Vorontsov Palace

Vorontsov Palace is one of the seven charming buildings of Ukraine, which rises in the middle of a picturesque area at the foot of the Ai-Petri mountain in the city of Alupka. The palace was built as a Crimean residence of Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory Count Mikhail Vorontsov. The palace became an ornament of the whole Crimean peninsula, and nowadays - one of the architectural wonders of Ukraine.

Vorontsov Palace is one of the seven charming buildings of Ukraine, which rises in the middle of a picturesque area at the foot of Mount Ai-Petri in thecity ​​of Alupka. The palace was built as a Crimean residence of Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory Count Mikhail Vorontsov. The palace became an ornament of the whole Crimean peninsula, and nowadays - one of the architectural wonders of Ukraine.

The first buildings, of which the erection of the palace began in 1828, appeared long before the desire of Count Vorontsov to build a luxurious residence in Alupka. Their authors were architects Franz Boffo and Thomas Harrison. The authorship of the Vorontsov Palace project belongs to the architect Eduard Bloru, the famous "father" of Westminster Abbey and part of the facades of Buckingham Palace. By the way, Blor himself did not even come to the Crimea, designing the Vorontsov residence on the basis of only knowledge about the relief features of the area.

The building of Vorontsov's residence is executed in the style of pseudo-gothic with its mysticism and mystery in every square meter of the building. The palace was built from a complex but very strong material - a greenish-gray diabase from natural placers in Alupka. All the work on the processing and cutting of wall blocks was performed manually by hundreds of serfs. Perhaps, that is why the palace still retains its strength and beauty, attracting tourists from all over the world.

In general, the palace has 150 rooms, each of which has a unique interior and its history. And beyond the windows stretches a huge arboretum of about 40 hectares with charming alleys, delicate waterfalls, lakes and exotic trees. Strong green walls of the palace perfectly in harmony with the surrounding nature. Fortunately, neither the earthquake of 1927, nor the October Revolution, nor Hitler's war caused serious damage to the building of the Vorontsov residence. Inside the building there are unique porcelain collections, unique books, unsurpassed works of art. Here there are works of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg, works of decorative bronze and antique watches by French master Pierre Philippe Tomir, whose work was adorned with the Tuileries in Paris, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the Fontainebleau Castle, the Demidov Palace in Florence. The palace also preserved the only straw and wallpaper in Ukraine and Russia with embroidered colored threads of the era of classicism. This is where the unique collection of paintings is located: rare works of such English masters as Peter Sneyers, Caspar Netscher, Carlo Maratti, William Hogarth, George Doe, rare for Russia at that time.

Vorontsov Palace received a new title in Ukraine. According to the results of the All-Ukrainian action "7 Wonders of Ukraine: Castles, Fortresses, Palaces", the former residence of the Count is one of the most amazing structures in Ukraine.

It is not difficult to get to the Vorontsov Palace. The palace is located in Alupka at Dvortsovoye Shosse, 10. From Simferopol or Yalta, you can take a bus, heading for signs to the sign "Palace-Museum".

You may also be interested in: The Khan's Palace.