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

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

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

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

How and by whom the construction was carried out

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

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

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

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

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

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

History of the palace

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

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

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

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

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

Architecture. Palace interiors

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

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

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

Western facade of the Vorontsov Palace

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

Architecture of outbuildings of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

Northern facade of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

Front office of the Vorontsov Palace

The office is decorated in a traditional English style:

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

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

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

Chintz living room of the Vorontsov Palace

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

The walls are decorated with landscapes by Russian artists.

Chinese Cabinet of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

The lobby of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

Living room of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

Winter Garden of the Vorontsov Palace

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

The main dining room of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

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

Billiard room of the Vorontsov Palace

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

South facade of the Vorontsov Palace

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

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

Library of the Vorontsov Palace

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

Alupka park

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

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

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

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

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

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

Museum expositions

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

The following exhibitions are also available to visitors:

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

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

Palace opening hours

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

Information for tourists. Visiting Rules

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

Here are the main ones:

How are the tours

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

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

Cost of visits

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

Prices for visiting the museum are acceptable:

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

Commercial video filming is paid in advance.

How to get to the Vorontsov Palace

From any settlement of the South Coast it is easy to get to Alupka, both by sea and by land.

From Yalta

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

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

From Alushta

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

From Simferopol

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

From Sevastopol

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

The majestic palace has its secrets and mysteries.

Some of them remain unsolved to this day:

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

Article formatting: Lozinsky Oleg

Video about the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea

Vorontsov Palace. Alupka. Sights of Crimea:

Hello friends!

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

There you are amazing fact No. 1 - 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.

Construction and all related work with the design of the palace was carried out by serfs, among whom were magnificent craftsmen, but by the way, you will be convinced of this when personal visit estates.

Vorontsov Palace: description

It is no wonder that the construction lasted so long, because the local volcanic stone diabase served as the material, 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 medieval castle palace, 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, an order was received from the commander-in-chief 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.

Preservation of this unique architectural complex we are indebted to the museum's senior researcher Stepan Shchekoldin, who did not comply with the order, 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 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 posted 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...

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea) is a unique monument of architecture and history, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. Next to the palace is...

Vorontsov Palace in Alupka: history of creation, photo, description, architect

By Masterweb

01.06.2018 20:00

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka (Crimea) is a unique monument of architecture and history, located at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri. Near the palace there is another object, a monument of park and garden art, which has been created over the years. About the history of the creation of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, the park next to it and interesting facts associated with this place will be discussed in this essay.

Construction history. Start

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was built over two decades - from 1828 to 1848. It was intended for the Governor-General Count M. S. Vorontsov as a summer residence. The author of the palace project was the famous architect from England Edward Blore. E. Blor himself did not come to Alupka and made design calculations at home, but he was well aware of all the nuances relating to the local relief.

In addition, the foundation, as well as the first laying of the portal niche in the central building, were already ready. This was due to the fact that initially the palace was supposed to be built according to a different project, the authors of which were T. Harrison and F. Boffo.

All work on the construction of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was carried out by ordinary serfs from the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. For the construction, real craftsmen, hereditary skilled stone cutters and masons were involved. They had extensive experience in the field of relief decoration, acquired during the construction of white-stone cathedrals. Absolutely all work was carried out manually, with the simplest tools.

Continuation of construction

After the architect of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, E. Blor, completed work on the project, the workers began the construction of the building. From 1830 to 1834, the construction of the building, which housed the dining room, lasted. From 1831 to 1837, the most important building was built - the central building. From 1841 to 1842, a billiard room was built, attached to the dining room building. In 1838-1844, the eastern wings, the guest building, as well as all the palace towers and the pentagon of the utility buildings were built. The library building was the last to be erected (from 1842 to 1846), at the same time the decoration of the front yard was being completed.

The largest volume of earthworks was carried out in the period from 1840 to 1848. Soldiers of a separate sapper battalion created park terraces near the southern palace facade. In the summer of 1848, workers installed sculptures of lions on the central staircase that leads to the main entrance. These figures were created by the Italian master D. Bonnani, a famous sculptor of that time. The installation of these figures not only gave the name to the terrace (lion's), but also completed the construction, decoration and decoration of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka.

palace architecture

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

The Vorontsov Palace in Alupka was built in the spirit of the English canons of architecture, while eclecticism is present both in the decoration and in the building itself. So, for example, you can see elements of different eras - from the early periods of architecture to the 16th-17th centuries. Elements originate from the western gate - the closer to extreme point palace, the later architectural style will open to your eyes.

Neo-Moorish style blends perfectly with English Gothic. For example, chimneys made in the Gothic style resemble minarets. The southern entrance of the palace is made in an oriental style magnificently. A horseshoe-shaped arch, a two-tier vault, Arabic-style carving, which is intertwined with a Tudor flower pattern (English rose), harmoniously combines with Arabic script, made on a frieze in gold.

Palace interior

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

The lobby immediately returns to Russia of the 19th century. Its walls are decorated with large portraits of Catherine II, as well as members of the count's family. The room has a fireplace made in the English style, the floor is covered with precious wood parquet, the walls and ceiling are also finished with wood.

front office

The count's front office is very spacious, but very restrained in design and decoration. There are many portraits of military generals who were his comrades-in-arms in the war of 1812 in the room. The office is finished with wood and fabric, there is also a fireplace. The furniture is very refined, it was ordered from the best masters of Europe at that time.

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

Printed Reception and Chinese Cabinet

Photos inside the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka show the beauty of the halls, including the chintz reception room. The walls of this cozy room covered with a fabric dyed in warm colors with a beautiful pattern. Initially, it was an office in crimson tones of E. K. Vorontsova, but later it was remade. The parquet in this hall is made of different types of wood, which have different colors. There are portraits and landscapes on the walls, and the study itself is furnished with furniture made by Italian masters.

The Chinese cabinet is designed in soft orange tones and finished with wood and fabric. Furniture and interior elements, however, are not Chinese, but English, so the cabinet can be conditionally called Chinese. In this room there are several portraits, a baroque fireplace, and exquisite parquet to match the walls.

Blue living room and boudoir

The blue (artistic) living room amazes with its beauty. However, initially this hall was called Turkish and was designed in oriental colors. The composition of the blue living room is superbly complemented by a snow-white stucco ornament on the azure ceiling and walls. The hall has a white stone fireplace, made in the Renaissance style. The living room is furnished with magnificent white furniture inlaid with gold and upholstered in yellow silk. The furniture is complemented by large chic blue vases and a snow-white piano, also inlaid with gold leaf.

The boudoir is small, but, like in the previous room, classical style reigns. The light color of the walls is in harmony with the parquet, and comfortable upholstered furniture immediately speaks of the purpose of the room. On the walls there are portraits of family members and mirrors in beautiful carved frames.

front dining room

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

The style of carving, pattern and color of the ceiling absolutely exactly repeat the execution of wall panels, tops of doorways and window frames. All the pomposity and grandiosity of the front dining room is emphasized by the furniture. Four large tables are pushed together, their tops are made of mahogany. Table legs are made of oak and carved in the shape of animal paws.

Around the table are more than 20 chairs made of noble trees, with vegetable carvings and upholstery in French fabrics. In the dining room there are large fireplaces made in the English style. Sideboards and tables for serving guests are located along the walls.

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

palace park

The Vorontsov Palace and the park in Alupka were built at the same time, but it took a long time. A talented gardener and botanist from Germany, K. A. Kebach, worked on the creation of this masterpiece of park and garden art from the end of 1824 to the middle of 1851. palace park is included in the museum exposition part, the total area of ​​which is 361,913 m2. It is a monument of national importance, striking in its beauty.

The creator of the park managed to collect plants from all over the world and ensure that they coexist peacefully. The park itself is divided into lower and upper parts. On the upper part there are sunny, chestnut and contrast glades. Different types of plants and trees grow on each of them (oriental plane tree, Italian pine, berry yew, Chilean araucaria, Himalayan cedar, etc.). In addition, there is Swan Lake with these beautiful birds, as well as a waterfall and two lakes - Mirror and Upper. At the bottom of the park is a small tea house surrounded by beautiful trees and plants.

History of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka

The palace belonged to three generations of the Vorontsov family, but after the October Revolution it was nationalized. In 1921 the palace and the park were opened as a museum. In 1941, after the start of the Great Patriotic War, the exhibits in the museum did not have time to be evacuated, as well as from other Crimean museums.

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

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

After the war, for 10 years the palace was used as a state dacha, and since 1956 it was returned to the status of a museum and opened to visitors. In 1990, the complex was given the status of a palace and park museum-reserve.

Sculptures of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka

A winter garden was created in one of the halls of the palace. It contains a huge number of exotic tropical plants imported from South America and from the islands of Oceania. A neat white marble fountain was created in the center of this garden, and sculptures are placed throughout the hall.

The composition was created from famous copies of sculptures from ancient times and the Renaissance. Among them are statues: bathing Aphrodite, Apollo Belvedere, sculptures "Girl", "First Steps" and the muse of astronomy - Urania. The stone is processed so perfectly that the statues seem very realistic.

On the other side of the winter garden is a composition of busts of famous people of that time and family members. For example, Catherine II, Count Vorontsov himself, his wife and father. All sculptures are harmoniously combined with both the interior of the hall and beautiful plants.

The richness of the exhibits

In the photo, the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka impresses with its monumentality, elegance and architectural aesthetics. In addition to its beauty, this palace will surprise the visitor with its exhibits, which are exhibited in the guest building, in the halls of the main building and in the tea house. Here you can get acquainted with the paintings of famous painters and decorations of that time.

The museum's exposition includes about 27,000 exhibits in the main fund alone, as well as the rich library of Count Vorontsov, numbering more than 10,000 folios. In addition, here you can see a rich variety of plants, as well as enjoy the views of the park itself and Mount Ai-Petri.

Once in the Crimea, you should definitely go to Alupka and visit the Vorontsov Palace. The impressions of the trip will amaze you, leaving pleasant memories of this excursion for a lifetime.

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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 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. The northern part of 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 is built on the principle of an ancient amphitheater descending from the palace to the 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 "Tsentr. 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, sea with intricately indented coasts and bays, picturesque rocks represented a bright, expressive backdrop for romantic architecture. Here, the connection between the architectural structure and the surrounding nature was especially clearly manifested.

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; then handsome gothic castle, then a cozy dacha like English "cottages", completely immersed in a sea of ​​​​greenery and flowers, then 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, the most interesting monument of that era - the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, now the 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.

southern part of the economic buildings under the Vorontsovs was divided according to its functional purpose into three parts: the central part was occupied by carriage sheds with three wide doorways, the right one was 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 are presented with a new aspect of architecture that is no longer identical. medieval fortress, and a country English palace of the 16th century, which is characterized by large window openings (bay windows), high 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.

From a hundred to a thousand people worked here at different times, 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, a large amount of explosive was prepared. 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. Currently, it is an architectural and 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, the decoration of which also affects big influence palace interiors of England in the 16th century.

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 wall, 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 was solved in the same pictorial vein. Alupka Palace Count M.S. Vorontsov (1782-1856).

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 of the 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:

1. "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.
2. "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 a German colony near Odessa Martyn Goltsman.

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. Over the 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. In home theater last time in his life, the great actor Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin (1788-1863), the founder of the Russian realistic theater, performed.

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 the southern wall are the work of Western European sculptors of the 18th and 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.