The Vorontsov Palace, nowadays Alupka State Palace-Park Museum-Reserve is one of the most visited architectural monuments of Crimea. The Vorontsov Palace was intended to be a summer residence for the Governor-General of Novorossiya area M.S. Vorontsov (1782-1856), upon the project of the English architect Edward Blore (1789—1879). The Vorontsov family owned the Alupka palace until the October Revolution, after which the building along with the park was nationalized. In 1921 a museum was opened here. English delegation headed by Winston Churchill, resided at the Palace during February 4-11, 1945 Yalta conference of the leaders of three allied powers - USSR, USA and United Kingdom. The Palace complex consists of several buildings that constitute a single architectural ensemble: Central, Dining, Guest, Library and Household Building. All buildings of the Palace complex, including back regions, have about 150 rooms. The Palace is outstandingly beautiful. Its terraces have the most picturesque views of the Black Sea and mount Ai-Petri. The Palace is surrounded by a huge park that doesn't have analogues in the world. Its total area is 40 hectares; it's a completely different world with the rarest types of plants. For instance, the Monkey-Puzzle tree, which is almost 200 years old, is the only one in Eastern Europe, and very beautiful. This park ensemble was being created for over a quarter-century under the guidance of the German professional botanist and gardener Karl Keebach, and has over 200 species of unique plants, among them: prostrate juniper, Crimea endemic, small fruiting strawberry tree, plane trees that are several centuries old, as well as oaks, sequoias and fir trees. Siberian cedar, Crimean pine trees, yew and magnolias are growing alongside each other here. Every visitor of the Palace dreams of coming back here again and again to enjoy this exceptional scenery!
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