Sights Yalta - Alupka, Ukraine

The main attraction of the city is Alupka Palace. Together with the surrounding park, it forms Alupka State Palace and Park Reserve.

Alupka palace and park ensemble was created in the first half of the XIX century. It was owned by Count Mikhail Vorontsov, Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory. The largest Russian landowner who owned land in 17 provinces and 80 countries with thousands of serfs, has decided to impress his contemporaries, luxury and wealth. On the construction of the palace had spent more than 9 million rubles in silver.

Construction of the palace began in 1830 and lasted 18 years. In the construction employing several thousand workers, mostly peasants from the princely estates.

The author of the draft of the palace was the Englishman Edward Blore, the court architect of King William IV and Queen Victoria. With the participation of Blore were created Buckingham Palace in London and a castle in Scotland to Sir Walter Scott.
Alupka palace built in neo-Gothic style and stands out among all the old buildings of the Southern coast of Crimea grandeur and monumentality. Its body is constructed in the spirit of austere medieval castle, in the style of British suburban palaces, somewhat similar to the eastern structure.

North facade of the central building and the western part of the palace - an original interpretation of the Tudor style. To the south facade, facing the sea, found another architectural solution. It is made in the Moorish style and is a copy of the famous "Alhambra" Arab caliphs in Grenada. The frieze deep niches of the southern facade, interwoven in the original ornament, six times repeated in Arabic Eastern adage, "There is no omnipotent, but God!".

The southern facade is crowned "Lion Terrace" - a monumental staircase with three pairs of lions. The figures of lions made of white marble in the studio of the Italian sculptor Bonnani. Especially good figure sleeping lion, which bears the signature of the Bonnani. Above, two awakening lion, while the upper stages - awake lions, which are a replica of Canova lions adorning the tomb of Pope Clement XII in Rome.

Around the set of colors. Before the palace are two stalls in the center of each marble fountain. In the right wing of a lovely "fountain of flowers" made from a climbing plant bussengaltsii. Green "spray" leaves replaced the water. Here is yet another marble fountain - "Shell" amazing grace to work. And nearby is the "Fountain of Tears", reminiscent of the famous "Fountain of Bakhchisarai.

Results in the palace about 150 rooms. The lobby, vestibule, dining room and billiard room are decorated tree in the Gothic style. Bog oak was used for panels, doors and ceiling finishes.

Interesting winter garden - a characteristic identity palaces of northern European countries, and the blue room with stucco decorations. As the eyewitnesses in this room in 1863, the last time in his life played a great Russian actor Mikhail Shchepkin.
After the Great October Revolution the palace was nationalized and in 1921 it was opened museum.

During the Second World War the palace was saved from destruction. And in February 1945 are housed the British delegation at the Yalta Conference.
Alupka Palace is surrounded by a magnificent park, covering an area of 40 hectares. Park founded 140 years ago under the supervision of an experienced German gardener Karl Kebaha.

Upper Park - a beautiful example of landscape type parks. Hard to believe that the park was created by human hands. Dense thickets of wild pile of rocks alternate with neat lawns, winding paths with straight paths, mountain streams with a calm expanse of lake.

Lower Park, immediately adjacent to the southern facade of the palace, - opposite the top. Here is a clear layout of the avenues, neat lawns and flower beds, trimmed edges.

Alupka Park - a rich collection of rare plants. It collected more than 200 species of trees and shrubs from around the world: Safor Japanese, Lebanese cedar, pine, monkey-puzzle ...

One of the attractions of Alupka Park - "Chaos", piling gray-green boulders diabase tall with four-story house. In the upper park big "Chaos", and not far from the palace - small. This geological formations created by nature itself. Man is only used them when constructing the park.

Ponds, waterfalls, streams attached Alupkinskoe Park a special charm. Here is a little mirror pond, the water in it is incident from the brook flowing from under the green boulders "Chaos".

In mirror-like surface of the pond slide magnificent white swans. The water stands a rock, from which a fountain beat. The lake is surrounded by shady ash and swamp cypresses. Not far from Swan Lake, as they call it a pond, growing rare tree - monkey-puzzle. Its branches instead of leaves are covered with sharp spines. No bird sits on a tree.

In the center of the bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Amet-Khan Sultan. Daring pilot - a native of Alupka. During the war, fighting in the Guards air regiment, he flew more than 600 times to perform combat missions, shot down a person 30 and in group battles 19 German planes. After the war was a test pilot. In 1971, when testing a new aircraft was killed.