Massandra Park in Yalta, Crimea (photo). Manor in Massandra Park

The one whose foot has once stepped on the generously endowed Crimean land with natural riches is familiar with the pressing feeling of nostalgia, embracing the memory of this unique place. And no matter how luxurious Turkish and Egyptian resorts are, the Crimea penetrates deeply into the soul and remains there forever.

Amazing place

Crimea is famous not only for its warm, but sometimes unpredictable sea, gentle sun, mild climate and incredible natural beauties. Millennial history and many historical monuments belonging to different epochs and cultures make it a very special place for recreation.

On the peninsula, you can not only enjoy a measured day on the beach. A variety of excursions will allow you to diversify your stay in the Crimea, giving you the opportunity to touch the long-past moments of history, to take a walk through the Khan's palace, to climb high into the mountains or, as in a fairy tale, to descend into the underground or underwater kingdom.

Massandra

One of the most outstanding attractions is the Massandra Park in Yalta, and to be more precise, it is three kilometers from it. Now it is almost impossible to determine where the city ends and in which place Massandra begins. Originated back in ancient times, it stopped for a long time, and now its population does not exceed nine thousand people, allowing the rapidly growing Yalta inexorably approaching. However, it is this small village that has earned worldwide fame for its excellent wines, melting in itself the tart taste of grapes, the note of the bitterness of mountain herbs and the freshness of the sea breeze.

Much less famous is the magnificent manor in Massandra Park, Its classical beauty and a complicated story as a magnet attracts more and more tourists.

Milestones of history

The Crimean lands for millennia were a tasty morsel for the Greeks and Genoese, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. After the annexation of the peninsula in 1783 to Russia among the tsar's nobles and successful military leaders, at once many people were found who wanted to obtain beautiful lands.

The first owner of Massandra, oddly enough, was the Frenchman - Marshal Nassau-Siegen. Impressed with the beauty of this mountainous terrain, he dreamed of remaining here forever, but fate decreed otherwise. The Marshal left for his homeland, and his Crimean patrimony acquired Sophia Potocka. The countess was building grandiose plans to lay a new city in Massandra and had already come up with a name for him - Sofiepol. But her plans were not to be realized.

The next owner of the estate was Olga Naryshkina, daughter of the late Countess Potocki. It was during her time that the oak-hornbeam forest turned into Massandra Park, which later became famous. Invited to work, the famous gardener Karl Kebah laid flat paths in the Lower part of the forest, smashed the shady alleys, everywhere he arranged flower beds filled with fragrant plants. His successful attempts to combine plants from different climatic zones in a single complex still arouse delight among tourists visiting Massandra Park. Nearby grow Crimean juniper, dogwood, yew, Mediterranean pines and cypresses, Asian bamboo.

In 1828, the Crimean lands of Naryshkinoy passed to Count Vorontsov's family, who personally continued to work on the improvement of the park. Upper Massandra underwent cultivation only slightly, retaining all its inherent natural characteristics.

The present park

Today Massandra Park is located on the territory of 49.1 hectares, on which grows more than 250 species of various plants. What can not be seen in the wild, successfully combines in this well-kept reserve. Crimean pine, fluffy oaks, strawberry tree, juniper friendly neighbors with exotic sequoia, dendrons, laurel, bamboo and magnolia.

The white acacia planted by Kebakh, to which Earl Vorontsov had a special inclination, perfectly took root in the territory of Massandra Park and for almost 200 years is one of the most popular plants on the southern coast of the Crimea.

Special glades, decorated with a floral carpet, are arranged in such a way that each of them has a magnificent view of the sea, and evergreen plants will be a wonderful frame of this picture.

Vorontsov's Castle

Count Vorontsov could not resist the beauty of nature - gray rocks, overgrown with moss, picturesque piles of stones, age-old pine forest, filling the air with special phytoncides, everything that the Crimea is so famous for. Massandra Park seemed to him a great place to live in the hottest months. For the construction of a magnificent palace, the Count invited the popular architect of the time, Bouchard. According to the architect's plan, in the thick shadow of the centuries-old trees of Upper Massandra, against the background of gray cliffs there was to be a romantic Renaissance castle. A special expressiveness of the structure was to be given to the towers - two round and square, sloping roofs, graceful attics. But because of the sudden death of the first architect, and then - and Count Vorontsov himself, the construction process stopped for a long ten years.

Palace of the Emperor

Only in 1889, when the Massandra Park together with the unfinished castle were purchased for the Emperor Alexander III, the work on the erection of the palace continued. M.E. Mesmacher, the new architect, added refinement to the building, adding to it numerous balconies, terraces, galleries, facing its facades with yellow tiles.

Gilded double-headed eagles, wrought-iron gratings, painted vases emphasized the belonging of the palace of the imperial family.

Massandra Park, whose photo gives a far from complete picture of its beauty, has also been improved. On the balconies and terraces of the palace, as well as in the park alleys, Mesmacher installed decorative vases, columns, sculptures of sphinxes, ancient gods and chimeras. On the eastern side of the palace an additional wall was erected to protect against landslides and mudflows. Decorated with columns, statues and fountains, it organically blended into the palace and park complex.

Interior decoration

What first strikes the visitors of the palace complex is the small size of all the internal premises. After all, this residence was designed to rest the royal family, and not for lavish receptions and balls. In the rooms there is no typical luxury for the imperial palaces. In Massandra, everything is arranged quite simply - wooden wall panels, marble fireplaces, stained-glass windows, moldings serve as the main decoration of the premises. Unfortunately, the royal family did not have to spend a vacation in the Crimean palace. Alexander II died without completing the finish, and his son Nicholas II never managed to visit his southern residence.

How to get there

In the high season hundreds of tourists aspire to get to Massandra Park. Getting to him from Yalta is extremely simple. Regular buses to Gurzuf are regularly sent from the lower platform of the Yalta bus station. And no driver will miss the stop "Turn to Massandra Palace".

From the central market in the direction of Massandra, a fixed-route taxi №29 rides. Having reached the "Chernomorets" stop, you can reach the palace in a few minutes. Walking in the shade of secular avenues will give tourists a lot of positive emotions. A visit to the Massandra Palace will give an idea of the way of life of the imperial family and will at least briefly feel like a Russian aristocrat.