Photo: castles, fortresses and palaces, Livadia palace, Yalta

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Livadia palace: summer residence of the last Russian emperor

Castles, Fortresses and Palaces

Luxurious Livadia palace three kilometers far from Yalta in the village of Livadia was built on the initiative of the wife of Emperor Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna. This was done primarily because she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and the doctors recommended the Empress to breathe the curative Crimean air as much as possible. In 1860 the royal family purchased the estate from the Potocki family with a vineyard and a wine cellar. Since 1861 the estate was the summer residence of the imperial family. Here the Great and Small Livadia palaces were built. This is one of the most visited Crimean places.

In 1891 Nicholas II inherited the estate in Livadia and began rebuilding it. The Great Palace was dismantled in 1910. And in 1911 a new White Palace appeared here. Nicholas II liked going to Livadia, since his youth was associated with this place, and he continued coming here with his family. The solemn architecture of the summer palace in Livadia in the style of the Italian Renaissance emphasizes the refinement of the building at the same time demonstrating that it is still a country house. Today one can find out some details about the life of the Romanovs in Livadia on the second floor of the palace, where the relevant exposition is located.

As for the fate of the Livadia Palace in the Soviet era, after the revolution the first peasant sanatorium was opened here, and according to the charter of the medical institution, only the peasants that go on working in agriculture, could rest in it and they should be dressed in sanatorium pajamas. During the Second World War the Small Palace was destroyed, and the current Livadia Palace was occupied by German troops. In 1944 when retreating they tried to destroy it but failed. And the famous Yalta Conference - the meeting of the leaders of the three countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, the so-called "big three": Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill was held in the palace on February 4, 1945. Documentary evidence of that meeting is now on the first floor of the palace.

The Livadia Palace is surrounded by a picturesque park. The pedestrian route "Sun path" leading to Gaspra starts from here. This is almost seven kilometers of а well-groomed path along the shady alleys of the Crimean coast. There is a museum inside the palace and there is a permanent exposition "The Romanovs in the Crimea".

Livadia palace: summer residence of the last Russian emperor

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