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Alupka Palace (Vorontsov Palace) Yalta, Ukraine

The Alupka Palace is better known as the Vorontsov Palace to the locals.  It was built for Count Michael Vorontsov and it took 23 years to build.  The Palace is very interesting from an architectural design perspective.

Interesting facts about the Palace include:

Northern Gothic facade

Northern Gothic facade

– The eminent architect who designed the Palace was Edward Blore, the same architect who designed parts of Buckingham Palace, St. James Palace and many other important buildings in England and Scotland.  Edward Blore designed the Alupka Palace without ever visiting the site.

– The Palace is a very unusual blend of distinctly different architectural styles. Its northern facade is a very grand late English Gothic style.  This is contrasted by Moroccan architecture on the south side which faces the Black Sea.  To the west, the Palace looks like a European medieval castle.
Moroccan architecture

Moroccan architecture

– Lining the steps on the south side are the six famous white lions by Italian sculptor Bonani, who also did some marble sculptures in the Old Capitol building in Washington, DC.  One of these lions is named the Churchill Lion.  Winston Churchill was reputed to have said that that particular lion looked like him.

– Winston Churchill and the British delegation stayed at the Alupka Palace during the Yalta Conference.  He gave a farewell dinner here.
 
The interior of the building is magnificent and holds a great collection of paintings, ornaments and fine furniture.  Surrounding the Palace is a large parkland with fine views of the mountains and the sea.  This Palace is a pleasure to visit and more about it in another blog…
 
Helen

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