wants to take a photo with a view of the park today in order to preserve the memory of its beauty) began to be built after the laying of a luxurious park. The German gardener Karl Kebach created a real miracle for 1/4 century. At the personal request of the countess, the territory of the estate was literally buried in greenery and flowers.

Once upon a time, more than 2 thousand rose bushes bloomed here.

The lower park with its flower beds on the terraces, fountains, benches, marble vases resembles the gardens of the Middle Ages. The proximity of mountain springs made it possible to create artificial cool reservoirs with cascades and small waterfalls, swimming swans. Water constantly murmurs here, harmony and order reign.

By order of the count, the bottom of Swan Lake was strewn with semi-precious stones to create sun glare. The upper park, by design, imitated wildlife. It is hard to believe that the stone chaos in the form of gorges, cliffs, grottoes was made by human hands. Near wide glades, specially cleared of piles of stones. Each lawn has its own romantic name.

collected in the park the richest collection age-old trees and shrubs of rare species imported from other countries. Tourists can admire the cozy Tea House, the amazing Freishütz waterfall, the Maria fountain - a copy of the “tears” fountain in Bakhchisarai.

The Vorontsov Palace and its magnificent park were immortalized in their paintings by Levitan, Surikov, Lentulov. While in the Crimea, Aivazovsky painted his seascapes here. The rock on which he worked bears the artist's name. Beautiful photos in memory of the wonderful nature of the Crimea and its amazing sights are taken away by thousands of tourists.

Museum expositions

The interior of the palace has changed little over the past 100 years. The museum has several permanent exhibitions. Tourists can see 10 ceremonial halls on the ground floor.

The following exhibitions are also available to visitors:

• Shuvalov's house;
• kitchen;
• butler's apartment;
• sculptures in the park.

Here are collected valuable collections of paintings, porcelain, sculptures, elegant antique furniture of great historical value. The guides are very interesting and tell in detail about the buildings and life of family members.

Palace opening hours

The main expositions of the museum are open seven days a week from 9:00 to 18:00. Other exhibitions are weekends on Mondays and Wednesdays. Tickets are sold at several ticket offices, which start working from 9 o'clock.

Information for tourists. Visiting Rules

Tourists are familiarized with the rules of visiting the museum in advance.

Here are the main ones:

How are the tours

Each tour begins with a tour of the stands, where the history of construction is presented. Then visitors inspect the rest of the halls on the first floor. Tourists are not allowed in the upper sleeping quarters. They obviously look more modest, but the situation has not been preserved.

Thematic exhibitions are often held on the territory of the park, excursions around the park on electric vehicles are offered. Individual excursions are conducted on a contractual basis.

Cost of visits

Entrance to Alupka Park is free, except for some places popular with tourists.

Prices for visiting the museum are acceptable:

Services	Ticket price for adults (rub.)	Reduced ticket price (rub.)
Main expositions	300	200
Exhibitions	110-150	55-80
Tour of the park	50-100	25
Walking in the park in an electric car	800	800
single ticket	650	Z25
Event with photo accompaniment for one academic hour	2500

Commercial video filming is paid in advance.

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

From any locality South Coast is easy to get to Alupka, both by sea and by land.

From Yalta

From Yalta to Alupka 17 km. You can get here by regular boat, which departs from the maritime station. Buses with special routes run from the central bus station - No. 132 (from the center) and No. 102 (from the bus station).

From the stop "Vorontsov Palace" you can go to the castle through the park. Minibuses No. 107 and No. 115 take tourists to the bus station, and from there you have to walk. By car from Yalta you have to go through Vinogradnoye, Livadia, Gornoye.

From Alushta

From Alushta to Alupka it is easier to get through Yalta, where shuttle trolleybuses leave every half an hour. At the Yalta bus station, transfer to buses to Alupka. On passing intercity buses "Simferopol-Simeiz" in two hours you can directly get to Alupka (highway). This option is suitable for active tourists who are not burdened with luggage.

From Simferopol

First you need to get to the Yalta bus station by bus "Simferopol-Yalta", and from there by shuttle bus to the stop "Avtostanciya" and another 10-15 minutes on foot.

From Sevastopol

On the Sevastopol-Yalta bus, get to the Pitomnik stop, cross to the other side of the road and take route No. 1A and go to the Avtostanciya stop. There is also a direct flight "Sevastopol-Alupka". A good option would be to buy excursion tour, which will eliminate the problems with transport.

The majestic palace has its secrets and mysteries.

Some of them remain unsolved to this day:

The Vorontsov Palace is the brightest sight of the peninsula. It is impossible to visit the Crimea and not visit the famous palace ensemble and its magnificent park. Here you can admire beautiful views, get unforgettable vivid impressions. Tourists who come to Alupka like to take photos against the backdrop of the palace and the battlements of Mount Ai-Petri.

Article formatting: Lozinsky Oleg

Video about the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea

Vorontsov Palace. Alupka. Sights of Crimea:

The Alupka Palace, a masterpiece of romanticism architecture, was built for almost 20 years, from 1828 to 1848, by order of the powerful Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, an aristocrat and Angloman Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. The count personally chose a place for his Crimean residence on the picturesque stone cape at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri in the little-known Tatar village of Alupka. The Englishman Edward Blore, the author of Walter Scott's castle in Scotland, the court architect of the British crown, managed to organically fit the building of the palace into the surrounding landscape. In the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace, Blore combined different styles - English, neo-Moorish and Gothic, paying tribute to the secular fashion of that time for the novels of Walter Scott and oriental tales.

History of creation

Initially, the famous Italian architect Francesco Boffo, who had already built the palace in Odessa, was appointed to build the residence. To help him was the Englishman Thomas Harrison, an engineer, an adherent of neoclassicism. Work began, and by 1828 the foundation, which was filled with lead for seismic resistance, as well as the first masonry of the portal niche of the central building, were ready. But in 1829, Harrison died, and two years later, the earl decided to suspend the construction of the palace, apparently abandoning the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bbuilding a neoclassical residence.

Vorontsov turns to the Englishman Edward Blore, a brilliant architectural historian, graphic artist and fashionable architect in his homeland. Most likely, Vorontsov was introduced to him by the Earl of Pembroke. New drawings had to wait almost a year. But Mikhail Semenovich liked the result, and in December 1832 the construction of buildings began. Blore brilliantly solved the problem in a historical perspective: the architecture of the palace demonstrates the development of medieval European and Moorish architecture, starting from the forms of the early Middle Ages and ending with the 16th century. The building of the palace is deployed in such a way that it repeats the outlines of the visible mountains. It is surprising that the architect himself, who so precisely inscribed the building in the surrounding nature, never visited the Crimea, but used only numerous landscape sketches and relief drawings that were sent to him in England.

The resulting castle could well serve as an illustration for historical novels: five buildings, fortified with defensive towers, different in shape and height, united by many open and closed passages, staircases and courtyards.

The construction was carried out from local greenish-gray stone - diabase, which is not inferior in strength to basalt, which was taken from natural placers in Alupka. Considerable efforts were required during its processing, since the decorations of the exterior of the house, complex in pattern, could spoil one wrong blow with a chisel. Therefore, Russian stone-cutters, who built white-stone churches in Central Russia, were invited for the most difficult stone-cutting work.

The main decorative decoration of the Vorontsov Palace - the motif of a sloping lancet keeled arch - is repeatedly repeated in the cast-iron balustrade of the balconies, and in the carved stone lattice that encloses the roof, and in the decorative decoration of the portal south entrance, made in the Moorish style of the Alhambra Palace.

The design of the southern entrance facing the sea intertwines the drawing of a Tudor flower and the motif of a lotus, which culminate in the Arabic inscription repeated six times across the frieze: "And there is no winner but Allah", just as it is written in the Alhambra of Granada.

In front of the facade is the Lion Terrace and the monumental white Carrara marble staircase by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonanni. On both sides of the steps there are three pairs of lions: the bottom left is sleeping, the bottom right is awakening, above is a pair of awake ones, and the third pair is roaring.

The rear facade of the palace and its western part, a variation on the theme of Tudor England of the 16th - early 17th centuries, resemble the harsh castles of English aristocrats.

By the way, this palace was one of the first in Russia, which was equipped with hot water and sewerage.

The cost of building the palace complex amounted to about 9 million rubles in silver - an astronomical amount for those times. But Count Vorontsov could afford it, because after his marriage in 1819 to Elizaveta Ksaveryevna Branitskaya, he doubled his fortune and became the richest landowner of the Russian Empire. Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, the one with whom, according to one version, Alexander Pushkin fell in love in exile in Odessa, personally supervised the creation of the interiors of the building, took care of the decoration of the park and often paid for the work.

palace dwellers

Mikhail Semenovich did not manage to live long in the Alupka Palace. Another appointment followed - this time to the Caucasus. But in Alupka in the late 1840s, his daughter, Countess Sofya Mikhailovna, settled with her children. Then, after the death of Prince Vorontsov (he received the princely title in 1845), the palace, by right of majorate, passed to his only son, Semyon Mikhailovich. In 1882, his widow, Maria Vasilievna Vorontsova, went abroad and took many valuables from the palace. She had no children, the palace was abandoned, and by the end of the 19th century the building, the park and the economy fell into complete disrepair.

In 1904, new owners appeared at the castle - relatives along the line of the Vorontsovs-Dashkovs. The wife of the Viceroy of the Tsar in the Caucasus, Countess Elizaveta Andreevna Vorontsova-Dashkova, born Countess Shuvalova, vigorously set to work. She handed over land for sanatoriums and boarding houses and built more than 120 summer cottages on the estate.

After the revolution and the establishment of Soviet power in the Crimea, the lands of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs were nationalized. And on February 22, 1921, a telegram from Lenin arrived in the Crimea: “Take decisive measures for the actual protection of art treasures, paintings, porcelain, bronze, marble, etc., located in the Yalta palaces and private buildings, now assigned to the sanatoriums of the People's Commissariat of Health ...”

In the early 1920s, museums were created on the southern coast of Crimea, in a number of the largest noble estates, among them the Alupka Museum. The museum's collection was seriously damaged during the Great Patriotic War: a lot was taken out by the invaders, including 537 paintings and drawings. Only a small part of the paintings was found after the war and returned to the palace.

In February 1945, during the Crimean (Yalta) Conference, the Alupka Palace became the residence of the British delegation. Meetings of the heads of the allied powers - Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt - took place in the Grand Dining Room of the palace.

Later, the palace became the state dacha of the NKVD. In 1952, a sanatorium was placed there, and only in 1956, by decision of the Soviet government, the Crimean State Museum of Fine Arts was opened here. Since 1990, the palace has been part of the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve. Its collection today includes works of painting, sculpture and applied art, as well as documents, old drawings and lithographs, introducing the history of the construction of the palace.

English park

The English park of the palace is the work of the German gardener-botanist Karl Kebach, whom Vorontsov invited to the Crimea in 1824, when there was no design for the palace itself. He zealously set about creating a park, taking into account the relief, climate and local flora, combining, however, everything with the latest achievements in landscape gardening art. About 200 species of trees and bushes were brought here from all over the world. Parcels with seeds and seedlings came from America, Italy, the Caucasus, Karelia, China and Japan. It was said that more than two thousand varieties of roses bloomed here at the same time. The German gardener became so famous in the Crimea that landowners began to invite him to create or improve their parks and gardens along the entire coast.

Karl Kebach clearly planned the park on the principle of an amphitheater, keeping in its structure links with the main palace and other architectural objects. The coastal highway (Yalta - Simeiz) divides the park into Upper and Lower.

The lower park is designed in the style of Italian Renaissance gardens with fountains, marble sculptures, Byzantine columns, vases and stone benches. The upper one was created on the principle of English landscape parks of the Romantic era - more natural and natural: in it rocky debris, shady ponds and preserved areas of the Crimean forest are interspersed with picturesque glades, a unique system of lakes, waterfalls, cascades and grottoes. Kebakh created the Upper Park as a place of contemplation of the sea and Mount Ai-Petri, towering over the park and the palace, like the ruins of a giants' castle.

A carefully thought-out drainage system and individual plant care have done their job - many, even very rare and whimsical plants, have taken root well. In total, 250 species of trees and shrubs grew in the park by the end of the 19th century. The plants of the Vorontsovsky Park were so popular that the seedlings were even sold outside, to other gardens and estates.

The glory of Vorontsovsky Park as a masterpiece of landscape architecture was strengthened by artists who worked here on sketches: Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Aristarkh Lentulov ... And the parks, gardens and vineyards that belonged to Count Mikhail Vorontsov and his relatives - Naryshkin and Pototsky, completely changed the face of the coast from Alushta to Foros.