Where is Vorontsov's palace located? Vorontsovsky park and palace in Alupka. Service in the Novorossiysk region

The Vorontsov Palace stands apart in Alupka - one of the most impressive on the coast. The palace was built over 20 years, from 1830, as the summer residence of the Governor-General of Novorossiya M.S. Vorontsova.

Built according to the design of the English architect Edward Blore (1789-1879), one of the authors of Buckingham Palace and Westminster 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, and 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.” Along the walls of the southern façade of the Vorontsov Palace 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.

Also a monument to 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 was 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 telephone number

The address of the Vorontsov Palace is Crimea, Alupka, Dvortsovoye Highway, 18.

Phone number of the duty organizer of the Vorontsov Palace (for information about the museum’s operating 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 No. 115 (Yalta - Simeiz), bus No. 107 (Yalta - Katsiveli) to the stop "Alupka, bus station"; bus No. 102 (Yalta - Alupka Park) to the final stop.

From the Yalta Clothing Market (city center) you can take bus No. 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 “Center. Lenin Square”, from here walk down the stairs to the palace.

Vorontsov Palace - history of creation

Alupka is famous for its palace and park ensemble, consisting of five buildings (Main, Library, Dining, Household and Guest with a one-story Shuvalov wing), the 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 an entire 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. At the end of the 30s, romantic trends became dominant. In accordance with this, the attitude towards classicism changes, which for romantics turns into the personification of dogmatism, external form, normativity, excluding free creativity and development. The aesthetic ideal has also changed. For the romantics, beauty was associated not with clarity, simplicity and harmony, as in classicism, but with diversity, contrast, and dynamism.

Talented architects of the Romantic era turned to architectural elements of the styles of past eras and, subjecting them to creative rethinking, applied them in modern construction. They paid 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 asymmetrical compositions. Architectural romanticism, unlike classicism, did not create large public buildings or majestic city ensembles, but found wide application in estate and park construction.

Since the 20s of the 19th century, buildings created in the romantic style prevailed on the South Coast. The Crimean mountains, exotic vegetation, the sea with intricately indented shores and bays, and picturesque rocks provided 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 Crimea in 1837, noted in his notes: “Alternately you see a small house in Asian style, the windows are covered with curtains, the chimneys look like minarets; now a beautiful Gothic castle, now a cozy dacha like English “cottages”, completely immersed in a sea of ​​greenery and flowers, now 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, most interesting monument of that era has been preserved - the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, now a palace museum.

It was built with a primary focus on the architectural style of England of 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. The high, harsh walls are topped with stone crenellations. The walls are supported by powerful buttresses. The impression of the dark Middle Ages is enhanced by Shuvalovsky Proezd. Its broken line with a series of closed perspectives seems to promise the viewer something mysterious somewhere around the bend.

At the top there is an openwork bridge connecting the service buildings with the Main Dining Building. This sky bridge is really very romantic. It, like the entire western part of the palace, can take us into the atmosphere of medieval novels by Walter Scott or other contemporary romantic writers.

Architecture of the utility buildings 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.

The service buildings are located on the northern side of the site, parallel to the dining building and the Shuvalovsky (guest) wing. They form a separate closed courtyard in the form of a horizontally elongated irregular polygon.

The closedness and isolation of the courtyard, the general nature of the architecture of the utility buildings will remind us of medieval English castles with towers, narrow windows - loopholes of high external walls.

The decorative design of the facades is based on a clear rhythm of geometrically simple door and window openings. Here the textured treatment of the walls with “torn” stone is used.

The southern part of the economic buildings under the Vorontsovs was divided according to their functional purpose into three parts: the central part was occupied by carriage sheds with three wide doorways, the right part was occupied by stables, and in the left wing there was a kitchen with utility rooms and storage rooms.

Various economic services were also located in the northern part of the economic 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, large 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 a 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. The chimneys, stylized as phials, add a special picturesqueness to the silhouette of the walls.

There are two gates leading into the courtyard. At the western entrance there is a round tower. The eastern gate, facing the front yard, is flanked by two rectangular three-tier towers, one of which, the Clock Tower, is topped with a turret with a flagpole. The towers are identical in proportions and shapes, designed in the style of English architecture of the 16th century. Their upper tier is crowned by a high jagged cornice. The gates of the towers connect the front courtyard with the service buildings and at the same time form the architectural frame of the “clean” courtyard from the west.

Northern facade of the Vorontsov Palace

In the northern façade we see a new aspect of architecture, identical no longer to a medieval fortress, but to a country English palace of the 16th century, for which large window openings (bay windows) and tall chimneys are typical, which, in addition to their utilitarian purpose, play a large decorative role. Rising above the palace as a whole slender colonnade with tops in the form of buds of some fantastic flowers (fleurons), they impart a special decorative effect to the entire architectural and decorative appearance of the main building of the palace.

The architect achieves great expressiveness here with the rhythmic alternation of smooth planes of walls and risalits, graceful pinnacle towers and massive crenellations.

Looking at the palace, we admire the masterly skill of the stone cutters, who skillfully executed its structural and decorative details: stone blocks, carved pediments, domes. Here, many architectural details typical of 16th-century England (towers, arches, domes) are similar in outline to elements of oriental architecture. This is another feature of romantic architecture, when the forms of one style reveal another.

The elements of oriental architecture found in the palace reached their strongest development in the architecture of the southern façade of the palace, which we will get acquainted with later.

The presence of two styles in one building was by no means a mechanical connection here. The architect found details close to both the East and Gothic, dispersed them in a certain rhythm throughout the complex and thereby achieved an amazing stylistic unity.

So, in the northern facade we see a 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 movement in English architecture. E. Blore is known in England as a draftsman and engraver, and an illustrator of publications on the history of British architecture. In 1816-1823 he participated in the design and decoration of Abbotsford Castle for W. Scott in Scotland. In 1820 - 1850 he carried out restoration work in royal palaces and was a brilliant expert on Tudor style 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 serf masters. Of great interest is the fact that Vladimir stone-cutters worked here, famous for their art of erecting white-stone Russian churches with artistically executed decorations.

The main building material was local diabase stone, which is stronger than 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 resembling the ruins of some ancient fantastic castle, became a wonderful backdrop for it.

From huge shapeless blocks of diabase, which was processed by hand, blocks for walls were carved, and delicate and complex architectural details were cut out. The diabase was carefully polished for finishing the interior.

From one 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 quitrent. Currently, based on archival documents, it has been possible to establish the names of more than 300 serfs, among whom were modelers, cabinetmakers, wood and stone carvers, painters, and embroiderers.

Among these talented craftsmen, the skill of the sculptor Roman Furtunov from the Moshensky estate in the Kyiv province deserves special attention. Carpenters from the same estate worked in Alupka, many of them worked for 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 was manifested in the decoration of the state rooms of the palace, made with great taste and perfection.

The palace was built for 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 region and plenipotentiary governor of the Bessarabia region.

In the first half of the 19th century, the colonization of new lands in Russia intensified. Overpopulation of estates in the central zone forced 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 New Russia 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 is seeking his appointment to the post of Governor-General of Novorossiya.

Having visited Crimea for the first time in 1822 and seeing what enormous wealth this rich, almost undeveloped region conceals, Vorontsov begins to acquire land here. Massandra, Ai-Danil, Ai-Vasil, Martyan, Gurzuf, Alupka - one after another became the property of Vorontsov. In the 30s he already owned about 2 thousand acres of land. Vorontsov is trying to use his estates as profitably as possible. He creates extensive grape plantations on the South Coast and is one of the first to establish industrial winemaking here. Under him, the first cellars were laid in Massandra. Sheep farming developed in the steppe regions of Crimea, a stud farm developed in Ak-Mechet, and salt was mined in two lakes in this area.

Thanks to the construction of a road connecting Simferopol with Sevastopol and Yalta, agricultural products and wine were exported from Vorontsov’s Crimean estates, 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 dessiatines of land in 16 provinces of Russia and about 80 thousand serfs, Vorontsov received huge incomes. Income from quitrents alone, excluding Crimean estates, amounted to up 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 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 allocated to the sanatoriums of the People's Commissariat of Health. All responsibility rests with you."

Following the instructions of the commission 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 nationalized estates were selected for the creation of the first Soviet museums in Crimea.

The Vorontsov Palace was nationalized, the remaining property was supplemented with collections from other southern coastal palaces, and in 1921 a historical and household museum was opened here.

During the Patriotic War, when 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 Grigorievich Shchekoldin (1904-2002). During the retreat, the Germans wanted to blow up the palace; a large amount of explosives were prepared. However, the explosion could not be carried out; museum workers prevented it. In April 1944, the rapid advance of Soviet troops liberated Crimea.

In February 1945, during the Crimean Conference, the Alupka Palace was provided to the British delegation led by W. Churchill. In the next decade, there was a State Dacha here, referred to in 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 ceremonial premises 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”, where portraits of numerous representatives of this famous family are presented.

One of the main features of the Vorontsov Palace is a combination of the styles of English architecture of the 16th century (Tudor style) and eastern, Indo-Muslim 16th century. Moreover, the combination of these styles is executed 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 and its exterior, we noted that its main stylistic motif is its orientation towards English architecture of the 16th century. We can note the same thing when characterizing interiors, i.e. interior spaces, the decorative design of which also shows the great influence of the palace interiors of 16th century England.

In the 16th century, in English palaces, the interiors were decorated with carved wooden decor. From here in the front office there are 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 enhance the impression of wood trim; one of the doors is purely decorative. Decoration details typical of 16th century England in all the halls of the palace (to a greater or lesser extent) are intertwined with elements typical of decoration of the 2nd quarter of the 16th century, when imitation became fashionable. Here it is used in the ceiling decoration, where alabaster sculpting and coloring imitate wood.

A characteristic detail of English interiors is fireplaces. In the damp climate of England, a fireplace not only provides warmth, but also acts as a powerful fan. We will see fireplaces in all the main rooms of the palace, and in each of them the decoration has its own characteristics, combining with the general decoration of the hall. Here the fireplace is made of marbled limestone in grayish-brown shades, which goes well with the tone of the wood and wallpaper, which were not preserved and were replaced with new ones. Their coloring and design fully correspond to the old samples.

In the front office there is furniture, mainly English workmanship from the 1st quarter of the 19th century, made of different types of wood. Its rich decoration: metal inlay, lush wood carvings, skillful polishing - enhance the impression of solemnity and splendor of this room.

The furnishings of the room are typical of state rooms of the 30s and 40s of the 16th century. It not only characterizes the era, but also each individual item is of great artistic value. Particularly interesting is the ebony cabinet bookcase, made by French craftsmen in the Boule style (Charles Boule /1642-1732/ worked at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries). He can be called the creator of artistic furniture. Masterfully mastering the technique of typesetting, using applied bronze, ivory, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell to decorate furniture, he achieved great color richness and created his own “Boule” style.

A set of cabinet furniture: a round table, chairs and walnut armchairs, made by English craftsmen of the 1st quarter of the 19th century, attracts attention with the skill of metal inlay on wood and the ability to show the beauty of wood.

Portraits were often placed in the front rooms, clearly characterizing the era. Peering at the images of people placed in this office, we can say with confidence that they were touched by the breath of the War of 1812. The growing ideas of patriotism in Russian society encouraged artists to look for and find in a person those traits that were associated with the concept of “sense of civic duty.” The military gallery of 1812 in the Winter Palace can be considered the artistic standard of such a work. The English artist George Dow (1781-1829) worked on its creation for a number of years with his assistants Golike and Polyakov. The portraits presented here by participants in the Russian-French campaign Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov (1770-1824), Lev Aleksandrovich Naryshkin (1781-1829), Alexander Khristoforovich Benckendorf are the author's repetitions of the gallery's works. A sharp turn of the head, fiery color in uniforms, a stormy sky in the background - techniques typical of Dow’s work. They give painting a romantic coloring.

The ceremonial portrait of the first owner of the Alupka Palace, Count M.S. Vorontsov (1782-1856), was designed in the same artistic vein.

When in 1821 the Englishman Thomas Lawrence began painting a portrait that would later become famous, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov was in the aura of his military glory, having shown personal courage and extraordinary abilities as a commander in the battles of Borodino, Krasny, and Kraon. In 1848, at the request of the Vorontsov family, Louise Dessemé made a copy quite worthy of the original. Successfully imitating Lawrence's brush, his pearlescent gray and black tones, the artist managed to preserve the romantic pathos characteristic of the original.

A portrait of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov occupies a worthy place in the exhibition. Small bronze sculptures are also presented here: the Duke of Wellington (a copy of 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).

The decoration of the Front Office is complemented by a gilded bronze clock standing on the cabinet by the French master Peter-Philippe Thomire (1741-1843). They are decorated with the figures of Minin and Pozharsky - they repeat the composition of the famous monument on Red Square by the 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 mid-19th century and at the same time became such a fashionable material that it was valued at the same level as velvet, silk, and brocade. It was used for decoration in palaces and rich mansions. This chintz is of English workmanship with an elegant decorative pattern. Its color harmonizes well with the lining of the fireplace, made of marble in pinkish shades.

A massive walnut sofa, classically shaped, with side bookcases, lavishly 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 paintings and was one of the first to paint nature from life. S. Shchedrin painted landscapes in the vicinity of Naples, Sorrento, and on the island of Capri. “View of Sorrento” is his favorite tune. The bright rays of the southern sun illuminate the waters of the Gulf of Naples and the picturesque coastal cliffs. The landscape seems to be shrouded in the transparent haze of a hot summer day. In his canvases, the artist was able to directly and poetically convey the charm of real nature and show the beauty of reality.

A prominent place among the masters of Russian landscape belongs to N.G. Chernetsov (1805-1879), who devoted himself to depicting Russian nature. Chernetsov traveled a lot. In 1838, he and his brother traveled along the Volga. “Yurievets Povolsky” is one of the many paintings that appeared as a result of this journey. This small work captures the architecture of the ancient town. In the 1850s, the artist made a pilgrimage to the Holy Places; the canvas “View of Nazareth near Galilee” dates back to this period of his work.

There are two paintings above the fireplace:

1. "Ruins in the vicinity of 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. Vorobyova. In the summer he lived in Ukraine, depicting scenes of folk life and Ukrainian nature. Close friend T.G. Shevchenko. In 1839 he received the title of artist; in 1840, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, he was sent to Italy. Died in Rome.
2. "Bacchante". 1856 Canvas, oil. The painting was originally in the Vorontsov collection. Artist Maikov Nikolai Apollonovich (1794-1873). Historical painter of the academic movement. He was educated in the cadet corps and took part in the Patriotic War of 1812. He became a self-taught painter. Since 1835 - academician.

The very name of the hall indicates eastern influences. This is no coincidence: the room faces the south, where the architecture is oriental in nature.

The room got its name “Chinese Cabinet” from the mats that lined 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.

Individual decorative details show signs of a wide variety of styles. The ornamentation of embroideries on Chinese mats and wood carvings are made in the style of the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century, the framing of the mirror frames and their mirror decorations are Gothic in nature. Turned columns on the walls, carved garlands with tassels at the bottom are typical of Baroque.

But above all this, an 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 patterns of carving and modeling, in the color combination of black, brown and cream, inherent in many works of Chinese applied art.

In the Chinese cabinet, the art and talent of the various craftsmen who worked on the decoration of the palace were sculptors, embroiderers, furniture makers and furniture carvers. These high-class craftsmen perfectly executed high paneled panels made of light oak and delicate carved wood decorations. The carvings decorating the doors of the wall cabinet are particularly elegant, 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 the chairs and armchairs in this room (on the backs there are stylized Vorontsov monograms), tables made of wavy birch (the round living room and the ladies' table - the work table). From the Vorontsov archives it is known that serf carpenters worked in Alupka for many years: Naum Mukhin, Maxim Tislenko, Yakim Lapshin, and a colonist from a German colony near Odessa, Martyn Goltsman.

An unusually shaped small wall cabinet of French workmanship, close to the Boulle style, fits well into the interior of the office. Its decoration uses a tortoise shell, along which there is an ornament of copper and light metal. The cabinet was almost entirely decorative; a small amount of papers or letters could be stored inside it.

Similar in color is the cabinet 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, which protects the wood from damage, can be tinted in different colors. The design is made by applying colored varnish layer by layer and is convex in nature.

A genuine work of decorative and applied art from 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 craftsmen. (Smalt is a set of tiny pieces of colored glass on a wax base).

The portrait of Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova was painted by an unknown artist based on the original by D. Doe. She is depicted in a Venetian dress, according to the fashion of those years. The image of a woman once sung by A.S. Pushkin, extremely attractive. The portrait is dominated by warm olive tones. On the western wall (where the portrait of E.K. Vorontsova) are color engravings by F. Bartalozzi from the originals by the English portraitist 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 Maria Spencer. Mezzotint by William Dickinson from an original by D. Reynolds (1723-1792)
• in the middle - "Meditation", color engraving from a drawing made by Countess Spencer
• on the right - Duchess Caroline of Marlborough with her daughter Caroline Spencer
• panel of the northern wall - types of English castles
• on the left and right (under the shelves) are views of the old castle in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. In the middle are 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 provided to the British delegation led by Churchill. The prime minister's personal apartments were the Front and Chinese offices, connected by the Calico Room. The Chinese Cabinet houses a small exhibition dedicated to the outstanding political figure of the 20th century.

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965) by origin belonged to the famous family of the Dukes of Marlborough, one of 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), was commander-in-chief of the English army from 1702. Queen Anne elevated him to the dignity of duke, and for the brilliant victory at Blenheim on August 13, 1704, in memory of which a medal was struck, she granted the Duke lands in the royal lands of Woodstock in Oxfordshire. On the site of an old castle from the time of Elizabeth Tudor, designed by John Vanbrough (1664-1726) in 1705-1719. a huge palace was built, externally reminiscent of Versailles. The family estate was named "Blenheim". Winston Churchill was born here on November 30, 1874.

For more than a hundred years, it belonged to the Duke family in London, Marlborough House. Built in 1709-1711. K. Renom (1632-1723) in the Palladian style, the palace was distinguished by the luxury of its interior decoration and the richness of its 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 mid-18th century, the title and possessions of the Dukes of Marlborough passed through the female line to Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland (3rd Duke of Marlborough). His grandson, Count George Pembroke, was married in 1808 by his own 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 originals by D. Reynolds.

A separate showcase displays documentary photographs (copies) taken during the conference and books dedicated to W. Churchill.

Served as the main entrance to the palace. Of all the interiors, it most closely resembles the state rooms 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 state and living rooms. The lobby is very similar to an English hall.

Its entrance doors are located on the northern facade, the architecture of which is restrained and austere, typical of English buildings of the 16th century. This rigor and simplicity seems to be further developed in the interior decoration of the lobby. Its proportions are harmonious and majestic. Almost all the architectural treatment is given in wood: the massive oak ceiling is symmetrically divided by profiled decorative squares, imitating the ribs that once played a load-bearing role. Tall oak panels are decorated with stylized Gothic arches.

Fireplaces made of gray diabase fit perfectly into the austere and somewhat gloomy color of the lobby. The upper part of the fireplaces is made of one single piece in the form of a gentle Tudor arch, on which a Gothic cruciferous flower is expertly carved. The diabase here is polished so finely that it has a mirror shine.

The nature of the paintings in this hall corresponds to its pomp and monumentality. These features are more characteristic of ceremonial portraits, the purpose of which is to glorify and idealize the person being portrayed in every possible way, to emphasize his social superiority and high position in society. Such portraits, as a rule, are large in size; clothes, jewelry, orders, and ribbons are carefully depicted in them. The ceremonial portrait was not intended to reveal the inner world of a person.

The ceremonial coronation portrait of Catherine II was 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 Russian society of his era, Rokotov gives a poetic idea of ​​​​a person, spiritualizes him. But when creating ceremonial portraits, he had to follow certain traditions, which were mentioned above. In the portrait of Catherine, the artist strives to emphasize the power and greatness of the empress, carefully depicting the luxurious royal clothing and furnishings. Catherine’s face is impenetrable.

A striking example of ceremonial portraits can be the works 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, and an order ribbon indicating that Branitskaya is a court lady of Catherine II are carefully painted, not by chance therefore, a marble bust of the empress is also depicted here. We can note the remarkable technique of execution 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. Branicki, the work of the Austrian artist Johann Baptist Lampi (1751-1830). By depicting Branicki in a pompous pose, in knightly armor, which was no longer worn during the life of the person being portrayed, the artist sought to create a heroic image and emphasize the antiquity of the family of the Polish magnate.

On the northern wall are portraits of M.S.’s parents. Vorontsov by L. Desseme: Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, Russian envoy to England (copy from the original by R. Evans) and Ekaterina Alekseevna Vorontsova. It is based on a chest-to-chest image made by D. G. Levitsky (the original is in the Russian Museum). The rest of the production setting: a figure sitting in a chair, hanging curtain tails, a beloved Tibetan dog against the backdrop of a beautifully painted satin dress - was invented by Louise Dessemé and is compositionally tied to the portrait of her husband. The portrait impresses with its decorativeness.

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 - a gift from Baron E.A. Von Falz-Fein.

The figure of Potemkin rises as if on a pedestal against the backdrop of a mountainous Crimean slope and a stormy sky. The ceremonial general's uniform is white with gold embroidery and decorated with order ribbons and the highest awards. The hilt of the saber is visible at the belt. Despite the idealization of the image, his facial features have not lost their individuality; they reveal the direct and proud character, broad mind and fearlessness of the person being portrayed.

The attributes and hand gestures are symbolic in the portrait: a telescope, an open map entitled “Pont Euxine” (the old name of 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 visible in the distance.

The palace in the middle was lit with 19 candles, so there are a lot of candelabra and sconces. In the simple interior of the lobby, dark bronze candelabra in the form of majestic female figures in ancient Greek clothes, made by French masters of the early 19th century, look good. Lantern made in pseudo-Gothic style in the second half of the 19th century.

A small vestibule covered with Persian embroidery, representing an embroidered paired portrait of the Persian Shah of the late 18th century, Feth Ali, served as a kind of transition from this harsh, somewhat gloomy room to the bright southern side of the palace. The author of the embroideries is a Persian master from the city of Rasht, Agha Bozorkh. He made them at the beginning of the 19th century using the figured sewing technique. This is a unique piece of applied art of its time. The technique of their execution is a delicate, scrupulous work: connecting individual very small figured pieces of material using chain and stem stitches. The execution of such figured sewing has its own secret, which has now been lost, so that we have before us rare, unique things.

These elegant oriental decorations seem to 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 maintained.

It is very different in its decoration from all other rooms. She is bright and elegant. After the gloomy entrance hall, the abundance of light here is striking: most of the living room is south-facing, with light pouring in through huge ceiling-to-floor windows and a bay window on the north side. The light blue walls and ceiling are covered with white stucco decoration in the form of garlands of flowers and leaves. It seems that this vegetation penetrated through numerous windows from the park and intertwined into a kind of gazebo.

The modeling was done by hand without stamping by Vorontsov’s serf craftsmen. The name of the remarkable 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. A fireplace made of white Italian Carrara marble, decorated with floral patterns, 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 Vorontsov’s serf craftsmen. The furniture is decorated with designs of vines and ears of wheat, indicating its manufacture in the south.

The decoration of the hall is perfectly complemented by porcelain decorative vases in the form of craters, works of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg (now the Lomonosov Factory). They were painted by master Shchetinin.

The blue drawing room could also serve as a theater. Protrusions 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. The last time in his life the great actor Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin (1788-1863), the founder of the Russian realistic theater, performed in the home theater.

In 1863 he came on tour to Crimea. His health was very bad, but he hoped to get treatment 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, with whom he wanted to talk about the difficult situation of the artistic youth of that time. During the performance, 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 and Rachmaninov played in the palace. In the 80s, the scene “In the Tavern” from the opera “Boris Godunov” was staged by artists of the Mamontov Opera. Among the cultural figures of the past who visited the palace in the 80s of the 19th century, the Ukrainian poet-democrat Stepan Vasilievich Rudansky should be especially noted. He worked in Yalta as a district doctor. But neither medical practice nor literary activity provided Rudansky with the necessary living wage, 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 Vorontsov 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 1st half of the 19th century under the leadership of the talented gardener Kebakh. But in order to maintain the character of a northern castle-palace, they decided to build a winter garden here.

In the winter garden there grew delicate heat-loving plants that could not even tolerate the southern winter and had to grow under the roof. Currently, rare araucarias, tall with spreading branches and delicate needles, are represented here - the homeland of Norfolk Island near Australia. From these same edges is the recurved cycad. Climbing up the walls, the creeping ficus repens (native Japan, China) is a plant preserved from the 1st half. 19th century.

White marble sculpture is a traditional decoration of gardens and parks. It goes perfectly with the lush greenery of plants, the mirror-like surface of park ponds and the sparkle of fountains.

In the center, near the fountain, there are three copies made by Russian masters of the 1st floor. 19th century. “Apollo Belvedere” is a copy of Leochares (Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC). Notable for its fine plasticity is a copy of a work by a 3rd century Greek sculptor. BC Doydals "Aphrodite Bathing". Unknown author – “Urania” – the muse of astronomy. Here is also the work of the French sculptor L. Marchest “First steps”, depicting a mother and a child starting to walk, and “Girl” by the Italian sculptor 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 portrait of Empress Catherine II (1729-1796) was faithfully executed by the author of the German school, Johann Oesterreich (1747-1801). He is distinguished by his exquisite craftsmanship in rendering openwork lace, ermine fur, curled hair and other details in marble.

French sculptor Denis Foitier (1793-1863), known in France for his works in the spirit of classicism, decorating the Tuileries Garden and the Church of St. Madeleines in Paris. He is also the author of numerous sculptural portraits. He painted portraits of the Vorontsovs in Paris in 1821. In the portrait of Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (1744-1832), the observant artist was able to convey the individual traits and nobility of the Russian aristocrat. The portraits of Mikhail Semenovich and Elizaveta Ksaveryevna are executed in classical traditions, their faces are significantly idealized.

Perhaps the most expressive sculptural portrait of this small gallery is the “Portrait of William Pitt Jr.” (1757-1806), the English Prime Minister of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, by Joseph Nollekens (1737-1822). Nollekens is one of those English sculptors who in the 18th century they turned to realistic depictions of their contemporaries. In this work, the author realistically and convincingly showed a proud and arrogant English lord.

The most majestic room of the palace. The proportions in this room are perfectly found: the ratio of length, height and width. A ton of light pours in from the huge bay window and the window-doors located on both sides of it.

The interior decoration of the State Dining Room, as well as the Entrance Hall, is the most striking orientation towards English palace interiors of the 16th century. Carved wood is widely used in decoration. The ceiling decoration, reminiscent of medieval Gothic vaults, is more decorative than in the Entrance Hall and ends with carved padlocks. The railings of the balcony for musicians, connected by a bridge to the service building, are 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 monumental architectural landscape, are an integral part of the decoration of the walls of the State Dining Room. During the construction of the palace, they were tightly fixed into carved frames. These decorative works, with their restrained brownish-greenish color, with the verticals of obelisks, poplars and cypresses, with the ruins of ancient architectural monuments, and romantic semi-fantastic nature, harmoniously fit into the interior. The best of them, “Basilica” and “Terrace,” dated 1802, are distinguished by their remarkable rendering of the air environment and perspective, and soft coloring.

Between two diabase fireplaces there is a fountain made of the same material, processed in the form of a fireplace. Here we once again encounter the remarkable work of stone carvers, who finely executed the turrets flanking the jagged cornice of the fountain and other decorations. The inside of the fountain is decorated with majolica slabs.

The furnishings of the formal dining room are consistent with the character of its decoration. The mahogany dining tables with massive, artistically crafted English bases of the 1st half of the 19th century sparkle ceremoniously and solemnly with a mirror-like shine of polishing.

A sideboard with legs in the form of powerful lion paws, with curls decorated with stylized palm and acanthus leaves along the edge of the tabletop is distinguished by the richness of decorative finishing. Integrated with the sideboard is an open lead-lined wine cellar for cooling wines.

Among the bronze decorating the dining room, the most interesting exhibits are candelabra decorated with Ural malachite, where one can note both the fine workmanship and the beautiful combination of bronze with the bright greenery of the stone.

The principles of decoration of this room are the same as in the lobby and dining room: orientation towards 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 company Barrow and Watt in the mid-19th century. A walnut set (sofa, table, chairs) with metal inlay and carvings - English work of the mid-19th century.

Palaces of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, as a rule, had collections of paintings. Sometimes special art galleries were set up for them, but more often the paintings were placed in the state rooms.

The walls of the billiard room were convenient for displaying paintings, so they are presented here in large quantities. These are works of Western European artists of different times and schools.

First of all, two large still lifes by the 18th century Flemish artist Peter Sneyers (1681-1752) attract attention. With their monumental size, dynamic composition and colorful decorativeness, they are very characteristic of the Flemish school of this time, as well as the work of the artist himself. The still lifes are painted with great love and skill, so vividly that in the “Vegetable Pantry” we seem to feel the juiciness of the cabbage, the silkiness of the onions, and note how skillfully the texture of various materials is conveyed: the ringing metal of a copper basin with a bright shine, next to it the dull, fragile ceramic jug. “The Fish Pantry” is interesting for its dynamic composition, sonorous color and sculptural depiction 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 harsh 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 paintings, he castigated the morals of the bourgeoisie. "The Politics" satirizes the merchant Mr. Tibson, who seeks to become famous as an expert on politics. Reading the newspaper, he doesn’t want to notice anything around him, not even the burning hat 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 the Elder (1545-1581) is one of the best works of painting in this room. It conveys the character of an intelligent, strong-willed person with realistic depth. The face is masterfully painted, executed in a subtle color scheme, and the serious, penetrating eyes are expressive.

Dutch painting reached its peak in the 17th century. She was distinguished by her democracy, truthfulness and high artistic skill. The “Portrait of a Woman in Black” presented in the exhibition 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 and static, which affected the architecture of the palace facades facing it, then the southern part of the city (area) is of a completely different nature - its landscape is dynamic, bright in color. Here, vast expanses of sea open up, 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 heavenly blue. The lush vegetation contains a lot of flowering exotics.

The entire landscape, full of a major key, suggests different forms of architecture than in the northwestern part of the palace. E. Blore finds a successful solution by turning to the elegant forms and light colors of Indo-Muslim architecture of the 16th-17th centuries, combining them with 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 discern similarities with the forms of oriental architecture. Europe became 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 Hindu-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 16-17 centuries.

A huge portal opens here, the top of which is flanked by turrets reminiscent of 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 that encircle the entire southern facade along with the Shuvalovsky building, as well as the wide extension of the roof over the cornice, decorated with carved overhangs. These details play an important functional role in protecting rooms from heat and blinding sunlight.

The openwork grilles of the verandas and balustrades give this part of the palace a special elegance. A stylized Indian lotus flower is woven into the decor of thin metal columns, rhythmically repeating along the facade from the Chinese cabinet to the dining room. The presence of the forms of this flower in the architectural decoration of the southern facade strengthens its connection with the local exotic flora.

Thanks to its asymmetrical silhouette - details striving upward, 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, surrounded by 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 “Sleeping Lion”. The sculptor superbly sculpted this mighty animal in a state of absolute peace, every feature in it breathes life, the muscles are relaxed, everything in it expresses the pleasure of a sweet sleep.

Nearby is an “awakened 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. By laying it out, the gardeners wanted it to look like a forest. The southern part of the palace faces the lower park, which was built according to 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 itself, the park is decorated with artistically made cascading fountains and decorative vases made of white marble.

The library building was built specifically for Vorontsov’s library, which was created over decades, passed down from generation to generation and numbered over 25 thousand books. The contents of the library are wide and multifaceted; it is encyclopedic in nature. 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 (medicine, sheep breeding, shipping, winemaking, legal proceedings). Memoirs, books on philosophy, history, natural science, politics, reference books, catalogues, reports, charters, codes of laws, archives are stored in this library. It quite fully reflects the state of not only Russian, but also European culture in the mid-19th century. There is no tour of the library; these are museum collections.

Why is it worth visiting the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka?

Alupka Palace is a complex and interesting phenomenon in architecture. Built from local materials by the hands of fortress stone-cutters, it became an integral part of the south coast landscape. Comparison with other estate complexes in Russia and Ukraine, as well as Western Europe in the first half of the 19th century, allows us to rightfully consider it an outstanding monument of palace and park architecture.

I have the most wonderful memories associated with the Vorontsov Palace. I was still a schoolgirl when I came to Alupka with my parents for the first time. Mom suggested going on an excursion, and when I heard the word “palace,” for some reason I imagined something fabulous, like the palace of Tsar Saltan - a snow-white building with blue domes, a temple and a tower at the same time. But what I saw crossed all the boundaries of the most beautiful fantasies: a palace and a fortress, sophistication and severity, pomp and restraint.

Then I had no idea what the English style was and what the guide was talking about, but the essence of the story became clear thanks to what appeared before my eyes. I realized that a Russian aristocrat who had lived in England for a long time - the same Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov - wanted to decorate the semi-wild area with an amazing structure. It was supposed to follow the outlines of Ai-Petri - the mountain near which it is located. Or maybe it was not he himself who came up with this idea, but the architect Edward Blore, but the result was an architectural masterpiece. I have a feeling that the palace has existed as long as the Crimean land itself, although this is not true.

What to see on the palace grounds

The second time I came to Alupka with my husband was when I was expecting my daughter. The Vorontsov Palace and park became something like a lucky talisman for me. But if during my childhood the queues at the palace ticket office were huge, then that summer we got inside quite quickly: apparently, at the beginning of the 21st century, interest in beauty in Ukraine diminished. Yes, yes, because then, together with Crimea, I was in captivity of joylessness. And yet Crimea remained Crimea: hospitable, colorful, generous. My husband and I arrived in Alupka on a fairly comfortable bus and immediately went to visit Mikhail Semyonovich. But, to tell the truth, he almost never visited his Alupka palace!

Construction of the palace began in 1828.

Dining building

The dining building was built first. I don’t remember why, but let me assume that the intelligent count’s family preferred to eat in a dignified environment. Nowadays we fly into eateries and swallow hamburgers to the sounds of pop music, but back then families not devoid of culture gathered in canteens, where they leisurely spent time over a pleasant meal, accompanied by the strains of classical music. This is what the formal dining room of the Vorontsov Palace looks like.

The wooden balcony upstairs is intended for musicians. Agree, in such an environment it is impossible to raise your voice, start gesticulating, neglect the equipment and simply rush somewhere. Dishes were prepared in the palace kitchen: the cooks handed them over to the servants, who used the underground gallery. But this was already when the palace was completely built. It took twenty years!

Features of the architecture of the South facade

Architect Edward Blore has never been to Alupka - incredible, but true. He was aware of the terrain, and therefore he created the design of the palace so accurately and masterfully. It combines both the classic English (as I already said) style and the oriental style, in which the southern facade was built. As a familiar guide explained to me, it was a beautiful gesture, a nod to Vorontsov: he wanted to pay tribute to the culture of the Muslims who founded Alupka and lived in it.

You are unlikely to ever see the South Facade like this: these steps are always full of tourists with cameras. Even in November there are many guests here. The lions decorating the staircase leading to the sea were installed in 1848, twenty years after the construction of the palace began. They were created by the Italian sculptor Giovani Bonnani. The Lion Terrace completed the construction of the palace, but in twenty years a lot has been experienced and created!

Take a closer look at these stones, battlements, turrets - all this was created by the hands of Russian serfs from the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. Hereditary stonemasons built a palace from local diabase stone (solidified magma, as I read). They had only the most primitive tools at their disposal. The names of these masters remained unknown, but the Vorontsov Palace forever retained the warmth of their hands.

Interior

Serfs also did more delicate work. For example, parquet. It delights like a work of art.

This room, the blue living room, caused me indescribable delight. It is far from the first room in the palace (in my story I am breaking the order of the tour), but, of course, the most elegant. Notice the white flowers on the blue background. I heard that none of them repeats the other! It seems that even art historians have become interested in this issue. We found no repetitions: leaves, stems, petals, bends - different! And these same Russian serfs did this.

Well, in order, one of the first rooms in which excursion guests find themselves is the front office. The impression is somewhat spoiled by the fan, but in the summer it’s apparently impossible without it.

Portraits

The owner of the palace, Count Vorontsov, honored the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812: you can see many portraits on the walls.

But the portrait of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, an equally famous contemporary of Count Vorontsov, is not and cannot be in this luxurious house. Do you know why? The poet served under the command of Mikhail Semyonovich in Odessa, and the responsible governor-general could not understand the sloppiness of his young subordinate. Few people then considered him the sun of Russian poetry, but he was an excellent rake. There is a version that Alexander Sergeevich had an affair with his boss’s wife, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, and dedicated the famous epigram “Half my lord, half merchant...” to his cuckolded husband. In general, Vorontsov had reason to dislike Pushkin, but he looked at these pranks slip through his fingers, so the poet did not end up in Siberia: only in the so-called “northern exile” on his family estate Mikhailovsky. Did the beautiful hostess of the Vorontsov Palace yearn for him? Who knows, but there is no doubt that Elizaveta Ksaveryevna was miraculously good.

In his palace, Mikhail Semyonovich could not help but pay tribute to Catherine II and Grigory Potemkin: without them, even then, the Russian people would never have said that Crimea was ours. In the halls there are their portraits, and in the Winter Garden there is a marble bust of Catherine II by Johann Oesterreich.

Winter Garden

The winter garden of the Vorontsov Palace (sorry, I'm jumping from one to another again!) is as beautiful as everything in this magnificent building. Is it possible to feel bad weather if it’s always warm and sunny nearby?

In my opinion, the Vorontsov Palace combines all the best things in the world. And classic England, and light, and the best Russian motifs, and Crimea itself. And even if winter rules outside the walls,

then summer never ends in this corner of the palace.

Library

Having walked around everything that a tourist is allowed to walk around, and more than once, I did not find a single interior detail in the palace that would disappoint me. Take a look at this chandelier and the ceiling above it, for example. Firestarter!

What a library there is here! If you were allowed to live and read, then no Internet would be needed, you wouldn’t be bored.

A little history

By the way, after the heirs of Count Mikhail Semyonovich lived in this incomparable family estate, there were indeed guests here who were lucky enough to feel at home in these interiors: during the Yalta Conference of 1945, the Vorontsov Palace, nationalized by the Soviet authorities, became a hotel for the British delegation during led by Winston Churchill. This is what the farm yard probably looked like back then:

The English guests got a winter landscape, and on my third visit, with my big daughter, I got a sunny autumn one.

This path leads to the park of the Vorontsov Palace. It is rightly considered a masterpiece of landscape art. But that is another story.

How to get to Vorontsov Palace

You are unlikely to ask this question if you come on a tour by bus: you will be taken straight to the palace courtyard, and your main task is to follow the guide and not get lost. But if you are a single tourist or came to Alupka with a company on your own, then the map will help you.

As you can see, walking from the bus station will take you no more than 15 minutes. You can learn about what to see in the Vorontsov Palace, what excursions there are, and what time is the most convenient to visit on the official website of the museum.

Opening hours and cost

The main ticket office of the museum is open from 9.00 to 16.15, on Saturdays from 9.00 to 19.15, seven days a week. The exhibition box office is open from 9.00 to 16.15. You can find out about the cost of entrance tickets, in all their variety.

Vorontsov Palace is a precious decoration of Taurida. Many people visit the small southern coastal town of Alupka just to stroll through the mysterious park surrounding the famous castle. Its walls keep many unsolved mysteries. The palace was designed by the court architect of the English Queen Victoria, members of the Masonic lodge met here under the cover of secrecy, the legendary Winston Churchill stayed here, the greats of this world rested, famous films were filmed...

Just some 20 years...

Starting the story about the Vorontsov Palace, it is impossible not to mention the man who created this architectural masterpiece. A descendant of an old Russian noble family, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov was famous for his intelligence, education and refined taste. According to the traditions of his time, he was enrolled in the regiment from birth, and at the age of four he was “promoted” to ensign! From the age of 19, Vorontsov was already at war for real - with the Turks, Swedes and French. In the famous battle of Borodino, the young count is wounded. In 1815-1818, Vorontsov commanded the Russian occupation corps in France. He also took part in the Caucasian campaigns, for which he was elevated to princely dignity in 1845.

The activities of Prince Vorontsov were no less fruitful in peacetime. He left a significant mark on himself in Novorossiya, which he ruled as governor from 1823 to 1844. In those days, the region entrusted to him included a significant part of the Northern Black Sea region, including Crimea. Vorontsov turned out to be an excellent business executive. During his reign, Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev, and Sevastopol grew economically. The governor orders the construction of roads, including the magnificent South Coast Highway in Crimea. At this time, a shipping company on the Black Sea was established, the foundations of viticulture and fine-wool sheep breeding were laid.

“He owned great wealth - his own and that of his wife, Countess Branitskaya - and the enormous salary he received as a governor and spent most of his funds on the construction of a palace and garden on the southern coast of Crimea,” Leo Tolstoy wrote about the count in “Hadji Murat” .

To build his dream, Vorontsov spares no money, no time, no human resources. Construction of the palace lasted 20 years - work was carried out from 1828 to 1848! Edward Blore, the court architect of Queen Victoria of England, is invited to create the project. He is responsible for the designs of many famous buildings - Walter Scott's Castle in Scotland and Buckingham Palace in London. It is still unknown whether Blore came to Alupka, but he miraculously managed to perfectly combine the architecture with the surrounding mountain landscape. Perhaps inspiration struck the projector, but it is possible that he nevertheless came to Crimea to get acquainted with the local terrain.

By the time Blore’s project was implemented, the foundations and the first masonry of the portal niche of the central building were already ready. Initially, the palace was built according to the design of architects Francesco Boffo and Thomas Harrison.

Hereditary masons and stone cutters who had experience in the construction and relief decoration of white stone cathedrals came to build the palace. Thus, the luxurious residence was built by quitrent serfs from the Vladimir and Moscow provinces. The beautiful architectural work was erected by hand using primitive tools.

The dining building was built first, then the Central building was built. In 1842, a billiard room was added to the dining room. And in 1838-1844, the Main Courtyard was designed, the guest building, the eastern wings, all the towers of the palace, and the pentagon of utility buildings were built. The last building to be built was the library building.

The architecture of the palace contains elements of different era styles, but the architectural eclecticism looks very harmonious. The architects boldly combined English style with neo-Moorish style. A striking example of this: Gothic chimneys reminiscent of mosque minarets. The southern entrance displays oriental splendor. It is very similar to the Spanish Alhambra palace, which once belonged to Arab rulers. On its façade the inscription in Arabic is repeated six times, saying: “There is no winner but Allah.”

The western part of the facade is made in the neo-Gothic style. From the mountain side, the palace buildings resemble the harsh outlines of the castles of English aristocrats. The towers of the palace are very diverse. The building is decorated with all kinds of spiers and domes, carved cornices and openwork balustrades, stairs and chimneys... It is not surprising that it was here in the 20th century that film adaptations of Stevenson and Shakespeare were created, the famous “Sky Swallows”, “Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro” and many others were filmed paintings

The construction of the park terrace in front of the southern facade of the palace was entrusted to the military. From 1840 to 1848, with the help of soldiers from the sapper battalion, large-scale excavation work was carried out.

In the summer of 1848, the final spectacular touch was made. Sculptural figures of lions were installed on the central staircase leading to the main entrance. The charming animals were born in the workshop of the Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonnani.

Heaven on Earth

No matter how beautiful the palace is, without the luxurious park surrounding it, it would not be so attractive and popular. The unique garden, founded about 200 years ago, contains more than 200 species of trees and shrubs from different countries of the world.

The creator of the palace and park splendor was a real wizard. German by origin, Karl Kebach masterfully used every meter of space. Erecting fountains in the park, he combined them into cascades, creating lakes and ponds. The fabulous surroundings are harmoniously complemented by plant compositions. The talented gardener lovingly planted each exotic bush in specially brought black soil.

The structure of the garden ensemble is curious. It consists of the Upper and Lower landscape parks. The upper one - “Alupka chaos” - represents massifs of natural diabase, granite blocks, chaotically scattered, as if by the elements. There are caves with grottoes and the crater of an extinct volcano. The harsh landscapes made of stone are softened by the views of the cozy alleys of the Lower Park. The terraces seem to flow along the slopes and are bordered by Italian pine trees.

The park enchants with its romantic names that are pleasant to the ear: Tea Pavilion, Swan Lake, Maria Fountain. The latter, decorated at the base with white roses, is a copy of the Bakhchisarai fountain. The Freischutz waterfall is amazing. When it falls, its jets split like a transparent bridal veil. Walking in the Upper Park along Solnechnaya, Platanova, and Kashtanova meadows, you catch yourself thinking that you are in a real paradise, and this fairy tale is real!

Mikhail Vorontsov, by the way, like many famous and influential figures of his time, belonged to the Masonic lodge. Therefore, in his residence and in the park one can find secret signs and symbols of the powerful brotherhood.

New story

Three generations of the Vorontsov family enjoyed life in the magnificent palace built by their grandfather. Before the October Revolution, the 150 rooms of the castle were luxurious apartments, decorated with antique sculptures, antique furniture and paintings. The canvases decorating the walls belonged to the brushes of great painters. Paintings by Levitsky, Borovikovsky, Aivazovsky, as well as Italian, English and French artists have miraculously survived to this day. The interiors of the palace were complemented by bronze candelabra, items made of porcelain, crystal, malachite, and antique vases. The state rooms were filled with furniture made of mahogany, walnut and oak, made by the best Russian craftsmen.

Different times came, and the Vorontsov Palace, along with its treasures, was nationalized. In mid-1921, it began to function as a museum. During the Great Patriotic War, the exhibits of the Alupka Museum could not be evacuated. Twice the palace was threatened with destruction, and both times it was saved by the senior researcher at the museum, S. G. Shchekoldin. The Germans took away a significant part of the artistic values, of which 537 works of painting and graphics, and only a small part of the paintings were found after the war and returned to the palace. Tragic episodes of the history of the Vorontsov Palace are described in the book “What the Lions Are Silent About,” created based on the memoirs of Shchekoldin

From February 4 to February 11, 1945, the Vorontsov Palace became the residence of the British delegation led by Winston Churchill. At this time, the epoch-making Yalta Conference took place.

From 1945 to 1955, the apartments in Alupka were used as a state dacha. In 1956, by decision of the government, a museum began to function in the palace again. And finally, since 1990, the Alupka palace and park complex has become a museum-reserve. The new status is very important; it allows the institution to protect the park area from non-core use, in particular, from cottage development. This phenomenon is a headache for Crimea today. Let's hope that the piece of paradise called Vorontsov Palace will remain a protected area for a long time and will delight “everyone who enters it” with its beauty and nobility.

Hello everyone, dear friends! If you decide to visit the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, this article is simply irreplaceable for you: I will tell you how to get there, how much excursions cost and why it is worth visiting.

In this article:

Where is the palace located

The palace is located in the North-Eastern part of Alupka, at the foot of Ai-Petri, on a rocky slope protruding into the sea, which was turned into a luxurious park by the labor of serfs in the 19th century.

In its center is a unique architectural structure with three facades of different styles: the palace of His Serene Highness Prince M.S. Vorontsov, godson of Catherine II, governor of the southern lands annexed to Russia, an Anglomaniac and a freemason.

The protected area around the palace is the State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Crimea (GBU RK) and has its address: Alupka, Palace Highway, 10(you can open in a new window to get directions).

Palace location on the map:

GPS coordinates - N 44°25.181, E 34°03.252

How to get there

The palace opens at 9 am, so I recommend going there as early as possible in order to have time to explore the entire park.

If you are not traveling by car, use public transport. It will take you to the Alupka bus station, from which you can walk to the Vorontsov Palace in a couple of minutes. And I’ll tell you about the bus schedule below.

Alupka is located:

• 18 km from Yalta,
• 57 km from Sevastopol,
• 101 km from Simferopol,
• it is only 6 km from Simeiz, Miskhor, Gaspra.

1. From Yalta

Dozens of flights run daily from Yalta to Alupka. Current schedule (you can click on it to view information about the boarding location):

2. From Simferopol

Direct bus schedule:

3. From Sevastopol

4. From Alushta

5. From Gurzuf

6. From Simeiz

7. From Miskhor

Opening hours and ticket prices

The park includes several exhibitions, to visit each of which you need to buy a separate ticket for the excursion - there are no single tickets.

It is better to look at the ticket prices on the official website, as they may vary depending on the season - cost of excursions.

At the same time, you don’t need to pay to enter the park; you can walk around it absolutely free.

The Vorontsov Palace is open from 9-00 to 17-00, but it is best to come to the park no later than lunch in order to have time to visit not only it, but also other equally interesting buildings in the park.

What amazes the Vorontsov Palace

You will be able to observe a combination of different architectural styles:

• for the Northern facade - English late Gothic;

• for the Western - castle Middle Ages of Europe 8-12 centuries;

• for the South - neo-Moorish style with a “Lion Terrace” made of diabase.

See with your own eyes the luxurious decoration of the living rooms: “blue”, “chintz”, “Chinese cabinet”, formal dining room.

Enjoy the unique collection of greenhouse and garden plants, which in the amount of 200 species have improved the 40 hectares of the park.

You will be amazed by the scale of the development: five buildings, 150 rooms, towers, courtyards, a library for 25,000 books, a greenhouse.

Admire the decorativeness of the facades, where incompatible things are so organically combined: Christian and Muslim culture, Masonic symbols and Victorian rarities.

You will be able to see the monumental descent to the sea.

Judging by the fact that the reserve has become a natural backdrop for a dozen of the most popular Russian films, directors never cease to find historical authenticity here in the reflection of different eras and countries.

This is perhaps the main thing you should know when preparing to visit the palace and park complex. I hope there will be no disappointments, and this information will help you not to lose sight of such an object of rare beauty while on vacation in Crimea.

Have a great trip!

There are many romantic stories associated with the Vorontsov Palace, which could well become the basis for a dozen romance novels. I will say more - Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was involved in the love affair. But first things first.

The palace in Alupka is so harmoniously integrated into the surrounding landscape, repeating with its Moorish turrets and Gothic battlements of facades the outlines of the Ai-Petri mountain range located in the immediate vicinity, that it seems as if this entire architectural and natural ensemble has always been here.

The Governor-General of Novorossiya, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, began construction of a representative residence in Crimea in 1824. In addition to Alupka in the south of Crimea, Vorontsov owned Massandra (I showed the Massandra Palace here), Ai-Danil and Gurzuf. But it was the Alupka estate that the count decided to turn into a summer residence.

Simultaneously with the construction of the palace, construction of a road from Simferopol to the southern coast of Crimea began.

In the world, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov was known as an Anglomaniac, so it is not surprising that he entrusted the creation of the palace project to the court architect of the Queen of England, Edward Blore. It was he who designed Buckingham Palace in London. It is noteworthy that during the twenty years of construction, Blore never came to look at his brainchild. The work was supervised by his assistant and student William Gunt, thanks to whom some amendments were made to the drawings in accordance with the characteristics of the area.

They didn’t go far to get stones for construction - they took the Crimean volcanic rock dolerite (diabase) right from under their feet: the central, dining, guest, library and utility buildings of the palace complex were made of dolerite. By the way, Red Square in Moscow is paved with Crimean dolerite.

The Vorontsov Palace was designed in the style of late English Gothic (Tudor style), but with elements of oriental architecture, which is why from different angles it looks either like a medieval castle or like the residence of a Mohammedan ruler.

The reason for such an unexpected combination of styles in the appearance of the palace lies in the personalities of the architect and the customer. Edward Blore was well acquainted with the architecture of the British colony - with the architecture of India. Therefore, it was not difficult for him to combine the Tudor style with variations on the theme of Indian architecture of the Mughal period in one project. Probably, in his mind, such a mixture should correspond to Crimea, given that the peninsula was Muslim for a long time. In addition, romantic trends prevailed in architectural fashion, which was also to the taste of Count Vorontsov.

Portrait of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov by Lawrence, 1823

On the western side is the main entrance to the palace complex. This part of the Vorontsov Palace resembles a medieval castle with round watchtowers, narrow loopholes and blank fortress walls.

Here we see the Shuvalovsky building and the Shuvalovsky gate passage. The daughter of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov, having married, became Countess Shuvalova, and her apartments were located in the right building.

Shuvalovsky passage between two fortress-like walls of rough masonry made of gray diabase blocks, with round crenellated towers and narrow lancet windows makes us believe that we are in a medieval castle.

Shuvalovsky proezd

A separate gate leads to the utility yard. In the center of the courtyard grows a plane tree, planted during the construction of the palace. There is also a museum ticket office where you will be given a metal token instead of a paper ticket.

Passing the outbuildings, we find ourselves in the front yard in front of the northern facade of the palace, facing Ai-Petri and the upper park.

Northern façade of the palace

According to experts, the architecture of the northern façade, with its vertical projections, miniature decorative turrets and large bay windows, harmoniously combines elements of sixteenth-century Gothic and Renaissance architecture.

In front of the palace there are two parterres with marble fountains in the center of each. The “Selsibil” fountain, a copy of the “Fountain of Tears” from the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchisarai, glorified by Pushkin, took refuge in a shady pergola of blooming wisteria.

Nearby, at the left wing of the palace, is the white marble fountain “Source of the Amur”.

Let's go around the palace on the eastern side to look at the southern facade facing the sea, made based on Indian architecture.

The blue and white escadre with two tiers of arched windows is decorated with a double jagged horseshoe arch and covered with stucco alabaster ornaments made in the Eastern tradition. At the level of the second floor, along its decorative frieze, there are three balconies with openwork grilles and a relief Arabic inscription - a praise to the prophet repeated six times: “And there is no winner but Allah.” In the depths of the exedra there is a wide lancet door leading to the Blue Living Room of the palace, where we will go a little later.

To the left and right of the exedra stretch two symmetrical wings of the open terrace of the second floor, resting on cast iron columns with capitals in the form of lotus buds. To the west of the squadron there is the Winter Garden, behind it the dining room, and then the southern facade of the Shuvalovsky building.

A wide staircase with three pairs of lions descends from the esqueda to the sea - the Lion's Terrace. At the entrance to the palace, lions are awake, standing guard; on the middle landing of the stairs they wake up or fall asleep, and those closer to the sea sleep peacefully, with their muzzles resting on their paws. The Lion's Terrace ends with a platform with exits to the lower park, to Aivazovsky's Rock and the Tea House on the seashore.

Fountain "Bowl" in the lower park

The south terrace is a favorite place for taking pictures in beautiful poses and beautiful outfits.

From here the paths diverge to Nizhny Vorontsovsky Park.

After examining the palace facade, it is interesting to look at the count's chambers. We immediately found out that the second floor and mezzanines were closed for inspection: there was a time when tourists went up to the rooms on the second floor, but the ceilings of the first floor suffered from this. In the end, the museum decided to leave only nine halls on the first floor accessible to tourists.

Like many other Crimean palaces, after the 1917 revolution, Vorontsov Castle was nationalized, but not turned into a health resort, but became a museum of noble life. Perhaps this happy circumstance played an important role in the preservation of the palace interiors. During the Great Patriotic War, the palace was looted, but not destroyed. From 1945 to 1955, a state dacha was located here. And finally, in 1956, the museum was reopened here.

Entering the palace from the north side, you find yourself in a corridor where there used to be a dressing room. Now in cabinets made of bog oak, completely covering one of the walls from floor to ceiling, books from the Alupka library of Count Vorontsov, who was a famous bibliophile, are stored.

Another wall is decorated with ancient engravings depicting the construction of the palace and Alupka landscapes.

Landscape by Carlo Bossoli "Palace of Prince Vorontsov in Alupka"

Through the corridor we enter the State Office of the owner of the palace.

The central place on the western wall of the office is occupied by a portrait of Count Vorontsov by Louise Dessemé. Mikhail Semyonovich was one of the most famous heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812. Nearby are portraits of Borodino heroes Lev Aleksandrovich Naryshkin and Fyodor Semyonovich Uvarov, painted by the famous portrait painter George Dow.

The walls of the office are covered with painted wallpaper, which was specially ordered in England. Massive wooden doors are complemented by oak panels on the walls and a stucco wood-like ceiling.

Against the wall is an antique ebony bookcase in the Boulle style, bought by the owner of the palace himself. The cabinet is decorated with tortoise shell and intricate carved bronze inlay.

Next to the bookcase there is a round table, English chairs and armchairs with Gothic carvings. This arrangement of furniture gives the office an atmosphere conducive not only to business conversations, but also to friendly meetings.

Another reminder of the Anglomania of Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov is a window in the form of a bay window. This element, often found in English architecture, visually increases the space of the office and gives more light. A table covered with green cloth and two chairs were placed in the bay window. Sitting in a chair, you can admire the upper park, and in clear weather, the peaks of Ai-Petri.

From the office we find ourselves in the Calico Room. It is called chintz because the walls of the room are actually covered with chintz.

There is original fabric on the walls, the only flaw of which is the faded color. Initially, the chintz was a crimson shade with small splashes of blue, which was combined with a fireplace made of pink Ural marble and a basket-shaped chandelier. The pinkish-blue reflections of the pendants on the chandelier echoed the color of the chintz on the walls.

Through the Calico Room we pass into the Chinese study of the mistress of the house, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna Vorontsova, whose portrait by George Dow can be seen on the right wall from the entrance.

The room is decorated in the then fashionable oriental style, but without any specific links to China, India or the countries of the East in general. Oak panels, high lancet windows and doors leading to the southern terrace, to the sea, unexpectedly but successfully combine with silk and beaded rice mats on the walls and wooden carved details in the interior.

The ceiling in the room is not wooden, as it might seem, but stucco. Russian peasant Roman Furtunov skillfully made a ceiling from plaster, imitating wood carving.

There is a round table made of Karelian birch by the window. Nearby, behind the curtain, is a small corner cabinet, given to Vorontsov by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I, as a token of gratitude for the hospitality shown to them.

And a few lyrical digressions. Many people know from school that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was infatuated with the wife of the Novorossiysk governor-general. It is believed that it was to Elizaveta Vorontsova that Pushkin dedicated the poems “The Burnt Letter”, “The Rainy Day Has Extinguished...”, “The Desire for Glory”, “The Talisman”, “Keep Me, My Talisman...”. In addition, in terms of the number of portrait drawings of Vorontsova executed by Pushkin, her image surpasses all others - a total of 17 portraits were counted.

There were rumors that it was Pushkin who was the father of one of Elizaveta Ksaveryevna’s daughters. However, researchers of the poet’s biography also have reason to assume that Pushkin was only a cover for Elizaveta Ksaveryevna’s affair with her relative and friend of Pushkin, Alexander Raevsky. In any case, we can say thanks to Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, who “contributed” to the change of the poet’s southern exile to exile in Mikhailovskoye. Because it was there that Alexander Sergeevich wrote not only the novel “Eugene Onegin,” but also his other poetic works, which became the pride of Russian literature. And by the way, the same researchers claim that Vorontsov himself had an illegitimate daughter with his wife’s best friend Olga Stanislavovna Naryshkina. Portraits of Olga Stanislavovna and her daughter were always kept among Vorontsov’s personal belongings and even stood on the desktop of the front office.

But let's not linger in the Chinese office, but let's go further - to the Main Entrance Hall.

The main entrance hall is located in the center of the palace. Two small vestibules symmetrically adjoin it from the south and north, and offices and lounges are located from the west and east. The northern vestibule, like the northern facade of the palace, is made in the English style. In contrast to the Englishness, the southern vestibule is decorated with carpets depicting the Persian Shah Fath-Ali.

Following the traditions of the English style, the architect connected the lobby with the rooms on the second floor with stairs, but hid them behind the wall, which is why at first glance you cannot understand how the owners got from the first floor to their bedrooms.

Portraits of eminent ancestors of the owners of the residence are hung on the walls of the lobby, so that from the threshold of entering the palace he would have an idea of ​​the nobility of the family and the origin of the owners of the house. The parents of Elizaveta Ksaveryevna Vorontsova are looking at us from the walls - Countess Alexandra Vasilievna Branitskaya and her husband, Crown Hetman of Poland Ksavery Branitsky. The largest canvas is a ceremonial portrait of Empress Catherine II by Rokotov.

From the lobby we proceed to the eastern palace wing, which begins with the Blue Drawing Room. It is impossible not to notice the contrast between the adjacent grand entrance hall and this sun-filled room. The soft blue walls and ceiling are covered with a stucco pattern of leaves and flowers. Like the ceiling in the Chinese office, the skillful stucco molding of the living room was made by Roman Furtunov and his assistants.

The living room is divided into southern and northern parts by retractable wooden curtains, which are almost invisible when folded. In the southern part there was an “auditorium”, which housed a set of furniture transported to Alupka at the end of the 19th century from the Odessa Palace. The interior is complemented by a carved fireplace made of white Carrara marble and huge vases - craters, painted in blue tones.

For musical evenings and theatrical performances, there is a grand piano in the northern part of the Blue Drawing Room. In 1863, one of the founders of the Russian realistic theater, Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin, performed here. In 1898, Fyodor Chaliapin sang in the Vorontsov Palace to the accompaniment of Sergei Rachmaninov.

From the Blue Living Room, the Vorontsovs' guests went out into the Winter Garden. In the 19th century, almost every European palace had its own winter garden, which was used for reading and relaxation.

The winter garden serves as a transition from the central building to the dining room. Originally it was a loggia, which was later glazed and a large lantern was constructed on top for better illumination. The walls of the winter garden are covered with ficus repens. The fountain and marble sculptures stand surrounded by araucarias, cycads, date palms and monstera.

Near the glass wall, consisting of huge French windows, there is a row of marble busts, among which are sculptural portraits of representatives of the Vorontsov family - Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, Mikhail Semenovich himself and his wife Elizaveta Ksaryevna. Next to them is a marble bust of Catherine II by Johann Oesterreich. They say that for the excessive realism of her image in stone, the aging empress not only did not pay for the work, but also sent the sculptor out of Russia within 24 hours.

Passing the Winter Garden, not forgetting to admire the view of the South Terrace and the sea from the windows, we find ourselves in the next room - the State Dining Room. This is the largest and most pompous part of the palace.

The area of ​​the dining room is about 150 sq.m., the ceiling height is 8 m. Under the Vorontsovs, it was illuminated by dozens of candelabra and chandeliers. A huge table, consisting of four offset parts with polished mahogany tops, rises on pedestals with animal paws and occupies a significant part of the room. By the window there is a massive sideboard on the same lion's paws as the tables, and under the sideboard there is an Egyptian-style bathtub for cooling wine, which was filled with crushed ice.

In the center of the northern wall of the formal dining room, between the fireplaces, there is a fountain, the niche of which is decorated with a majolica panel depicting fantastic birds and dragons. Above the fountain is a carved wooden balcony for musicians.

The Billiard Room adjoins the Dining Room from the east. The proximity of this room to the Dining Room is reminiscent of two large still lifes by the Flemish artist Peter Sneyers, “Vegetable Pantry” and “Fish Pantry” located opposite each other.

The Vorontsovs, like many other aristocrats, collected paintings. Especially at that time, paintings by painters from Holland, Flanders, and Italy of the 16th-18th centuries were valued.

This is the last room of the Vorontsovs’ chambers available for inspection. Now we can take a walk around the Upper Park.

The work on creating the park, which began even somewhat earlier than the construction of the palace, in 1820, was entrusted to the chief gardener of the Southern Coast of Crimea, Karl Antonovich Kebakh. When laying out the park, the abundance of mountain springs was taken into account, which were used to create artificial lakes, numerous cascades and small waterfalls. In this part of the park you can constantly hear the murmur of water.

Most of the paths in the Upper Park lead to lakes and the Big Chaos - a huge stone blockage of natural origin.

The largest lake in the park is Swan Lake. The gardener deliberately gave it an irregular shape to create the illusion of its natural rather than artificial origin. Under the Vorontsovs, the bottom of the lake was strewn with semi-precious “Koktebel stones” - jasper, carnelians, chalcedony, which were found in abundance in Koktebel.

Near Swan Lake is the Trout Pond and even further away is the Mirror Pond. On the Mirror Pond, the water seems motionless, which is why the trees and sky are reflected on its surface as if in a mirror.

To the east of the lakes in the landscape part of the park there are four picturesque meadows - Platanovaya, Solnechnaya, Contrastnaya, where Himalayan cedar and yew berry rise in the middle of the lawn, and Kashtanovaya.

Above the ponds, along the path through the Hall of Grottoes, between skillfully placed rock fragments, the path goes to the Greater and Lesser Chaos. Millions of years ago, frozen magma turned into a scattering of huge debris as a result of earthquakes and landslides. The creators of the park left the stone blocks untouched, they only removed small fragments and planted the top with pine trees. This is how the famous “Alupka chaos” turned out.

At this point, we’ll pause our walk through Vorontsovsky Park so that we have a reason to come back here again.