PALACE OF LIVADIA (ДВОРЕЦ ЛИВАДИЙСКИЙ)

The village of Livadia is the old residence of the czars. Its 40 ha park and palace dates back to 1840, when the village was the property of Count Pototski. In 1860, Livadia passed into the hands of the royal family, the architect Moniguetti was responsible for building two other palaces, swimming pools, stables and a beautiful cove. But, in 1911, Tsar Nicolas II raser everything and entrusts his own architect, Krasnov, to the reconstruction of a more modern residence in the Renaissance style. The result of this work is rich in contrasts: white walls and bright vegetation, classic mouldings and Arab mosaics, hot sun and pure and refreshing fountains. Already, the main building is equipped with electricity, lift and telephone. After the October revolution, the palace becomes a sanatorium for socialist workers. The poet Mayakovsky and the writer Gorki stayed there between 1927 and 1928. During World War II, Germans plunder and Burn most buildings.

However, the palace of Nicolas II remains sufficiently preserved to host the famous Yalta conference in February 1945. The harsh of political decisions, including the division of Europe into two camps, is a slice with the idyllic decor of the palace dominating the Black Sea. We imagine Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt creating a world that will survive them, but will end in 1989, in those same gardens where, 30 years earlier, Nicolas II walked its hosts from the royal families of Europe in the atmosphere of unstable peace in summer 1914.

To get there. 3 km from Yalta. Marshroutka No. 47 of terminal Veschevoi Rynok, Yalta.