Location: 6 mi Southwest of Yalta Map
Constructed: 1911- 1912
The Swallow's Nest (Ukrainian: Lastivchyne Nest, Crimean Tatar:
Qarılğaç yuvası, Karylgach Yuvasy) is a Gothic castle located on
a sheer 40-meter cliff of Cape Ai-Todor in the village of
Gaspra, Yalta urban district of Crimea. It took its present
shape in 1912. It was rebuilt for a rich noble dynasty. After
the revolution of 1917, in different years it housed warehouses,
restaurants, reading rooms. Today it is an architectural and
exhibition complex, which includes several tiers of viewing
platforms, a permanent exhibition about the history of the
castle and exhibition areas. Every year it becomes the most
visited attraction of the Crimea and an invariable venue for
cultural, leisure and patriotic events.
"Swallow's Nest"
became the emblem of the southern coast of Crimea.
Cape Ai-Todor ends one of the spurs of Mount Mogabi; it consists of
three rocky ledges. On the western part of the cape, the remains of a
Roman fortress have been preserved. The central spur is called
Monastery-Burun, on it was located the medieval monastery Ai-Todor,
which gave the name to the cape. The toponymic meaning of the Greek
preposition ai, combined with its own personal Christian name, means the
temple of St. Theodore Stratilates.
M. Sosnogorova’s Guide to the
Crimea, published in Odessa in 1880, noted that on the top of Cape
Ai-Todor “there are ruins of a small building that clearly belong to the
Greek church, where there are still places for the altar and the throne,
and many figured bricks with stamps.
In 1835, a lighthouse was
erected on Cape Ai-Todor, partly on the site of a Greek building. The
construction was initiated by the commander of the Black Sea Fleet,
Admiral MP Lazarev.
From 1827 to 1865, the first owner of the land at Cape Ai-Todor was
Baroness Sophia-Julia (Anna) Alekseevna de Berkheim (1782-1865). Her
mother was Baroness Barbara von Krüdener, a well-known preacher of
mystical Christianity who influenced Emperor Alexander. Baroness
Berkheim arrived in the Crimea in 1824 with her mother and her close
friends: Princess Anna Golitsyna, owner of a vast estate in Koreiz, and
Countess de la Motte.
The reason for the departure of this union
of like-minded women from the capital was that the Countess de la Motte,
who lived in Russia under the name Countess de Gachet, was exiled by the
emperor in 1824 to the Crimea, where she lived until her death in 1826.
Since 1824, Baroness Berkheim and Princess Golitsyna lived together,
in St. Petersburg and then in the Crimea, as they had a plan to create a
"pietist colony" on the Crimean land on their estates. Pietism at this
time was widespread in court circles. To this end, Baroness Berkheim
acquired six plots of land in Gaspra on Cape Ai-Todor, and vineyards
were planted on them. A. S. Golitsyna died in 1838, leaving a will for
all her property to Baroness Berkheim, who continued to live on the
estate until the end of her life in the circle of other followers of V.
Yu. Krudener. The idea of creating a Pietist colony remained
unfulfilled.
After the death of Baroness Anna Alekseevna de
Berkheim, which occurred on May 14, 1865, the court, according to the
will of A. Golitsyna, decided to transfer the estate to Maria Ivanovna,
Nikolai Ivanovich and Alexander Ivanovich Goncharov. Due to the long
non-payment of taxes and other expenses, the Goncharovs began to sell
the estate.
In May 1888, a doctor, doctor of medicine, Adalbert Karlovich Tobin,
a participant in the Crimean War, the Battle of Balaklava, bought these
plots from A.I. Goncharov. By this time, A. K. Tobin had built a house
in Yalta already in 1873, the doctor had a medical practice in the city,
from 1876 to 1882 he also served as a doctor in the hospital at the
imperial residence "Livadia". In 1889, Adalbert Tobin built “on the
Aurora Rock on the western side a house with a white balustrade on the
roof called “White Swallow”, in Anna Moskvich’s “Practical Guide to the
Crimea” of 1889 called the swallow’s nest - “... on a completely sheer
almost cliff and from from the balcony you see the sea below ... ", and
between the lighthouse and the middle cliff were "scattered cottages of
the same landowner." The cottages were built in an open field where
there was no shade, no greenery, no fresh water, but people willingly
rented them, "thirsty to restore their health at a cheap price and
breathe fresh air."
Tobin's wife, Elizaveta Alexandrovna, nee von
Steingel, who also acquired plots, built a stone house on the Aurora
rock at a height of 38 meters, called the Villa Generalife. A guide to
the Crimea, published in 1894, already tells that "on the last cliff, at
the edge of the cliff, there is the original house of the city of Tobin,
in the form of a castle with a tower." The building can be seen on the
canvases of famous marine painters: L.F. Lagorio, A.P. Bogolyubov, as
well as in photographs of that time. This building was photographed in
1904 by S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky, who was then working in the Crimea from
April to September.
The family developed the idea to create a new
resort on Cape Ai-Todor, and had two houses: one of them belonged to the
husband, and the other to the wife. But in 1891, after the death of her
husband, Elizaveta Alexandrovna began to sell the land on Cape Ai-Todor.
On October 18, 1902, a plot with a stone house, plastered and painted
red, was sold to the owner's younger sister, Baroness Sofya Alexandrovna
von Steingel. In 1908, it is described as follows: “There are the
following dachas on Ai-Todor: Generalife, the castle of love, better
known as the Swallow's Nest. Rooms are not rented here. After 1911, the
von Steingel sisters remained to live in the Crimea, soon their brother,
Emmanuil Aleksandrovich von Steingel (1838-1915), joined them. They
maintained relations with their cousin L. V. von Steingel and his sons,
Pavel and Boris.
Most of the land was bought by Pavel
Grigoryevich Shelaputin, a real state councilor, a hereditary nobleman
and a famous philanthropist, at whose expense the Hellenistic hall of
the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka was created. A small resort
“Zhemchuzhina” was built on the cape, it is described in a guide to the
Crimea in 1908: “On the eastern side of the lighthouse is the estate of
P. G. Shelaputin“ Zhemchuzhina ”, occupying over 13 dess. and having 8
dachas of various sizes, in 11, 4. 3 and 1 rooms, which are rented out
on a monthly basis. … Rooms are rented with servants and samovars,
drinking water is imported. Among the dachas, one is located above the
cliff between the Generalife and the lighthouse, and is also known as
the Swallow's Nest.
In 1911, the Moscow millionaire Sergey Karpovich Rakhmanov, the elder
brother of the philosopher and publisher Georgy Karpovich Rakhmanov,
bought the plots and the house. The brothers Sergei, Ivan and Georgy
Rakhmanov belonged to one of the richest families in Moscow. They
entered the architectural history of Moscow with the construction of
well-known tenement houses, which became characteristic Empire signs of
the capital. The Rakhmanovs are also known for their unique collection
of iconography, on which Pavel Muratov, invited by them, worked.
It was during the reign of Sergei Karpovich Rakhmanov that the Swallow's
Nest estate received its present form - a romantic castle, reminiscent
of medieval buildings on the banks of the Rhine. The project of a new
house in 1911 was ordered by an experienced engineer Nikolai Sergeevich
Sherwood, son of architect S. V. Sherwood, grandson of architect
Vladimir Sherwood. In 1913, an original Gothic castle was built on a
cramped area of the Monastyr-Burun spur. The stepped composition
conceived by the architect proceeded from the small size of the site.
The building, 12 meters high, was located on a foundation 10 meters wide
and 20 meters long. The "bird" volumes corresponded to the internal
arrangement: an office, a living room, and two bedrooms were
successively located in a two-story tower that rose above the rock.
There was a garden next to the building. The house continued to be
called "Swallow's Nest", also "Rakhmanov's Swallow's Nest", sometimes
the estate is called "New Swallow's Nest" on postcards of that time. The
newspaper “Krymsky Kurortny Listok” dated August 4, 1913 reported on the
completion of the work: “The Swallow’s Nest, which passed into the
possession of the Moscow millionaires Rakhmanovs, was decorated with a
new beautiful castle in the medieval style, built by the Alupka
architect N. S. Sherwood.” The plot was registered to Agniya Pavlovna
Rakhmanova (nee Sveshnikova. In 1914, after the death of S. K.
Rakhmanov, the ownership of the villa also passed to his daughter, Maria
Sergeevna Kuleva.
After 1917, the daughter of S. K. Rakhmanov,
Maria Sergeevna Kuleva, lived in the villa with her husband, a young
scientist Vladimir Artyomovich Kyulev, the brother of the artist Ivan
Kyulev, who also emigrated. In June 1918, they received artists S. Yu.
Sudeikin and his wife Vera Sudeikina at the Swallow's Nest. Vladimir
Artyomovich and Maria Sergeevna Kyulev emigrated from Yalta to France in
November 1920, shortly before the final establishment of Soviet power.
A description of the house, made in 1920, has been preserved: “A
stone building with a flat roof, one-story, with a round tower rising
above the cliff itself, in the east-south corner of this castle house ..
There are only four rooms in the house and the front tower in the tower.
Opposite, a stone kitchen without windows, with a glass roof clung to
the rock... Several old junipers growing wild on the western border of
the estate make up the entire vegetation of this rock... The water
supply was carried out from the Mikhailovsky spring, located nine versts
above Alupka from the estate... Heating in the house - fireplace, in the
kitchen with an iron stove. Lighting with kerosene lamps ... ".
During the Civil War, the Swallow's Nest was abandoned. At the end of
1920, after the establishment of Soviet power on the peninsula, all
former private estates were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Main
Directorate of State Farms of Crimea. During the NEP, a restaurant was
opened in the castle.
In 1927, a strong earthquake occurred in
the Crimea. A deep oblique crack formed in the rock under the castle,
part of it, along with the garden, collapsed into the sea, and the
observation platform hung over the abyss, but the building itself was
practically not damaged.
In the 1930s, there was a reading room
of the local Zhemchuzhina Rest House, but soon the building was
recognized as emergency and closed. Restoration began in the late 1960s.
The rock was strengthened, a reinforced concrete slab was laid under the
base of the castle, and the castle itself was restored. The building
becomes a recognizable symbol of Crimea.
After reconstruction, in
2002, the Swallow's Nest was reopened to the public. Initially, it
housed an Italian restaurant, and near the walls of the palace there was
a large market of Crimean souvenirs.
In July 2011, the monument
of architecture and history of national importance was transferred to
municipal ownership, becoming the Crimean Republican institution
"Palace-Castle" Swallow's Nest "". At the same time, the exhibition "The
Magical World of Arkhip Kuindzhi" was opened here, at which the painting
"Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" was exhibited. Art, archaeological and
local history exhibitions change every 1.5-2 months.
In 2013,
cracks were discovered in the foundation slab, and in the autumn the
visit to the castle was suspended for design work to reconstruct and
strengthen the rock.
Currently, the palace is in disrepair and is
awaiting restoration. The balcony hanging over the sea “is an absolute
emergency hazard,” said the Minister of Culture of the Republic of
Crimea, Arina Novoselskaya. The palace will be completely closed to the
public when renovation work begins.
It will be difficult to
strengthen the rock under the building, since the more reinforcing
material is driven there, the heavier it becomes, swelling and
splitting.
On October 17, 2015, the Government of the Russian
Federation adopted a resolution on classifying the Swallow's Nest as a
cultural heritage site of federal significance.
In September 1927, the "Swallow's Nest" was damaged during a strong
earthquake measuring 6-7 points on the Mercalli scale, which occurred in
the Crimea. A deep oblique crack ran from the upper platform to the
middle, so that the castle could collapse at any moment. Part of the
supporting rock, along with the garden, collapsed into the sea, and the
observation platform loomed menacingly over the abyss. The building
itself was hardly damaged, except for the plucked spiers and the torn
off part of the rock under the lower balcony. However, the building was
closed to the public. There were even proposals to dismantle it and
build it in a new, safe place.
Only in 1967-1968, forty years
after the earthquake, the workers of Yaltaspetsstroy carried out repairs
without dismantling the walls. The restoration was led by architect I.
G. Tatiev, KrymNIIProekt, who completed many buildings in Yalta together
with engineer V. N. Timofeev. Restoration work, which began in 1968, was
aimed at strengthening the foundation, partial modification of the
facade and interior. The author of the restoration project, the Yalta
designer V. N. Timofeev, planted the outer block of the building on a
cantilever reinforced concrete slab, wound under the central volume.
Thus, the extreme part of the house, which remained hanging over the
collapsed rock, was securely fixed. In addition to a monolithic slab,
the entire structure was surrounded by anti-seismic belts. The tower,
increased in height, acquired more decorative effect thanks to four
spiers.
The next stage of the reconstruction of the Swallow's
Nest, which started in the early summer of 2017, was completed in
November 2020. During this time, the basement part of the entrance
group, the walls of the first floor, the upper belts of the tower,
doorways, window lintels and the chimney were restored. Updated unique
historical decor elements on facades and weather vanes. The terrace
fences have been restored and artistic illumination of the palace and
the rocks below it has been installed.
Ten Little Indians
Pan Klyaksa Academy
Forgotten melody for
flute
Journey of Pan Klyaksa
The Blue Bird / The Blue Bird
Mio,
my Mio
First strike (in one of the episodes, Jackie Chan starred in
front of the "Swallow's Nest")
Winter Tango mini-series
Looking
for a wife with a child, mini-series
Hamlet. XXI Century
Swallow's
Nest (TV series). Russia, 2012
On May 28, 2008, the National Bank of Ukraine put into circulation
gold and silver coins "Swallow's Nest" with a face value of 50 and 10
hryvnias, respectively. The coins were released in the series
"Remembrances of the Architecture of Ukraine". The gold coin is minted
from gold of the 900th test and has a weight of 15.55 g. Mintage - 4000
pieces. Silver is minted from 925 silver and has a weight of 31.1 g.
Circulation - 5000 pieces.
In August 2012, the Mint of Poland,
commissioned by the Cook Islands, issued a Swallow's Nest silver coin in
the shape of the Crimean Peninsula.
The obverse of the coin is
engraved with the profile of Elizabeth II, the name of the issuer (Niue
Island), the denomination ($1) and the year of issue (2012), as well as
a relief image of the Bear Mountain (Ayu-Dag), a natural attraction on
the Southern Coast of Crimea. The reverse depicts the symbol of modern
Crimea - the "Gothic" castle "Swallow's Nest", which soars above the
waves of the Black Sea, made in turquoise-blue color. On the right is
the name of the castle.
The coin is minted from 925 sterling
silver, weighs 14.14 g, and measures 32.88 x 49.90 x 9.15 mm.
Circulation - 3500 pcs.
In 2014, the Central Bank of Russia
issued a commemorative 10-ruble coin dedicated to the entry of Crimea
into the Russian Federation, on the reverse side of which there is a
relief image of the Swallow's Nest in the center against the background
of the outline of the Crimean Peninsula. The circulation of the coin was
10 million pieces.
The image of the castle adorns the
commemorative banknote of 100 rubles dedicated to the annexation of the
peninsula to Russia, issued in December 2015.
In 2014 Marka ITC
issued a postage stamp of Russia depicting the Swallow's Nest castle
with a face value of 15 rubles.
Since 2015, the object has been organizationally managed by the State
Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Crimea "Palace-Castle
"Swallow's Nest". The director of the museum is Shchur Yuri
Anatolyevich.
The "Swallow's Nest" can be viewed not only from
the outside, but also inside the building, where the museum exposition
is located. It is open from 10:00 to 19:00 in the summer, from 10:00 to
16:00 in the off-season. Guided tours are available on public holidays
and weekends and must be booked in advance. You can get to the castle by
public transport (buses No. 132 and 102) from Yalta.