Schinkel, Karl Friedrich. Project for the Imperial Palace of Oreanda in Crimea
Oreanda is an urban-type settlement on the Southern Coast of Crimea, located five kilometers from Yalta on the Black Sea coast. The Oreanda resort in Crimea is part of the Big Yalta conglomerate. The first mention of Oreanda dates back to 1360. The name Oreanda in Greek means "rocky". Upper Oreanda rises above the Sevastopol highway T 2709 (upper highway). The main part of the Oreanda resort is located on the very coast of the Black Sea and is called Lower Oreanda. From Livadia to the resort of Oreanda, you can also get on the Yalta-Alupka highway (lower highway).
The sheer walls of the Mast and Cross cliffs give the resort of Oreanda a bit of a harsh quality. The heap of rocks in combination with the dense greenery of the Lower Oreanda park, which is a monument of landscape art and occupies 42 hectares, attracts an increasing number of tourists to Oreanda for a romantic getaway on the Southern Coast of Crimea.
The unique natural landscape and man-made beauty in the form of the buildings of the Nizhnyaya Oreanda sanatorium and the Wisteria boarding house, located on the site of the construction of the USSR state dachas from 1956 to 1989, fascinates all guests of the Oreanda resort. The air in Oreanda is filled with the aroma of juniper, sage and pine needles. Oreanda is the most picturesque place of Big Yalta between Gaspra (Cape Ai-Todor) and Livadia, which has preserved a rare silence on Black Sea coast. From Livadia Park through Oreanda to Gaspra you can even get on foot along a relatively flat above sea level. solar path”, which is used for therapeutic walking. In 1861, the Sunny Trail connected two owned imperial family The Romanovs' residence, therefore, received another name "Royal". The "Sunny Path" passes by the snow-white columns of the rotunda arbor (1843), from where the panorama of the Oreanda resort opens from the amphitheater Crimean mountains and the endless turquoise distance of the Black Sea. The royal rotunda in Oreanda is a stone arc of eight Doric eight-meter columns. In Oreanda there is another trail - Kurchatovskaya, which starts at the rotunda and goes up the slope of Ai-Nikola. Split into two gray blocks, the Mastovaya rock near the sea coast is unique in its grotto, where archaeologists discovered the site of primitive people.
The history of the Oreanda estate.
The history of Oreanda is closely connected with the imperial past of Russia and the Romanov dynasty. At the beginning of the 19th century, the lands of Oreanda were acquired for Emperor Alexander I (1825). Tsar Nicholas I presented the Oreanda estate to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. A luxurious park in Oreanda began to take shape as early as the 30s of the 19th century under the leadership of V. Ross in the style of an English garden.
Among the landscape of Oreanda, a sheer natural landmark stands out - the stone bulk of Uryanda. In 1837, during the first visit to her Oreanda estate, the Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova ordered a wooden cross to be erected on the 176-meter-high cliff top, later replaced with a cast-iron one. Since then, this rock has been called the Cross. The royal couple in 1843 ordered to build their palace in Oreanda. It was Oreanda that became the owner of the first royal palace in south coast Crimea, which was built by 1852 in the style of Roman villas. The Oreanda estate was inherited by the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, who owned it for over 30 years. During a fire on August 8, 1881, the palace burned down. After the fire, the prince moved to the Admiral's house. During his stay in Oreanda, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich instructed the architect A.A. Avdeev to develop a project for a Georgian-Byzantine church. Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God was built by 1886 and today is the decoration of the Oreanda resort. In 2002 a new belfry was installed. Only at the end of 1948, on the ruins of the burned-out palace of the family of Nicholas I in the park area, the construction of the main building began. sanatorium "Lower Oreanda" designed by architect M.Ya. Ginzburg. From the imperial estate of Oreanda of 50 buildings, nothing remained except the Admiral's house, the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and the rotunda of white columns on the Sunny Path. The Church of the Intercession near the Admiral's House is unique in its open outer gallery with thin columns and interior frescoes of the cathedral.
Sanatoriums in Oreanda.
The Oreanda resort in the Crimea has two of the best accommodation facilities for vacationers: the Nizhnyaya Oreanda sanatorium and the Wisteria boarding house near coastline. The boarding house "Veteran" has been operating in Oreanda since 1950. Sanatorium "Lower Oreanda" is a year-round health resort of a general therapeutic profile. Three buildings of the hospital stand out as white islands at the foot of the Ai-Nikola hills and the Belogolovaya rock. The Lower Oreanda Park is home to over 100 species of plants, Libyan cedar, a bamboo grove and a 300 year old plane tree in the central part of the garden. The park of the sanatorium is decorated with a spring and a pump room with mineral water.
Sanatorium "Lower Oreanda" is an architectural decoration of the modern resort of Oreanda. On the lower road you can get to the equipped "Golden Beach" - the best 400-meter natural beach of small pebbles polished by the sea near the resort of Oreanda.
The attraction of Oreanda is " Temple on the road". The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Upper Oreanda (Temple near the road) was built in 2006 near the Yalta-Sevastopol highway at the foot of Mount Ai-Nikola, designed by the Yalta architect V. Bondarenko. The singing of the church male choir is impressive due to the natural acoustics. The overflows of the temple belfry in the echoes of the mountains and the road itself lead travelers to the walls of a beautiful church in Upper Oreanda. The Church of the Holy Archangel Michael on the steep slopes of Mount Ai-Nikola is a five-domed structure with gilded semicircular domes. Complementing the landscape near the temple was a round snow-white gazebo, decorated with a gilded dome with a statue of the Archangel Michael.
In the vicinity of Oreanda, the Soviet adventure films Treasure Island, Doctor Aibolit (1938), Sea Hunter, Captain Grant's Children were filmed. There are 20 hectares of vineyards in Oreanda. The wine shop of the Massandra association produces sherry wine "Oreanda" in the village.
Rest in the Oreanda resort in Crimea will give you the purity of the Black Sea, the freshness of the sea breeze, a charge of vivacity and health, the silence of the park, and will also be remembered for a long time by the impressions of the unique charm mountain scenery and unique architectural monuments.
134 years ago, on August 8, 1881, due to an absurd accident in Oreanda, the palace burned down, which was the first royal residence built on the southern coast of Crimea. However, without a trace grand building has not disappeared - the temple created from its remains still stands today.The first royal on the South Coast
In 1825 Alexander I visited Oreanda. He liked this place so much for its pristine beauty and desertedness that the emperor decided to come here on vacation and build a palace here for his wife Elizabeth Alekseevna. But, having caught a cold, Alexander I died unexpectedly, and in May 1826 Oreanda became the imperial estate of Nicholas I. The royal family first visited it in September 1837. By that time there was already a park called the "Imperial Garden", greenhouses and a vineyard with a wine cellar. During this trip, the tsar presented Oreanda to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. The royal family stayed with Count Vorontsov in Alupka, but the Empress often traveled to Oreanda, planning the construction of a palace. As a result, it was decided to build the palace in the style of Roman villas, and in 1842 construction began. The first building in the palace complex was a white-stone semi-rotunda, which crowned one of the cliffs of Oreanda. Eight seven-meter columns carved from the best quality Kerch stone adorned the rotunda. Visible from afar, it immediately became the main sign of the royal estate. For the construction of the palace itself, mainly local building materials were used: Inkerman and Kerch stone, Miskhor and Oreand marble, some columns and fireplaces (there were more than 20 of them, by the way, in the huge palace) were carved from Crimean red marble, the so-called Crimean porphyry. The main staircases and fireplaces in the rooms for the Empress were made of white Carrara marble. From the road above the estate, this is the first on the South Shore royal palace seemed like a magical castle - that's how contemporaries perceived it.In 1852, Nicholas I came to Lower Oreanda to receive the palace. This was his last visit here, in 1855 he died. Alexandra Feodorovna died in 1860, bequeathing the estate to her second son, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, who owned it for over 30 years. He often came to Oreanda, called her earthly paradise, and after his retirement in 1881 he lived here almost permanently. On the night of August 7-8, 1881, a fire destroyed beautiful palace. According to one version, the fire broke out "due to the careless handling of cigarettes by children of courtyard employees." That day there was a hurricane wind, and the flames quickly engulfed the entire building - only the stone frame survived. The restoration of the palace required a large amount, which the Grand Duke did not have: “I received a beautiful palace from Mother, it no longer exists, I will never be able to restore it. Let the temple of God be built from the remnants of it.”
noble simplicity
From the stones left after the fire, the Grand Duke decided to build a temple of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in Oreanda. The prince was well versed in architecture and decided to build a temple in the Georgian-Byzantine style, which, in his opinion, was most suitable for the harsh, rocky terrain of Oreanda. Initially, the temple was supposed to be erected on a picturesque rock - it would tower over the entire Oreanda and be visible from all sides. But this thought had to be abandoned: located so high, the temple would have been difficult to access, besides, there were a wine cellar and a distillery nearby, and it was indecent to build a temple next to such establishments. Therefore, the Grand Duke decided to build a temple not far from his Admiral's house. The temple turned out to be small, cruciform, with one dome. It had a wonderful view of the sea.
Mighty centuries-old oaks grew around, on the largest of them they made an original bell tower. On this peculiar belfry, a platform of two boards was arranged, a wooden staircase with a railing led to it. There were five bells, the largest weighed 160 kg, the smallest - 3 kg.
The solemn consecration of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos took place in 1885. The temple was richly decorated. The window frames in the drum and the large crosses that adorned the outer walls were made of white Carrara marble. The carved iconostasis is made of walnut, oak, cypress and juniper. Part of the temple was painted by famous Russian artists, part is decorated with mosaic images created by the famous Italian master Antonio Salviati (some of these mosaics have survived to this day). The main advantage of the church, according to the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, was its "elegant and noble simplicity […] the harmony and nobility of all lines."
Temple foundation. April 1885 Photograph by F.P. Orlova
Construction of the walls of the temple. April 1885 Photograph by F.P. Orlova
The erection of arches and vaults of the temple. June 1885 Photograph by F.P. Orlova
The erection of the cross on the dome of the temple. August 19, 1885 Photograph by F.P. Orlova
Church of the Intercession in Oreanda. 1886
After the revolution, the temple experienced many difficult days, it suffered from
Original taken from deadokey in Oreanda Estate (Lower Oreanda), Crimea, Big Yalta (part 1)
In Oreanda, the first royal palace was built on the southern coast of Crimea. After 30 years, the palace burned down. The owner of Oreanda, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, built the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos from the stones left after the fire. The appearance of the church is inspired by the architecture of Georgian churches of the 11th-13th centuries; it was built in the Georgian-Byzantine style. The dome of the Church of the Intercession is decorated with a very rare in iconography image of the Savior without a beard (in the title photo). Mosaic icons and ornaments are made by the famous Venetian master Antonio Salviati.
A.P. visited the temple in Oreanda. Chekhov. The heroes of his story "The Lady with the Dog" - Gurov and Anna Sergeevna - here were thinking about eternity and life. “In Oreanda, they sat on a bench, not far from the church, looked down at the sea and were silent ...”
Oreanda Estate (Lower Oreanda, Crimea). Part 1. Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God..
Oreanda Estate (Lower Oreanda, Crimea). Part 2. Sanatorium Nizhnyaya Oreanda.
2. The church is not located on the territory of the Nizhnyaya Oreanda sanatorium, so admission is free.
The history of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos began long before its appearance. In 1818 and 1825, the Russian emperor Alexander I visited the southern coast of Crimea. He liked the lands of Oreanda, here he wanted to rest from the difficult burden of power and was going to build a palace for his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna, who was often sick and had to spend the winter in the south. But, having caught a cold, Alexander I died unexpectedly. Oreanda became the estate of the new Emperor Nicholas I, who presented it to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
The royal family first visited Oreanda in September 1837, at the same time it was decided to build a palace in the style of Roman villas here. Perhaps the only thing missing here was a temple, so we went to worship along the Tsar’s Path to the Livadia Holy Cross Church.
3. On October 13, 1894, Holy Righteous John of Krondstadt served Liturgy in the Oreanda Church, and on October 17, having served Matins and Liturgy, he, in full vestments and with the Holy Gifts, went to the Livadia Palace, where the sick Alexander III was.
4. In the background is the belfry of the temple.
After the death of Emperor Nicholas I, the estate was inherited by his second son, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich (1827-1892), who owned it for over 30 years. The Grand Duke was very fond of these places. “Paradise on earth, whose name is Oreanda,” he said. But participation in state affairs - the Grand Duke managed the Russian maritime department, helped to implement liberal reforms - did not allow him to often visit the Crimean estate. His wife and children enjoyed spending the summer months here. The tragic death of Emperor Alexander II in 1881 was also reflected in the career of Konstantin Nikolaevich: faithfully serving two emperors - his father and brother - the Grand Duke was out of work under the new monarch. It would seem that this is a great opportunity to fulfill a long-standing desire: to settle in Oreanda.
But in 1882, the palace burned down, as it was established, “due to the careless handling of cigarettes by children of courtyard employees.” The restoration of the palace required a large amount of money, which the Grand Duke did not have. The Grand Duke moved to a modest imperial house, which from that time began to be called the admiral's. Sadness emanates from his lines: “I received a beautiful palace from Mother, it no longer exists, I will never be able to restore it. Let the temple of God be built from the remnants of it.”
The Grand Duke himself chose a place for the future temple. During the ceremonial laying of the church, a plaque with the text was placed at the base of its foundation: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: with the diligence and zeal of the owner of Orianda, His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, this temple is being built in memory of the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. April, 31 days 1884 in the summer of III AD. Amen".
The Grand Duke also chose the name for the future temple himself. At first, he wished to consecrate the temple in honor of the Holy Trinity, but since he rarely visited the Crimea at the beginning of summer, when the day of Holy Pentecost is celebrated, he decided to dedicate it to his favorite autumn holiday - the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. This feast was established in memory of St. Andrew's vision of the Mother of God in the Blachernae Church in Constantinople.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was a comprehensively educated person, a connoisseur of fine arts, literature, and music. The prince was also well versed in architecture. He planned to build a temple in the Georgian-Byzantine style, which, in his opinion, was most suitable for the harsh, rocky terrain of Oreanda. He invited the best specialists to build the temple. The project was developed by the famous architect A.A. Avdeev (1819-1885).
5. At the time of construction, the dome was crowned with a four-pointed Byzantine bronze-gilded openwork cross.
6. View of Yalta.
7. Livadia Palace.
8. Yalta.
Initially, the temple was supposed to be erected on the very rock on which the architect K.F. Schinkel intended to build a palace for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1840, and later there was a house of the manager of the Oreanda estate. The rock was unspeakably picturesque and high, and the temple would have dominated the whole of Oreanda: it would have been visible from all sides. But this idea had to be abandoned. Firstly, nearby were the wine cellar and distillery of Konstantin Nikolaevich, and it was somehow indecent to build a temple next to such establishments; secondly, located so high, the temple would be difficult to access. Therefore, the Grand Duke decided to build a temple not far from his Admiral's house.
It was one of the most beautiful places in an estate with a wonderful view of the sea, Yalta, Ai-Todor. Mighty low-growing century-old oaks grew here, on the largest of them from the southeast side, it was decided to make an original bell tower. To orient the apse of the temple strictly to the east, it was necessary to cut down several trees. But the Grand Duke wished to preserve the mighty giants, so the altar of the temple in Oreanda is slightly turned to the southeast.
For the construction of the church, stones were used from which the palace was built. On May 2, 1885, by order of Konstantin Nikolayevich, the first photograph of the construction progress was taken, then new photographs were taken every month. By June 8, the walls were raised to the height of the cornices and six outer crosses were inserted. By July 14, the arches and vaults of the central part were completed. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was pleased with the progress of the work.
9. Mount Ayu-Dag. It is often called Bear Mountain. In its form, it really resembles a huge bear drinking water from the Black Sea. According to one of the old legends, a huge bear, trying to detain the fugitives who were escaping by boat, decided to drink the sea. I drank for a long time until I was petrified ...
10. A new bell was cast in Donetsk in 2001.
11. For the construction of the church, stones were used from which the palace in Oreanda was built.
The temple turned out to be small, cruciform, with one dome. In the light drum there are narrow arched window openings, in which four round windows were placed. The dome was crowned with a four-pointed Byzantine bronze-gilded openwork cross. The northern, western and southern sides of the temple are framed by an arched gallery. The temple did not have a bell tower, for this they used an oak tree growing nearby. On this peculiar belfry, a platform of two planks was arranged, a wooden staircase with railings led to it, all the wooden parts of the stairs were painted. There were five bells, the largest weighed 160 kilograms, and the smallest - 3 kilograms. The bells were consecrated on September 21, 1885, the day of memory of St. Demetrius of Rostov. The Grand Duke invited a talented bell-ringing monk, whose art he was extremely pleased with: “... He has an ingenuous face that always shines with joy when he fulfills his bell-ringing position... And he rang really aristocratically. The consonance of these bells is extremely harmonious and makes a wonderful, gratifying impression. Our ringer-monk is the personification of good nature. Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II listened with pleasure to the wonderful ringing of bells.
The Church of the Intercession was richly decorated. The window frames in the drum and the large crosses that adorn the outer walls were made in Livorno from white Carrara marble. Yellow-orange window panes filled the temple with soft sunlight. The carved iconostasis was made of walnut, oak, cypress and juniper by master Kubyshko, but over time it was supposed to be replaced with marble. Part of the temple was painted by famous artists: D.I. Grimm, Academician M.V. Vasiliev, Vice-President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, Prince G.G. Gagarin.
12. The interior of the temple.
13. Mosaic image of the Savior and the Apostles in the dome of the temple.
14. The interior of the temple.
The solemn consecration of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos took place in 1885. This church became the favorite brainchild of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, he put a particle of his soul into its creation and was rightfully proud of his creation. “I must confess,” he wrote, “that the church completely delights me with the proportionality of all its forms, its entire ensemble. The style is superbly maintained, and it gives the impression, one might say, archaic - with graceful and noble simplicity ... The main beauty of the church, in my opinion, lies in the real harmony and nobility of all lines. I absolutely admire her, and everyone who has seen her so far shares my opinion ... ".
The great merit of the Grand Duke is that he revived the forgotten art of mosaic in Russia. Mosaic is an image or pattern made of colored stones, pieces of glass alloys (smalt), ceramic tiles. The art of mosaic reached great heights in Byzantium and from there it came to Russia. She decorated the best Kyiv temples, among which the temple of St. Sophia. Then the time came when the mosaic was forgotten, only in the 18th century the great Russian scientist M. Lomonosov revived this art. In his laboratories, he conducted many experiments and learned how to get smalt of different colors and shades. Lomonosov and his students made wonderful mosaic portraits and a large panel "The Battle of Poltava".
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich admired this art, because the mosaic, unlike painting, kept the colors bright and saturated even after hundreds of years. He decided to decorate part of the temple in Oreanda with mosaic images. For this purpose, they turned to the famous Italian master Antonio Salviati (1816-1890). A month after the consecration of the temple in Oreanda, mosaic icons of the Savior and the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos arrived from Venice, made according to the drawings of Prince Gagarin, an expert in Byzantine architecture and church icon painting. The image of the Savior was placed above the porch, and the image of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos adorned mountainous place temple.
15. Mosaic icons of the Nativity of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ.
16. A significant part of the mosaic has been lost.
Unfortunately, most of the mosaics of the Intercession Church in Oreanda have not survived to this day. The image of the Intercession of the Mother of God and nine more icons were almost completely destroyed. The image of the Savior, eight apostles, eight angels, four evangelists located in the dome and sails of the temple, a Byzantine ornament and two panels "Nativity" and "Resurrection of Christ" decorating the western wall miraculously survived.
17. Icons have suffered especially: now it is impossible to identify the faces of Russian saints depicted on the walls of the refectory.
19. Mosaic icon of the Resurrection of Christ.
After the revolution, the temple survived many difficult days and almost perished. On the basis of protocol No. 16 of May 8, 1924, by a decree of the Presidium of the Crimean Central Executive Committee, the house church in Oreanda was liquidated. The temple was transferred to the jurisdiction of OHRIS (committee for museums and the protection of monuments of art, antiquity, folk life and nature), which decided that the church cannot be used as a warehouse, club, housing "as having a rich mosaic work, which is a rarity in the USSR", and it "certainly should be taken over by the OHRIS to be shown to the masses, especially to the students." Tourists came to see the wonderful mosaic frescoes, the entrance cost only 10 kopecks. In 1925 the church was transferred to the Administration of the Livadia Palace. However, the fighters against religion were looking for an opportunity to permanently close the temple.
After the infamous June earthquake of 1927, the crack in the altar part of the temple deepened, and the mosaic partly cracked. This gave the Yalta executive committee a reason to send a telegram to the Crimean Central Executive Committee: "The building fell into disrepair after the earthquake. It is in a dilapidated state. It is subject to urgent demolition." But the Lord did not allow this blasphemy to be committed. The atheists tried to throw off the cross from the dome of the church, but they could not tear it off - it broke at the base. Part of this cross is now kept in the temple as a precious relic.
Until the end of the Great Patriotic War, the temple was closed.
In the 50s, the Soviet health resort Nizhnyaya Oreanda grew up in the former estate, new buildings are being built one after another. Obviously, the small church, according to the architects, did not fit into the modern look of Oreanda. Therefore, in the early 60s, it was decided to demolish it. The temple, once built and decorated with such love, was on the verge of death. Local historians stood up, people who are not indifferent to their land and its history. They achieved that the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was recognized as an architectural monument, which was written in a security letter. For more than thirty years, pesticides were stored here, and a motor depot was located in the churchyard.
The building was badly damaged by landslides and required restoration. It began after the return of the temple Orthodox Church. This happened in 1992 on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. The parishioners put the church in order, and for the feast of the Holy Trinity, for the first time in 70 years, the Divine Liturgy was served there. Archpriest Nikolai Donenko was appointed rector of the temple.
20. Mosaic icon of the Nativity of Christ.
21. A fragment of a mosaic image under the dome.
22. A bell used to hang on this tree.
And in 2001, a belfry was built next to the church. In Donetsk, a beautiful bell weighing 603 kilograms was cast using traditional technology. Specialists had to work hard on its manufacture. To make the voice of the bell sound beautiful, they remembered the old, grandfather methods, for this they used a stove, the fire in which was supported by firewood. On the top of the bell is written: "This bell was brought as a gift by the servants of God Alexander and Anatoly in the summer of 2001 from the Nativity of Christ to the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Oreanda." The bell is decorated with four hallmarks, which depict the Lord Almighty, the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon.
On the day of memory of the Great Martyr Catherine, on December 7, the bell was fixed on the belfry. And on January 4, 2002, Archpriest Father Nikolai Donenko consecrated the bell and belfry. A few days later, a beautiful openwork cross, made by the Kyiv artist Oleg Radzevich, was installed on its roof. The Yalta charitable foundation "Nadezhda" rendered great assistance in this matter.
23. Chekhov's benches.
24. View of Yalta.
Old photos
April 1885 Foundation of the temple. April 1885 Photograph by F.P. Orlov.
April 1885 Construction of the temple walls. Photo by F.P. Orlov.
June 1885 Erection of the arches and vaults of the temple. Photo by F.P. Orlov.
September 1885 External decoration of the dome of the temple. Photo by F.P. Orlov.
1886 Church of the Intercession in Oreanda.
Church plan
Church plan. Lengthwise cut
End of the 19th century The interior of the altar of the temple.<
Orig. rice. (own. "Niva") acad. Benois, grav. M. Rashevsky
End of the 19th century Old belfry with bells.
Beginning of XX century.
Beginning of XX century.
Beginning of XX century.
Beginning of XX century.
Beginning of XX century.
The old house of the priest of the Intercession Church (not preserved).
1990s. Photo by V. Evdokimov.
Continuation of the story about the burnt palace in Oreanda in the second part...
Links:
poluostrov-krym.com
photo.qip.ru
Palace and temple in Lower Oreanda. Filatova G.G. 2nd edition, 2013
Romanovs and Crimea. Kalinin N., Zemlyanichenko M., 2013
Crimea: Orthodox shrines: a guide. - Comp. EAT. Litvinova.- Simferopol: "Rubin", 2003.
Lozben N., Palchikova A. Livadia. Essay guide. - Simferopol: SONAT, 2007.
Palaces. Estates. Estates. Guide. - Simferopol: Business-Inform, 2008.
Tarasenko D.N. Southern coast of Crimea. - Simferopol: Business-Inform, 2008.
In 1837, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna received the Oreanda estate as a gift from her husband Nicholas I and commissioned the design of the palace to the Berlin architect Karl-Friedrich Schinkel. The architectural solution proposed in 1839 by K.F. Shinkel was admired by the royal family, but the project was abandoned due to the high cost.
In 1840, Professor Andrey Ivanovich Shtakenshneider was invited to create a new version of the project. "The project of the palace in Oreanda" became one of the best creations of the architect A.I. Shtakenshneider.
The Petersburg architect, having preserved the general idea, style and layout of the planned ensemble, completely changed its scale. He significantly reduced the size of the future palace and, moving it from the top of the mountain to one of the mountain terraces descending to the sea, softened the "fortified" character of the building. Based on the composition A.I. Stackenschneider took the plan of a Roman house with an atrium surrounded by Doric porticos. It became the center around which the ceremonial interiors were grouped. The external architecture of the palace had a pronounced renaissance character. In 1842, the emperor approved a new project. The construction of the palace lasted 10 years and was fully completed by the autumn of 1852. The craftsmen worked under the guidance of architects L.V. Cambiaggio and K.I. Ashliman. All stone work from the beginning to the completion of construction was in charge of the Englishman William Gunt.
Against the backdrop of harsh rocks and dark vegetation, the royal palace seemed like a “magic castle”, it looked light and airy thanks to the whiteness of the Inkerman stone, open galleries and balconies, and the picturesque completion of the roof.
On the night of August 7-8, 1881, a fire destroyed a beautiful work of architecture of the 19th century, and only after 66 years the ruins of the royal palace were dismantled. After the end of the Great Patriotic War, by order of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks I.V. Stalin, the construction of the sanatorium complex "Lower Oreanda" began.
In 1958, on the site where the royal palace was located, according to the project of the architect M.Ya. Ginzburg, the main building of the sanatorium was built (now the Imperial building). Since the construction of this building was completed after the death of Ginzburg, when the trends of "pomp" and "decoration" in Soviet architecture intensified from year to year, the project underwent changes towards enriching the external appearance and especially the interiors of the building. The building is built in the form of a luxurious two-tier "Roman" palace with wide stairs leading to the second tier.
Simultaneously with the Imperial building, a coastal elevator, piers and fortifications of the beach were built.
After the October Revolution, interest in the "Lower Oreanda" manifested itself in the late 1930s, when, at the direction of I.V. Stalin in the Crimea begins the construction of new resort health resorts.
One of the leading architects for their construction was M.Ya. Ginzburg.
Ginzburg worked a lot in the Crimea. In 1917-1921 he lived on the peninsula and studied the folk architecture of the Crimean Tatars. Having moved to Moscow, in 1925 Ginzburg and the Vesnin brothers organized the Association of Modern Architects, which included leading constructivists.
In the early 1930s M. Ya. Ginzburg headed a group of designers working on a regional planning project for the southern coast of Crimea. Sanatorium "Nizhnyaya Oreanda" is the first sanatorium on the southern coast of Crimea, built after the end of the Great Patriotic War.
Architect Ginzburg began working on the project back in 1940. But the construction of the first stage of the Nizhnyaya Oreanda sanatorium complex was carried out only in 1948, after his death.
Simultaneously with the deluxe building (now the "Kremlin"), an administrative building was built, as well as all the infrastructure necessary for the life of the sanatorium.
The Kremlin building was erected in a modest Palladian style using elements of constructivism. In plan, it was a closed rectangle with arched openings on the facades and an atrium courtyard and was designed for only 40 seats. The building is located on a gently sloping terrain with a drop towards the sea and adjoins a steep slope leading to the shore.
In 1950, also according to the project of M.Ya. Ginzburg, the building of the Medical building of the sanatorium "Lower Oreanda" was built. The best health resort doctors worked in the elite health resort and the latest medical equipment of that time was installed.
By the end of the 50s of the last century, Nizhnyaya Oreanda became a favorite vacation spot for the leaders of the country and the leaders of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, prominent figures of science, culture and art.
Nobel laureates N. Basov and A. Prokhorov, academicians L. Landau and I. Kurchatov, directors N. Sats, I. Pyryev, S. Obraztsov, E. Matveev, actors I. Ilyinsky, R. Plyatt, I. Makarova, singers L. Zykina and M. Bieshu, ballerinas O. Lepeshinskaya, G. Ulanova and M. Plisetskaya, as well as famous politicians, diplomats and many other legendary personalities of the 20th century.
The Church of the Blessed Mother of God in Oreanda was built in 1885 by order of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich Romanov.
The temple is made in the Georgian-Byzantine style according to the project of the academician of architecture A.A. Avdeev. The church was richly decorated with mosaic images and ornaments by the Italian mosaicist Antonio Salviati. Such famous painters and ornamentalists as Prince G.G. also took part in decorating the temple. Gagarin, former Vice-President of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, academicians D.I. Grimm, M.V. Vasiliev.
At the end of the XIX-beginning of the XX centuries. the temple was considered one of the most beautiful on the southern coast of Crimea. The holy righteous John of Kronstadt served in this fertile place. Starting with Alexander III, the entire royal family prayed here when they rested on the South Coast.
In 1924, the temple was closed and transferred to the jurisdiction of OHRIS in order to use it as an excursion object as an architectural monument. In 1928, the temple was supposed to be demolished, but the defenders of cultural monuments stood up and the temple survived. In the post-war period, the church was used for mechanical workshops, construction and vegetable warehouses.
In 1992, the temple was returned to the Church. And now we can again see the rare image of the Savior in adolescence, the twelve apostles, the full image of the icon of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and partially preserved faces of the saints.
The park in Oreanda began to take shape in the 30s of the 19th century under the guidance of the English gardener W. Ross. It crashed in landscape style. Its layout and new plantings were made in such a way as to preserve the originality of Oreanda, without violating its "wild", primordial beauty.
The main planning of the park was carried out during the construction of the palace. In April 1849, the architect Stackenschneider drew up a master plan for the reorganization of the entire garden and a detailed design for part of the garden around the palace. As Stackenschneider writes, “the palace was built on a place where a garden should be planted around it,” and therefore he suggests “planning and finishing the area in front of the palace up to 625 square meters. soot”, to plant 1,000 different trees and up to 5,000 shrubs of different varieties.
New plantings represented the subtropics of various regions of the globe. However, making numerous plantings, gardeners organically included specimens of the local Crimean flora in them. Until now, in the center of the park, opposite the main building, there is a huge oriental plane tree. Oriental plane tree (also plane tree, plane tree) is a woody plant, a species of the genus Platan (Platanus), family Platanaceae (Platanaceae). In nature, the oriental plane tree reaches colossal proportions and exceptional longevity.
The magnificent Lower Oreanda plane tree is the largest and one of the oldest plane trees on the South Shore. Its age is more than 200 years, the height is 30 m and the circumference of the trunk is 6.5 m.
This plane tree was carefully guarded throughout the 19th century; no plantings were made around it. As a result, with its mighty branches widely scattered to the sides and descending to the ground, the plane tree formed a kind of tent.
Under this tree, the last ruler of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II, liked to relax and hold military reviews in October 1910 and May 1912. Nekrasov, Bunin, Chekhov, Aivazovsky and many other great and famous connoisseurs of the beauty of the Lower Oreanda walked here, forever inscribed their names in world history.
In 1920, after the establishment of Soviet power in the Crimea, Oreanda, like other royal estates, was nationalized. In the summer, under the canopy of the plane tree, rest camps were organized for the builders of the "new world".
Today, the Oriental plane tree is the real pride of the Lower Oreanda park. It belongs to the category of natural monuments, is considered unique and has an independent scientific, aesthetic and historical value.
In 1825, Emperor Alexander I, at the invitation of Count M. Vorontsov, made a trip to the Crimea. Passing Oreanda, he is so struck by its beauty that he decides to establish his estate here.
However, in the same 1825, Alexander I dies, and the estate passes by inheritance to his younger brother Nikolai.
In 1837, Emperor Nicholas I set off on a trip to the Crimea, and on September 17, 1837, the royal family went to Oreanda. Here is how an eyewitness describes their arrival: “Having arrived at the gate leading to the Oreanda Park, the emperor stopped the horse and approached the empress and announced that he was giving her Oreanda.
On the same day, they examined the buildings erected according to the designs of the architect F. Elson: a “house with a tower” for guests, a greenhouse, houses of the estate manager, a gardener and a winemaker. By the time of the Highest arrival, the small “imperial” house, where Alexander I stayed and dined with friends in 1825, was carefully repaired: the roof was covered with tiles, the ceiling was changed, and a gallery was attached to the facade.
After the death of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna on October 20, 1860, Oreanda passed into the possession of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and until 1894 was in the status of a grand duke, and not a royal estate.
The year 1881 turned out to be fatal for Konstantin Nikolayevich.
On March 1, in St. Petersburg, Emperor Alexander II was killed by a bomb explosion of the terrorist Grinevitsky. With him ended the era of liberal reforms that led the country to a constitutional monarchy. Under the new emperor Alexander lll, the Grand Duke was out of work. He was removed from almost all positions held.
The prince spends the summer of 1881 in Oreanda. On the night of August 7-8, a dramatic event took place - the palace burned down in Oreanda due to an oversight. After the fire, Konstantin Nikolayevich decided to settle in the "imperial house", in which he lived during the now frequent and lengthy visits to his beloved Oreanda estate. In this regard, the house was renamed into "admiral" - by the title of its owner.
In the Admiral's House, the facade of the building was designed in the style of Tatar folk architecture with lancet windows and a carved wooden gallery. In the left half was the room of Konstantin Nikolaevich, and across the hallway, in the right - the adjutant's room. Several small rooms at the back of the house were occupied by servants.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich lived in this house from 1881-1889. In 1889, after a stroke, paralyzed, he was transferred to his estate Pavlovsk near St. Petersburg.
In a secluded corner of the magnificent Nizhnyaya Oreanda park with a classic rose garden, well-groomed flower beds, and neat paths, there is an elegant Aivazovsky gazebo. It offers a wonderful view of the Big Yalta.
Here, where the azure sky merges with the boundless blue, I.K. Aivazovsky (1817-1900) often painted seascapes.
The remarkable marine painter had a close and long-term friendship with the owner of the estate, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich Romanov. As the artist's grandson recalls in his nautical notes “from the distant past”, published in 1948 by the Society of Russian Officers in America, the Grand Duke and the great artist always corresponded and I.K. Aivazovsky always had a portrait of Konstantin Nikolayevich on his desk. The same friendship connected the artist with the retinue of the Grand Duke, so Konstantin Nikolaevich signed his telegrams to Aivazovsky: “Your Oreand friends.”
Today, the snow-white arbor, named after the outstanding marine painter, is a favorite place of rest and inspiration for philosophers, romantics and lovers. Here, in peace and solitude, contemporary painters and poets continue to create their works of art.
The owners of the Oreanda estate sought to do everything so that both in the English garden and in the forest park one could feel “quiet, comforting calmness”. When designing a landscape park in Oreanda, the architect A. Shtakenshneider used natural situations, transforming them into landscape objects.
One of these objects was the "Swan Lake", located near the palace at the very foot of the cliff, the top of which was decorated with a rotunda.
When you look now at a picturesque corner of the park with ponds surrounded by a bamboo grove, it is hard to imagine that once there was a swamp in this place. When planning this section of the park, Stackenschneider wrote in his proposals: “Under the rock (on which the rotunda is installed) there are several keys, and from them the place turned into a swamp, which is why it is necessary to dig small ponds in those places with the preservation of large trees.” Ponds were proposed to be dug to a depth of 1.5 arshins (for this it was necessary to dig soil up to 20 cubic meters of soot), “to overlay the bottom with small stones, and the banks with large ones.”
Tulip trees and bamboo were planted around the ponds.
White swans were launched into the ponds, which replenished with touching offspring, majestically gliding along the mirror surface of the ponds.
In 1837, Emperor Nicholas I presented his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, with the estate of Nizhnyaya Oreanda, which he had inherited from his brother, Emperor Alexander I.
In 1842-1852. the construction of the first imperial palace complex in the Crimea in Lower Oreanda, designed by the architect A. Stackenschneider, is underway.
The first building in the palace complex (1843) was a beautiful white stone rotunda. She crowned one of the cliffs of Oreanda. The rotunda was made in the neo-Greek style and consists of eight seven-meter Doric columns, carved from Kerch pieced stone of the best quality with excellent elaboration of capitals, architraves, and cornices. The rotunda immediately became the hallmark of the royal estate. A staircase of several hundred steps led from the palace to it. From the rotunda there were wonderful views of Yalta and the southern coast.
After a fire in the palace in 1882, the rotunda became the only architectural object left from the original palace complex. Since the beginning of the 20th century, it has been the most visited place on the southern coast of Crimea.
Emperor Nicholas II was especially fond of walking from Livadia along the Horizontal Path, who, together with his family and retinue, often visited the rotunda.
The unique decoration of the Lower Oreanda are rocks and mountains. The most spectacular of these mountains is the Cross Rock, which in ancient times was called Uryanda, the area of which is 7 hectares. The height above sea level is 204 m, of which 176 m is a steep cliff, at the foot of which a juniper grove has grown. On the slopes of the rock, there are many thickets of strawberries and a juniper-pistachio forest with 500-700-year-old trees.
On the top of the Uryanda cliff, archaeologists discovered the remains of a medieval city that had existed here since the 8th century.
After 1837, the name of the Uryanda rock was changed to Krestovaya. This change was associated with a visit to the Crimea by the family of Emperor Nicholas I, who presented Oreanda to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
On one of her visits to Oreanda, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, together with Count and Countess Vorontsov, climbed to the top of the Uryanda rock, erected a wooden cross there and planted a bush of evergreen laurel with her own hands. Subsequently, this cross was replaced by a cast-iron one 3.5 m high. Since then, the rock has become known as the Cross.
In 1955, the first USSR climbing championship took place on Krestovaya.
Since 1965, the rock has been a complex natural monument.
From 1861 to 1892 Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich was the owner of Oreanda, and there is no doubt that one of the "artist's inventions" (as it was written in the guidebook) belongs to him.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was born in 1827. His father, Emperor Nicholas I, decided that Konstantin should make a career as a military sailor and for five years entrusted his education to an outstanding sailor and scientist, Admiral Fyodor Litka. In fact, he was the first offspring of the Romanov dynasty to become a professional sailor.
On January 21, 1853, Konstantin Nikolayevich entered the administration of the naval ministry and was promoted to vice admiral.
As a man who devoted his life to maritime affairs, Konstantin Nikolayevich decides to decorate the park in his beloved Oreanda with small reservoirs, which were given the shape of the southern seas that were part of the Russian Empire.
In 1879, in the park, not far from the Admiral's House, original models of pools were created, which repeated the contours of the Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral Seas.
Evergreens were planted around the reservoirs. With a neat and regular haircut, gardeners achieved the outlines of the Crimean Mountains and the Caucasus Range.
The park in Lower Oreanda began to take shape in the 30s of the 19th century under the guidance of the English gardener Ross, and was laid out in a landscape style. In all the plans of that time, the park was called the "English Garden".
During the spring of 1837, tree seedlings and flower seedlings were ordered and received from Riga from the large Karl Wagner Botanical Institute. At that time, several varieties of magnolias, 22 species of dahlias, tuberoses, anemones, camellias, pelargoniums, violets, purslane and many other flowers were planted in the park. The basic planning of the park was carried out in the 1840s. during the construction of the palace for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In 1849, the architect Stackenschneider drew up a master plan for the reorganization of the entire garden and a detailed design of a part of the garden around the palace, and proposed planting 5,000 shrubs of various varieties.
It is split into two huge gray boulders and rises near the seashore. A grotto is hidden in it, the remains of a cave in which, at the beginning of the 20th century, the archaeologist Zhukov discovered the site of a primitive man. Mastovaya rock and the grotto are interesting not only as natural and archaeological monuments. At a time when Oreanda belonged to the royal Romanov family, the imperial flag was hoisted on a flagpole 16 m high on the Mast Rock, its oarlocks have been preserved to this day.
During the period of the first Russian revolution (1905-1907) in the grotto "under the nose of the tsar" there was an underground printing house of the Yalta organization of the RSDLP, which printed proclamations calling for the overthrow of the autocracy.
In Soviet times, Mastovaya rock and its grotto were used in the filming of popular adventure films such as Children of Captain Grant, Treasure Island, Sea Hunter, etc.
Oreanda has retained its unique beauty and silence rare on the coast. It dominates both the large old park and the exposed rocks, which give the area a severe look. From them, as some researchers believed, the name Oreanda came from - "rocky"
Walking along Livadia, he went out onto the Tsar's path and, without even knowing it, repeated the path of Nicky and Alex back in 1894, when they went to mass at the temple in Lower Oreanda Love of the last Russian emperor. Then, already as emperor and empress, they often walked here.
The only difference is that in 1894 they purposefully went to the church, and I went past the Lower Oreanda, but, seeing the temple, I turned back and then along the back streets, then along the road, then along the disguised stairs, I reached the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.Although the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was built only in 1885, it has an interesting backstory.
The policy of the Russian emperors towards the Christians of Crimea was incomprehensible. The Greeks, who had lived in the Crimea from time immemorial and survived many conquerors, together with other Christians, were taken out of the Crimea in 1778 and settled in the Azov region. Along with the Greeks, among the settlers were Armenians, Georgians, Bulgarians and Vlachs. A total of 31,386 Christians were deported. While in Rhodes, I met one such ancient descendant of these Greeks, who lived in Mariupol.
When the Crimea was annexed to Russia in 1783, the Greeks from the Azov region were not returned. At the same time, the Russian government was interested in the full settlement and economic development of new territories. Instead of Christians who previously lived in the Crimea, they began to encourage and call for the resettlement of Greeks from continental Greece and the islands of the Archipelago. And not only Greeks who were Orthodox, but even Catholics and Protestants from various European countries. Until now, there are Protestant and Catholic churches in Crimea.
Of the resettled Greeks in 1789, the Balaklava infantry battalion was formed, which guarded the coast from Sevastopol to Feodosia. In 1809-1831, its commander was Theodosius Dmitrievich Reveliotis, a leader of the Greek national liberation movement against the Turkish yoke, who became a general in the Russian army. The regiment guarded the southern coast of Crimea. The enterprising Greek, apparently a descendant of the cunning Odysseus, bought up a lot of land in the area of Mukhalatka, Kukuk-Koy, Kekeneiz, Simeiz, Alupka, Oreanda, Livadia. F.D. Reveliotis began to sell his lands only when, in connection with the upcoming construction of the Simferopol-Yalta-Sevastopol road, their prices rose sharply.
Representatives of the noble elite of the Russian Empire became interested in the lands of the southern coast of Crimea. The Lower Oreanda was bought from Reveliotis on October 29, 1823 by Count Alexander Grigoryevich Kushelev-Bezborodko (1800 - 1855).
In October 1825, at the invitation of the Novorossiysk Governor-General Count M.S. Vorontsov, Emperor Alexander the First visited the Vorontsov estate in Alupka. During this visit, the Russian autocrat visited Oreanda and even spent the night there in a Tatar house. The emperor, inclined towards mysticism, wanted to build a house for solitude in these wild and picturesque places. Count Kushelev-Bezborodko promised to transfer Oreanda to Emperor Alexander the First. But the deal had to be documented by Nicholas the First because of the death of his brother Alexander. This event took place on April 26, 1826. Thus, the first imperial estate appeared on the southern coast of Crimea, but Nicholas the First was not interested in it, for 10 years the emperor did not visit there, Oreanda was supervised by Count M.S. Vorontsov. But when Nicholas the First decided to donate the estate to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, he came to Lower Oreanda with his family and large retinue in 1837.In the center is the crowned couple: Alexandra Feodorovna (1798-1860) and Nicholas the First (1796-1855). Children frame the photo of their parents: Alexander (1818-1881), Maria (1819-1876), Olga (1822-1892), Alexandra (1825-1844), Konstantin (1827-1892), Nikolai (1831-1891), Mikhail (1832 -1909).
Alexandra Feodorovna (born Princess Frederick Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia) was the daughter of the Prussian King Frederick William III. Therefore, she reacted responsibly to the gift, deciding to build a palace for living. She commissioned the design of the palace from Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781 - 1841), a German architect who built many fine buildings in Prussia. We liked the project very much, but having calculated the estimated construction costs, we politely said goodbye to it, generously endowing it with goodbye. Without delay, the project was commissioned to another architect, this time from St. Petersburg, Andrei Ivanovich Shtakenshneider (1802 - 1865). This project was approved by Nicholas II in 1842 and construction began, which lasted for 10 years. Supervising architects were Ludwig Valentinovich Cambiaggio (1810-1870) and Ashliman Karl Ivanovich (1808-1893) are already familiar to us. And the stone work was in charge of the Englishman William Gunt, who had previously participated in the construction of the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka.
In 1852, the royal family visited Oreanda, in which a handsome palace towered.
This was the last visit to the estate for Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna. Before her death, the Dowager Empress bequeathed the estate not to her eldest son, Emperor Alexander II, but to her second son, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. The Grand Duke was rarely in Oreanda, on short visits, but he was proud of his estate. When he traveled incognito, hiding his belonging to the imperial family, he introduced himself as Konstantin Nikolaevich von Oreandsky, a Crimean landowner.But his family regularly visited the Crimean estate, Konstantin Nikolayevich's wife, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, nee Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg (1830-1911), often rested here with their children, of whom they had six: four boys and two girls, one of the girls, Olga Konstantinovna will become the Greek queen. The age difference between the oldest and youngest child was 12 years.
Together with the family of Konstantin Nikolaevich, his younger brothers Grand Dukes Nikolai Nikolaevich and Mikhail Nikolaevich came to rest.Interestingly, those who wished were allowed into the estate. So in 1867 the famous American writer Mark Twain (1835-1910) visited here. In his book "Simples Abroad" he admires the estate: "It is charming here. The beautiful palace is surrounded on all sides by the mighty trees of the old park, spread among the picturesque cliffs and hills ... The palace was built in the style of the best examples of Greek architecture, a magnificent colonnade surrounds the courtyard planted with rare fragrant flowers, and in the middle a fountain beats - it refreshes the hot summer air.
When the fire started on August 7, 1881, the Grand Duke was at the estate. The fire continued through the night and into the next morning. Most of the furniture was saved, including the prince's favorite piano. It was decided not to restore the palace, part of the ruins were dismantled and one might think that these are ancient ruins preserved from the ancient Greeks.
In a new place. in the oaks, the prince decided to build a temple in memory of his mother. He described the chosen style as Georgian-Byzantine, and ordered the project to Alexei Andreevich Avdeev (1819–1885), who implemented many projects in the South of Russia, including the Crimea. One of the most famous projects is the Vladimir Cathedral in Sevastopol. After the death of Avdeev, the former vice-president of the Imperial Academy of Arts, an expert in Byzantine art and church painting, Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin (1810–1893) corrected and finally completed the project of the temple for Oreanda after the death of Avdeev.
At first, Konstantin Nikolayevich wanted to consecrate the temple in honor of the Holy Trinity, but then he changed his mind and the temple was dedicated to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.
By order of Konstantin Nikolaevich, starting from May 2, 1885, the Yalta photographer Fedor Pavlovich Orlov periodically photographed the construction site. F.P. Orlov (1844 - died after 1906), merchant of the 2nd guild. He was seriously fond of photography, often fulfilling orders from the royal family to create albums with views of the Crimea. Thanks to him, we can see how the temple was built.
Collage "Construction of the temple in Lower Oreanda" (Photographs by F.P. Orlov) In the center: the completed temple (1886) Along the edges, the stages of construction: 1). April 1885. The foundation of the temple; 2) April 1885 Construction of the temple walls; 3) June 1885 Construction of the arches and vaults of the temple; 4). August 19, 1885. The erection of the cross on the dome of the temple; 5). September 1885 External decoration of the dome of the temple.
Now near the temple there is a belfry, which appeared in 2001,
and when the temple was built, five bells were located on an oak tree, which has survived to this day. Part of its crown can be seen in the photo on the left.The mosaic in the temple was made by the Venetian Antonio Salviati (1816 - 1890).
True, part of it was destroyed in Soviet times. Mosaic icons of his work are available not only inside, but also outside. The image of the Savior is installed above the central western doors, under the ridge of the roof there is a half-length image of the image of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.The altar of the church is very beautiful,
and behind it is a multi-figure composition "The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos", preserved from 1886.You can take pictures in the temple, especially if you make a small donation. The temple resembles a cross inscribed in a rectangle.
After the death of Konstantin Nikolaevich, the temple was maintained by his sons - Grand Dukes Konstantin Konstantinovich (1858 -1915), general, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences and poet, known under the pseudonym K.R., and Dmitry Konstantinovich (1860 -1919), commander
Life Guards Horse Grenadier Regiment.
On the side of the church stands a bust of John of Kronstadt.
It was erected in honor of the fact that in the fall of 1894, the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, who came to the terminally ill Emperor Alexander III, served several times in the Intercession Church.In 1924, the temple was closed, in 1926 it was transferred to a sanatorium and excursions began to be led to the temple. In 1927, after the Crimean earthquake, cracks appeared in the walls of the building and they wanted to demolish it, but something did not work out. Until the end of the Great Patriotic War, the temple was closed, then workshops appeared in it, replaced by warehouses. In the churchyard there was a car depot, which still exists, only the car depot and the temple were fenced off from each other with an iron fence. In the sixties of the last century, they again wanted to demolish the temple, and again this cup passed the temple. In 1992, the church was handed over to believers,
Archpriest Nikolai Donenko was appointed rector of the temple.A.P. Chekhov liked to visit here. The heroes of his story "The Lady with the Dog" Dr. Gurov and Anna Sergeevna "In Oreanda they sat on a bench, not far from the church, looked down at the sea and were silent. Yalta was barely visible through the morning fog, white clouds stood motionless on the tops of the mountains. The foliage did not move cicadas were calling in the trees, and the monotonous, muffled sound of the sea, coming from below, spoke of peace, of the eternal sleep that awaits us. indifferent and deaf when we are gone. And in this constancy, in complete indifference to the life and death of each of us lies, perhaps, the guarantee of our eternal salvation, the uninterrupted movement of life on earth, uninterrupted perfection."
I also visited the place where the heroes of the story sat. I met a couple from our time, sitting on benches, looking at the sea and drinking cognac. Therefore, photographing the benches had to be abandoned, so as not to embarrass the resting couple. But I photographed the view from Oreanda.
❤ started selling air tickets! 🤷
