Vorontsov Palace history of origin. Vorontsovsky park and palace in Alupka. Vorontsov Palace in cinema

Hello everyone, dear friends! If you decide to visit Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, this article is simply indispensable for you: I will tell you how to get there, how much excursions cost and why it is worth visiting.

In this article:

Where is the palace located

The palace is located in the north-eastern part of Alupka, at the foot of Ai-Petri, on a rocky slope protruding into the sea, which was turned into a luxurious park by the labor of serfs in the 19th century.

In its center is a unique architectural building with three facades of different styles: the palace of His Serene Highness Prince M.S. Vorontsov, the godson of Catherine II, the governor of the southern lands annexed to Russia, an Angloman and a Freemason.

The protected area around the palace is the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Crimea (GBU RK) and has its address: Alupka, Palace highway, 10(you can open in a new window to get directions).

Location of the palace on the map:

GPS coordinates - N 44°25.181 , E 34°03.252

How to get there

The palace starts working from 9 am, so I recommend going there as early as possible in order to have time to go around the entire park.

If you are not traveling by car, use public transport. It will take you to the Alupka bus station, from which you can walk to the Vorontsov Palace in a couple of minutes. And I'll tell you about the bus schedule below.

Alupka is located:

18 km from Yalta,
57 km - from Sevastopol,
101 km from Simferopol,
to Simeiz, Miskhor, Gaspra from it is only 6 km.

1. From Yalta

Dozens of flights run daily from Yalta to Alupka. Current schedule (you can click on it to view information about the pickup point):

2. From Simferopol

Direct bus schedule:

3. From Sevastopol

4. From Alushta

5. From Gurzuf

6. From Simeiz

7. From Miskhor

Opening hours and ticket prices

The park includes several expositions, to visit each of which you need to buy a separate ticket for the tour - there are no single tickets.

It is better to look at the ticket prices on the official website, as it may vary depending on the season - the cost of excursions.

At the same time, you do not need to pay for the entrance to the park, you can walk along it absolutely free.

The Vorontsov Palace is open from 9-00 to 17-00, but it is best to come to the park no later than lunch in order to have time to visit not only it, but also other equally interesting buildings of the park.

What amazes Vorontsov Palace

You can observe a combination of different architectural styles:

for the Northern facade - English late Gothic;

for the Western - castle medieval Europe of the 8th-12th centuries;

for the South - neo-Moorish style with a "Lion's Terrace" made of diabase.

See with your own eyes the chic decoration of the living rooms: “blue”, “chintz”, “Chinese cabinet”, the front dining room.

Enjoy a unique collection of greenhouse and garden plants, which, in the amount of 200 species, have ennobled 40 hectares of the park area.

You will be amazed by the scale of development: five buildings, 150 rooms, towers, courtyards, a library for 25,000 books, a greenhouse.

Admire the decorativeness of the facades, where the incompatible is so organically combined: Christian and Muslim culture, Masonic symbols and Victorian rarities.

You will be able to see the monumental descent to the sea.

Judging by the fact that the reserve has become a natural backdrop for the ten most popular domestic films, directors do not cease to find historical authenticity here in the reflection of different eras and countries.

Here, perhaps, is the main thing you should know when preparing to visit the palace and park complex. I hope there will be no disappointments, and this information will help you not to lose sight of such an object of rare beauty on vacation in the Crimea.

I wish you a great trip!

The Vorontsov Palace stands apart in Alupka - one of the most impressive on the coast. The palace was built over 20 years, since 1830, as the summer residence of the Governor-General of Novorossia M.S. Vorontsov.

Designed by the English architect Edward Blore (1789-1879), one of the authors of Buckingham Palace and Westiminster Abbey. The Vorontsov Palace amazingly subtly absorbed the features of the eastern and western styles. On the southern façade of the building there is a horseshoe-shaped arch, a two-tier vault, a magnificent plaster carving in a niche depicting a lotus.

On the fresco of the niche there is an inscription with a saying from the Koran: "And there is no god but Allah." Near the walls of the southern facade of the Vorontsov Palace there are marble sculptures of lions, made in the workshop of the Italian sculptor V. Bonanni. Northern part The palace impresses with the severity of the style typical of 16th century England.

It is also a monument of landscape gardening art. In 1824-1851, the German gardener Karl Antonovich Kebach worked on its creation. In 1956, by decision of the government, a museum was located in the palace.

Since 1990, it has been the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve. Alupka Park has a unique system of lakes, roads and waterfalls. The park was built on the principle of an ancient amphitheater descending from the palace to tea house on the seashore. The park has two levels - lower and upper.

Vorontsov Palace - address and phone

The address of the Vorontsov Palace is Crimea, Alupka, Palace Highway, 18.

Phone of the organizer on duty at the Vorontsov Palace (for information about the museum's working hours): +7 978 018 56 74.

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka?

You can get to the Vorontsov Palace from the Yalta bus station: bus number 115 (Yalta - Simeiz), bus number 107 (Yalta - Katsiveli) to the stop "Alupka, bus station"; bus number 102 (Yalta - Alupka Park) to the final stop.

From the Clothing Market of Yalta (city center) you can get by bus number 132 (Yalta - Alupka) to the final stop.

From Sevastopol ( Central Bus Station): by regular bus to the stop "Alupka, Pitomnik", then by city bus No. 1-A to the stop "Center. Lenin Square”, from here walk down the stairs to the palace.

Vorontsov Palace - the history of creation

Alupka is famous for its palace and park ensemble, consisting of five buildings (Main, Library, Canteen, Household and Guest with a one-story Shuvalov wing), a Tea House located by the sea and a park surrounding the entire complex.

This ensemble was created in the 20-40s of the 19th century, during the period of strong influence of romanticism on literature and art.

Romanticism is a whole era in the development of culture. His ideological prerequisites in Russia were the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Decembrist uprising.

Originating in the early 19th century, it gained popularity in the 1820s. In the late 30s, romantic trends become dominant. In accordance with this, the attitude towards classicism is changing, which for romantics turns into the personification of dogmatism, external form, normativity, excluding free creativity and development. The aesthetic ideal has also changed. Romantics associated beauty not with clarity, simplicity and harmony, as in classicism, but with diversity, contrast, and dynamism.

Talented architects of the era of romanticism turned to the architectural elements of the styles of past eras and, having subjected them to creative rethinking, used them in modern construction. They showed special attention to the architecture of the Middle Ages (Gothic, Romanesque, Moorish, Indo-Muslim, etc.).

The distinctive features of romanticism in architecture are picturesqueness and asymmetry of compositions. Architectural romanticism, unlike classicism, did not create large public buildings, majestic urban ensembles, but found wide application in manor and park construction.

Starting from the 20s of the 19th century, buildings created in the romantic style prevailed on the South Coast. Crimean mountains, exotic vegetation, a sea with intricately indented coasts and bays, picturesque rocks represented a bright, expressive backdrop for romantic architecture. Here, the connection was especially clear. architectural structure with the surrounding nature.

A. Demidov, traveling around the Crimea in 1837, noted in his notes: “Alternately you see a small house in Asian style, whose windows are covered with curtains, the pipes look like minarets; either a beautiful Gothic castle, or a cozy dacha like English "cottages", completely immersed in a sea of greenery and flowers, or a light wooden building with extensive galleries.

Unfortunately, under the influence of inexorable time, many estates and buildings of the 1st half of the 19th century disappeared from the face of the Crimean land. But the most valuable, most interesting monument of that era has been preserved - the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, now a palace-museum.

It was built with a predominant focus on the architectural style of England in the 16th century, combined with the forms of the style of Indo-Muslim architecture of the 16th-17th centuries.

The western facade of the palace is very reminiscent of a medieval castle-fortress. Here the viewer is greeted by monumental round towers with slit-like embrasure windows. High severe walls are crowned with stone battlements-cremalers. The walls are supported by powerful buttresses. The impression of the gloomy Middle Ages is reinforced by Shuvalovsky passage. Its broken line with a number of closed perspectives seems to promise something mysterious to the viewer somewhere around the corner.

At the top there is an openwork bridge connecting the service buildings with the Main Dining Building. This air bridge is really very romantic. He, like the entire western part of the palace, is able to take us into the atmosphere of medieval novels by Walter Scott or other contemporary romantic writers.

Architecture of outbuildings of the Vorontsov Palace

The household courtyard, which includes extensive services and living quarters for servants, is part of a single palace complex without violating the architectural, artistic and compositional integrity of the ensemble. Construction period 1838-1842.

Service buildings are located on the northern side of the site, parallel to the canteen building and the Shuvalovsky (guest) wing. They form a separate closed courtyard in the form of an irregular polygon elongated horizontally.

The isolation and isolation of the courtyard, the general character of the architecture of the outbuildings will remind us of medieval English castles with towers, narrow windows - loopholes of high outer walls.

At the heart of the decorative design of the facades is a clear rhythm of geometrically simple door and window openings. Here, textured processing of the walls with “torn” stone is applied.

The southern part of the economic buildings under the Vorontsovs was divided according to its functional purpose into three parts: central part occupied by carriage sheds with three wide doorways, the right - by the stables, in the left wing there was a kitchen with utility rooms and pantries.

Various household services were also located in the northern part of the household yard. Regarding the lower floor, there is an assumption that in its right wing there could be a dining room for the servants, and in the left, a vast room with three large arched openings that were not closed by gates (since the openings do not have quarters for installing gates) could be located forge serving stable services. On the second floors there were living rooms and apartments for palace servants.

The outer wall of the northern building of the utility yard, facing the park, is reinforced with flat buttresses. Chimneys stylized as phials give a special picturesqueness to the silhouette of the walls.

Two gates lead to the courtyard. At the western entrance is a round tower. The eastern gate, overlooking the front courtyard, is flanked by two rectangular three-tiered towers, one of which - the Sentry - is completed with a turret with a flagpole. The towers are identical in proportion and shape, designed in the style of English architecture of the 16th century. Their upper tier is crowned with a high jagged cornice. The gates of the towers connect the main courtyard with the service buildings and at the same time constitute the architectural frame of the “clean” courtyard from the west.

Northern facade of the Vorontsov Palace

In the northern façade, we see a new aspect of architecture, no longer identical to a medieval fortress, but to a country English palace of the 16th century, which is characterized by large window openings (bay windows), tall chimneys, which, in addition to their utilitarian purpose, play a large decorative role. Rising above the palace as a whole slender colonnade with finials in the form of buds of some fantastic flowers (fleurons), they give a special decorative effect to the entire architectural and decorative appearance of the main building of the palace.

The architect achieves great expressiveness here by the rhythmic alternation of smooth planes of walls and risalits, graceful pinnacle turrets and massive battlements-cremaliers.

Looking at the palace, we admire the virtuosity of stone cutters, who skilfully executed its structural and decorative details: stone blocks, carved pediments, domes. Here, many architectural details typical of England in the 16th century (towers, arches, domes) are similar in outline to elements of oriental architecture. This is another feature of romantic architecture, when another is guessed in the forms of one style.

The elements of oriental architecture that take place in the palace reached their strongest development in the architecture of the southern facade of the palace, which we will get to know later.

The presence of two styles in one building was by no means a mechanical combination here. The architect found details close to both the East and Gothic, dispersed them in a certain rhythm throughout the complex and thus achieved an amazing stylistic unity.

So, in the northern facade we see the majestic and austere palace of the late English Middle Ages.

The author of the palace project was the famous architect Edward Blore (1789-1879), one of the founders of the romantic trend in English architecture. E. Blore is known in England as a draftsman and engraver, illustrator of publications on the history of British architecture. In 1816-1823 he was involved in the design and decoration of Abbotsford Castle for W. Scott in Scotland. In 1820-1850 he carried out restoration work in royal palaces, was a brilliant connoisseur of Tudor architecture. In total, he built and reconstructed 40 public buildings and estates and the same number of churches and chapels. Blore is one of the founders of the Royal Archaeological Institute.

According to Blore's design, the palace was built by William Gunt, also an English architect. Construction lasted 20 years, from 1828 to 1848. mainly by the forces of serf masters. Of great interest is the fact that Vladimir stone-cutters worked here, who glorified themselves by the art of erecting white-stone Russian churches with artistically executed decorations.

The main building material was the local diabase stone, the strength of which is higher than that of granite. Thanks to the beautiful greenish-gray color of the stone, the palace organically blended into the color scheme of the local landscape. The peak of Mount Ai-Petri, crowning the entire landscape of Alupka and with its outlines similar to the ruins of some ancient fantastic castle, became a wonderful background for him.

From huge shapeless blocks of diabase, which was processed by hand, blocks for walls were cut out, thin and complex architectural details were cut out. Diabase was carefully polished for interior decoration.

Worked here in different time from a hundred to a thousand people, among them Vorontsov's serfs. They were used as civilian workers, received a salary from which they had to pay dues. At present, on the basis of archival documents, it was possible to establish the names of more than 300 serfs, among whom were sculptors, cabinet makers, wood and stone carvers, painters, and embroiderers.

Among these talented craftsmen, the skill of the sculptor Roman Furtunov from the Moshensky estate of the Kyiv province deserves special attention. Joiners worked from the same estate in Alupka, many of them worked up to 10 years, finishing the interiors of the palace and making furniture.

And now, admiring the skill of the serfs and civilian craftsmen who built this palace, we pay tribute to the numerous craftsmen whose talent manifested itself in the decoration of the main halls of the palace, made with great taste and perfection.

A palace was built for the count, and later Prince M.S. Vorontsov (1782-1856), one of the largest Russian landowners of the 1st half of the 19th century. In 1823, he was appointed governor-general of the Novorossiysk Territory and plenipotentiary governor of the Bessarabia region.

In the first half of the 19th century, the colonization of new lands in Russia intensified. The overcrowding of estates in the central zone forced the landowners to look for new lands in order to be able to fully utilize the labor of their serfs. At that time, the lands of Novorossia and Crimea were especially valued. They were acquired and developed, since the proximity of the Black Sea to them created favorable conditions for the export and sale of various agricultural products. Therefore, Vorontsov seeks his appointment to the post of Governor-General of Novorossia.

Having visited the Crimea for the first time in 1822 and seeing what enormous riches this rich, almost undeveloped land conceals, Vorontsov begins to acquire land here. Massandra, Ai-Danil, Ai-Vasil, Martyan, Gurzuf, Alupka - one after another become the property of Vorontsov. In the 30s, he already owned about 2 thousand acres of land. Vorontsov tries to use his estates as profitably as possible. On the South Coast, he creates extensive vineyards, one of the first to start industrial winemaking here. Under him, the first cellars were laid in Massandra. Sheep breeding developed in the steppe regions of Crimea, a stud farm was developed in Ak-Mechet, and salt was mined in two lakes in this region.

Thanks to the construction of a road that connected Simferopol with Sevastopol and Yalta, agricultural products and wine were exported from the Crimean estates of Vorontsov, which undoubtedly contributed to an increase in the owner's income. From the Crimean estates, Vorontsov had an income of up to 56 thousand rubles. in year.

Having 400 thousand acres of land and about 80 thousand serfs in 16 provinces of Russia, Vorontsov received huge incomes. Only the income from the dues, excluding the Crimean estates, amounted to 800 thousand rubles in banknotes. The owner of such wealth had the opportunity to build luxurious palaces for himself.

The former Vorontsov Palace became a museum in 1921 after the liberation of the Crimea from the White Guards. On February 20 of the same year, V.I. Lenin, who paid great attention to cultural construction in the country, sent a telegram to the chairman of the Crimean Revolutionary Committee: “Take decisive measures to protect the artistic values located in the Yalta palaces and private buildings, now assigned to the sanatoriums of the People's Commissariat of Health. All responsibility rests with you."

Fulfilling the instructions of the commissions for the protection of artistic monuments and other works of art created by the revolutionary committee, all the most artistically interesting works of art from the nationalized estates were selected for the creation of the first Soviet museums in the Crimea.

The Vorontsov Palace was nationalized, the remaining property was supplemented with collections from other southern coast palaces, and in 1921 a historical and household museum was opened here.

During the Patriotic War, when the Crimea was occupied by the German fascists, works of art could not be evacuated from here, and the palace functioned as a museum. Its director was Stepan Grigoryevich Shchekoldin (1904-2002). During the retreat, the Germans wanted to blow up the palace, it was prepared a large number of explosive. However, the explosion could not be carried out, this was prevented by museum workers. In April 1944, the rapid offensive of the Soviet troops liberated the Crimea.

In February 1945, during the Crimean Conference, the Alupka Palace was given to the British delegation headed by W. Churchill. In the next decade, there was a State Dacha, referred to in the documents as “special object No. 3”.

The palace was reopened to visitors in 1956. At present, it is an architectural Art Museum. It is located in the central and dining buildings, where the main rooms of the palace are located. In the premises of the Guest Building and the Shuvalov Wing, various exhibitions from the funds of the museum-reserve are exhibited, including the Vorontsov Family Gallery, which displays portraits of numerous representatives of this famous family.

One of the main features of the Vorontsov Palace is a combination of English architecture of the 16th century (Tudor style) and Eastern, Indo-Muslim 16th century. Moreover, the combination of these styles is done so skillfully, with such artistic taste, that the result is a new artistic image, harmonious, integral, executed in a romantic style.

Speaking about the romantic architecture of the palace, about its exterior, we noted that its main stylistic motive is the orientation towards the English architecture of the 16th century. We can note the same when characterizing the interiors, i.e. interior spaces, in the decorative design of which the great influence of the palace interiors of England of the 16th century also affects.

In the 16th century, in English palaces, the interiors were finished with carved wooden decor. From here in the front office - oak profiled panels; a large amount of wood was used to decorate the bay window. It was in the 16th century that bay windows appeared in English architecture, protruding beyond the walls, increasing the lighting and area of the room.

Four symmetrically placed oak doors reinforce the impression of the woodwork; one of the doors is purely decorative. Details of decoration, typical for England of the 16th century, in all the halls of the palace (to a greater or lesser extent) are intertwined with elements typical of the decoration of the 2nd quarter of the 16th century, when imitation became fashionable. Here it is used in the decoration of the ceiling, where alabaster molding and coloring imitate wood.

A characteristic detail of English interiors is fireplaces. In the damp climate of England, the fireplace is not only warm, but also a powerful fan. We will see fireplaces in all the front rooms of the palace, and in each of them the decoration has its own characteristics, combined with the general decoration of the hall. Here, a limestone marble fireplace in grayish-brown hues goes well with the tone of the wood and wallpaper, which has not been preserved and has been replaced with new ones. Their coloring and drawing completely correspond to the old samples.

In the front office there is furniture, mainly of English work of the 1st quarter of the 19th century, made of different types of wood. Its rich finishes: metal inlay, lush wood carving, skillful polishing enhance the impression of solemnity and splendor of this room.

The decor of the room is typical for front rooms of the 30-40s of the 16th century. It not only characterizes the era, but each individual item is of great artistic value. Of particular interest is an ebony cabinet bookcase made by French craftsmen in the Boulle style (Charles Boulle /1642-1732/ worked at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries). It can be called the creator of artistic furniture. Skillfully mastering the technique of set, using applied bronze, ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoise shell to decorate furniture, he achieved great color richness and created his own style "Boule".

The set of cabinet furniture: a round table, walnut chairs and armchairs, made by English craftsmen of the 1st quarter of the 19th century, attracts attention with the skill of metal inlay on wood, the ability to show the beauty of wood.

The front rooms often housed portraiture, vividly characterizing the era. Looking at the images of people placed in this office, one can say with confidence that they were touched by the breath of the war of 1812. The growing ideas of patriotism in Russian society prompted artists to look for and find in a person those features that were associated with the concept of "a sense of civic duty." The military gallery of 1812 in winter palace. The English artist George Doe (1781-1829) worked on its creation for a number of years with his assistants Golike and Polyakov. The portraits presented here by Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov (1770-1824), Lev Aleksandrovich Naryshkin (1781-1829), Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf, a participant in the Russian-French campaign, are the author's repetitions of the gallery's works. A sharp turn of the head, a fiery color in uniforms, a stormy sky in the background are techniques typical of Dow's work. They give the painting a romantic coloring.

The ceremonial portrait of the first owner of the Alupka Palace, Count MS Vorontsov (1782-1856), was solved in the same pictorial vein.

When, in 1821, the Englishman Thomas Lawrence began to paint a portrait that later became famous, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov was in the halo of his military glory, demonstrating personal courage and extraordinary abilities as a commander in the battles of Borodino, Krasnoe, and Craon. In 1848, by order of the Vorontsov family, Louise Desseme made a copy quite worthy of the original. Successfully imitating the brush of Lawrence, his mother-of-pearl gray and black tones, the artist managed to preserve the romantic pathos characteristic of the original.

A worthy place in the exposition is occupied by a portrait of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov. Small bronze sculptures are also presented here: the Duke of Wellington (a copy from the work of Koter, an English sculptor of the first half of the 19th century) and the Prussian commander Field Marshal Blucher by the German sculptor H. Rauch (1777-1857).

Complementing the decoration of the Front Room is a gilded bronze clock on the cabinet by the French master Peter-Philippe Thomire (1741-1843). They are decorated with figures of Minin and Pozharsky - they repeat the composition of the famous monument on Red Square by sculptor I.P. Martos.

G The living room got its name from the decoration of the walls, covered with chintz fabric. Chintz, a fabric of oriental origin, became widespread in Western Europe and Russia in the middle of the 19th century and at the same time became such a fashionable material that it was valued at the level of velvet, silk, and brocade. It was used for decoration in palaces and rich mansions. This chintz is of English work, with a fine decorative pattern. Its coloring successfully harmonizes with the lining of the fireplace, made of pinkish marble.

Massive walnut sofa, classical forms, with side bookcases, richly inlaid with bronze. The living room displays works by Russian academic artists.

All Russian artists who graduated from the Academy of Arts with a gold medal were certainly sent to Italy. Among them was S.F. Shchedrin (1791-1830), who devoted his work to depicting Italian nature. He worked a lot on the problem of transmitting sunlight, space, and air in a picture, and he was one of the first to paint nature from life. S. Shchedrin painted landscapes in the vicinity of Naples, Sorrento, on the island of Capri. "View of Sorrento" is his favorite motif. The bright rays of the southern sun illuminate the waters Gulf of Naples, picturesque coastal cliffs. The landscape seems to be shrouded in a transparent haze of a hot summer day. In his canvases, the artist was able to directly and poetically convey the charm of real nature, to show the beauty of reality.

A prominent place among the masters of the Russian landscape belongs to N.G. Chernetsov (1805-1879), who devoted himself to depicting Russian nature. Chernetsov traveled a lot. In 1838, together with his brother, he traveled along the Volga. Yuryevets Povolsky is one of the many paintings that appeared as a result of this trip. A small work captures the architecture of the ancient town. In the 1850s, the artist made a pilgrimage to the Holy Places; the painting “View of Nazareth near Galilee” belongs to this period of his work.

Above the fireplace are two paintings:

"Ruins near Rome" , Canvas, oil. Artist Sternberg Vasily Ivanovich (1818-1845). Landscape painter and genre painter. In 1835-1838. studied at the Academy of Arts with M.N. Vorobyov. In the summer he lived in Ukraine, depicted scenes of folk life and Ukrainian nature. A close friend of T.G. Shevchenko. In 1839 he received the title of artist, in 1840 he was sent to Italy as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts. Died in Rome.
"Bacchante". 1856 Canvas, oil. The painting was originally in the collection of the Vorontsovs. Artist Maykov Nikolai Apollonovich (1794-1873). Historical painter of the academic direction. He was brought up in the cadet corps, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812. He became a self-taught painter. Since 1835 - academician.

The very name of the hall testifies to oriental influences. This is no coincidence: the room is facing south, where the architecture is oriental.

The room got its name "Chinese Cabinet" from the mats that trimmed the upper part of the walls. The mats are embroidered with silk and beads; the nature of the embroidery indicates that they were made by Russian craftswomen, apparently serf embroiderers.

In some details of the decor there are signs of a wide variety of styles. The embroideries on Chinese mats and wood carvings are in the style of the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century, the framing of mirror frames and their decorations of mirrors are of a Gothic character. Turned columns on the walls, carved garlands with tassels at the bottom are typical of the Baroque.

But above all this, the atmosphere of oriental art reigns almost imperceptibly. This is expressed in the general splendor of the entire decorative decoration of the hall, in the intricate ornamentation of carving and molding, in the color combination of black, brown and cream, inherent in many works of Chinese applied art.

The art and talent of various craftsmen who worked on the decoration of the palace of sculptors, embroiderers, furniture makers and furniture carvers were especially clearly manifested in the Chinese cabinet. These high-class craftsmen perfectly executed the high paneled panels of light oak, fine wood carvings. The carving adorning the doors of the wall cupboard is distinguished by a special elegance, the ornament of which includes the first letter of the owner of this cabinet "E" - ELIZABETH.

Among the craftsmen who worked in the palace were talented furniture makers. It had its own furniture workshop, which produced chairs and armchairs located in this hall (on the backs - stylized Vorontsov monograms), tables made of wavy birch (round living room and ladies' table - worker). It is known from the Vorontsov archives that serf carpenters worked in Alupka for many years: Naum Mukhin, Maxim Tislenko, Yakim Lapshin, a colonist from German colony near Odessa Martyn Holtzman.

A small wall-mounted cabinet of French work, unusual in form, close to the Boulle style, fits well into the interior of the office. In its decoration, a tortoise shell is used, along which there is an ornament with copper and light metal. The locker is almost entirely decorative and could hold a small amount of papers or letters inside.

Consonant with him in color is a locker intended for storing jewelry. It was made in England in the second half of the 18th century using the painted lacquer technique (the lacquer tree grows in China and Japan). The varnish that protects the tree from damage can be tinted in different tones. The drawing is made by applying colored varnish layer by layer and is convex.

A genuine work of decorative and applied art in Italy is a table with views of Roman architectural monuments. This smalt mosaic set was made in the papal workshops of the famous Italian artist Michelangelo Barberi (1787-1867) with the participation of Russian masters. (Smalt is a set of tiny pieces of wax-based colored glass).

The portrait of Elizaveta Ksaveryevna Vorontsova was painted by an unknown artist based on the original by D. Dow. She is depicted in a Venetian, according to the fashion of those years, dress. The image of a woman once sung by A.S. Pushkin, unusually attractive. The portrait is dominated by warm olive tones. On the western wall (where there is a portrait of E.K. Vorontsova) there are color engravings by F. Bartalozzi from the originals of the English portrait painter D. Reynolds (1723-1792): on the right is a portrait of Lavinia Spencer (1787), on the left is a portrait of her sister Anna Bingham (1787) .

On the north wall:

on the left is a portrait of Mary Spencer. Mezzotint by William Dickinson from an original by D. Reynolds (1723-1792)
in the middle - "Meditation", color engraving from a drawing by Countess Spencer
on the right is the Duchess Caroline of Marlborough with her daughter Caroline Spencer
north wall panel - views of English castles
left and right (under the shelves) - views of the old castle in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. In the middle - views of Blenheim Castle (built on the site of the old castle in Woodstock).

During the Crimean (Yalta) conference of the leaders of the three allied powers (February 4-11, 1945), the palace in Alupka was given to the British delegation headed by Churchill. The Prime Minister's private apartments were the Front Room and the Chinese Room, connected by the Chintz Room. The Chinese Cabinet houses a small exposition dedicated to an outstanding political figure of the 20th century.

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) belonged to the famous family of the Dukes of Marlborough, who were among the twenty ducal families of England. The founder of the dynasty, John Churchill (1650-1722), a former page of the Duke of York (later King James II) from 1702 was the commander-in-chief of the English army. Queen Anne elevated him to ducal dignity, and for the brilliant victory at Blenheim on August 13, 1704, in whose memory a medal was struck, she granted the duke lands in the royal lands of Woodstock in Oxfordshire. On the site of the old castle from the time of Elizabeth Tudor, designed by John Vanbrough (1664-1726) in 1705-1719. a huge palace was built, outwardly resembling Versailles. The family estate was called "Blenheim". On November 30, 1874, Winston Churchill was born here.

More than a hundred years belonged to the family of the dukes in London "Marlborough House". Built in 1709-1711. C. Ren (1632-1723) in the Palladian style, the palace was distinguished by the luxury of interior decoration and the richness of the interiors. In 1817, the heirs sold it to the royal treasury. IN different years members of the royal family of England and their Russian relatives lived in the palace: Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II, Empress Maria Feodorovna.

In the middle of the 18th century, the title and possessions of the Dukes of Marlborough passed through the female line to Charles Spencer, Earl of Senderland (3rd Duke of Marlborough). His grandson, Count George Pembroke, was married in 1808 by his sister, Count. M.S. Vorontsova - Ekaterina.

The decoration of the office is complemented by views of medieval castles in England, the romantic interpretation of which is the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace (1820-1840s, architect E. Blore) and engraved portraits of representatives of the Spencer family, executed according to the originals of D. Reynolds.

A separate showcase presents documentary photographs (copies) taken during the conference and books dedicated to W. Churchill.

It served as the main entrance to the palace. Of all the interiors, it most of all resembles the ceremonial halls of English palaces of the 16th century, in which a hall-hall was built in the center of the building, from where doors led to all other ceremonial and living quarters. The lobby is very similar to an English hall.

Its entrance doors are located on the side of the northern facade, the architecture of which is restrained and strict, typical of English buildings of the 16th century. This austerity and simplicity, as it were, gets its development in the interior decoration of the lobby. Its proportions are harmonious and majestic. Almost all architectural processing is given in wood: a massive oak ceiling is symmetrically divided by profiled decorative squares imitating ribs that once played a supporting role. High oak panels are decorated with stylized Gothic arches.

The strict and somewhat gloomy color of the lobby is perfectly matched with diabase gray fireplaces. The upper part of the fireplaces is made from one single piece in the form of a sloping Tudor arch, on which a Gothic crucifer is masterfully carved. The diabase is polished so finely here that it has a mirror shine.

The nature of the paintings in this hall corresponds to its splendor and monumentality. These features are more characteristic of ceremonial portraits, the purpose of which is to glorify and idealize the person portrayed in every possible way, to emphasize his social superiority, high position in society. Such portraits, as a rule, are large in size, clothes, jewelry, orders, ribbons are carefully written out in them. In the ceremonial portrait, the task of revealing the inner world of a person was not set.

Ceremonial, coronation portrait of Catherine II, created by one of the best portrait painters of the 18th century Fyodor Rokotov (1736-1809). In his best portraits, which embodied the image of an enlightened representative of the Russian society of his era, Rokotov gives a poetic idea of a person, inspires him. But, creating ceremonial portraits, he had to follow certain traditions, which were mentioned above. In the portrait of Catherine, the artist seeks to emphasize the power and greatness of the empress, carefully writes out luxurious royal clothes and furnishings. Catherine's face is impenetrable.

A striking example of ceremonial portraits is the work of foreign artists who worked in Russia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

In the portrait of the English artist Richard Brompton (1734-1783), depicting A.V. Branitskaya, a ceremonial dress made of rustling dense silk, jewelry made of precious stones, a sash, indicating that Branitskaya is a court lady of Catherine II, is carefully written out. therefore, a marble bust of the empress is also depicted here. We can note the wonderful technique of the portrait: the texture of various materials is perfectly conveyed, the hands are well drawn, but the face with a slight smile on the lips is somewhat idealized.

A similar description can be given to the portrait of K.P. Branitsky, the work of the Austrian artist Johann Baptist Lampi (1751-1830). Depicting Branitsky in a pompous pose, in knightly armor, which was no longer worn during the life of the person portrayed, the artist sought to create a heroic image, to emphasize the antiquity of the Polish magnate's family.

On the northern wall are portraits of M.S. Vorontsov by L. Desseme: Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, Russian envoy in England (copy from the original by R. Evans) and Ekaterina Alekseevna Vorontsova. It is based on a bust image made by D.G. Levitsky (the original is in the Russian Museum). The rest of the stage setting: a figure sitting in an armchair, hanging tails of a curtain, a beloved Tibetan dog against the background of a beautifully drawn satin dress - was invented by Louise Desseme and compositionally linked with the portrait of her husband. The portrait impresses with its decorative effect.

Among the ceremonial portraits of the Vestibule is the image of His Serene Highness Prince G.A. Potemkin - Tauride (1739-1791). The portrait entered the museum relatively recently in 1989 - this is a gift from Baron E.A. Von Falz-Fein.

The figure of Potemkin, as if on a pedestal, rises against the backdrop of a mountainous Crimean slope and a stormy sky. The ceremonial general's uniform - white with gold embroidery, is decorated with sashes and the highest awards. A saber hilt is visible at the belt. Despite the idealization of the image, the features of his face have not lost their individuality, they can be seen as a direct and proud character, a broad mind and fearlessness of the person being portrayed.

The attributes and gestures of the hands are symbolic in the portrait: a spyglass, an open map entitled "Pont Euxinus" (the old name for the Black Sea). The pointing finger of the right hand is turned towards Sevastopol - the future stronghold of the Black Sea Fleet, its whitening buildings and bays are distinguishable in the distance.

The palace was illuminated in the middle of 19 with candles, so there are a lot of candelabra, sconces. Dark bronze chandeliers in the form of majestic female figures in ancient Greek clothes, made by French masters of the early 19th century, look good in the strict interior of the lobby. Lantern made in pseudo-Gothic style in the second half of the 19th century.

A kind of transition from this harsh, somewhat gloomy room to the bright southern side of the palace was a small tambour covered with Persian embroideries, which is an embroidered pair portrait of the late 18th century Persian Shah Feth-Ali. The author of the embroidery is Aga Bozorkh, a Persian craftsman from the city of Rasht. He made them at the beginning of the 19th century in the technique of figured sewing. This is a unique work of applied art of its time. The technique of their execution is fine scrupulous work: the connection of individual very small curly pieces of fabric with the help of chain and stalk seams. The execution of such figured sewing has its own secret, which is currently lost, so we have before us rare unique things.

These elegant oriental decorations, as it were, prepare the viewer for the perception of new architectural forms associated with the east, in which the decoration of the central part of the southern facade is sustained.

Very different in its decoration from all other rooms. She is bright and pretty. After the gloomy lobby, the abundance of light is striking here: most of the living room faces south, light pours in through huge windows from ceiling to floor and through a bay window on the north side. The light blue walls and ceiling are covered with white stucco ornaments in the form of garlands of flowers and leaves. It seems that this vegetation has penetrated through the numerous windows from the park and intertwined into a kind of gazebo.

The molding was made by hand without stamping by the serf craftsmen of Vorontsov. The name of the wonderful serf sculptor Roman Furtunov, a native of the village of Moshen, Kyiv province, is known. It was he who supervised all the stucco work in the palace. The fireplace made of white Italian Carrara marble, decorated with floral ornaments, goes very well with the wall decoration.

Successfully presented here is a set of light living room furniture, made in the style of late Russian classicism in the 20-30s of the 19th century, also by the serf masters of Vorontsov. The furniture is decorated with ornaments of vines and ears of wheat, which indicates its manufacture in the south.

Porcelain decorative vases in the form of craters perfectly complement the decoration of the hall, the work of the imperial porcelain factory in St. Petersburg (now the factory named after Lomonosov). They are painted by master Shchetinin.

The blue drawing room could also serve as a theater. The ledges in the wall divide it into two unequal parts: the smaller one was the stage, the larger one was the auditorium. A wooden retractable curtain is hidden in the ledges. For the last time in his life, the great actor Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin (1788-1863), the founder of the Russian realistic theater, performed in the home theater.

In 1863 he came on tour to the Crimea. His health was very upset, but he hoped to be treated here. At the invitation of the Vorontsovs, Shchepkin came from Yalta to the palace to speak to their guests, among whom he hoped to find patronage for a meeting with the queen, he wanted to talk with her about the plight of the artistic youth of that time. During the speech, Shchepkin became ill. After some time, he died in Yalta, where he was buried, and then his remains were transported to Moscow.

In 1896, Chaliapin sang in the palace, Rachmaninov played. In the 80s, the scene "In the Tavern" from the opera "Boris Godunov" was staged by the artists of the Mammoth Opera. Among the cultural figures of the past who visited the palace in the 80s of the XIX century, the Ukrainian poet-democrat Rudansky Stepan Vasilyevich should be especially noted. He worked in Yalta as a county doctor. But neither medical practice nor literary activity provided Rudansky with the necessary subsistence level, and he was forced at one time to work as a personal doctor for the Vorontsovs. And, it can be assumed that the comparison of the luxurious life of nobles like the Vorontsovs with the life of the working people gave the poet rich material for creating satirical works on this topic.

The palace is surrounded by a beautiful park, which was also created in the first half of the 19th century under the guidance of the talented gardener Kebach. But in order to maintain the character of the northern castle-palace, they decided to arrange a winter garden here.

Tender heat-loving plants grew in the winter garden, which could not stand even the southern winter and had to grow under a roof. At present, rare araucaria, tall with spreading branches and delicate needles, are represented here - the birthplace of Norfolk Island near Australia. From the same edges, the cycad is recurved. Creeping ficus-repens climbing the walls (homeland Japan, China) - a plant that has been preserved from the 1st floor. 19th century.

White marble sculpture is a traditional decoration of gardens and parks. It goes well with the lush greenery of plants, with the mirror-like surface of park ponds and with the sparkling of fountains.

In the center, near the fountain, there are three copies made by Russian masters of the 1st floor. 19th century. "Apollo Belvedere" - a copy from Leokhar (Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC). It is notable for its thin plastic copy from the work of a Greek sculptor of the 3rd c. BC Doydals "Aphrodite bathing." Unknown author - "Urania" - the muse of astronomy. Here is the work of the French sculptor L. Marquest "First Steps", depicting a mother and a child who is starting to walk, and "Girl" by an Italian sculptor of the 1st floor. 19th century Quintilian Corbellini.

Sculptural portraits along south wall- works of Western European sculptors of the 18th-19th centuries.

The author of the German school, Johann Esterreich (1747-1801), faithfully executed a portrait of Empress Catherine II (1729-1796). It is distinguished by the fine craftsmanship of rendering openwork lace, ermine fur, curled hair and other details in marble.

The French sculptor Denis Foitiers (1793-1863), is known in France for his classicist works that adorn the Tuileries Garden and St. Madeleine in Paris. He is also the author of numerous sculptural portraits. Portraits of the Vorontsovs were executed by him in Paris in 1821. In the portrait of Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (1744-1832), the observant artist managed to convey the individual features and nobility of the Russian aristocrat. The portraits of Mikhail Semenovich and Elizaveta Ksaveryevna are executed in the classical tradition, their faces are greatly idealized.

Perhaps the most expressive sculptural portrait of this small gallery is the “Portrait of William Pitt Jr.” in the 18th century turned to the realistic depiction of their contemporaries. In this work, the author realistically and convincingly showed the proud and arrogant English lord.

The most majestic room of the palace. Proportions are perfectly found in this hall: the ratio of length, height and width. A mass of light pours from a huge bay window and windows-doors located on both sides of it.

The interior decoration of the Main Dining Room, as well as the Vestibule, is the most striking orientation to the English palace interiors of the 16th century. Carved wood is widely used in decoration. The decoration of the ceiling, reminiscent of medieval Gothic vaults, is more decorative than in the Lobby and ends with carved padlocks. The railing of the balcony for musicians, which is connected by a bridge to the service building, is decorated with fine carvings.

The light brown tone of the wood harmonizes well with the olive color of the walls and gives the interior a strict, solemn sound.

Four panels by the French artist Hubert Robert (1733-1808), a great master of the monumental architectural landscape, are an integral part of the decoration of the walls of the Main Dining Room. During the construction of the palace, they were tightly fixed into carved frames. These decorative works, with their restrained brownish-greenish coloring, with vertical obelisks, poplars and cypresses, with the ruins of ancient architectural monuments, romantic semi-fantastic nature, harmoniously fit into the interior. The best of them "Basilica" and "Terrace", dated 1802, are distinguished by a wonderful transmission of the air environment and perspective, soft coloring.

Between two diabase fireplaces, a fountain is made of the same material, processed in the form of a fireplace. Here we once again meet with the wonderful work of stone carvers, who finely executed the turrets flanking the jagged cornice of the fountain and other decorations. Inside the fountain is finished with majolica tiles.

The decor of the front dining room is consistent with the nature of its decoration. Mahogany dining tables with massive, artistically executed underframes of English work of the 1st half of the 19th century sparkle with a mirror shine of polishing ceremonially and solemnly.

The sideboard with legs made in the form of powerful lion paws, with curls, decorated with stylized palm leaves and acanthus along the edge of the tabletop, is distinguished by the richness of decorative finishes. A unit with a sideboard is an open lead-lined wine cellar for cooling wines.

Among the bronze decorating the dining room, the most interesting exhibits are candelabra trimmed with Ural malachite, where one can note both fine workmanship and a beautiful combination of bronze with bright green stone.

The principles of decoration of this room are the same as in the lobby and dining room: focus on the English palace interiors of the 16th century. The room was intended for games and entertainment. The billiard table was made of mahogany by the English firm Barrow and Watt in the middle of the 19th century. Walnut wood set (sofa, table, chairs) with metal inlay and carving - English work of the middle of the 19th century.

In the palaces of the 18th - the first half of the 19th century, as a rule, there were collections of paintings. Sometimes special art galleries were arranged for them, but more often the paintings were placed in the main halls.

The walls of the billiard room were convenient for placing paintings, so here they are presented in large numbers. These are works by Western European artists of different times and schools.

First of all, two large still life paintings by the 18th century Flemish painter Peter Sneyers (1681-1752) attract attention. With their monumental size, dynamics of composition and colorful decorativeness, they are very characteristic of the Flemish school of this time, as well as for the work of the artist himself. The still lifes are painted with great love and skill, so vividly that in the "Pantry of Vegetables" we seem to feel the juiciness of cabbage, the silkiness of the bulbs, we note how skillfully the texture of various materials is conveyed: the metal of a copper basin, sonorous with a bright sheen, next to it is dull, fragile jug ceramics. The “Pantry of Fishes” is interesting for its dynamic composition, sonorous coloring and sculptural rendering of fish.

In the center above the fireplace is the work of the Italian artist of the Venetian school of the 18th century Bernardo Belotto (1720-1730) “Pirna. Upper gate. The artist worked a lot in Poland and Germany. Before us is one of his German architectural landscapes with a severe and gloomy medieval castle and a modest street contrasting with it.

The Politician is a work by the English artist William Hoggart (1697-1764). This is a painting by an outstanding realist artist of his time. The author of satirical pictures, he castigated the mores of the bourgeoisie. The "Politics" ridicules the merchant Mr. Tibson, who seeks to become famous as a connoisseur of politics. Reading a newspaper, he does not want to notice anything around him, not even the hat that is burning on his head, which he accidentally set on fire with a candle. The canvas is written in a free manner, very lively.

"Portrait of a Man" by F. Pourbus Sr. (1545-1581) is one of the best paintings in this room. It conveys the character of an intelligent strong-willed person with realistic depth. Masterfully painted face, executed in subtle colors, expressive serious penetrating eyes.

Dutch painting reached its peak in the 17th century. She was distinguished by democracy, truthfulness and high artistic skill. The "Portrait of a Woman in Black" presented in the exposition was painted in 1664 in the best realistic traditions of this school.

The nature of Alupka is distinguished by contrasts. If its northern mountainous part is harsh, static, which affected the architecture of the facades of the palace facing it, then the southern part of the city (locality) is of a completely different character - its landscape is dynamic, bright in color. The vast expanses of the sea open up here, the waters of which sparkle in the sun and shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. And above the sea, to the very horizon, there is boundless sky blueness. Lush vegetation contains a lot of blooming exotics.

The whole landscape, full of major sounds, suggests other forms of architecture than in the northwestern part of the palace. E. Blore finds a good solution, referring to the elegant forms and light colors of the Indo-Muslim architecture of the 16-17 centuries, combining them with the motifs of the English Tudor style. Moreover, such a combination in the history of the development of architecture is not accidental: in a number of forms and elements of Gothic, one can catch similarities with the forms of oriental architecture. Europe got acquainted with Arab architecture even before the emergence of Gothic - during the Crusades - and borrowed arches and towers in the form of minarets from the Arabs.

Inspired by such superb works of Indo-Muslim architecture as the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, Humayun's mausoleum in Delhi or the fabulous Alhambra Palace in Grenada, the architect creates the South Facade. It is in the Alupka palace complex - another new aspect of architecture so characteristic of romantic architecture, giving an idea of some kind of oriental palace, evoking associations with Indo-Muslim mosques of the 16-17th centuries.

A huge portal opens here, the top of which is flanked by turrets resembling minarets. A deep semi-circular niche, two stories high, is framed by a carved horseshoe-shaped arch; its vaulted ceiling is decorated with alabaster carvings.

The oriental character of the central portal is emphasized by the inscription on the frieze of the niche in Arabic: "And there is no winner but Allah."

A typical detail of oriental architecture is the verandas encircling the entire southern façade along with the Shuvalov building, as well as a wide extension of the roof over the cornice, decorated with carved overhangs. These details play an important functional role in protecting the premises from heat and blinding sunlight.

Openwork lattices of verandahs and balustrades give a special elegance to this part of the palace. A stylized Indian lotus flower is woven into the decor of thin metal columns, rhythmically repeating along the facade from the Chinese office to the dining room. The presence of the forms of this flower in the decor of the architecture of the Southern facade strengthens its connection with the local exotic flora.

Thanks to its asymmetric silhouette, the skyward details, the palace on the south side organically fits into the panorama of Alupka. And the horizontal placement of the buildings of the entire palace complex, its broken line, as if repeating the line of the mountain range, the local diabase stone from which all the buildings are built, the surroundings with exotic vegetation, make the entire palace and park ensemble an integral part of the Crimean mountain landscape, harmoniously merging with it.

A diabase staircase leads from the palace towards the sea, decorated with marble sculptures of lions, made in the workshop of the Italian sculptor Bonanni. The best of them is the Sleeping Lion. The sculptor magnificently carved this mighty animal in a state of absolute rest, every line in it breathes life, muscles are relaxed, everything in it expresses the pleasure of a sweet dream.

Nearby is the "Awakening Lion", ready to roar. The next pair are the "Rising" and "Roaring Lions", guarding the entrance to the palace.

Around the palace there is a vast park, which is a work of high landscape gardening art (it deserves separate consideration). The park is divided into two parts: upper and lower. The upper park is landscape. Breaking it, the gardeners tried to make it look like a forest. The southern part of the palace faces the lower park, which is built on the principle of regular Italian parks. Here, the skillful hand of the gardener is visible in everything: both in the arrangement of vegetation and in its curly haircut. Near the palace, the park is decorated with cascading fountains and decorative vases artistically made of white marble.

The library building was built specifically for the Vorontsov library, which was created over decades, passed down from generation to generation and had over 25,000 books. The content of the library is wide and multifaceted, it has an encyclopedic character. In addition to books in Russian, there are a lot of books in foreign languages: English, French, Italian, etc.

The library characterizes Vorontsov as a practical figure who clearly understands the importance of deep theoretical knowledge for practice. The library contains books on various branches of science and production (on medicine, sheep breeding, shipping, winemaking, legal proceedings). Memoirs, books on philosophy, history, natural science, politics, reference books, catalogs, reports, statutes, codes of laws, archives are stored in this library. It quite fully reflects the state of not only Russian, but also European culture of the mid-19th century. Inspection of the library is not provided, these are the funds of the museum.

Why is it worth visiting the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka?

Alupka Palace is a complex and interesting phenomenon in architecture. Built from local material by the hands of fortress stone cutters, it has become an integral part of the southern coast landscape. Comparison with other manor complexes in Russia and Ukraine, as well as Western Europe in the first half of the 19th century, allows us to rightly consider it an outstanding monument of palace and park architecture.

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If you chose Alupka for a holiday in Crimea in 2016, you will definitely see the Vorontsov Palace in photographs, postcards, paintings, signs throughout the city. The most majestic in the Crimea, it has become a real decoration of this seaside town and one of the main attractions of the South Coast, which millions of tourists come to see every year. The magnificent architecture of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, a luxurious park, stunning views of the slopes of the Crimean Mountains and the Black Sea will not leave anyone indifferent.

Location: Alupka, Palace highway, 10.

What is the most convenient way to get there: the easiest way to come to Alupka is from Yalta: minibuses No. 102, 115, 107 go here. From Simferopol and Sevastopol, you can get to the Vorontsov Palace from the bus station.

What is the best time of the year to visit A: any time of the year in good weather.

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was built as the residence of the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, Count M.S. Vorontsov. It must be said that the very choice of Crimea for the construction of this majestic structure should have flattered our peninsula: in those days, Novorossia included a vast territory from Odessa to the Don.

The palace was built according to the project of the English architect Edward Blore, who "had a hand" in the construction of Buckingham Palace in London and Walter Scott's castle in Scotland. Until now, there are disputes as to whether the architect was personally in the Crimea or created his masterpiece, guided solely by stories about the surrounding landscapes. The first is more believable, because the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka fits perfectly into the landscape: its sharp turrets seem to repeat the peaks of the Crimean mountains, and the combination of several architectural styles, including eastern ones, perfectly reflects the fate of the Crimea.

The palace was built in 1828-1848 under the guidance of another English architect, William Gunt. In parallel with the building, work was also carried out on the creation of the park: Karl Kebach, a gardener, to whom Crimea owes the appearance of magnificent gardens and parks of Foros, Gaspra, Oreanda, Massandra, Miskhor, was responsible for them.

Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov did not have long to own the palace: he died in Odessa in 1856. After him, the estate passed to his son, and then to his relatives, the wealthy noblemen Vorontsov-Dashkov. In 1917, the Vorontsov Palace was nationalized. He was much more fortunate than others cultural sites in the Crimea: since 1921 a historical and household museum has been set up here, since 1956 - an art museum. In 1990, the Vorontsov Palace became the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve.

architectural masterpiece

The first thing you pay attention to when you see a photo of the Vorontsov Palace is the unusual color of the stone from which it was built. All other estates of Russian aristocrats in Crimea delight with light, white facades, while the residence of Count Vorontsov looks like a gray block, lost in dense greenery. The building was erected from diorite, a grayish-greenish stone of volcanic origin. It was mined here, in Alupka, and each block was processed manually.

The Vorontsov Palace welcomes tourists with the Shuvalovsky Passage. Walking along the cobblestone pavement, surrounded by high walls, it seems that now you will find yourself in the present medieval castle. However, one glance at the frivolous turrets is enough to understand that the Vorontsov Palace is not so simple.

Blore combined Neo-Gothic and Neo-Moorish styles in the design of the palace. In England, such a mixture would be called romanticism, but in Russia - eclecticism. The northern facade of the Vorontsov Palace with strict lines resembles the residences of English aristocrats. But the southern one, facing the sea, is decorated in an oriental style: experts say that Blore was inspired by the Alhambra Palace, the residence of the Arab rulers of Spain in Grenada. The Lion Terrace leads to the park - a staircase decorated with marble figures of lions - analogues of sculptures from the tomb of Pope Clement XII in Rome.

The interior decoration, as is easy to understand from the photo of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea, has remained almost unchanged since the 19th century. Each room has its own individual design - for example, the Chinese Study, the Winter Garden, the Blue Living Room, the Chintz Room. The main dining room in the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is very original: it resembles the hall of a medieval palace. The halls are decorated with sculptures and works by famous painters - Italian, French, English and, of course, Russian masters. In total, there are about 150 rooms in the Vorontsov Palace, including utility rooms, but, of course, only a part is open to the public.

Vorontsov Palace - movie star

If, when looking at a photo of the Vorontsov Palace, you get the feeling that it is familiar to you, it means that you are a connoisseur of the classics of Soviet cinema. It is unlikely that there is another one that would "light up" in so many films! The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea depicted the royal residence in The Ordinary Miracle and Hamlet, The Three Musketeers and The Heavenly Swallows. Filmed here Scarlet Sails”, “Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro” and “Sappho”. There is a high probability of encountering a film crew in the summer of 2015: the halls and landscapes of the palace-museum are constantly used when shooting feature films and documentaries.

Expositions of the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea

In 2016 in the Vorontsov Palace you will be able to visit the following expositions:

"Ceremonial halls of the Main building of the Vorontsov Palace".
Southern terraces.
"Dvoretsky's Apartment" in the Economic Building.
House of Count Shuvalov.
Vorontsovskaya kitchen.
Interior expositions “Count I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov "and" Office of the commandant of the State. Summer cottages.
"Paris Archive" (paintings and photographic materials - a gift from the Comstadius family).
“The gift of Professor V.N. Golubev” (paintings by artists of the 20th century).

Ticket price to the Vorontsov Palace

Most of the expositions of the Vorontsov Palace are open seven days a week. On any day of the week, you can come and enjoy the luxurious park. Please note that one-day excursions, which can be bought in almost any resort town in Crimea, usually do not include visiting the halls, so if you want to enjoy the interior decoration of the Vorontsov Palace, you will have to think about this moment in advance. However, an examination of the exterior of this stunning building and a huge park (its area is more than 40 hectares!) unforgettable experience! In general, it is worth allocating at least 3-4 hours to visit this attraction, as well as the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea, and if you want to listen to a tour and walk through all the expositions, and then also swim on the Alupka beach, then plan a trip for a whole day!

On the first Tuesday of each month, free excursions are organized for schoolchildren and students. You can take a photo in the Vorontsov Palace by paying an additional 30 rubles. By the way, the museum has its own price list for on-site registration and professional photography, so if you wish, you can arrange a real photo shoot against the backdrop of a magnificent palace!

Entries from this journal tagged "Crimea"

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