DSC_00137
Swallow's Nest, one of the romantic castles of Neo-Gothic style near Yalta; built in 1912 by the order of a German baron Stengel.
The castle overlooks Ai–Todor cape of the Black Sea. The building is compact in size (20 m long by 10 m wide; 65 ft by 33 ft).[3] Its original design envisioned a foyer, guest room, stairway to the tower, and two bedrooms on two different levels within the tower. An observation deck rings the building, providing a view of the sea, and Yalta's distant shoreline.
In 1911, Baron von Steinheil, a Baltic German noble who had made a fortune extracting oil in Baku, acquired an old timber cottage on this site and within a year had it replaced by the current building.
Compared to Alupka and Koreiz, Swallow's Nest is closer in style to German architectural follies, such as Neuschwanstein, Babelsberg, and Stolzenfels, although its precarious setting on the cliffs by the sea-side may also suggest the Belém Tower.
In 1914, von Steinheil sold the building to P. G. Shelaputin to be used as a restaurant. For a short time after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the building was used only as a tourist attraction. In the 1920s, the building was used by a reading club of the nearby Zhemchuzhina ("Pearl") resort.
In 1927, Swallow's Nest survived a serious earthquake rated at 6 to 7 on the Richter scale.[7] The building was not damaged, except for some small decorative items that were thrown into the sea along with a small portion of the cliff. However, the cliff itself developed a huge crack. For a long time Swallow's Nest was closed to the public due to the damage suffered in that quake. The building remained closed for almost forty years.
Renovation was started in 1968. The project involved restoration of a small portion of the castle and the addition of a monolithic console concrete plate to strengthen the cliff. Since 1975, an Italian restaurant has operated within the building. Swallow's Nest was also featured in several Soviet films. It was used as the setting of Desyat Negrityat, the Soviet screen version of Agatha Christie's book.
External links
lastochka.com.ua - Website of the Restaurant, Lastochkino gnezdo
DSC_00137
Swallow's Nest, one of the romantic castles of Neo-Gothic style near Yalta; built in 1912 by the order of a German baron Stengel.
The castle overlooks Ai–Todor cape of the Black Sea. The building is compact in size (20 m long by 10 m wide; 65 ft by 33 ft).[3] Its original design envisioned a foyer, guest room, stairway to the tower, and two bedrooms on two different levels within the tower. An observation deck rings the building, providing a view of the sea, and Yalta's distant shoreline.
In 1911, Baron von Steinheil, a Baltic German noble who had made a fortune extracting oil in Baku, acquired an old timber cottage on this site and within a year had it replaced by the current building.
Compared to Alupka and Koreiz, Swallow's Nest is closer in style to German architectural follies, such as Neuschwanstein, Babelsberg, and Stolzenfels, although its precarious setting on the cliffs by the sea-side may also suggest the Belém Tower.
In 1914, von Steinheil sold the building to P. G. Shelaputin to be used as a restaurant. For a short time after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the building was used only as a tourist attraction. In the 1920s, the building was used by a reading club of the nearby Zhemchuzhina ("Pearl") resort.
In 1927, Swallow's Nest survived a serious earthquake rated at 6 to 7 on the Richter scale.[7] The building was not damaged, except for some small decorative items that were thrown into the sea along with a small portion of the cliff. However, the cliff itself developed a huge crack. For a long time Swallow's Nest was closed to the public due to the damage suffered in that quake. The building remained closed for almost forty years.
Renovation was started in 1968. The project involved restoration of a small portion of the castle and the addition of a monolithic console concrete plate to strengthen the cliff. Since 1975, an Italian restaurant has operated within the building. Swallow's Nest was also featured in several Soviet films. It was used as the setting of Desyat Negrityat, the Soviet screen version of Agatha Christie's book.
External links
lastochka.com.ua - Website of the Restaurant, Lastochkino gnezdo