Swallow's nest

"Swallow's Nest" (Ukr. Swallow's Nest, Crimean tat). Qarılğaç yuvası, Karylgäach Yuvasy is an architectural and historical monument located on the steep 40-meter Aurorina rock of Cape Ai-Todor in the village of Gaspra on the southern coast of Crimea. The Russian authorities are endowed with the status of an object of cultural heritage of federal significance.

The structure resembles rock medieval castles of the “eagle’s nest” type, and externally it is decorated in the form of the Belem Tower or the Villa Miramare near Trieste. “Swallow’s Nest” became a kind of emblem of the southern coast of Crimea. The first wooden structure on this site was erected for a retired Russian general after the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, it can be seen on the canvases of famous marine painters: I. K. Aivazovsky, L. F. Lagorio, A. P. Bogolyubov, as well as in photographs of that time.

The second owner of this amazing dacha was a court doctor who served in the Livadia Palace, A. K. Tobin. There is also very little information about him. After his death, the house was owned for some time by a widow who sold the land to the Moscow merchant Rachmanina. She demolished the old building, and soon a wooden castle appeared, called her “Swallow’s Nest”. Its current appearance "Swallow's Nest" received thanks to the Russian oilman P. L. Steingel (nephew of the famous builder of Russian railways Baron Rudolf Steingel), who loved to relax in the Crimea. Steingel bought a summer cottage on the Aurora Rock and decided to build a romantic castle there, which resembles medieval buildings on the banks of the Rhine. The project of the new house in 1911 was commissioned by the engineer and sculptor Leonid Sherwood, the son of the architect Vladimir Sherwood. The old wooden building was demolished and already in 1912, the original Gothic castle stood on the narrow area of the spur of the Monastyr-Burun. The step composition conceived by the architect came from the small size of the site. The building of 12-meter height was located on the foundation with a width of 10 and a length of 20 meters. The “bird” volumes were answered by the internal structure: the hallway, living room, steps and two bedrooms were consistently located in a two-storey tower that rose above the rock. There was a garden near the building. At the beginning of the First World War, the estate was bought by Moscow merchant Pavel Grigoryevich Shelaputin, who opened a restaurant in the castle. Soon the merchant died and the restaurant closed. The building passed to the merchant Rokhmanova, who decorated the interior of the neo-Gothic castle in the ancient Russian style. During the Civil War, the Swallow’s Nest was abandoned. At the end of 1920, after the establishment of Soviet power on the peninsula, all former private possessions were transferred to the Main Directorate of State Farms of Crimea. In 1927, a strong earthquake occurred in the Crimea. A deep oblique crack was formed in the rock under the castle, part of it along with the garden collapsed into the sea, and the observation deck hung over the abyss, but the building itself was practically not damaged. In the 1930s, there was a reading room of the local Recreation House "Pearl", but soon the building was recognized as emergency and closed. Recovery began in the late 1960s. The rock was fortified, a reinforced concrete slab was brought under the base of the castle, and it itself was restored. The building becomes a recognizable symbol of the Crimea[3] After reconstruction, in 2002, the Swallow's Nest reopened to the public. Initially, it was an Italian restaurant, and a large market of Crimean souvenirs worked near the walls of the palace. In July 2011, a monument of architecture and history of national importance was transferred to municipal ownership, becoming the Crimean Republican institution "Palace-castle "Swallow's Nest". At the same time, the exhibition “The Magical World of Arkhip Kuindzhi” opened here, where the painting “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper” was exhibited. Art, archaeological and local history exhibitions change every 1.5-2 months. In 2013, cracks were found in the slab foundation, and in the autumn the visit was suspended for design work on reconstruction - strengthening the rock. The palace is currently in a state of emergency and awaiting restoration. The balcony overhanging the sea “represents an absolutely emergency danger,” said the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Crimea Arina Novoselskaya. The palace will be completely closed to visitors when renovation work begins. It will be difficult to strengthen the rock under the building, since the more strengthening material is driven there, the heavier it becomes, swelling and splitting.[6] On October 17, 2015, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution to classify the Swallow’s Nest as a federal cultural heritage site[2]. Since November 2016, the rest house “Pearl” and “Palace-castle “Swallow’s Nest” have been closed “due to an emergency condition”, on December 20, 2016, limited access to the “Swallow’s Nest” was resumed. The first wooden structure on this site was erected for a retired Russian general after the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, it can be seen on the canvases of famous marine painters: I. K. Aivazovsky, L. F. Lagorio, A. P. Bogolyubov, as well as in photographs of that time.

The second owner of this amazing dacha was a court doctor who served in the Livadia Palace, A. K. Tobin. There is also very little information about him. After his death, the house was owned for some time by a widow who sold the land to the Moscow merchant Rachmanina. She demolished the old building, and soon a wooden castle appeared, called her “Swallow’s Nest”. Its current appearance "Swallow's Nest" received thanks to the Russian oilman P. L. Steingel (nephew of the famous builder of Russian railways Baron Rudolf Steingel), who loved to relax in the Crimea. Steingel bought a summer cottage on the Aurora Rock and decided to build a romantic castle there, which resembles medieval buildings on the banks of the Rhine. The project of the new house in 1911 was commissioned by the engineer and sculptor Leonid Sherwood, the son of the architect Vladimir Sherwood. The old wooden building was demolished and already in 1912, the original Gothic castle stood on the narrow area of the spur of the Monastyr-Burun. The step composition conceived by the architect came from the small size of the site. The building of 12-meter height was located on the foundation with a width of 10 and a length of 20 meters. The “bird” volumes were answered by the internal structure: the hallway, living room, steps and two bedrooms were consistently located in a two-storey tower that rose above the rock. There was a garden near the building. At the beginning of the First World War, the estate was bought by Moscow merchant Pavel Grigoryevich Shelaputin, who opened a restaurant in the castle. Soon the merchant died and the restaurant closed. The building passed to the merchant Rokhmanova, who decorated the interior of the neo-Gothic castle in the ancient Russian style. During the Civil War, the Swallow’s Nest was abandoned. At the end of 1920, after the establishment of Soviet power on the peninsula, all former private possessions were transferred to the Main Directorate of State Farms of Crimea. In 1927, a strong earthquake occurred in the Crimea. A deep oblique crack was formed in the rock under the castle, part of it along with the garden collapsed into the sea, and the observation deck hung over the abyss, but the building itself was practically not damaged. In the 1930s, there was a reading room of the local Recreation House "Pearl", but soon the building was recognized as emergency and closed. Recovery began in the late 1960s. The rock was fortified, a reinforced concrete slab was brought under the base of the castle, and it itself was restored. The building becomes a recognizable symbol of the Crimea[3] After reconstruction, in 2002, the Swallow's Nest reopened to the public. Initially, it was an Italian restaurant, and a large market of Crimean souvenirs worked near the walls of the palace. In July 2011, a monument of architecture and history of national importance was transferred to municipal ownership, becoming the Crimean Republican institution "Palace-castle "Swallow's Nest". At the same time, the exhibition “The Magical World of Arkhip Kuindzhi” opened here, where the painting “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper” was exhibited [4]. Art, archaeological and local history exhibitions change every 1.5-2 months.[5] In 2013, cracks were found in the slab foundation, and in the autumn the visit was suspended for design work on reconstruction - strengthening the rock. The palace is currently in a state of emergency and awaiting restoration. The balcony overhanging the sea “represents an absolutely emergency danger,” said the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Crimea Arina Novoselskaya. The palace will be completely closed to visitors when renovation work begins. It will be difficult to strengthen the rock under the building, since the more strengthening material is driven there, the heavier it becomes, swelling and splitting.[6] On October 17, 2015, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution to classify the Swallow’s Nest as a federal cultural heritage site[2]. Since November 2016, the rest house “Pearl” and “Palace-castle “Swallow’s Nest” have been closed “due to an emergency condition”, on December 20, 2016, limited access to the “Swallow’s Nest” was resumed.

In September 1927, the Swallow's Nest suffered during a strong earthquake of 6-7 points on the Mercalli scale, which occurred in the Crimea. A deep oblique crack passed from the upper pad to the middle, so that the castle could collapse at any time. Part of the supporting cliff, along with the garden, collapsed into the sea, and the observation platform loomed menacingly over the abyss. The building itself was almost unaffected, except for the torn spires and the torn part of the rock under the lower balcony. However, the building was closed to visitors. There were suggestions even to dismantle it and build it in a new safe place.
Only in 1967-1968, forty years after the earthquake, the workers of Yaltaspetsstroy performed repairs without dismantling the walls. The operation was led by architect I.G. Tatiev. Restoration work, which began in 1968, was aimed at strengthening the foundation, partial modification of the facade and interior rooms. The author of the restoration project Yalta designer V.N. Timofeev planted the extreme block of the building on a cantilevered concrete slab, set under the central volume. Thus, the extreme part of the house was securely fixed, which remained hanging over the collapsed rock. In addition to the monolithic plate, the entire structure was surrounded by anti-seismic belts. The tower increased in height acquired great decorativeness thanks to four spires.

On May 28, 2008, the National Bank of Ukraine introduced gold and silver coins “Swallow’s Nest” in denominations of 50 and 10 UAH, respectively. The coins were published in the series “Memoirs of architecture of Ukraine”. The gold coin is minted from gold of the 900th sample and has a weight of 15.55 g Circulation - 4000 pieces [8]. Silver minted from silver 925-th sample and has a weight of 31.1 g Circulation - 5000 pcs[9].
In August 2012, the Mint of Poland, commissioned by the Cook Islands, issued a coin “Swallow’s Nest” made of silver in the form of the Crimean Peninsula. On the obverse of the coins are engraved: the profile of Elizabeth II, the name of the issuer (Island of Niue), denomination (1 dollar) and year of issue (2012), as well as a relief image of the Bear Mountain (Ayu-Dag) - a natural attraction of the Southern Coast of Crimea. The reverse shows the symbol of modern Crimea – the “Gothic” castle “Swallow’s Nest”, which hovers over the waves of the Black Sea, made in turquoise-blue color. On the right is the name of the castle. The coin is minted from silver of the 925th sample, has a weight of 14.14 g, dimensions 32.88 x 49.90×9.15 mm Circulation - 3,500 pcs [10]. The Central Bank of Russia in 2014 issued a commemorative 10-ruble coin dedicated to the entry of Crimea into the Russian Federation, on the reverse side of which in the center is a relief image of the Swallow’s Nest against the background of the outline of the Crimean Peninsula. The coin has a circulation of 10 million units.[11] His image adorns a commemorative banknote of 100 rubles, dedicated to the annexation of the peninsula to Russia, issued in December 2015. " Swallow’s nest can be viewed not only outside, but also inside the building where the museum is located. It operates from 10:00 to 19:00 in the summer, from 10:00 to 16:00 in the “off season”. On holidays and weekends there are excursions that must be booked in advance. You can get to the castle by public transport (buses No. 32 and 102) from Yalta.