Livadia Palace in the Crimea. Yalta, Livadia Palace. History, photo

The southern coast of the Crimea has been considered for two centuries one of the most luxurious resorts on the entire Black Sea coast. It is not by chance that these places were chosen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the construction of a summer residence for Russian emperors. The famous Livadia Palace in Crimea is a masterpiece of Russian architecture and the main attraction of the Southern coast of Crimea. It is located three kilometers from the resort town of Yalta. Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world come here not only to relax on the chic beaches of the peninsula, but also to visit its unique attractions, the main of which is the magnificent Livadia Palace. In Crimea, of course, there are other historical monuments that are of interest to the guests of the peninsula, but this imperial residence is the most visited, and the flow of tourists who want to visit here, never runs out.

History of Livadia

Once the locality, which now towers the majestic Livadia Palace (photo can be seen in the article), was called Panas Chair, which translates from the Tatar "sacred meadow". After the Russian-Turkish war the peninsula Crimea moved to Russia, its southern coast was liberated from local residents and transferred to ordinary members of the legendary Greek battalion. Colonel of the Russian army Lambro Cachoni (Greek by origin), the national hero of Greece, so much liked these areas that he bought from his compatriots inherited their plots. After settling in the Crimea, he named this area in honor of his native city - Livadia. Later this estate passed into the hands of another Greek officer, F. Reveliottis, and the latter, in turn, sold it to the Polish aristocrat Count Lev Potocki.

Livadia estate becomes the residence of Russian tsars

In the 60s of the 19th century the Russian nobility loved the peninsula. Here began to build summer residences for Russian aristocratic families. In 1862 Count Potocki received an offer to sell his estate to the Russian imperial family and, of course, agreed. For four years in the estate, under the guidance of the Italian architect Monigetti, the main and small (in the oriental style) royal palaces, separate houses for the imperial suite and servants, two churches were built, the water supply system was installed, etc. In subsequent years the infrastructure of the estate developed With incredible speed: a school and a hospital were opened, a dairy farm and greenhouses were established, various fruit trees were planted, vast vegetable gardens were built, and so on.

In the reign of Alexander III, the territory of Livadia was banned from entering strangers, and the free passage between Yalta and Sevastopol was also closed. In 1911, under Nicholas II, the construction of the Great Palace began here, and the entire technical part of the estate was reconstructed to a modern day, and a power station was built.

Yalta, Livadia Palace (the Soviet period)

At the end of January 1918, Soviet power was established in the Crimea, but after four months, German divisions occupied Livadia. As a result, the palace was looted and damaged. In November of the same year, the Germans were deported by the Entente troops and the White Guards. Exactly after 2 years on the peninsula, the power of the Soviets was finally established , the palace and estate were nationalized, and on its territory the Livadia State Farm was founded. Soon here built a peasant sanatorium for 300 people.

Livadia in the Second World War

During the Second World War, Livadia was again occupied by German troops. The sanatorium was completely destroyed, the Small Palace was also severely damaged, however, the Great Palace remained practically untouched, and in February 1945 the heads of the three great powers met here: the USSR, Great Britain and the USA.

After the war, it took 10 years to restore the Palace and its environs, after which the Livadia Palace in the Crimea became open for excursions. Since then, this estate has become the main attraction of the entire southern coast of the Crimea.

Location:

Naturally, the first thing that interests tourists who want to visit the Livadia Palace is how to get there? Well, firstly, to get to Livadia, you need to go to the Crimea peninsula. This can be done by air, sea or road. By the way, the only airport on the Crimean peninsula is in the city of Simferopol. From there, you can take a taxi or a bus to the resort of Yalta. Here you can stay either in a pre-booked hotel, or rent a house in the private sector, relax on the road, well, and then go on an excursion to the Livadia Palace, whose address: Livadia, ul. Baturin, 44-a. There you can get there from Yalta by pleasure boat or by bus.

We would advise you to choose the sea route. So it will be faster and more interesting. Livadia Palace on the map can be found in the vicinity of Yalta, and its coordinates for GPS: N 44 28.087, E 34 8.598.

Excursion program

In the early 90s of the last century the Livadia Palace in the Crimea received the status of a historical and art museum. However, in addition to the excursion zone, a sanatorium for cardiac patients is functioning on the palace territory, as well as a wonderful botanical garden - a beautiful place for walking around the coast. Tourists who want to visit the palace, in the first place, are attracted by the opportunity to get acquainted with the living conditions of the royal family (the Romanov and Livadia exposition), as well as to visit the oval office where in 1945 the outcome of the Second World War was decided. By the way, meetings and summits at the highest level are held in the White Hall of the Palace today.

general description

The magnificent Grand Palace is built in classical Italian style, and its heart is the Italian courtyard with its elegant pink bushes and evergreen tropical plants planted on it. In addition to this majestic snow-white building in the palace and park ensemble are the Corps of Pages, the Palace of Baron Fredericks, the Cross Exaltation Church, several picturesque arbors, rotundas, fountains, etc.

Description of internal premises

Each room, any of the rooms, all the numerous passes and exits - all decorated with surprisingly fine taste. Despite all the luxury, the richness of interior decoration and furniture, nothing here looks pretentious. In the palace you can find a mixture of different styles - from the ancient to the modern, inherent in the era of the reign of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. So, for example, one of the main rooms of the palace is a chic dining room, decorated in the ancient Roman style, with stucco walls and ceilings, and next to it there is a strictly decorated English billiard room or the imperial cabinet "a la Jacob."

The palace has 116 separate furnished rooms, a lot of terraces, balconies, towers, galleries with numerous columns, etc. In addition to the courtyard, there are three more courtyards in Arabic and Italian style. The palace is also decorated with numerous sculptures, paintings and other cute and expensive trinkets, which gives the inner rooms a special royal chic.

The summer imperial residence in its structure was so comfortable and comfortable that the royal family often did not want to leave here. In addition, fresh sea air suited the empress perfectly well, which suffered from lung disease.

Conclusion

To visit the Crimean Peninsula and not to visit the Livadia Palace is simply impossible. The palace and park ensemble is ready to receive visitors daily, without days off, from 10.00 to 19.00.