Alupka is a fashionable resort under the jurisdiction of the Yalta City Council. Fyodor Chaliapin and Sergei Rachmaninoff liked to vacation in this town, and Surikov, Shishkin and Aivazovsky did excellent work there. In its time, this section of the southern coast of Crimea called Pontic Paradise ancient Greeks and Genoese. Before the Russian Empire appeared on the territory of the peninsula, Alupka was the crown possession of the Ottoman sultans. In 1783, an eden-like stretch of coast was presented «for labor» to Prince Potemkin. In 1823 this land went to Mikhail Vorontsov — the hero of the Patriotic War of 1912 and the new Novorossiysk Governor-General.
His Serene Highness Prince Vorontsov did a lot for the development of the Northern Black Sea coast. International trade began to develop in Odessa due to his care. On the territory of the Crimean peninsula the development of wine-making and fine-fleece sheep breeding was stimulated. Roads and the Black Sea Shipping Company appeared. For his personal needs Vorontsov built a palace and initiated the laying of a luxurious park. Both these objects became business cards not only of Alupka, but also of the whole Crimea.
So, the creation of the Alupka Park was entrusted to the titled German gardener Karl Kebach. One of the main tasks that Prince Vorontsov set for the practicing botanist was to create a cultural landscape that would harmonize with the already completed Vorontsov Palace. This luxurious building was a synthesis of English and Moorish architectural styles. Therefore, the new park had to combine the classics of an «English park» with Spanish-Moorish motifs.
To work Karl Kebach «got» 40 hectares of Alupka land, located above the water area of the Black Sea. The German horticulturist divided the park into two logical parts — Upper and Lower. Both structures are located in an amphitheater, wrapped to the sea and best emphasize the beauty of the Vorontsov Palace.
The lower park is located between the sea and the Crimean residence of the Most Serene Prince. At the water’s edge is the «tea house». The family and guests of the governor used it as a place of rest after sea bathing. From its terrace they admired I.K. Aivazovsky’s rock and the springs of crystal-clear water flowing from under it. Not far from the house there is a fountain «Sink», made after Botticelli’s «Birth of Venus». In memory of Pushkin and his «Fountain of Bakhchisarai», who was a guest of Vorontsov, the local «Fountain of Tears», an exact copy of the one located in the Khan’s Palace, was built by order of the hosts.
In the Lower Park were planted about 200 species of plants, brought by order of Kebah from all over the world. The scents of magnolia large-flowered, Italian pine and laurel are especially effective with the smell of the sea. But hard-leaved plants — palms, pyramidal cypresses and olives — look best against the background of Crimean mountainous landscapes. Therefore, the appearance of the Lower Park is very reminiscent of Spain — lush, fertile and fragrant, which was required to harmonize with the appearance of the Vorontsov Palace.
The lower park ends with the Lion Terrace, the entrance to Alupka Palace. It is world famous for its six snow-white marble lions. The kings of the beasts are made of Carrera marble by the famous Italian master carver — V. Bonnani. A couple of animals are sleeping, a couple are waking up, and two beasts have awakened and, it seems, are about to go around «their» possessions in the Vorontsovsky Park.
The Upper Park, separated from the Lower highway Yalta-Simeiz, is located on the territory, closely adjacent to the Ai-Petrinskaya yaila. Here natural stone screes are used, which Kebah formalized in the composition of Small and Big Chaos. Later, thanks to the springs oozing from the mountains, 3 lakes were created — Trout, Mirror and Swan, as well as a fountain «Trilby».
Very quickly Alupkinsky Park took a leading place among the sights of Crimea. Today it proudly bears the status of a monument of garden and park arts. From all over the South Coast, not only those who are on holiday in Alupka, people come to the former estate of Prince Vorontsov to enjoy the luxurious flora and fragrance of the paradise park.