The Massandra Palace is a

Châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a revivalist architectural style based on the ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

of Emperor

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...

Massandra Massandra or Masandra (; ; ) is an urban-type settlement in the Yalta Municipality in Crimea. Occupying the spot of an ancient Greek settlement (Tavrida-Ταυρίδα), Masandra was acquired by Counts Potocki in 1783. In the mid-19th centur ...

, at the south coast of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Construction of the building started in 1881 and was funded by the son of

Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic Wars and most famous for his participation in the Caucasian War from 1844 to 1853. Early life Vorontsov was born on ...

, , who had recently returned from the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War. The construction of the palace that was initially designed by French architect Étienne Bouchard in the

Louis XIII style The Louis XIII style or ''Louis Treize'' was a fashion in French art and French architecture, architecture, especially affecting the visual arts, visual and decorative arts. Its distinctness as a period in the history of French art has much to do ...

was soon suspended after the death of Prince Semyon Mikhailovich Vorontsov. In 1889 the unfinished palace was bought by the for

. The new owner commissioned his favorite architect Maximilian Messmacher to modernize the villa's design. Although Massandra was listed among imperial residences, no royals ever stayed there overnight (rather preferring the neighboring

Livadia Palace Livadia Palace (; ) is a former summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and othe ...

). After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the residence was used as a government sanatorium "Proletarian Health" for people ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. After

it was used as a state cottage (

dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...

) under the name "Stalinskaya". After the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, Massandra Palace was used as one of the Ukrainian official residences where the Massandra Accords were signed in 1993. In 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea, the residence was taken over by the Russian Presidential Affairs Administration. A bust of Alexander III was unveiled in front of the villa in 2017.

Gallery

File:Massandra Palace, Statue, Massandra, Crimea.jpg, Statue File:Massandra Palace, Statues, Massandra, Crimea.jpg, Statue Massandra Palace 2, Massandra, Crimea.jpg, Opposite of the front-facing part File:Массандровский дворец, Крым.jpg, Modern look File:Парк в Массандре, Крым.jpg, Palace Park File:Yalta old 13.jpeg, View at the end of the 19th century

References

External links

* * Buildings and structures in Crimea Museums in Crimea Palaces in Ukraine Official residences in Ukraine Royal residences in Ukraine Government buildings in Ukraine Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Crimea Tourist attractions in Crimea {{crimea-stub