''Livadia'' was an imperial yacht of the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

built in 1869–1873 by Leopold Schwede in Nikolaev. She served on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. The ''Livadia'' was the only Russian imperial yacht that has seen active combat service during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877–1878. October 21–22, 1878 she ran aground near Cape Tarkhan-Kut in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and sank. In 1860 General Admiral of

Russian Imperial Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

Grand Duke

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converted ''Tigr'', a three-masted

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

built in 1855–1858, into a yacht for the Romanovs. The 62 meter long ''Tigr'' did not have the space and comforts expected by her distinguished patrons, and in 1868 the government discussed ordering her replacement in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. This proposal was discarded, and the job was awarded to captain Leopold Schwede of Nikolaev Admiralty. Work began in the end of 1869, although officially the ''Livadia'' was laid down only in March 1870.Larionov 2001. ''Livadia'', which displaced 1,965 tons, was smaller than her

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

counterpart '' Derzhava'' (launched 1871, 3114 tons) but matched her in size and comfort of the imperial suites designed by

Ippolit Monighetti Ippolit Antonovich Monighetti (1819–1878) was a Russian architect of Swiss descent SeIppolito Monighettiin Historical Dictionary of Switzerland who worked for the Romanov family. Member and professor by rank of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Bi ...

. ''Livadia'' spent the summer of 1873 on the Black Sea, tending to the Romanovs on their short route from

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

. In March 1874 it left for a long training voyage of the Mediterranean and reportedly survived a force 11 storm. After the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 it was converted into an armed

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

. On August 21, 1877 ''Livadia'' sank a Turkish schooner but was spotted by two Turkish ironclads and survived an 18-hour pursuit. In the evening of October 21, 1878 ''Livadia'' left Sebastopol for Odessa. Some unknown urgency forced the captain to sail into the night in inclement weather.Ivanichenko, Alena (2008, October 10, in Russian).
V Krymu obnaruzhili ostatku yachty Livadia ... (В Крыму обнаружили остатки яхты "Ливадия", принадлежавшей Императору Александру II)
'.

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. Retrieved 2010-05-17. None of the Romanovs was on board. In the foggy morning of October 22, 1878 ''Livadia'' ran aground near the Tarkhankut Lighthouse, the western vortex of the Crimean peninsula (). The crew safely reached the shore and salvaged most of the royal furnishings. Salvage of the ship itself failed, and 47 days after the accident the hull of ''Livadia'' was destroyed by waves. In 1880 the name ''Livadia'' was given to an experimental yacht built for the Romanovs in Scotland. Remains of ''Livadia'' are still visible in the shallow waters near the cape. For decades divers knew them simply as "that little steamer"; identity of the ship was confirmed in October 2008. Divers from

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examined the wreck and reported that the wooden hull had completely disintegrated. Remains of the deck and copper lining were still identifiable; sensors showed presence of more metal in the sand.

Notes

References

* Larionov, A. L. (2001, in Russian).
Из истории императорских яхт Is istorii imperatorskikh yacht
'. Gangut magazine, no. 22, 2001.

See also

Notes

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Further reading