Vorontsov Palace, Alupka
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The Vorontsov Palace (; ) or the Alupka Palace is a historic palace situated at the foot of the Crimean Mountains near the town of
Alupka Alupka (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and Russian language, Russian: ; ; , Alòpex) is a resort city located in the Crimea, Crimean peninsula, a territory of Ukraine currently annexed by Russian Federation (see 2014 Crimean crisis). It is located ...
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 ...
. The Vorontsov Palace is one of the oldest and largest palaces in Crimea, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions on Crimea's southern coast. The palace was built between 1828 and 1848 for the Russian Prince
Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic Wars and most famous for his participation in the Caucasian War from 1844 to 1853. Early life Vorontsov was born on ...
for use as his personal summer residence at a cost of 9 million
rouble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...
s. It was designed in a loose interpretation of the English Renaissance revival style by English architect
Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career Blore was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...
and his assistant William Hunt. The building is a hybrid of several architectural styles, but faithful to none. Among those styles are elements of
Scottish Baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...
,
Indo-Saracenic Revival Architecture Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government buildings in the B ...
, and
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
architecture. Blore had designed many buildings in the United Kingdom, and was later particularly well known there for completing the design of
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
in London. Once completed, the palace was visited by many members of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
's elite ruling class; a great number of these vastly wealthy nobles were so taken with the palace and its seaboard site that they were moved to create their own summer retreats in the Crimea. By the early 20th century not only many aristocrats, but also members of the Imperial Family, including the Tsar himself, had palaces in an assortment of architectural styles in the vicinity. An important feature of the Vorontsov Palace is the adjoining park ensemble, which features of greenery and forestry arranged by German landscape gardener Carolus Keebach. Today, the Vorontsov Palace is a part of the "Alupka Palace and Park Complex," a national historical reserve including the
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 ...
in neighbouring
Massandra Massandra or Masandra (; ; ) is an urban-type settlement in the Yalta Municipality in Crimea. Occupying the spot of an ancient Greek settlement (Tavrida-Ταυρίδα), Masandra was acquired by Counts Potocki in 1783. In the mid-19th centur ...
. The palace was also recorded by Ukraine as being a monument of national architectural significance and assigned the protection number 0100109. Owing to its status as an important local tourist attraction and architectural monument, the Vorontsov Palace and its surrounding park complex were frequently featured in Ukrainian and
Soviet cinema The cinema of the Soviet Union includes films produced by the constituent republics of the Soviet Union reflecting elements of their pre-Soviet culture, language and history, albeit they were all regulated by the central government in Moscow. ...
productions such as: '' An Ordinary Miracle'' (1964), ''Nebesnye lastochki'' (1976), ''
Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro ''Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro'' () is a modern comedy musical staged by television channels NTV (Russia) and Inter (Ukraine) in association with Melorama Production, under direction of Semen Gorov in 2003, based on the 1784 Pierre Beau ...
'' (2004), and ''Sappho'' (2008). Russian poet
Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga;  – 8 November 1953)

History

In the period following the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, the new city of
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
emerged as Russia's southern capital with a vibrant cosmopolitan society centred on a handful of Russian aristocrats and Polish noblewomen such as
Zofia Potocka Zofia Potocka (; – 24 November 1822) was a Greek slave courtesan and a Russian agent, later a Polish noblewoman. She was famous in contemporary Europe for her beauty and adventurous life. During the Russo-Turkish War she was the lover of th ...
and Karolina Rzewuska. According to
Filipp Vigel Filipp Filippovich Vigel (; – ) was a Russian noble of Swedish extraction who served in the foreign ministry. He accompanied Count Golovkin on his 1805 mission to China, presided over the department of foreign religions and governed the tow ...
, the viceroy's court in Odessa looked like a "small capital of an imperial fürst". While many Neoclassical buildings appeared in Odessa, the Crimea (or
Taurica The recorded history of the Crimean Peninsula, historically known as ''Tauris'', ''Taurica'' (), and the ''Tauric Chersonese'' (, "Tauric Peninsula"), begins around the 5th century BCE when several Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea, Greek colonies were ...
, as it was then better known) was still perceived as a wild, exotic hinterland. The mid-1820s saw the appearance of highly popular Romantic works celebrating its rugged beauty, such as
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...
's poem ''
The Fountain of Bakhchisaray ''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' (, ''Bakhchisaraiskiy fontan'') is a narrative poem by Alexander Pushkin, written from 1821 to 1823. Pushkin began writing ''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' in the spring of 1821, after having visited The ...
'' and
Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...
's ''
Crimean Sonnets The Crimean Sonnets (''Sonety krymskie'') are a series of 18 Polish sonnets by Adam Mickiewicz, constituting an artistic telling of a journey through the Crimea. They were published in 1826, together with a cycle of love poems called "The Odesa ...
''. Both poets were fascinated with
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
's Oriental romances and pictured the Crimea as an exotic land of Tartar Muslim traditions which had flourished in the
Khanate of Crimea The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of the Turkic khana ...
until its demise in 1783. Mikhail Vorontsov was appointed Viceroy of Novorossiya in May 1823. Even before their arrival in Odessa, the Vorontsovs started buying up lands in the southwest of Crimea, which was sparsely populated and little known at the time. Alupka was bought in 1824 from colonel Theodosios Reveliotis, the owner of Livadia and Oreanda. By that time, the Vorontsovs also had property in
Gurzuf Gurzuf or Hurzuf (, , , ) is a resort town (urban-type settlement) in Yalta Municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine but incorporated by Russia as the Republic of Cri ...
, Massandra, Ai-Danil, and Cape Martian.


Original design and ethos

The Vorontsov Palace was commissioned as a summer residence for the
Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
of
Novorossiya Novorossiya rus, Новороссия, Novorossiya, p=nəvɐˈrosʲːɪjə, a=Ru-Новороссия.ogg; , ; ; ; "New Russia". is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later becom ...
, Prince
Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic Wars and most famous for his participation in the Caucasian War from 1844 to 1853. Early life Vorontsov was born on ...
(born 1782 – died 1856). The Prince was a dedicated Anglophile. His father,
Semyon Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow; ; 9 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Vorontsov family. He resided in Britain for the last 47 years of his life, from 1785 until his death in 1832, during which time he was the ...
, had been
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
's ambassador to England, and the Prince had been educated in London. His sister,
Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
, had married an English aristocrat and become the ''châtelaine'' of one of England's grandest country houses,
Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...
. On the accession of
Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...
, in 1796, Semyon Vorontsov fell from favour and his estates confiscated and not returned until 1801, after the accession of
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...
. It is therefore unsurprising that he chose to reside with his daughter in England until his death and that Mikhail Vorontsov was a frequent visitor to that country. Vorontsov had been purchasing land from the local Tartars for the site of his new palace at Alupka from 1823; however, the acquisition had been part of a deal which necessitated Vorontsov to build a new mosque. Part of the site had already been planted with fine trees in 1787 for
Prince Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...
by the English landscape gardener William Gould as part of Potemkin's "improvements" to the area in preparation of a visitation by Catherine the Great following Potemkin's bloodless annexation of the Crimea to Russia. On acquiring ownership of the site, Vorontsov immediately employed the German gardener Karl Kebach to further improve the site and layout the grounds and gardens for the proposed new palace. In 1824, the architect Philip Elson was commissioned to build a small house for the Vorontsov family to inhabit while the new palace was under construction. Now much altered in form, and known as the Asiatic Pavilion, this building still stands. Originally, the prince wanted a strictly Classical design, and plans for such a design were executed, in
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
by architect Thomas Harrison and modified, on site, by Odessa architect
Francesco Boffo Francesco Carlo Boffo (Cyrillic: Франц Карлович Боффо; 8 September 1796 – Cherson, 10 November 1867) was a Neoclassical architect who designed more than 30 buildings in Odesa between 1818 and 1861, including the famous Pote ...
. The two architects had previously worked together on the design for Vorontsov's official residence in Odessa. Harrison's plans for the palace at Alupka show a classical villa on the site of the present palace's
corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal or main block, or central building of a mansion, country or manor house, castle, or palace. It contains the rooms of principal business, the state apartments and the ceremonial or formal ...
with bedroom floors below, on what are now the lower terraces of the present palace. On the garden front, facing the sea, the plans show a large double height classical
exedra An exedra (: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architecture, architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek word ''ἐξέδρα'' ('a seat ou ...
; Vorontsov must have approved of this concept, as it was the only feature (albeit transformed to an Islamic style) to be incorporated from Harrison's plans into the new plans. Construction began in 1828, however, it was suspended in June 1831 before the building has risen from its foundations. This may have been because the principal architect Harrison had died the previous year and Boffo working alone may not have been an option – his alterations to Harrison's plans for the Governor's residence in Odessa had been unfavourably received.


Change of plan

Vorontsov had traveled widely in England, and had doubtless seen the newly emerging, but retrospective,
Jacobethan The Jacobethan ( ) architectural style, also known as Jacobean Revival, is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the Engli ...
style of architecture – a hybrid revival styles based on the English buildings of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, which, in turn, had been influenced by the English Renaissance style which had belatedly evolved from the Italian Renaissance style of a century earlier. Vorontsov decided to review the design in order to incorporate these new trends from Western European architecture. This major change from a Classical design to a far more complex revival style, little known in Russia, meant Vorontsov had to find an alternative architect to execute a new design. This was further complicated by Vorontsov's desire to not only have a loose Jacobean style, but also to incorporate motifs from
Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...
so as to highlight the oriental strain evident in the Khan's Palace, Enikale Fort, and other local Tatar architecture. The resulting design was to highlight the Crimea's position as a place where the East and West meet. It was a radical departure from the Neoclassical strain that dominated the Russian architecture of the period. As a result of the expansion of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, a similar approach was also gaining popularity in Britain. An Anglicised interpretation of Islamic architecture is exemplified by the Brighton
Royal Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince o ...
, completed in 1823, and the
Sezincote House Sezincote House (pronounced ''seas in coat'') is the centre of a country estate in the civil parish of Sezincote (settlement), Sezincote, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The house was designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell, built in 180 ...
, completed a few years earlier. Both these buildings drew heavily on the Islamic motifs, which were later to be evident at the Vorontsov Palace and were new and novel designs at the time of the Prince's visit to England. Vorontsov decided upon the British architect Edward Blore to redesign and complete the building. Blore was a curious choice of architect; though able, his work has often been often considered bland and uninspired. The eminent architectural historian
Howard Colvin Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–18 ...
claimed that "a dull competence pervaded all his work", while the country house architectural expert
Mark Girouard Mark Girouard (7 October 1931 – 16 August 2022) was a British architectural historian. He was an authority on the country house, and Elizabethan and Victorian architecture. Life and career Girouard was born on 7 October 1931. He was educ ...
has described Blore as "a bit of a bore." However, Blore's stolid and conventional designs were admired by the English Tory aristocracy – a class to which Vorontsov's sister belonged and for whom Blore had worked at Wilton. The Anglophile Vorontsov was also a great admirer and friend of Sir
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
, for whom Blore had worked at the great
Scottish baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...
country house Abbotsford; therefore it seems likely that these latter connections led Vorontsov to Blore. Blore had already worked on many grand British buildings and a couple of buildings in colonial Australia. Blore himself did not visit the town of Alupka, however, he was well informed about the area's mountainous landscape and terrain. Construction restarted in 1830, under the supervision of Blore's fellow architect William Hunt.


Architecture

Blore's new plan for the
corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal or main block, or central building of a mansion, country or manor house, castle, or palace. It contains the rooms of principal business, the state apartments and the ceremonial or formal ...
was constrained by Vorontsov's wish to use the footings and foundations which had been built for Harrison's original design; this severely restricted the shape, size and layout of the palaces principal rooms. However, rather than erect a compact and low classical villa, as Harrison had designed, Blore's plan was radically different, with strong English Tudor Renaissance features on the northern side, and an eclectic medley of western and Islamic features on the southern. The central bay of the southern façade was inspired by Delhi's Jummah Masjid mosque, which enabled the classical exedra of Harrison's design to be incorporated, once given an Islamic makeover, harmoniously into the design. In places, the seemingly at odds architectural styles can be viewed simultaneously; this is particularly so in the chimney stacks which resemble Islamic minarets. These coupled with the castellated
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s add what appears to be an almost Moorish element to the late English Renaissance air of the northern façade. However, it is the southern garden façade which displays the strongest of the building's Islamic influences; it has a flat roof and is topped by two minaret-style towers at its centre. These minarets flank the massive, central bay, this takes the form of a projecting double height porch entered through a high Islamic
horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...
. The interior of the porch takes the form of an exedra, which is really an elaborately decorated open vestibule; it has an inscribed ''
Shahada The ''Shahada'' ( ; , 'the testimony'), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there is no Ilah, god but God in Islam, God ...
'' stating "There is no God but Allah" in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. The porch is flanked by two short wings, each of two bays and adorned with cast iron balconies and
verandah A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...
s overlooking over the terraces and their statuary. While the designs for the corps de logis were confined by the foundations of Harrison's earlier plan, the secondary wings and precincts were not. Abandoning completely Harrisons concept of bedrooms set in terraces beneath the corp de logis, Blore's assistant architect, Hunt, opted for the typical vast sprawling wings and
servants' quarters Servants' quarters, also known as staff's quarters, are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic worker, domestic offices and employee, staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the ea ...
of the 19th century
English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
. These took full advantage of the gradients and topography of the site, and with their courtyards came to resemble a small medieval, fortified town of towers and high castellated walls. Nowhere is this more evident than the Shuvalov Passage, an enclosed carriage drive squeezed between the high walls of two wings, leading from the castellated Western Gatehouse to the forecourt before the northern façade. The passage, which twists and turn beneath high wall and towers and even passes under a bridge, resembles the street of a medieval town, rather than the approach to a country house.


Construction

Vorontsov imported thousands of his
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...
from the
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...
, and
Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...
governorates A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions o ...
of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
to construct the palace. These unpaid workers performed all the labour by hand, aided only by primitive hand tools. Masons were also brought in to help with the construction. The palace's
ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
blocks were made from a local greenish-gray tinge
diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-gra ...
, chosen for its unique colour to match the colours of the surrounding mountainous landscape and forest greenery. All other building materials were imported from outside the Empire. One of the first of the palace's many rooms to be completed was the main
dining room A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually next to the kitchen for convenience in serving, though in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically the dining room is furnished with ...
, built from 1830 to 1834. The principal central wing of the mansion was constructed from 1831 to 1837. Between 1841 and 1842, a billiard room was constructed adjoining the dining room. From 1838 through to 1844, the guest wing, the east wing, towers, the
service wing Servants' quarters, also known as staff's quarters, are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic offices and staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the early 20th century, they wer ...
, and the front entrance were completed. The final wing built of the mansion was the library wing; this was under construction from 1842 to 1844. The remaining four years of building works were spent on the palace's interior decoration. William Hunt, the onsite architect employed to oversee Blore's design, while remaining faithful to Blore's overall plans, was not afraid to alter them. Most notably, the Western Gatehouse, the main approach to the palace, was intended to have octagonal towers, but Hunt redesigned the gatehouse in an English 14th-century castle style, with solid round towers and
machicolations In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key poi ...
, nearly identical to the towers at
Bodiam Castle Bodiam Castle () is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III of England, Edward III, with the permission of Richard II of England, R ...
, East Sussex. After completion of the palace, Hunt remained at Alupka working on an assortment of projects in and around the estate building long carriage drives, roads and structural improvements to the gardens surrounding the palace. One of his largest projects was an extension to the palace itself, the Shuvalov wing, which was to be the summer retreat of the Vorontsov's daughter Countess Sofia Shuvalova and her children, the countess was estranged from her husband This wing linked the palace to the western gatehouse, and created the enclosed Shuvalov Passage leading to the main entrance. Hunt remained in the Prince's employ until his retirement in 1852.


Interior

The palace consists of a total of 150 rooms, the principal of which are panelled with wood block floors. Inside the corps de logis, it had been Blore's intention to follow the English 19th century tradition of distinct masculine and feminine suites of reception rooms; with a library, dining rooms and billiard room ensuite to left of the central hall for men, and a massive drawing room to the right for women. This layout of gender designated zones had become popular in Victorian England; however its intention was not to segregate the sexes, but more to define furnishings – the male zones tended to have heavy oak furniture and dark 'Turkey' carpets, whereas the female zones would have more delicate furnishings of rosewood, Aubusson carpets and
chintz Chintz () is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century. The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colo ...
soft furnishings. However, for unknown reasons, this concept was never executed and the female part of the house was extended into the male territory, with the intended billiard room becoming the countess's boudoir while the study became a further small sitting room for feminine use. Above these seaward facing rooms were the family bedrooms. Following the female claim to the principal rooms of the corps de logis, the library and dining room were relocated to a secondary wing not built until much later. This secondary wing is linked to the west of corps de logis by a large arcaded loggia; originally open, it is now glazed and known as the Winter Garden. A later secondary wing, known as the Shuvalov wing (named after Vorontsov's son-in-law, Count Shuvalov) was not part of Blore's original plan and designed by his assistant, William Hunt. There is now a museum comprising several rooms most notable of which are the blue room, chintz room, dining room, and the Chinese cabinet. The museum covers the first floor's first eight rooms, featuring more than 11,000 exhibits, including engravings of the 18th century, paintings from the 16th through 19th centuries, including those depicting Crimean scenarios by Armenian
seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...
painter
Ivan Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (; ) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized as Hovhannes Aivazian, he was born into an Armenian family in the Black Sea port of Feodosia in Crime ...
, as well as furniture crafted by Russian wood masters from the 19th century. The library, the last of the palace's rooms to be completed, is based on Sir Walter Scott's own library, revealing the personal friendship that Blore had with Scott. Inside, the library features about 6,000 literary and musical works of the 18th and 19th centuries. The interior's woodwork, including the doors, panelling, and ceilings, is made out of
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
. The walls are adorned in cloth, with designs made by Dutch,
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
, French, and Italian painters. The palace's Gothic fireplaces are made out of polished diabase.


Grounds

The palace sits surrounded by gardens and a park; these grounds consisting of were laid out by the German landscape gardener Carolus Keebach in the first half of the 19th century in the form of an
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
featuring wide open spaces and gardens planted alongside the walkways. The walkways are gravelled with 29 bags of coloured stones from the Crimean village of
Koktebel Koktebel ( Ukrainian and , , in 1945–1992 known as ''Planerskoye'', ) is an urban-type settlement and one of the most popular resort townlets in southeastern Crimea. Koktebel is situated on the shore of the Black Sea about halfway between Feo ...
. The largest of the landscaping undertakings carried out on the palace's grounds were performed between 1840 and 1848 with the aid of soldiers, who also assisted in the formation and leveling of the terraces laid out before of the palace's southern façade.
Fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
was introduced from various locations throughout the world, including the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
, the Americas, and East Asia.
Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
imported over a 150 years ago still numbers almost 200 species. Keebach had the park designed in such a way that it would incorporate the landscape's native vegetation, mountain springs, and nearby rocky masses, in addition to foreign plant species brought in from the Mediterranean, both North and South America, as well as from East Asia. Today, the park still features more than 200 exotic tree and shrub species, including a wide variety of
palm trees The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially ...
, oleander shrubs,
laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...
, cypresses,
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
trees, and evergreen
viburnum ''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The memb ...
, among many others. In the summer of 1848, the palace and its grounds were enhanced by the addition of three pairs of white
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
lions; this statuary was placed alongside the wide flight of steps climbing the terraces to the palace. Each of the statues, by Italian sculptor Giovanni Bonnani, is depicted in a varying pose – a pair of "sleeping lions" at the bottom of the steps, "waking lions" near the centre, and "standing
Medici lion The Medici lions are a pair of marble sculptures of lions: one of which is Roman, dating to the 2nd century AD, and the other a 16th-century pendant. By 1598 both were placed at the Villa Medici, Rome. Since 1789 they have been displayed at t ...
s" at the top nearest the palace. The sculptures of this ''Lion Terrace'' gained international recognition when three of them—the sleeping, waking, and half-risen lions—were featured in
Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...
’s
Battleship Potemkin '' Battleship Potemkin'' (, ), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent epic film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by Sergei Eisenstein, it presents a dramatization of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 ...
(1925). Through montage editing, Eisenstein arranged shots of these sculptures to create the illusion of a lion rising, symbolizing revolutionary awakening. Crimea's coastal highway runs through the park, dividing it into the upper and lower portions. The upper park is dominated by the mountain springs, as well as by the native southern coast forestry and clusters of foreign tree growth. A feature of the upper park is the Fountain of Trilby, which was placed there in 1829. The lower park is modelled in the style of an
Italian Renaissance garden The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the land ...
.


Influence

The construction of Mikhail Vorontsov's summer residence in Alupka so impressed
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Nicholas I that he decided to have his own family retreat built at neighbouring Oreanda. In September 1837, the Tsar and Tsarina visited the Crimea for the first time. The viceroy entertained them at his new residence in Alupka. Impressed with the palace and its setting, the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n-born Empress commissioned from
Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...
, a Berlin-based architect, a design for a new residence. His design called for a striking combination of Greek Revival and Egyptian Revival elements. The palace was to be perched on the craggy shore in Oreanda. The court architect
Andrei Stackenschneider Andrei Ivanovich Stakenschneider (also spelled Stuckenschneider; ; – ) was a Russian architect. His eclectic approach and competence in period styles are manifest in ten palaces built to his design in St. Petersburg. He is often credited with ...
offered a less expensive design, which was adopted. The Tsarina's palace was built between 1843 and 1853 under the supervision of William Hunt and Combioggio, an architect from Odessa. This edifice was destroyed by an 1882 conflagration, with only a marble rotunda remaining. The next emperor, Alexander II of Russia, Alexander II, had the royal residence moved to Livadia Palace, Livadia. Vorontsov's building activities started a tradition of imperial residency of the area which would attract many of Russia's elite to also build villas and palaces in the Crimea. One of the first such buildings was the Gaspra Palace, designed by William Hunt in the 1830s for Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, Alexander Golitsyn, one of Alexander I's most trusted advisors. Blore's design inspired another straightforward imitation on the eastern shore of the Black Sea: the Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi that was commissioned by the Ekaterine Dadiani, last Princess of Mingrelia in 1873 and, at the time of the Russian Revolution, was in possession of the Prince Murat, House of Murat. Moorish Revival architecture, Neo-Moorish architectural elements were also incorporated in the design of the royal villas in Dulber Palace, Dulber and Likani Villa, Likani.


Owners and occupiers

* Count, later (1845) Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, Mikhail Vorontsov (30 May 1782 – 18 November 1856), Viceroy of New Russia, builder of the palace. He was renowned for his success in the Napoleonic wars. As the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1844–81), Viceroy of the Caucasus from 1844 to 1853, he supervised the conduct of the Caucasian War. Having completed the palace, Vorotsov, now suffering progressive blindness, spent little time there. His commitments to the expanding Russian Empire took him to Tiflis; there, he waged wars on the rebellious local tribes. The now elderly Vorontsov, a confirmed anglophile, was particularly distressed by the outbreak of the Crimean War, which, in England, was heavily promoted by his English nephew, Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, Sidney Herbert. Embarrassed and distressed, he retired from public life to the privacy of Odessa. Vorontsov died in 1856, having lived just long enough to see the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1856), Peace of Paris. Vorontsov's tomb in the Odessa Cathedral was ruined by the Soviets, but his remains survived the Soviet era and were returned to the newly rebuilt cathedral in 2005. * Countess, later Princess :ru:Воронцова, Елизавета Ксаверьевна, Yelizaveta Vorontsova (19 September 1792 – 27 April 1880), a daughter of Count Franciszek Ksawery Branicki by Aleksandra von Engelhardt, one of the nieces and heiresses of
Prince Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...
, the founder of New Russia (who was childless). She was one of the many Polish noble women who married the Russian aristocrats during the brief period of the "Polish enchantment", when Alexander I publicly conducted an affair with Maria Naryshkina, Marie Czetwertyńska and his heir Constantine Pavlovich, Konstantin was in love with her sister Joanna Wyszkowska. When exiled to the Black Sea coast after The Gabrieliad affair,
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...
wooed Elise Vorontsova in Odessa and addressed several poems to her. Apparently resenting his advances, the countess complained to her husband, who had his young rival exiled to a Mikhaylovskoye Museum Reserve, northern village. After her husband's death, Yelizaveta rarely visited the Alupka Palace, preferring to live in Odessa. ** Prince :ru:Воронцов, Семён Михайлович, Semyon Vorontsov (23 October 1823 – 6 May 1882), the only son and heir of Prince Mikhail. He served under his father in the Caucasus with distinction and figures in Leo Tolstoy's novella ''Hadji Murat (novel), Hadji Murat'', as do his wife and father. On 26 August 1851 he married in Alupka, against his parents' wishes, Madame Stolypina, ''née'' Princess Trubetskaya, once famed for her radiant beauty. The couple found the cost of running the palace too high, and after making various economies they seldom visited the Crimea. After Semyon's death without issue, the widow plundered the palace of many of its entailed furnishings and paintings and settled at the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne with the Duca di Montelfi, her son from a previous marriage. ** Countess Sofia Shuvalova (1825–15 August 1879), the daughter of Prince Mikhail and Princess Elizaveta. In 1844, she married Count Andrei Shuvalov, the owner of Pargolovo (not to be confused with another branch of the Shuvalov family whose family seat was the Schloss Ruhenthal in Courland). The marriage was not happy, inducing her to live separately from her husband, who died in the house of another woman in 1876. From the 1850s Sofia and her children used Alupka as a country retreat, occupying the long West Wing now named after them, the Shuvalov Wing, while her brother Prince Semyon occupied the remainder of the palace. *** Count, later (1882) Prince Pavel Vorontsov-Shuvalov (1846–1885), the son of Sofia Shuvalova and grandson of Mikhail Vorontsov, inherited the largely empty palace and the Vorontsov title on the death of his uncle in 1882. He died three years later. His wife, Yelizaveta Stolypina, ''née'' Baroness Pilar von Pilchau, outlived him by 54 years. They had no children. An imperial ukase from 7 July 1882 designated Alupka the centrepiece of the Vorontsov majorat, which was to be inherited in the right of primogeniture. *** Count Mikhail Shuvalov (7 July 1850 – 5 January 1904) inherited the entailed estate in 1885 from his brother Count Pavel. On 12 February 1886, the Emperor authorized him to use the princely title and to style himself Prince Vorontsov-Shuvalov. He was a bachelor and lived abroad. On his death, the title of Prince Vorontsov (Serene Highness) became extinct. *** Countess :ru:Воронцова-Дашкова, Елизавета Андреевна, Elizaveta Vorontsova-Dashkova (25 July 1845 – 15 July 1924), the elder sister of Pavel and Mikhail Shuvalov. She was the last private owner of the palace, and restored much of its former splendour, buying back many of its former furnishings, and living quietly there with her husband, Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov, a scion of the only surviving branch of the Vorontsov family. At the beginning of the World War I, Count Illarion was the Governor-General of Caucasus. He died in Alupka in 1916. Countess Yelizaveta Vorontsova-Dashkova lived in the palace until April 1919. During the great evacuation of the Crimea by the Russian Whites, she sailed to Malta aboard a British ship. She was accompanied by her grandchildren from the Sheremetev family, including Count Nikolai Sheremetev, who later married Princess Irina Yusupova (Bébé). Yelizaveta's descendants also include actress Anne Wiazemsky.


Later history

Four years after the October Revolution, in 1921, the palace was nationalization, nationalised, after which it was converted into a museum. This occupied the main, dining, and library wings of the building. In addition to the state-confiscated Vorontsov family possessions, the museum also featured the exhibits of the nationalised estates of the House of Romanov, Romanovs, House of Yusupov, Yusupovs, and Stroganovs all of whom had estates in the vicinity. In 1927, the palace's Shuvalov wing housed a sanatorium "10 Years of October," while the palace's main concourse became home to Alupka resort's polyclinic and spa baths. When the Soviet Union entered World War II in 1941, most of the museum's exhibits were evacuated for safety from Alupka. However, some 537 artistic and graphics exhibits (including temporary exhibition paintings from the Russian Museum, State Russian Museum and the Simferopol Art Museum), 360 pieces of the building's decor, sets of unique furniture, and a series of historic books were stolen by occupying Nazi Germany, Nazi German forces, amounting to a loss of 5 million Soviet rouble, roubles at the time. During the war, Adolf Hitler presented the palace as a reward to Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, who made it his personal headquarters. This explains why the palace was so well preserved. The building was later converted into a museum for Wehrmacht officers stationed in and around Crimea. Originally, the Nazis had planned to dynamite the palace, but the rapid advance of the Separate Coastal Army and supporting Yalta Soviet partisans, partisan groups during the Crimean Offensive saved the palace from destruction. From 11 to 14 February 1945, the Yalta Conference took place in the neighbouring, former imperial Livadia Palace; this was between representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Winston Churchill and part of his British delegation were given temporary residence within the Vorontsov Palace. Within two weeks, construction workers had restored 22 rooms in the main palace, 23 rooms in the Shuvalov wing, and even replanted the palace gardens. The palace's English-inspired architectural style gained praise from Churchill himself: Churchill was so taken by the garden's Medici lions that he later asked Stalin if he could take them home; Stalin declined the request. Following the war, the palace was used as a summer retreat for the NKVD, Soviet secret police, and later as a trade sanatorium. In 1956, the palace was once again reinstated as a museum, and two years later, it was further expanded by art treasures. However, the majority of the artwork looted during the war was never recovered, only a small fragment of the former collection was returned to the museum. In 1965, the palace was incorporated into the "Alupka Palace-Park Complex," a national historical preserve which also includes the
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 ...
in neighboring
Massandra Massandra or Masandra (; ; ) is an urban-type settlement in the Yalta Municipality in Crimea. Occupying the spot of an ancient Greek settlement (Tavrida-Ταυρίδα), Masandra was acquired by Counts Potocki in 1783. In the mid-19th centur ...
, built in the Louis XIII style, Louis XIII château style for Tsar Alexander III of Russia, Alexander III. Although it has survived years of wear and warfare, one of the palace's wings is now in danger of collapsing into the Black Sea below. Cracks have begun to appear in the library, housing almost 10,000 books and manuscripts. Although Edward Blore had a state-of-the-art drainage system built into the palace's foundation, years of neglect, Coastal erosion and the construction of a nearby sewage pipe in 1974 have helped to increase the potential for a landslide. Another potential looming disaster is surrounding the medieval-style gatehouse near the palace's west side.


Gallery

File:Vorontsov's Palace 2, Alupka, Crimea.jpg, Detail of southern façade. File:Vorontsov's Palace, Architecture, Alupka, Crimea.jpg, Detail of southern façade. File:Vornontsov Palace001.jpg, Entrance to the palace forecourt in the style of a medieval English castle. File:Alupka Vorontsov palace IMG 1987 01-119-9005.JPG, The ''Lion Terrace''. File:Комплекс споруд Воронцовського палац (Алупка, вул. Дворцове шосе, 18) 17.JPG, One of the man-made, sub-tropical terraces beneath the palace. File:Vorontsov Palace Blue room IMG 3610 1725.jpg, The Blue Drawing Room with intricate plasterwork decorating the walls. File:Воронцовский дворец.jpg, The Dining Room's oak ceiling with strapwork and pendants in the English Tudor style. File:Бильярд в одной из комнат.jpg, The Gothic style billiards room adjoining the Dining Room. File:Vorontsovsky Palace 4.jpg, The intricate wooden ceiling of the small China Room, also known as the China Cabinet. File:Greenhouse of Vorontsovsky Palace (Crimea).JPG, The Conservatory.


See also

* Vorontsov Palace (disambiguation), list of similarly named palaces built for the Vorontsov family * List of historic reserves in Ukraine


References

Notes Footnotes Bibliography * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * {{Coord, 44, 25, 11, N, 34, 3, 19, E, type:landmark, display=title Palaces in Ukraine Museums in Crimea Moorish Revival architecture in Ukraine Moorish Revival palaces Tudor Revival architecture Scottish baronial architecture Gothic Revival architecture in Ukraine Historic house museums in Ukraine Houses completed in 1848 Edward Blore buildings Buildings and structures in Yalta Alupka Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Crimea Tourist attractions in Crimea