Massandra or Masandra ( crh, Massandra; russian: Массандра; uk, Масандра) is an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

in the

Yalta Municipality Yalta City Municipality (russian: Я́лтинский городско́й сове́т; uk, Я́лтинська міська́ ра́да; crh, Yalta şeer şurası, Ялта шеэр шурасы), officially "the territory governed by the Ya ...

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 ...

. Occupying the spot of an ancient Greek settlement (Tavrida-Ταυρίδα), Masandra was acquired by Counts Potocki in 1783. In the mid-19th century, it passed to

Prince Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (russian: Князь Михаи́л Семёнович Воронцо́в, tr. ; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic wars and most famous for his participati ...

Jr, whose father was the governor of

New Russia Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...

. Enraptured by a picturesque setting, Vorontsov in 1881 engaged a team of French architects to design for him a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

in the

Louis XIII style The Louis XIII style or ''Louis Treize'' was a fashion in French art and architecture, especially affecting the visual and decorative arts. Its distinctness as a period in the history of French art has much to do with the Regent, regency under w ...

. He died the following year and construction work was suspended until 1889, when the messuage was purchased by

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

. The tsar asked architect

Maximilian Messmacher Maximilian (von) Messmacher (russian: Максимилиан Егорович Месмахер, ''Maximilian Yegorovich Messmacher''; 1842–1906) was a Russian architect of German ancestry. He attended the School of Painting of St. Petersburg S ...

to finish the palace for his own use but he did not live to see it completed in 1900. During the Soviet years, the palace was employed by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

as his

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...

. Today, Masandra is known for its viniculture and production of dessert and fortified wines. The

Massandra Winery The Massandra Winery is a winery in Crimea. History The winery was founded by Knyaz Lev Golitsyn in 1894 under the aegis of Czar Nicholas II. In 1922, in the wake of the Russian revolution, the winery was nationalized, and it was protected by a l ...

was founded by Prince

Lev Golitsyn Prince Lev Sergeyevich Golitsyn (russian: Лев Сергеевич Голицын; 24 August 1845 – 26 December 1915) was a Russian winemaker of the 1890s. He established the production of sparkling wines in Russia. Biography Lev Sergeyevich ...

in 1894. The

enoteca Enoteca (plural: ''Enoteche'') is an Italian word that is derived from the Greek word Οινοθήκη, which literally means "wine repository" (from ''Oeno/Eno-'' Οινός "wine", and ''teca'' Θήκη, "receptacle, case, box"), but it is us ...

of the winery contains about one million bottles of wine.Визитка. Кратко о Массандре
. Торговый дом Массандра (''Business Card. A brief information about Massandra''. Massandra trading company) A minor planet, 3298 Massandra, discovered in 1979 by

N. Chernykh Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh (russian: Никола́й Степа́нович Черны́х) (6 October 1931 – 25 May 2004Казакова, Р.К. Памяти Николая Степановича Черных'. Труды Государст ...

Nauchnyj The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO, obs. code: 095) is located at Nauchnij research campus, near the Central Crimean city of Bakhchysarai, on the Crimean peninsula. CrAO is often called simply by its location and campus name, ...

, is named after the settlement. File:Crimea South Coast 04-14 img02 Massandra Palace.jpg,

Massandra Palace The Massandra Palace is a Châteauesque villa of Emperor Alexander III of Russia in Massandra, at the south coast of Crimea. Construction of the building started in 1881 and was funded by the son of Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, , who had recen ...

File:Massandra Back.JPG, Another side of the palace File:Masandra subterejo1.jpg, Main cellar of

References

External links

Masandra Palace Photoalbum
* {{Authority control Urban-type settlements in Crimea Official residences in Russia Official residences in Ukraine Seaside resorts in Russia Seaside resorts in Ukraine Yalta Municipality Wine regions of Russia Wine regions of Ukraine Presidential residences Official residences

See also

References

External links