Palace luxury in all its splendor, original architectural solutions, aristocratic atmosphere — and all this surrounded by stunning panoramas and the best landscapes of the Crimea and its southern coast. Vorontsov Palace and its beautiful park impress everyone who comes to see this attraction of Alupka — it is one of the brightest treasures of Big Yalta.
In the Crimea you can see a lot of memorable architectural buildings, but it is Vorontsov Palace leaves the deepest trace in the memory of many tourists who are not indifferent to this kind of attractions. And almost everyone forever falls in love with this masterpiece — and even experts in the field of architecture call it so. In this building merged together English aristocratism and oriental opulence, strict forms and abundance of decor — and all this despite the fact that the person who realized this treasure never came to Alupka and built the palace in absentia.
The palace and the park, which since 1990 make up the Alupka Palace and Park Museum-Reserve, appeared in this wonderful and beloved by many tourists town thanks to the will of an outstanding person — the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory Count M. S. Vorontsov, former Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory.S. Vorontsov, who was one of the main statesmen of Russia in the first half of the XIX century. He wished to build one of his residences on the South Coast near the most significant resort — Yalta, and despite the fact that he lived permanently in Odessa, and here he visited only periodically, he approached the construction with a great deal of scope.
The palace was built in 1828-1846. At first, the design work was entrusted to architects F. Boffo and T. Harrison, but under their guidance only the foundations and the first masonry of one of the niches of the central building were laid — soon the project was entrusted to the English architect Edward Blore, who was one of the early representatives of British architectural eclecticism. E. Blore is the author of Buckingham Palace in London, and the Alupka Palace is considered his second and no less significant masterpiece. The architect has never been to the Crimea, but managed to fit the palace so organically into the surrounding landscape, to achieve such harmony that it is often said: «it seems to grow out of the surrounding nature». A significant role in this was played by the fact that the construction material for Count Vorontsov’s residence was chosen from the nearby diabase stone (the same stone used to pave Moscow’s Red Square).
The Vorontsov Palace simultaneously resembles both a strict knight’s castle and a luxurious oriental palace, it combines different architectural styles from neo-Gothic to neo-Mauritanian. The facade facing the sea is lavish and festive, while looking at the palace from the other side, we see a severe country castle in the best traditions of the English aristocracy. The same variety opens to visitors inside: Blue Drawing Room, Winter Garden, Chinese Study, Chintz Room — all these rooms correspond to their names and are made in different styles. The knightly theme of the exterior is embodied in the dining room, where the decoration of knights’ halls in medieval castles is recreated in the best way — in accordance with the traditions, even a special balcony under the ceiling was organized here, where musicians were placed during meals. It is noteworthy that the decoration of many rooms has been preserved in its original form. Visiting the palace with a tour, you can hear a lot of interesting stories associated with this building, and the combination of the eye-opening and fascinating stories of guides acts mesmerizingly, and every imaginative person is as if transported to a bygone era, long gone times.
The palace complex consists of five buildings with closed and open courtyards, staircases and terraces, so there is a lot to see here. However, even in a whole day, if you want to get to know this place better, it is very difficult to see everything: the fact is that the palace is surrounded by a magnificent park of 40 hectares worthy of no less attention. It is a monument of gardening and park art, created by the hands of the main gardener of the South Coast of Crimea — Karl Kebach. The park has its own attractions: Big and Small Chaos, Moon Stone, Swan, Trout and Mirror Lakes, Chestnut, Sun, Contrast and Platanaya Glades, fountains «Trilby» and «Sink», «Fountain of Tears», Aivazovsky Rock, springs «Tea House» and «Cat’s Eye». Due to such an abundance of interesting objects, fantastic beauty of landscapes and diversity of flora — many plants are brought from South and North America, the Mediterranean, East Asia (in total, the park has about 200 species of exotic shrubs and trees), for many people this corner Alupka becomes the most favorite, and most of their vacations some tourists spend here.
The Vorontsov Palace and Park are certainly outstanding attractions of Ukraine, which can be categorized as a «must see at least once in a lifetime».