Palace of Princess Gagarina in Crimea - man-made monument of eternal love

The beauty of the Crimean nature and the variety of landscapes are sung not by one generation of poets. It was here at all times that everyone who could afford it could prefer to build up their summer residences. Thanks to such a high resort popularity, today the Crimea boasts an abundance of historical monuments of architecture. Among them is the palace of Princess Gagarina, built in Alushta in 1907.

Beautiful love story with a sad ending

In her youth Princess Tako Orbeliani was distinguished for her incredible beauty combined with modesty. A representative of a noble Georgian family married a prince Alexander Gagarin, who served as adjutant to the governor of Kutaisi. Between the spouses there was a significant age difference (over 20 years), but none of the close family could doubt the sincerity of their feelings. After marriage, Tako took her husband's surname, and changed her name. She is best known as Princess Anastasia Gagarin. Prince Gagarin promised his young beautiful wife that very soon they would move to his estate in the Crimea - Kuchuk Lambat, and build a new magnificent palace there. These dreams were not meant to come true. Prince Alexander was killed three years after the wedding. The first months his young widow was so broken by this sudden grief that she practically did not leave her room. Then the close princesses began to console her, reminding that a woman with such incredible beauty and wealth could easily find herself a new husband without problems. Probably, these beliefs were not too much for Anastasia Davidovna. Very soon she left for Kuchuk-Lambat, where she later built her castle, which today we call "the palace of Princess Gagarina."

Construction of the palace

In Crimea, Princess Gagarina lived most of her life. The woman led a closed way of life, did not go out into the world, but at the same time she was engaged in charity and helped the needy. Anastasia Davidovna never married again and lived all alone. In 1902, noting her own seventieth birthday, the princess decided to realize the dream of her entire youth. Nikolay Krasnov, a well-known architect from Yalta, was invited to build the castle-palace. It was chosen a picturesque place at Cape Plaka and developed a unique project. In 1907 the palace of Princess Gagarina was completed. But Anastasia Davidovna never lived in the castle of her dreams. Princess died almost immediately after the completion of the palace, and he, along with other property inherited the niece of Princess Gagarin.

Architectural styles and features of the building

The palace of Princess Gagarina (Alushta) is a unique attraction for the Crimea. Even professional architects can not always uniquely determine the style of this building. The building consists of several parts, its maximum height is three floors. The castle palace has elements of Romanesque style, Empire style, Gothic style. Above the central entrance you can see the coat of arms of the Gagarins with an inscription in Latin: "In ancient times, force!". Narrow windows of the palace resemble loopholes, and in the decoration of the facades there is an imitation of the fortress wall. At the same time, the building does not look gloomy, bright shades and rich decoration make it look like a fairytale castle. The palace of Princess Gagarina is decorated with a special glamor: German shingles, Italian marble, Venetian mirrors. No less rich were the interior interiors, preserved to this day in part.

The modern history of the palace of Princess Gagarina

After the death of Anastasia Gagarina, the fairytale castle was inherited by her niece Elena Tarhan-Mouravi. In 1917 the palace was nationalized together with the surrounding gorgeous garden and a number of other buildings transferred to the property of the sanatorium. An interesting fact - the heiress of Princess Gagarina was allowed to live her life in a luxurious castle, having allocated two rooms for personal use. The health resort exists in our days - its name is "Cliff". The palace of Princess Gagarina is occupied today by the administration of the sanatorium. Inside, historical interiors are partially preserved, there is a small collection of personal belongings of a noble family.

How to get to the sights?

The castle of Princess Gagarina evokes great interest among tourists and all without exception lovers of ancient architecture. Its exact address is: Crimea, Utes settlement, st. Princess Gagarina, 5. Passage to the territory of the sanatorium is free and free. But it's impossible to get inside the palace, there are no organized tours here. However, the facade of the building deserves attention. It is possible to admire the palace for a very long time to the palace of Princess Gagarina. How to get to this landmark by public transport? It is necessary to reach the village of Pushkino, located between Yalta and Alushta. Further it is necessary to pass about 40 minutes on foot, moving towards sanatorium "Karasan", not reaching it, you will get to the sanatorium "Utes". On public transport, take the M18 (E105) motorway, and turn off at the sanatorium "Karasan" near the village of Pushkino.