Livadia, Palace of Nicholas II

[JD]

I found a picture or two of this palace a few years ago while thumbing through a mostly-picture book about the last Romanovs.  It is (as I believe) a positively gorgeous white palace overlooking the black sea.  On the internet I can't find much more than the occasional picture a blurb about how it's famous for being the site of a WW2 conference. I also didn't see anything about it on this site. Can anyone point me to another reference or provide details? I can't imagine such a beatiful residence not being used but from the dearth of information I'm wondering if that was the case.

[nerdycool]

Hi there. Actually, from what I know of it, Livadia is a museum, and it looks well taken care of. The chapel is a functioning one, too. I did find one site that has many fabulous pictures on it. Most are exterior shots, but there are quite a few interior shots as well. This is the link:

http://livadia.russian-women.net

I also found a vacation tour page which takes people to the Crimea and found an aerial picture of the palace... it's super also. It's found here:

http://www.eugeniatours.com.ua/inbound/yalta/royal.htm

Some other sites with pictures/info which I found interesting:

http://www.blacksea-crimea.com/Places/livadia1.html
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/livadia_palace_crimea.htm
http://www.istop.com/~artz/crimea/livadia.html

Hope this helps,

nerdyc

[JD]

thanks a lot nerdy. i actually came across a picture from that first one but didn't think to go to the root site, figuring it was on a mail-order bride website by mistake!  a pity that there aren't more interior/period shots, but lots of nice exterior ones.
anyone have any information on how/how often it was used (it was a built as a summer home, but was this its only use, and how frequently)?

[Forum Admin]

Nicholas and Alexandra built Livadia out of money from their own personal sources and worked very closely with the architect on its design.  They took alot of "flak" from the Courtiers that it was not "grand" enough for the Tsar, but Nicholas and Alexandra basically said 'we're paying for it ourselves so we can have it exactly the way we want it!'

The Family loved Livadia more than any other place and felt truly at home there. It was the one place that belonged truly and totally to "them".

They had planned to go there in summer 1911, but were forced to wait thru the summer until mid September in Sebastapol until Livadia was ready. The paint was not even dry when they moved in. Alexandra personally took charge of every detail of moving in and setting up household and would not hear a word of criticism from anyone.  They played tennis almost daily and took long walks and had picnics.  They would go shopping in Yalta.  Olga's "coming of age" ball was held there.  Alexandra also organised several charity bazaars while at Livadia, every season she was there.  There were excursions to places in the area and balls at other Palaces in the Crimea owned by other Romanovs. They left Livadia to be back at Tsarskoe Selo just before Christmas 1911.

The same pattern of life went on in Livadia every time they were there.  1912 was mid March thru Mid May, 1913 was August thru early December, 1914 was April thru June.  The sad tragedy is that these four seasons were the only times they were at the one place which they loved more than any other because it was truly theirs and where they could just always be themselves.

[JD]

Great stuff, thanks. BTW when I was searching I somehow missed this: http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/Livadia.htm !

[JanetWhitcomb]

I have visited Livadia Palace. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them.

[jda]

There are several photos  of   Livadia and a lot of the Masandra Palace at this web site.www.arch.ru  Click on the upper right logo then scroll down to  the Crimea site

[Janet]

Back again. It has been more than 10 years since I visited Livadia.  It was a fantastic experience, and really--for me--the centerpiece of my trip to Russia/Ukraine.  Our guide, Vladimir, was wonderful; I told him of my Romanov interest, and he pointed out aspects of the palace which he knew I would appreciate.  Livadia Palace is on a more intimate scale than most royal living quarters. The beautiful hall where Olga danced at her 16th birthday party--and where, years later, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin conducted their Yalta Conference--is actually not as large as you might think. The hall's windows, just as Robert Massie wrote, open off into an adjacent garden. Since I've been there the gift shop has expanded considerably, and Vladimir continues to send me items. (And I send him information about America.) Nearby is a wax museum.  My American tour guide, a professor of Russian history, was astonished to see Nicholas and Alexandra and their children depicted . . . the previous summer, when he had led a tour, the figures most definitely had not been on display! Livadia is a lovely place, and of course the sea is spectacular. When you can, note photos of OTMA and Alexei near the water; Yalta's beachfront area is not  sandy but scattered with rocks, and mats which rolled down into the water were used then as they are now!

[BobAtchison]

I visited there too in the Soviet era.  It's an amazing place,  I had the sensation that Olga or Marie might 'appear' again at any moment in a corridor or in the garden.  One can see why they loved this place so much.  It's a shame they hardly had the chance to use the new palace before the war broke out.

Janet - yes that beach was rocky!!!

[Janet Whitcomb]

Thanks for your reply, Bob.  One of my favorite memories of Livadia Palace was being shown a bench, just before entering the palace, which featured a couple of griffins. The workers who had created this bench and other similar items had been a little ticked off with Nicholas--I can't remember if it was due to not being paid as much as they wished, or having to do a "rush" job, or some such other grievance. At any rate, they chose to impose the likeness of Nicholas upon the griffins! I have often thought how Nicholas and his family--Anastasia and Alexei in particular, I would imagine--must have been amused by these sculptures!

[BobAtchison]

Janet you can actually stay in the outbuildings of the palace.  We were goinbg to do a tour to Livadia and stay there a couple,of years ago but it is very hard to get to if you don't want to fly via Istanbul or on a Ukranian airplane (which many people won't do).  I think we should do that tour - maybe just a small group - and stay at Livadia for a week...

Bob

[Janet Whitcomb]

Planning Livadia as the focus of a tour sounds like a great idea!  My friend Vladimir says so much more of the palace is open to tourists now since I was there. And the outbuildings you refer to . . . would those have been where the servants and attendants resided?

Yes, flying can be . . . interesting!  We flew from St. P via Aeroflot, and I've never been so frightened in my life. (No empty phrase, that!) In fact, I had an extended "conversation" with the Grand Duchess Olga Nicholievna, promising that if our plane didn't crash I'd be sure to write her story. (Alas, am still in the process--no lightning bolts yet, though.) We were onboard a (supposedly) reconverted military plane and it screeched, rattled and vibrated the entire time; you couldn't carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to you unless you shouted.  Smoke kept wafting from the restrooms and nothing seemed completely secure, including our seats.  On the other hand, after our Yalta stay we flew from Simferabol to Kiev via a private airline--according to our guide, the first one of non Communist Russia--and the experience was delightful. So, you never know . . .

In addition to Livadia, the town of Yalta is interesting, as is Chekov's home and the estate where Churchill stayed during the Yalta conference.  The walk up to Swallows Nest is also intriguing (and a good stretch of the legs!), but if I had it to over I would have spent more time at Livadia Palace. Also, other estates and palaces are within driving distance; Vladimir sends me information about them from time to time. It's a beautiful area--much like Laguna Beach, CA, which is just a twenty minute drive from my home . . . no royal estates in Laguna Beach, though!  But in Yalta, as in Laguna Beach, both palms and pines are in abundance, the sea sparkles, geraniums and other flowers color the area, and the overall feeling is one of holiday and relaxation.

[londo954]

I understand that Livadia is now a hotel as well as a museum !!!

[Robert_Hall]

What was the history of Livadia after the revolution , war & civil war ?
I have read & heard various accounts: it was used by Stalin as a private dacha, a children's home/orphanage  worker's resort or even a "sanatorium" which is a mysterious Soviet term that could mean anything.
I think, like a lot of people, I am taken by this very personal home more so than the grand palaces & yachts that the family used.

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

 I´m looking for some plan of this palace...but as well as with Peterhof´s  New palace i cannot find anything...
I read some time ago that the palace has a lot of original furniture from the palace that has been stored for years and is now being carried back to the rooms.
I think(cannot be sure) that the chairs used in the famous photograph of the Yalta Conference taken in the italian courtyard were the same that were used by the grand duchesses in some photographs with Gilliard having lessons in a terrace-balcony....might it be?