Livadia, Palace of Nicholas II

[hikaru]

There was an hospital in the New Palace that time.

[Reco]

Livadia from the air

[Reco]

Livadia fron the sea

[hikaru]

According to the Guide-book of 1913, the near of Eriklik there is a geniuse farm with  a lot of the cows of Shvits's and Alygaus's types.

According to the Guide - book of 1922, Livadia became the museum again and Romanov things, which were moved for a while, came back.

[Platon]

Hi guys,

This might go way off the mark - but just thought I'd mention "Eriklik" - in Turkish refers to an area for plums, whether an orchard or......

With this part associated with Tartar origins (many Turkic expressions)....thought it might add some light from a different perspective (whether it may be true).

[Douglas]

 Livadia, the former summer palace of Tsar Nicholas II, is situated 11/2 miles from Yalta. The new, or large palace was finished in 1911. Most of the frescoes, panelling, carved doors, etc., were prepared in St. Petersburg. The palace grounds formerly belonged to Count Potocki who presented them to the Romanov family in the 19th century? .

The first floor of the palace was used by Nicholas and his son, Alexai, for living quarters. The left wing, facing the sea, contained the Tsar?s study and bedroom. The President?s private dining room was formerly a billiard room. The large conference room was the ballroom-banquet hall. The Tsar had many bedrooms on the first floor and was wont to sleep in a different room every night, even at times changing his room during the night for fear of assassination? .

The second floor was used principally by the Tsarina and her four daughters. General Marshall is occupying the Imperial bedroom and Admiral King the Tsarina?s boudoir. The private outside staircase is said to have been used by Rasputin. The large rooms on the left wing were used by the Tsarevnas (daughters) as classrooms. The second floor conference room was a private reception room of the Tsarina. The second floor dining room was a private sitting room used only by the Tsar?s family.

The architect of the palace, Krasnov, often had to give way to the whims of the Tsar to the detriment, so he thought, of the palace. To avenge himself, he used lion head caricatures of the Tsar as armrests on the two marble benches outside the main door. The similarity becomes striking when a cap is placed atop the lion?s head.

[Janet_W.]

I cannot express how wonderful it is to look at the two photos on this thread. It has been more than a decade since our tour group visited Livadia, and we were there only for a short time, but still it remains one of my favorite places in the world.

[Alixz]

I just picked up a book on Ebay called Lividia Palace it's in both Russian and English and concentrates only on Livadia and the area around it.

I can't wait to get it.

Has anyone else seen it?

[julia.montague]

They were imprisoned in Djulber, the palace of Grandduke Ppyotr Nikolaievitch

[e_Adam]

I am not sure if the information that there was a hospital at Livadia at that time is correct. I have read the diary of The Dowager Emperss (26.april 1917- 26.april (9.may) 1919. The Dowager Emperess didn't mention once that there was a hospital running at Livadia. If so, who runned it, and for whom, the red army or the white army? If it was for the red army, I am sure that she would have been very upset and mentioned it , and if it was for the whites I belive that she would have wisited it, as she used to do before the revolution.
Maybe someone has some reliable information?
The Dowager Emperess stayed, during her 2  years in Crimea at 3 different recidences. First at Aj-Todor, second at Djulber ( during the most dramatic period) and at last at Kharaks.
Before this stay at Crimea, the Dowager Emperss had not been there for 23(!) years. Crimea was for her linked strongly to the death of her beloved Sasha, emperor Alexandr III.
During the first days and weeks of the stay, the Romanoffs had freedom to move around,and they did. The Dovager Emperss visited Princess Irina and Prince Felix at the villa Koreiz, and she saw from a distance, for the first time the new Livadia, built 1911-1912 by Emperor Nikolaj II. She didn't have courage to visit it at that time, she was too  dread,moved and upset. In fact she had decided when Sasha died that she would never(!) wisit Crimea again.
The only part of the old palace Livadia that Nikolaj II had let remail, was a small anneks, containing the room where Alexandr III died.
It should pass another month before The Dowager Emperess felt that she was able to wisit the new Livadia.
She writes about it in her diary the 24.april(7.may) 1917:
" After lunch, I drove with Xenia, and just us two alone, to see Livadia. My first, sad visit. Like a pilgrimage. No comparison with the old palace, everything so dramaticly changed with this new, all too huge palace on the exactly same ground!
Was inside our own modest small house, heartbreaking seeing it again, after all those years. I was living over again all those cruel, sad memories. Then visited the new, saw the new church also, of-course enlarged  that too. I didnt feel at home. The public wandered around in the garden as if they were at home. Disgusting soildiers with  rude faces didn't even bow!
Arrived home at 5.
This is the only time the Dowager Emperess mention Livadia during her 2 years long stay at Crimea.
Best regards Adam

[dp5486]

I am curious as to why after their release from imprisonment in Dulber the Dowager Empress and Xenia didn't return to Ai Todor but to Harax, the estate of Xenia's cousin and best friend GD Marie Georgievna and her husband GD George Mikhailovich.

Does anybody know why they didn't just return to Ai Todor?

Thanks!

[James1941]

In her book Little Mother of Russia Coryne Hall writes in Chapter 24, p. 311, "After celebrating the Orthodox Easter the Romanovs began moving back to their own homes. Dagmar went to Harax, the English-style property of Grand Duke George Michaelovitch and his wife "Greek Minny" at Alupka, three miles west of Cap Ai-Todor. The first floor rooms led directly on to terraces overhung with roses and honeysuckle, cascading down to the Black Sea. It reminded Dagmar of Hvidore. The interior was very English. The reception rooms, where poker and bridge parties used to be held, were called 'The Clubs'. Olga and her family moved into one of the small houses near the main building, which all had red roofs like an English country village. The estate had one advantage over Djulber--it was nearer to Yalta."
I believe Sandro and Xenia and their family went back to Ai-Todor. Since this was a large group it may have been simple convenience that motivated Dagmar to go to Harax.
Hope this adds some answer to your question.

[dp5486]

Thank you and it does! That is also one of the books that I wish I could find a copy of!

Thanks again!

[James1941]

For a copy of that book try the European Royal History Journal website, at
  www.eurohistory.com.   Go down the menu to the bookstore selection.
 You can also email Arturo Beeche direct and ask him if he has the book for sale at  arturo@eurohistory.com.   They have a good selection of royal books at decent prices.  

[dp5486]

I checked the website and they have it for $42.00. I was hoping to try and get it for less but that seems alot better than the two that I saw for $196.00 each! . I just wish I could look inside it (like on Amazon) and look at the index. I always like to try and do this to see if the book will have what I'm looking for. I do have Hall's book on Grand Duchess Xenia and it does have all the little details that I like so I may just have to trust my instincts on this one... Do you highly recommend it?

Thanks again!