''Livadia'' was an imperial yacht of the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

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

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

. 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 ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

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 being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

Grand Duke

Constantin Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, ...

converted ''Tigr'', a three-masted

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

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

counterpart '' Derzhava'' (launched 1871, 3114 tons) but matched her in size and comfort of the imperial suites designed by Ippolit Monighetti. ''Livadia'' spent the summer of 1873 on the Black Sea, tending to the Romanovs on their short route from Sebastopol to

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, 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 Crime ...

. 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)
'.

Channel One (Russia) Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervý kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian federal television channel. Its headquarters are located at Ostankino Technical Center near the Ostankino Tower in Moscow. The m ...

. 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 Tula 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

References

Further reading