PALACE OF MASSANDRA (ДВОРЕЦ ДВОРЕЦ)

Begun around 1830 under Count Vorontsov's orders, the construction had to stop at his death. The building was bought by the state to its descendants and Emperor Alexander III transformed it into summer residence for his family. It is then that the architect from St. Petersburg, called Mesmakher, developed a new style much more romantic than previous plans while retaining the grey foundations that contrast with the yellow of the towers and the facade. Today, the palace built on a small wooded hill seems small in comparison with all the decorations that appear on its facade. But the death of Alexander III postponed the deadline for its construction. His descendant Nicolas II preferring to build his seaside house elsewhere on the coast, the palace served as a leisure centre, promotion of Crimean wine and a journey of travel for the tsar's family. Nationalized by the Party at the beginning of the th century, it became the summer residence of the heads of state before being transformed into a museum.