Some small towns and villages of Crimea give their guests real surprises. Thus, coming to Simeiz, tourists expect to see beautiful rocks, picturesque beaches and emerald sea, someone a little more aware of the charms of this place — archaeological monuments left by the Taureans, and very few people know that here you can get aesthetic pleasure also from getting acquainted with architectural sights. Simeiz can be called a land of ancient villas, enchanting with their splendor, and one of the most beautiful among them is Villa Xenia.
Simeiz is located in a picturesque area — the beauty of nature here is inimitable, but the architectural gems of the village are no less impressive. To see them, you need to look closely at what peeks through the trunks and tops of pines, junipers and cypresses. One of the buildings that stands out among the riot of greenery is Villa Xenia — its pointed brick-colored tower is visible from many corners of the village. If you get closer, you will be pleasantly surprised to see that the architecture of this building is really impressive: not some ancient castle, not a palace from a fairy tale!
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Villa Xenia is one of the most striking sights of the village, a reminder of what pre-revolutionary aristocratic Simeiz was like. When the brothers Maltsev in the very early twentieth century. decided to turn this cozy corner of the Crimea in a popular resort, there were many beautiful buildings, but this became almost the most magnificent of them, which is not surprising, because to create the villa had a hand in the creation of Nikolai Krasnov — architect of the High Court, the author of many palaces of the Romanov family. Krasnov designed the front facade of the building, all other architectural research was performed by another no less outstanding person — architect Ya.P. Semenov, who left a huge mark in the external appearance of Simeiz, it was he who designed most of the buildings here. Thanks to two talented creators in 1911. in the village appeared a real treasure, which to this day fascinates all who see it.
The architecture of Villa Xenia is a blend of different styles — Northern Art Nouveau, Neo-Gothic and Scottish chalet. The building gives the impression of both a cozy country house, not lacking in sophistication, and monumental strict medieval castle, which brings imitation of rough masonry gray plaster. At the same time, the villa seems mystical because of the pointed spires and roofs, narrow elongated windows — its appearance is mesmerizing, attracts attention, you want to admire it, look at it, look at the details. Unfortunately, not everything that is revealed to the eye is pleasing — for many years the villa has been neglected, and no one takes care of its condition.
The first owner, on whose order the villa was built — Ukrainian landowner Varvara Chuychievich, in 1913 sold the building to Maria Solovova, but soon the revolution happened and it was nationalized (by the way, this name — Xenia, was given to the villa by Varvara in honor of her eldest granddaughter). In the Soviet years there was a boarding house, then the magnificent architectural gem was turned into a communal house, where ordinary families lived, and now its rooms are empty, and every year the abandoned beauty becomes more and more dilapidated. Even so, it continues to fascinate, and tourists are also attracted by the fact that the building is rumored to be the local «haunted house». When people take pictures, they find shadows and silhouettes of people, and when they get acquainted with the building, they hear doors creaking and rustling, even though no one has lived here for a long time. Who knows, maybe it’s the spirit of the last owner wandering around, unable to find peace?
The same Maria Solovova, to whom Varvara Chuychievich allegedly sold the building, was in fact the landlady’s daughter, born to her by an unknown man after the death of her first husband. The illegitimate daughter Varvara wrote down on her sister and officially never recognized as her own child. Perhaps the sale of the villa was a disguised gift from a mother to her fate-stricken child, a gesture that expressed her love for her child, and since this gift was soon taken away, Maria’s spirit never found peace? In all of this we read a tragic story, the story of Mary’s unresolved fate, which may have influenced the current fate of the building that has become the abode of the unquiet spirit.
This simeiz attraction will be known to all who come here to rest, it is located at the very beginning of the famous Apollo Alley (cypress alley) and it is simply impossible to bypass its attention. After getting acquainted with Villa Xenia, many tourists are even more fascinated by Simeiz, not expecting to see here such an abundance of various beauties, giving aesthetic pleasure to all those who are not strangers to the craving for beauty.