Crimea has everything you need for an interesting vacation, even its own «Yasnaya Polyana»! A beautiful mansion, a wonderful museum with a fascinating history, a remarkable place where one of the greatest Russian writers lived and worked — all this is the Crimean Yasnaya Polyana, popular among tourists and much loved by them.
Hearing the famous name «Yasnaya Polyana», we associate it with the family estate of Count Leo Tolstoy near Tula, but those who have been to the Crimea, another association may come to mind — with a magnificent palace in the Gothic style, proudly rising in the north of the village Gaspra surrounded by centuries-old trees. This building is one of the famous palaces of Big Yalta, which with excursions annually visit thousands of tourists. It attracts thirsty travelers with its interesting history and memorable architecture.
Today the palace is called differently: Gasprinsky or the palace «Gaspra», Prince A.N. Golitsyn and S. Panina, the palace of Countess Panina, Yasnaya Polyana, Alexandria. Different names reflect different periods in the history of this landmark, each of which is interesting in its own way.
The building of impressive architecture, reminiscent of distant chivalric times, was erected in 1830-1837 for Count A.N. Golitsyn, who was the Minister of Public Education and a close friend of Russian Emperor Alexander I. The building was designed by an English architect. The author of the architectural project was the English architect William Gunt, who also took part in the construction of Vorontsovsky Palace in Alupka and was a pupil of E. Blore.
In those years, thanks to good relations between England and Russia, Russian architecture was greatly influenced by English Gothic, and it was most vividly manifested in the Crimean manor architecture. The palace and the small park around it, named the estate «Alexandria» in honor of the first owner, immediately attracted attention and became one of the recognized treasures of the village. A relatively small building, inferior in volume to many other famous palaces of the Crimea, as well as a rather small park, nevertheless abundant with exotic and rare plants, became the main attractions of Gaspra and Big Yalta — and all this thanks to the magnificent realization of the architect’s idea.
The austere gray stone building, topped on its sides with tall octagonal towers with crenellated tops, seems to have been transported here through time and space from some medieval English town. The impression in summer is enhanced by the fact that the towers are thickly and densely covered with ivy, which gives the building an even more mysterious and romantic appearance.
After the construction was completed, the first owner owned the estate for only 6 years — in 1834. A.N. Golitsyn died in Gaspra from apoplexy. The castle passed into the possession of the elderly sister of the prince E.M. Kologrivova, and in 1865. its owner became V.V. Levashov, whose wife was Countess O. Panina. She put the dilapidated buildings in order and expanded the territory of the estate, buying up the surrounding land. The palace was thoroughly repaired, the floors of the towers were re-laid, new buildings appeared — the estate was given a new life, and perhaps it is thanks to Panina that we can see this palace today in all its glory.
Under Panina, another bright page was written in the life of the «Romantic Alexandria». After learning of Leo Tolstoy’s illness, she invited him and his family to Gaspra. «I hope from the bottom of my heart that your health will also improve gradually, and that the longer you live there, the more you will feel in Gaspra «at home» and not as a guest,» — so she wrote to her friend. For those 10 months that Tolstoy lived at the estate, his health improved. In the palace were written the story «Hadji Murat» and a number of articles, but here the writer not only worked — he was visited by Kuprin, Chekhov, Chaliapin, Gorky, Balmont and other prominent people. Today this stage in the life of the palace has become a factor of increased interest for tourists, who enjoy visiting Tolstoy’s museum room, opened in the palace, increasingly called «Yasnaya Polyana» because of the great writer’s stay here.
In addition to the names listed above, you can name a few more — at different times in the palace rested O. Mandelstam, V. Nabokov, D. Shostakovich, visited here and royalty — in 1837, a few days here lived Nicholas I with his family and entourage. Gasprin’s «Yasnaya Polyana» is an amazing attraction of Ukraine, which attracted at all times and outstanding people, and ordinary travelers, it does not cease to interest people today.