Livadia, Palace of Nicholas II

[Greg_King]

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?

About a year or two ago, we did a special 3 volume Crimean issue of "Atlantis," and I included schematic floorplans for Livadia (as well as Koreiz, Dulber, Harax, Massandra, Alupka).  As I have not been, there were based on plans drawn by four friends who had, then details worked out by combining them, studying photographs, etc.  It was also helped by the fact that one of them had taken pictures, thoughtfully, of the fire escape routes posted on both floors, that showed many of the rooms and their layout and configuration.  It's pretty close to what's there, I think-unfortunately I don't have any way to post the plans I did, but if you're interested you can order the Crimean issues.

I'm in the dark as to the Lower Palace, but believe Bob has plans?

Greg King

[Antonio_P.Caballer]

Thanks Greg for your answer!!!
And forgive my calling you Eric!!!!! A friend of mine is named Eric King and somehow i wrote his name instead of yours...Quite stupid...Sorry!!!!

[Janet Whitcomb]

I have seen the information somewhere on this website, but despite retracing my steps have been unable to find it again, so could you provide information on how to order Atlantis? Thank you !

[elisa_1872]

I was reading in the section of "Romanov Autumn" -
"Autumn in the South", it mentions on the Livadia estate
Alexandra "preferring to go into the hills, to the waterfall Outchan-Sou or to Eriklik, the wooden house built in the pinewoods for Maria Alexandrovna, which had its own model dairy." (pg 155)

I was very interested to know whether this wooden house still exists, or if anyone knows more about it.
And does this Maria Alexandrovna mean the Empress, or her daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna?
It would be so touching if belonged to the Empress Maria.
I'd be so grateful if anyone can help!

Elisa

[LisaDavidson]

It's only a guess, but it is doubtful this refers to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna who went on to marry Alfred of Edinburgh and become mother to Ducky and Missy, amongst others.

I believe the estate at Livadia was originally purchased for Empress Marie Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II, and mother of Alexander III and GD MA, above.

[elisa_1872]

Lisa! thanks so much for your reply! I also thought it referred to the Empress, but i wasn' t sure. Thanks!!!
Its so great also, because Empress Marie was Alix's great aunt. I just love to find out things like this that refer to both of them!

Thanks again Lisa!
Elisa

[Greg_King]

I wrote about this in our special 4-volume Atlantis on the Romanovs in the Crimea.  The most relevant bits below:

Midway up the slope of Mount Moghabi, Alexander II had a third house built as a gift to his wife.  Called Eriklik, this was a simple, one storey villa, designed by architect A. I. Rezanov, and set amidst the pine-clad cliffs.  The villa backed up against the hill, but the other three sides were wrapped with terraces and covered balconies, where the Empress could relax in the shade and enjoy the magnificent, panoramic views over the entire Livadia estate and the Black Sea.  Although the situation was exquisite, the Empress found the long, rough carriage ride up the winding mountain roads an ordeal, and is said to have spent only fifteen days here.  Later, a small farm was built in a nearby meadow, and the estate became a favorite destination, for picnics by the adults, and excursions to the farm for the children of Nicholas II, who spent hours playing with the sheep, Shetland ponies, and goats their father kept here.

I think there were quite a few visits by Olga and Tatiana described as well, but I can't lay my hands on the information at the moment.

Hope this helps,

Greg King

[elisa_1872]

Many many thanks Greg for your wonderful information!!!

Is there a photo of Eriklik in existance, does anyone know?

Thanks again Greg, so grateful for all those details!:-)

Elisa

[Janet_W.]

. . . is the lovely Hotel Oreanda, built between 1905-1907. After serving as a hospital during post-revolutionary years, the hotel was restored to its original purpose in the 1950s and further renovated in recent times.

Check out hotel-oreanda.com for some wonderful views of this Crimean resort. Prior to the revolution and if you weren't personal guests of Romanov royalty, the Hotel Oreanda seems to have been "the" fashionable place to stay . . . and certainly looks wonderful these days as well!

(Our 1992 tour stayed instead at some huge modern hotel which was reputed to be mafia-protected. It was fine enough, but the Hotel Oreanda would be my ideal!)

[elisa_1872]

Thanks Janet, that's really interesting! I hope you had a wonderful tour when you visited.

Just curious, i remember reading of a little shop in Yalta, near the Palace that Alexandra visited once with a lady in waiting - at the Zembinski's Gallery, and she was told to leave her wet umbrella outside by the shopkeeper.  :)Does anyone know if this little shop might still exist?

[M_Breheny]

Janet:

Thanks for the wonderful picture of the Hotel Oreanda.  It brought back memories of my stay there in 1976. Our room was on the side of the hotel, but we did have a little balcony where we could sit and gaze out at the Black Sea.  During our two weeks in the old Soviet Union, the Oreanda was the oldest hotel we stayed in, and it pleased me that at least one of those hotels had been around during Nicholas and Alexandra's time.  

I might add that my husband and I are finalizing plans for a trip to Russia in June.  It has been a dream of mine to return to that wonderful country.  We probably won't get to Yalta, but I am looking forward to Moscow and especially St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo.  This Discussion Board definitely has renewed my interest in all things Romanov.

Mary

[Janet_W.]

Mary, thanks for your kind words, and how fortunate that you and your husband stayed at the Hotel Oreanda! If I return to Yalta, I would try my darndest to stay there . . . it seems to be one of those grand and gracious old hotels that can be a holiday in itself, and very possibly the closest thing to the "Yalta experience" of one hundred years ago. Best wishes, and we look forward to hearing about your June 2005 trip.

And Elisa, perhaps in time someone can offer more information about the shops in Yalta--as they are now, and as they were then. It's very possible that families who have lived in that area for generations have their own historians, records and aspirations and will, in time, restore individual buildings to what they were previously. It has happened in other places throughout the world, so why not Yalta?

[Forum Admin]

Just arrived yesterday for the archives, so I thought you might enjoy seeing it here, since it is the subject of discussion!

[Mike]

I've eaten at Oreanda a few times but have never stayed there. It was an Intourist hotel, and to stay there a Soviet citizen had to be really well connected. However the restaurant was open to everybody, and when it was closed due to a "special event" (e.g. a foreign tourist group's lunch), a few rubles given to the doorman usually had the door opened wide. The food there was very good, and rare (but not expensive) Massandra wines even better.

[jfkhaos]

Once Nicholas, Alexandra, and the children had been taken to Tobolsk and later, Ekaterinburg, and a large number of the Romanovs were being held in the Crimea at assorted palaces, was the New Palace at Livadia being used?  Did it remain empty while the "prisoners" were crammed into Ai Todor etc?