The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea is a luxurious castle surrounded by a park. Crimea, Alupka, Vorontsov's palace Vorontsov's yard

Vorontsov Palace located in Alupka (Crimea) at the foot of Ai-Petri mountain.

Built from diabase, which was mined nearby. Currently, the palace houses a museum. At the Vorontsov Palace there is a park - a monument of gardening art. From December 1824 to April 1851, the Vorontsovsky Park in Alupka was created by a talented German gardener-botanist, chief gardener of the southern coast of Crimea - Karl Antonovich Kebach.

Palace architecture

The Vorontsov Palace was built according to new (compared to classicism) architectural and construction principles. An important architectural feature was the location of the palace in accordance with the relief of the mountains, thanks to which the palace very organically fit into the surrounding landscape and acquired its original artistic and expressive image.

The palace was built in the spirit of English architecture, and the building contains elements of various eras, from early forms to the 16th century. The arrangement of elements goes from the western gate - the farther from the gate, the more late the style of construction.

The English style is organically combined with the neo-Moorish style. For example, Gothic chimneys resemble the minarets of a mosque. The southern entrance is decorated with oriental splendor. A horseshoe-shaped arch, a two-tier vault, a plaster carving in a niche where a Tudor flower pattern and a lotus motif are intertwined, end with an Arabic inscription repeated six times along the frieze: "And there is no winner but Allah."

Construction history

The palace was built from 1828 to 1848 as the summer residence of a prominent statesman of Russia, the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, Count M. S. Vorontsov.

The palace was designed by the English architect Edward Blore. The architect did not come to Alupka, but he was well aware of the terrain. In addition, the foundations and the first laying of the deep portal niche of the central building were already ready (the palace began to be built according to a different project - the architects Francesco Boffo and Thomas Harrison).

In the construction of the palace, mainly the labor of quitrent serfs from the Vladimir and Moscow provinces was used. Hereditary masons and stone cutters, who had experience in building and embossing white-stone cathedrals, were involved in the construction. All work was done by hand, with primitive tools.

The construction of the palace began with the dining building (1830-1834). The central building was erected in 1831-1837. In 1841-1842, a billiard room was added to the dining room. In 1838-1844, the guest building, the eastern wings, all the towers of the palace, the pentagon of the outbuildings were built, and the front yard was designed. The library building was built last (1842 - 1846).

The largest volume of earthwork was carried out from 1840 to 1848 with the help of soldiers from the sapper battalion, who built the terraces of the park in front of the southern facade of the palace.

In the summer of 1848, sculptures of lions, made in the workshop of the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonnani, were installed on the central staircase leading to the main entrance. The Lion's Terrace completed the construction and decoration of the palace and park ensemble.

The history of the palace after construction

Before the October Revolution, the Vorontsov Palace belonged to three generations of the Vorontsov family.

After the advent of Soviet power, the Vorontsov Palace was nationalized.

In mid-1921, the Vorontsov Palace opened as a museum.

In 1941, the Great Patriotic War began. They did not have time to evacuate the exhibits of the museum from Alupka, as well as from many other museums of the Crimea. Twice the museum was threatened with destruction, and both times it was saved by the senior researcher of the museum, S. G. Shchekoldin. The invaders took out a lot of art treasures, including 537 works of painting and graphics, and only a small part of the paintings were found after the war and returned to the palace. This is described in detail in the book written according to the memoirs of Shchekoldin "What the lions are silent about."

From February 4 to 11, 1945, during the Yalta Conference, the Vorontsov Palace became the residence of the British delegation headed by Winston Churchill.

From 1945 to 1955 it was used as a state dacha.

In 1956, by decision of the government, the museum again began to function in the palace.

Since 1990 - Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve.

Palace interiors

The ceremonial interiors of the palace have almost completely retained their original decoration. Each of the rooms is individual, it has only its own color, reflected in the names: Chinese study, Chintz room, Winter garden, Blue living room. The design of the Grand Dining Room resembles the decoration of knights' halls in medieval castles. It is decorated with rich wood carvings and four monumental panels by the famous French artist Hubert Robert (1733-1808).

Alupka park

A masterpiece of landscape art - Alupka Park. Its creator, gardener-botanist Karl Antonovich Kebach (1799-1851), was engaged in planning and planting plants in the park for more than a quarter of a century. The park, being a park-monument of national importance, is included in the exposition part of the museum territory, which in total is 361,913 m².

Museum expositions

Currently, the Alupka Museum has several permanent exhibitions. Nine ceremonial halls introduce the life of the first owners of the palace and the character of the palace interiors of the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. In the former guest building there is a stationary exhibition "The Vorontsov Family Gallery". In separate rooms, the “Gift of Professor V.N. Golubev” (Russian and Soviet avant-garde), painting by Ya. A. Basov “Poetry of the landscape”, art exhibitions “Ukrainian painting”, “Inhaling the aroma of roses” (flowers in painting). In the park pavilion "Tea House" - the exhibition "Maps Crimean peninsula”, “Vorontsov and Russian admirals”, “Naval battles” of the 18th-19th centuries.

In 2007, a new museum exposition "The House of Count A.P. Shuvalov" was opened in the Shuvalovsky Wing. It is based on previously unexhibited items of decoration and personal belongings of the Vorontsovs, Shuvalovs, Vorontsovs-Dashkovs. The interiors of the house feature works of art that reflect the stylistic features of the living quarters of the palaces of the mid-18th century.

The collection of the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve is almost 27 thousand exhibits of the main fund, and the memorial library of M. S. Vorontsov has more than 10 thousand books.

One of the museum's paintings - "Portrait of Prince Grigory Potemkin" by Levitsky - was presented to him by Baron Falz-Fein.

Vorontsov Palace in cinema

The territory of the palace and the adjacent park is often used for filming. Among the most famous works:

1. 1961 - Scarlet Sails
2. 1964 - "Ordinary Miracle"
3. 1964 - "Hamlet"
4. 1972 - "Stove-shops"
5. 1976 - "Sky Swallows"
6. 1986 - "The Journey of Pan Klyaksa"
7. 2003 - Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro
8. 2008 - "Sappho"
9. 2009 - Hamlet. XXI Century"
10. 2014 - "Belovodye. Secret lost country»
11. 2015 - "Belovodye. Source of Knowledge"

Vorontsov Palaces in other cities

• Vorontsov Palace in Odessa
• Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg
• Vorontsov Palace in Tiflis
• Vorontsov Palace in Simferopol

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka is a palace of stunning beauty, surrounded by a charming park, located at the foot of Mount Ai Petri. There are a huge number of attractions on the southern coast of Crimea, but Alupka is always full of tourist groups. There is something special and attractive about this place. The English castle of Count Vorontsov in the Crimea, surrounded by greenery, does not leave anyone indifferent, and makes you return there again and again.

The palace in Alupka is a former dacha, the summer residence of a prominent political figure of the 19th century, the former governor of Novorossia, Mikhail Vorontsov. The love of the Russian politician for everything English was understandable - the father of Count Vorontsov was the ambassador of the Russian Empire in England, so Mikhail spent all his childhood in London. After nationalization, the former residence became a museum.

I went on excursions in the Crimean Vorontsov Palace twice: the first time in April, the second time in August. In every season, the palace and the territory that adjoins it looked amazing. It is best to choose April or September to visit the palace, but during the season it is not overcrowded.

In order to approach the main entrance to the palace, you need to go along the narrow corridor of the palace walls (Shuvalovsky passage). It is quite cool here in summer, as there is almost always shade here. When you come here for the first time, you don't expect to see a real English castle in Crimea. Passing through the narrow, harsh passage, the heart stops in anticipation of something unusual. And very soon curiosity will be rewarded with a vengeance.

After the path through the corridor of powerful walls has been passed, tourists find themselves in a small square in front of the palace. A castle appears in front of your eyes, built in the English style, and by the same architect Edward Blair, who was the author of Buckingham Palace in London.

The first thing you notice is the unusual material of the castle walls and walls. Later, according to the guide, we learned that this is a very hard and rare stone of volcanic origin - diabase. The palace was built by more than 6 thousand serfs of Vorontsov, as well as craftsmen-masons specially brought from the Moscow and Vladimir regions. To create an unusual surface, each stone was processed by hand! The work must be said to be skillful and very painstaking. Vorontsov built this castle with his own money, for himself, in good conscience.

In the yard we waited for the tour group to form and, looking up, we saw the teeth of Ai-Petri brightened by the sun's rays - a kind of pointed rocks located at the very top of the mountain. This is one of the best landscapes Crimea!

You can get on an excursion to the Vorontsov Palace freely, they are held daily. Each group is accompanied by a guide, the tour takes place in Russian. It was very interesting to listen to the guide, from her lips we heard a lot of interesting information about the history of the palace.

A few minutes later we crossed the threshold and felt like we were in an old English castle. The palace has many architectural features: on the one side (northern) the building resembles an English castle, and on the southern facade - a Moorish mosque. In addition, the castle is so skillfully inscribed in the mountain landscape that it seems that nature itself created and placed it here.

The castle has more than 150 rooms, but about 9 state rooms are open for tours.

This palace belonged to three generations of the Vorontsovs, so the interior elements changed a little, because each owner wanted to bring something of his own, modern.

We first entered the main dining room. Particular attention was drawn to a small bowl, which somewhat resembled a miniature fountain. As it turned out, this bowl served to cool drinks.

Each room of the Vorontsov Palace has its own unique style and color. It was very pleasant to be in the blue room, I liked it the most. Here the walls are blue, they have stucco flowers and golden furniture.

The dining room, decorated in the English style, is very interesting.

In the office

After visiting several other rooms, we went out into the winter garden, where we saw a variety of tropical plants and elegant figurines.

Winter Garden

From the winter garden leads to a terrace overlooking the sea. When we arrived there, we saw a beautiful sunset, which looked very romantic against the background of the sea horizon.

View of the sea from the terrace of the Alupka Palace

On the way to the sea there is a staircase, on both sides of which there are sculptures of lions made of Carrara marble by an Italian master. There are also features here. At the very top of the terrace, there are awake lions, at the very bottom of the terrace there are figures of sleeping lions.

Lions, terrace of the Palace in Alupka

Sleeping lions, Alupka

The Vorontsov Palace is surrounded by a magnificent park with many unusual plants from the subtropics and beyond. Walking along it in the summer, when everything is blooming and pleasing to the eye, is a pleasure.

Alupka Park is divided into two parts: Upper and Lower. The upper part of the park is more "wild", while the lower part is a well-groomed classic park in the English style.

In the park you can see a copy of the Bakhchisaray fountain.

Copy of the Bakhchisaray fountain

Numerous waterfalls, lakes, quinoa, trees of unusual shape are hiding in the "wild" part of the park.

Alupka Park also has its own attractions, such as "Big" and "Small Chaos". - a huge pile of diabase stones.

Big Chaos

Swan lake in Alupka park.

I recommend after the tour to take a walk in this garden, relax in the shade from the summer heat and, of course, take a lot of beautiful photos. This park is also called Alupka Park, where you can see about 200 species of various plants: exotic plants, various shrubs, acclimatized plants from other continents.

view from Vorontsovsky park

Vorontsovsky park

The landscape of the park is presented in the form of an amphitheater, at the bottom of which there is an exhibition park pavilion "Tea House". We did not manage to visit it, because it was closed for restoration.

Prices for visiting the Palace

The cost of an adult ticket is 70 hryvnias (8.75 dollars), for children - 35 hryvnias (4.38 dollars), photography - 10 hryvnias (1.25 dollars).

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

You can visit the Vorontsov Palace by getting to Alupka at the following address: st. Palace Highway, 10. By car, you can get here along the South Coast Highway, this route runs along the sea through the entire South coast Crimea. If you go along this highway to the Vorontsov Palace from the side of Sevastopol, then there will be a right turn to Alupka, and if from the side of Yalta, then to the left.

You can get from Yalta from the bus station by the following bus routes: 27, 26, 107, 42.

Passing buses go from Sevastopol: "Sevastopol - Miskhor", "Sevastopol - Yalta".

From Simforopol: buses "Simferopol - Simeiz", "Simferopol - Kastropol".

All articles in the direction Crimea

Hotels in Crimea: reviews, booking

Hotels in Yalta

Alupka Hotels

Address: Russia, Republic of Crimea, Alupka, sh. Palace, 18
Date of construction: 1840
Architect: Furasov P.I.
Coordinates: 57°19"07.5"N 43°06"40.4"E

Content:

Short story

The chic palace, named Vorontsov in honor of Count Vorontsov M.S., is a unique building that has become the epitome of the era of Romanticism. It is located on the Crimean peninsula in the city of Alupka.

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

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

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

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

Stone staircase with white marble sculptures of lions

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

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

Left to right: front dining room, winter garden

The layout of the Vorontsov Palace

The entire palace complex, commissioned by Vorontsov, is represented by several solid buildings, designated as:

• central;
• canteen;
• guest;
• library;
• economic.

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

North facade of the main building

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

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

Right - Clock Tower

Features of the architecture of the Vorontsov Palace

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

Moving from building to building, one can clearly trace the stages of development of medieval architecture, starting from its earliest forms and ending with the traditions of the 16th century.

Shuvalov Corps

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

West entrance towers

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

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

Chapel

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

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

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

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

Description of the park surrounding the Vorontsov Palace

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

Shuvalovsky passage overlooking the openwork bridge

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

In the Lower Park, surrounded by the most beautiful and rare representatives of the flora, there is a small tea house, which the Vorontsov family once used to celebrate holidays on the seashore. Then this place was often illuminated by salutes and fireworks.

Shuvalovsky passage overlooking the western gate

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

Use of the Vorontsov Palace complex in different years

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

Exit from the yard

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

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

Hello friends!

All valuable architectural objects have their own difficult history, many secrets and details emerge in our time. The Vorontsov Palace in Crimea is no exception.

Here's an amazing fact number 1 for you - how could the museum "Palace of Count Vorontsov" function even during the German occupation? And how many of you know about the “iron room” and how did it happen that this palace was more expensive than that of the emperor himself?

I will try to catch these questions in the article. Let's start reading!

The mere fact that 20 years and 20 million silver were spent on the construction of the palace speaks of far from being a simple estate, but a real masterpiece of architectural art. And if we add to this names of architects and craftsmen who worked on its creation .

Judge for yourself, the project and construction were led by English and Italian masters - Thomas Harrison and Francesco Boffo, and then by Edward Blore, the famous architect who owns a number of such works as Buckingham Palace, Walter Scott's Scottish castle, reconstruction of London palaces.

Moreover, Blore did not come to Alupka, M. Vorontsov himself visited him in England with drawings of the local landscape, relief and landscapes.

The construction and all related work with the design of the palace was carried out by serfs, among whom were excellent craftsmen, but by the way, you will be convinced of this when you personally visit the estate.

Vorontsov Palace: description

No wonder that the construction lasted so long, because the material was the local volcanic stone diabase, which first had to be mined (exploded), and then turned into blocks to the desired size. However, it is a very strong material.

The Vorontsov Palace consists of five interconnected buildings, in which there are more than 150 rooms. There is a palace surrounded by a luxurious park, which I will talk about in next article.

Initially, the palace was planned to be built in neoclassical style , but after the construction of the foundation and the death of one of the architects, Vorontsov changed his mind . Now we see an amazing palace-medieval castle, in the architectural styles of which there are English Tudor style (north side), as well as eastern Indo-Moorish (south side).

The Vorontsov castle made of dark stone, with its turrets, spiers, arches, battlements, openwork passages, domes and fine carved patterns, fits perfectly into the mountain and sea landscapes. And if you look from below, then immersed in park greenery, the palace looks like a scenery for an old English novel.

A bit of history

The count, prince, and then the governor of the Novorossiysk Territory, M. S. Vorontsov, fell in love with the Crimean land and tried to improve every shred as much as possible - he built roads, industrial enterprises, was engaged in shipping, developed agriculture.

So it happened with Alupka, where he decided to build an estate. The construction of the palace took place between 1828 and 1848.

Until the October Revolution, the castle successfully served as the residence of the Vorontsov family. In 1921 it was nationalized and (surprisingly, it did not become another sanatorium) was used as a museum.

Crimea almost lost this amazing building during the Second World War, for the first time just before the arrival of the German invaders, when there was no hope left, the commander in chief ordered to destroy the palace so that it would not become prey to the Nazis.

And the second - before the retreat of the German troops, this time the occupiers themselves "farewell" planned to lift the entire palace into the air.

We owe the preservation of this unique architectural complex to the museum's senior researcher Stepan Shchekoldin, who did not comply with the order and continued to serve in the museum during the capture by the Nazis, keeping valuable exhibits in a secret "iron room".

Under pain of death, he continued his work until his release. As a result, he received 10 years in the camps for "service" to the Germans.

In 1945, the British delegation, headed by W. Churchill, was located here, which arrived at the Yalta Conference.

Until 1965, the Vorntsov Palace served as a state dacha. Then it was reopened as a museum. Since 1990 has been Alupka Palace and Park Reserve.

What you will see when visiting the palace complex

First of all, the architecture of the palace complex itself will take your attention, because from which side you don’t come in, there is a unique picture everywhere. On the western side, these will be watchtowers, a little to the right of the Shuvalovsky building and the gate passage.

Then a shady utility yard with a giant plane tree and outbuildings.

On the northern side, the palace is crowned with neat turrets and large windows, and in front of the facade there are marble fountains, one of which a copy of the Bakhchisarai "fountain of tears".

And finally, the most amazing and romantic - the southern facade in the Indo-Moorish style with magnificent arches, oriental ornaments, balconies and openwork lattices. By the way, there is an inscription in Arabic above the door leading to the Blue Room. As you learn and see with your own eyes what is written there, write in the comments!

The place for photo shoots and selfies is the Lion's Terrace. A wide staircase with three pairs of marble lions descends to the lower park and the Tea House by the Sea.

marble lions - the work of the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonanni. Predators are depicted as peacefully sleeping, waking up and militant guards.

Oh yes! You can also look into the winter garden with snow-white angelic sculptures and rare southern plants. Then you will go on a tour of the inner chambers with a guide who will tell you about everything in more detail.

How are the tours

Unfortunately, tours take place only on the first floor and cover only 10 halls, where five main expositions are waiting for you.

I must say that the interior of any of the rooms will delight you. This is where you can see the perfect combination of taste and luxury. And this is despite the fact that the Vorontsov Palace was nevertheless subjected to looting and barbarism during the German occupation.

Also, various thematic and seasonal exhibitions are held on the territory of the palace, excursion services are provided in the park, including on electric vehicles.

MS Vorontsov was a connoisseur of art, literature, and strove for science and knowledge. A library was created on the estate, which was collected for more than a dozen years, and now there are more than 27,000 book copies.

The Vorontsovs also boasted a large collection of paintings - family portraits and works by famous foreign masters. You will notice them in every room.

Well, traditionally - the Vorontsov Palace was used many times as a filming site. Hamlet, Stoves and Benches, Assa, Ordinary Miracle and other films were filmed here.

Reviews of tourists

Admiration is present in every visitor review. What did the tourists complain about?

• sometimes you have to wait for your excursion, but you can still take a walk in the park;
• I want to stay longer in each hall, otherwise you won’t really consider anything together with the group;
• far to go from the parking lot;
• one day is not enough to enjoy the tour of the palace and its surroundings, so book accommodation and stay longer in Alupka. She's worth it!
• ticket prices are high.

Visit Information

Where is this miracle located? The Palace of Count Vorontsov is located in the city of Alupka, 17 km from Yalta. The battlements of Ai-Petri rise above the walls of the palace.

The exact address: Alupka, Palace highway street, 18.

Vorontsov Palace accepts visitors seven days a week, from 9.00 to 17.00 winter time, from 9.00 to 18.00 in spring and from 8.00 to 20.00 in summer. Ticket offices close earlier, at 16.15, 17.15 and 19.15 depending on the season!

Visit cost:

• visit to the Main Exhibition "Ceremonial Halls of the Main Building of the Vorontsov Palace" - 400 rubles;
• a single ticket for all expositions and exhibitions - 1050 rubles;
• a single ticket "Interiors of the Vorontsov Palace" - 600 rubles;
• a single ticket "Ceremonial Halls" and temporary exhibitions - 650 rubles;
• individual expositions - from 50 to 350 rubles;
• excursion in the park - 100 rubles;
• on an electric car - 800 rubles;
• children from 7 to 16 years old, students under 18 years old - separate service, discounts, benefits.

Official site: www.worontsovpalace.org

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

From Simferopol, Yalta, Sevastopol and many others settlements There is a direct bus service to Alupka. I wrote how to get out of Simferopol airport.

From the Alupka bus station to the palace on foot for about 20 minutes, there are information boards and signs.

Some minibuses will take you from Yalta to the Vorontsov Palace, for example, No. 32 leaves from the center, and No. 102 from the bus station.

You can also go from Yalta to Alupka by sea on a boat. Read more about boat trips in this.

Another option is to buy sightseeing tour. In groups and with a guide, you don't have to worry about how to find your destination and how to get back.

Good to know

If you are planning a walk in the park, you will have to walk a lot, but the terrain is still mountainous. Therefore, girls, wear comfortable shoes without heels - many complain later!

If you want to know where to stay in Alupka, where to eat, which beach to go to with your family - read here .

And one more thing

You can become a member "Club of Friends of the Vorontsov Palace" . What it is?

Numerous exhibits of the palace are unique and priceless evidence of history. Unfortunately, they do not last forever and require expensive restoration work over time, otherwise the palace collections can become significantly thinner.

In addition, the maintenance of the palace and park, the organization of exhibitions, scientific and research work, the educational program and the service of visitors - all this requires huge costs.

The Vorontsovsky Park Friends Club is a project of financial support from organizations and individuals, in other words, patronage. Membership conditions and detailed information are available on the official website of the museum:

www.worontsovpalace.org/?page_id=7766

And finally I will ask

ps You know, I consider this palace not only the most magnificent and worthy of a visit (from the category of “balls on the forehead”), but also the most mysterious. If you look closely at the interior decoration, then there is some kind of uncomfortable feeling. Of course, the guides will carry you through the rooms at the speed of the flow of water in the Wuchang-su waterfall, but you still try to look around and answer my question. What the hell is around!!?? Or is it just me that seems out of place among such beauty?

Looking forward to your answers...