The park of the Prince of Oldenburg has already a century of history - it was created in 1902 in Gagra. Initially, it was not so big, but over time, plants began to be brought here from different parts of the world. Prince Oldenburgsky himself dealt with the importation of new plants, birds and animals - but he lacked knowledge of biology and botany: many of them simply did not take root. In Soviet times, the park became an excellent example of park architecture - the best landscape designers of the country worked on this for a long time. Today, more than a thousand plants grow here, most of which are evergreen. This place is often called the Seaside Park, as it is located almost on the coast.
How to get there?
The easiest way is to use the minibus taxi service. The park is located near the final stop - leaving the minibus, you immediately find yourself in the right place. The cost of the trip is 30-60 rubles. You can also take your car or taxi - the average cost of this service is 150 rubles. There is a railway stop "Abaata" nearby.
- The Prince of Oldenburgsky Park covers an area of about 14 hectares. Plants from the Canary Islands, China, South America, Africa, Syria and other parts of the planet grow here.
- Interesting and important people visited the park. In 1912, Nicholas II visited here along with his daughters and high-ranking guests. In Soviet times, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Igor Severyanin, Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Vysotsky and other creative personalities shared their creativity on the stage of the park.
- In Soviet times, films were filmed here - "Merry Fellows", "Duel", "The Star of Captivating Happiness".
- At the junction of the park and the Primorskaya alley, created after the foundation of the park, there is an openwork colonnade built in the 50s of the last century.
- Combine a walk in the park with a visit to the Prince of Oldenburg Castle - the received emotions will last for a long time!
- Among all the plants in the park, date palms, coconut palms, Himalayan cedars, agave trees and a candy tree deserve special attention - but don't think that you will find candy on the latter!
restaurant "Gagripsh" and Seaside Park in Gagra
The beauty of the Abkhaz land, praised by poets and writers, attracted many: travelers, adventurers, romantics, invaders, ordinary people looking for better life... After the victory of Russia in the Russian-Turkish wars, a new type of "guests" appeared on the shores of Abkhazia - active Russian generals and statesmen. One of them was a member of the imperial family Prince of Oldenburg.
More than a century has passed since the time when he, fascinated by the climate and picturesqueness of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, fired up the idea of turning it into a "domestic Nice", making popular place recreation of the Russian aristocracy. And he almost succeeded! Appeared in the mountains prince's castle, in Gagra - the park, and then ... However, let's talk about everything in order.
The Russian government began to consider the Black Sea coast as a resort area at the end of the 19th century. At that time, there were few coastal cities in Russia, and the metropolitan nobility rested in Europe - on French Riviera in France, on the waters in Germany and on the beaches of Italy. The victory in the last Russian-Turkish war gave the empire the most beautiful Black Sea lands. They were in a subtropical climate zone, very close in their characteristics to the Mediterranean. In addition to the climate and beautiful landscapes, many mineral springs and deposits of healing mud. A specially created commission examined the entire Black Sea coast and came to the conclusion that there is no better place for “Russian Nice” to be found in Gagra. There is nothing to be surprised at: the average annual temperature is + 16 ° C, the mountains come close to the coast, forming a unique mountain-marine microclimate.
Biography of the Prince of Oldenburg
On January 9, 1901, by his decree, Nicholas II ordered the construction of a climate station in Gagra (as the resorts were called then) and appointed the head of construction Alexander Petrovich Oldenburg – Prince of Oldenburg... Alexander Petrovich - a descendant of the dukes Holstein-Gottorp, close relatives of Peter III and Catherine II. He was the great-grandson of Paul I. The prince had a military education, served in the Life Guard of the Preobrazhensky regiment, participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, and besieged Plevna. Since 1896 he "sat" in the State Council, was a senator.
At court, the prince was not particularly favored: he was considered an eccentric, at the same time active and active, and therefore dangerous. His energy and disinterestedness are proverbial. Alexander Petrovich was a big fan of progress, supported scientific and charitable institutions, communicated widely with famous doctors and scientists. However, the conservative Russian society perceived his ventures as unworthy of an aristocrat and too bold.
Together with his wife Eugenia, daughter of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna and Duke of Leuchtenberg, he organized Women's Paramedic Courses and opened a Vaccination Station at his own expense. In the late 1880s, at the Holy Trinity Community of Sisters of Mercy, he created the first research center in the Russian Empire in the field of biology and medicine - the Institute of Experimental Medicine. Alexander Petrovich despised drunkenness, fighting with them with all his might as Chairman of the Russian Society of Temperance. He hated laziness, worked tirelessly himself and did not let others get off.
Climate station, restaurant "Gagripsh" and castle
And it was just such a person who was entrusted with the difficult task of transforming the backyards of Russia. Construction began in the fall of 1901 climate station in Gagra. More than seven million rubles were allocated from the treasury for his needs. took up a new business with his characteristic enterprise and energy, and two years later the official opening of the new resort took place. Together with him, electric lighting, a telephone, a telegraph and a water supply system appeared in Gagra.
Alexander Petrovich decided to turn Gagra into a Russian Monte Carlo, to make it a high society resort. He built a hydropathic establishment and Castle by the sea, mansions and villas, restaurants and hotels. A road was laid to the mountains, to the "Alpine Gagra", and the city was adorned with the picturesque Seaside Park. On its 14 hectares, exotic plants from different parts of the planet amazed with their rare species: fan palms from China, date palms from the Canary Islands, coconut palms from South America; cypresses, orange and lemon trees, Himalayan cedars, hamerops, American magnolias, Syrian mallows... A unique system of ponds of different sizes, connected by small streams, appeared in the park. Swans glided gracefully along the water surface of the ponds, and peacocks strolled importantly along the shady alleys.
Opposite the park, the existing one appeared today restaurant "Gagripsh"- the emblem of Gagra. In 1902, it was assembled in Europe, and then, disassembled, transported to the Caucasian shores. The scene of this institution, assembled without a single nail, remembers F. Chaliapin's performances, and they loved to dine at his tables M. Gorky, A. Chekhov, I. Bunin.
The enthusiasm of the Prince of Oldenburg turned out to be contagious: rich people flocked to Gagra, as to the New Riviera. Mass construction of mansions and summer cottages began. The resort became fashionable, and Russian nobility began to visit it. In 1911, the first foreigners came here - German tourists ... Everything in the city was under the watchful eye of the Prince of Oldenburg. In his Mercedes, he drove around the resort every day, observing discipline and delving into all matters - both large and small.
To supply "catering establishments" with fresh food, fruits, vegetables and grapes Prince of Oldenburg organized a real agricultural enterprise on his estate "Otradnoye". Gagra became the prince's favorite toy, his dream come true, an earthly paradise. But the happiness he carefully constructed turned out to be fragile: in 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, Alexander Petrovich recalled to Petersburg, appointing to the post of the Supreme head of the sanitary and evacuation unit. He never returned to Gagra ... On the eve of the October Revolution, the Prince of Oldenburg emigrated to Finland, and after a while moved to France. He died in September 1932 on the Cote d'Azur, in Biarritz, far from the coast of his dreams, built with his own hands.
I tried to make a new, "pixel" version of the restoration of the photograph of Prokudin-Gorsky 'Gagra. View of the palace [of the Prince of Oldenburg] from the pier '. I fixed hundreds of the most noticeable defects in the emulsion layer, but thousands of micro-damages still remain (they can only be seen when zooming).
And our friend Sergey Prokhorov, a real connoisseur of Old Gagra, will better tell about the dramatic history of this wonderful monument.
Original taken from spupper in post
Palace of His Imperial Highness
"Above Gagra, on a rock - beautiful and formidable - the castle rises, it was once the property of the Prince of Oldenburg. Now there is a malaria station, and single tenants live there. The wonderful building is not used at all, it is kept in a shamefully dirty form, no one before No matter. As soon as I came down from the stairs of the castle - right into the garden. In the garden there is a round gray fountain, black lampreys are swimming in the fountain, rubbing against the cooling black bottles of wine. The tables in the garden are always crowded. "This is how the famous palace was seen by the Soviet writer Dmitry Furmanov, who visited Gagra in 1926. Today, the building, which was once a luxurious palace, is a shapeless and unkempt stone mass that hangs over the highway at the entrance to Gagra. If Furmanov had a chance to see it again now, then, I think, it would have amazed the writer with its desolation and inability much more.
Photo opens in large size
This cliff, apparently, was not accidentally chosen by the prince to build his residence. It is located in the narrowest part of the ancient Circassian path with North Caucasus in Transcaucasia (the so-called Gagrinsky passage). Since Alexander Petrovich conceived not just a resort, but a small state within a state with its own rules and exemplary discipline, he certainly had to be aware of everything that was happening in every corner of "his" possessions. The palace was located in such a way that, towering over Old Gagra, it, at the same time, was close enough to the town that everything that was happening could be seen and heard from above. The whole life of the resort took place below and around the palace. From there, gorgeous panoramic views of the entire Gagra Bay, the park, hotels, the pier opened up, the highway from the Adler side was far visible. Numerous outbuildings and a bazaar in the Zhoekvarsky gorge were clearly visible. The castle on the ledge of a steep cliff has literally become a "noble nest", "entourage" by Prince A.P. Oldenburgsky.
Some sources, in my opinion, groundlessly, attribute the beginning of the construction of the palace to 1898. In fact, they began to build it simultaneously with the first buildings of the Climate Station. At the time of the landing of the expedition for the foundation of the resort, led by the Prince of Oldenburg himself in October 1901, no construction was under way in Gagra.
We visited this charming nook for the first time in August 1901: in the dilapidated barracks lived the forest scammers of the "Gagra forest state dacha of the Gudauta section of the Sukhum district of the Kutaisi province", as two faded signs nailed to the pillars said about it. The walls of the old fortification were drowned in dense thickets of blackberries and various species of lianas; old fig trees (figs) rose from the overgrown moat and, bent by the trunk and clutching the cement of the walls with their strong roots, cheerfully stirred their clawed leaves. On the green lawn of the fortification, once trampled by thousands of soldiers' soles, two horses peacefully nibbled the short grass, and several motley chickens roamed about. Near the gate, at the old squat tower, began a fairly well-preserved embankment; along it, swaying high tops, old poplars, which had seen the Turks, stood firmly. The alley stretched for half a mile. In some places, the remains of foundations, walls of barracks or boat sheds gleamed white. In the Juekvary gorge, we found the remains of a tower built by Muravyov in 1841. Here, closer to the sea, lay in cubes of asphalt stone, mined by the workers of Colonel Davydov, who discovered large deposits of this stone in the gorge. Near the highway bridge over Juequara, under the shade of tall poplars, his small house with a balcony nestles. |
As you can see, the description is quite detailed and, if at that time such a significant construction as the future palace of a member of the Imperial family had already been laid, then this significant event would certainly have been reflected.
Construction of the palace 1901-1902
The palace of the Prince of Oldenburg, like many other buildings of the Climate Station in the initial period, was built under the leadership of the classic of Art Nouveau and a longtime acquaintance of Alexander Petrovich, St. Petersburg architect Grigory Ippolitovich Lyutsedarsky. All sources, including modern ones of that era, call Lutsedarsky the author of the project and the head of the construction of the palace.
However, there are memories of Adile Abbas-oglu, where a story is told with some details of the construction. But not Lutsedarsky, but the grandfather of the author of the memoirs, an Iranian-born entrepreneur Yahya Abbas-oglu.
Even before the construction of the Gagra resort began, the prince decided to build a palace for himself in Gagra. Our family legend tells about further events. The prince took it into his head to build a palace on a rock. Twice the best masters laid the foundation of the palace, which cracked in a short time. Hearing about the Iranian builder Abbas-oglu, the prince invited him to his place. After a short conversation, the grandfather agreed to build the palace by the time specified by the prince, and received part of the money to start construction. We agreed: if the palace is not completed on time, then all the monetary expenses will fall on the grandfather. Yahya immediately got down to business. The customer was pleased with the successful progress of the construction, but to complete the work, the remainder of the money had to be given out, which, obviously, the prince did not have. Grandfather had to get money from friends and acquaintances, and the palace was built on time. |
At first glance, there is a contradiction in the question of who can actually be called the creator of the palace. But, based on the scant information about Yahya Kerbolay Abbas, one can nevertheless assume that he, as a well-known local builder with a ready-made team and well-developed construction materials supply schemes, was hired as a contractor. Well, the bright features of the then fashionable Art Nouveau style incorporated in the project and embodied do not leave doubts that the master of this style G.I. Lutsedarsky. He also carried out the general management of all extensive construction work in Gagra.
Photo by S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky
The familiar appearance of the palace was not formed at once. If you look closely at the facade, you can clearly see that it consists of two parts, different in style and purpose. First, the western part of the palace was built - an asymmetric architecture, with a huge round window, a panoramic outdoor terrace, a high chimney and a decorative element that imitates a curl of a vine. In this initially compact form, the building looks like a real villa.
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The eastern four-story part of the palace looks much quieter in architectural terms. It has on the three upper floors, including the attic, many rooms for living with small balconies of the same type, and the first floor looks like a gallery. Chimneys are not involved in creating a style, but are purely functional.
If we abstract from the usual combination of both parts, we can see that these are just two different buildings connected to each other. For what purposes Oldenburgsky needed a hotel-type extension, none of the sources I have read explains. On the one hand, I can't even imagine that these rooms were for rent. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine that so many personal guests were supposed to be present at the same time.
The four guests of the prince
Photo taken from the Internet
The original purpose of the upper wing with an observation tower above the main building of the palace also remains a mystery to me. This wing was also built by Lutsedar, and now it is customary to call it a servants' lodge or a hunting lodge with a falconer's tower.
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Photo of the early 2000s. from the Internet
In my understanding, a hunting lodge should be located somewhere far from the main dwelling, in the immediate vicinity of hunting or recreation. For example, how is the hunting lodge of Nicholas II located in Krasnaya Polyana? But then it is more appropriate to compare the Oldenburg palace itself with it, especially in its original design, and by analogy call the outbuilding the huntsman's house.
In most of the surviving dacha castles that we see in Gagra, a small turret must rise above the house itself. The well-known dacha of Fedyushina has such a design; such a tower is present at the neighboring house on the other side of the Skala boarding house. There is a tower at the dacha of Goldobin in Grebeshka, at the dacha of Olkhovsky, at the dacha of Andreev and at the dacha of Kortukova (she is also the dacha of Lakoba). All these houses are on a hill and have a platform at the very top. But it is not intended for walking birds of prey, but for viewing the stunning views of the coast. Now take a look at the Oldenburg Palace and find observation deck on the building. It is not there because it is even higher. After all, the listed dachas already stand at the highest place of their site, and the fenced area from the palace, on the contrary, rises up. Where to arrange an observation tower, if not at the highest point of the site?
It is customary to house servants in the wings of the palace. But in our case, I doubt that the prince, who is quite zealous about the issue of subordination, would have allowed the servants to sit over his own residence, and even build an observation tower for the servants with the best views of the coast.
Some sources, for example, the guidebooks of Machavariani and Moskvich, speak of the palace of the Princess of Oldenburg, which "nestled high on the mountain." Both guidebooks, published in 1913, have text clearly copied from some one primary source.
I am still inclined to write off this mention of a certain "princess's palace" as an inaccuracy or delusion of the author, rather than seriously suggest that the wing with the tower was intended for Evgenia Maximilianovna. At that time she was already paralyzed, so it would be difficult for her to climb to the very height.
Then what function did this house with a tower perform? There is one assumption, which, in my opinion, gives the most logical answer. This version came to me when we discussed some more incomprehensible details of the palace - a bath and a bowl with a fountain located on the back wall, as well as the monogram “PAO” with an arrow depicted on the bowl.
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Photo of 2010 |
Photo of 2015 |
There is such a bowl behind the palace of the Prince of Oldenburg. Who has any idea what it is for? And what does PAO with an arrow mean in 1913? Maybe some joint stock company? But with a bowl of association only on the subject of mineral water. PJSC - Prince Alexander of Oldenburg I think PAO are the initials of the son of the prince (Alexander Petrovich Oldenburgsky) - Peter Aleksandrovich Oldenburgsky - PAO) Number 1913 ... Maybe because this bowl is dedicated to his son, PAO? From the opinion of one woman - "A Trip to the Castle of the Princess of Oldenburg" (village Ramon, Voronezh region): it tells about the use of the heraldic symbols of the Oldenburgskys on the oak slabs of the ceiling in the library and the letters "AEP" (Alexander, Eugene, Peter). So much has been written about PAO: and that he was ... gay ... and that a gambler ... and that therefore gave a divorce to his wife ... after 13 years In 1913, PAO was still married and hid from the Prince of Oldenburg (his father) that he lived with another in the same castle. Maybe the arrow on the bowl shows the direction? PAO type there. Yes, but to the first question - is there only one association - a source? Not necessarily mineral. - By the way, a little further away there is a whole bathtub. If "PAO" really refers to Peter Alexandrovich, then in 1913 there were two significant events in his life. In May, he was awarded the rank of Major General of the Retinue (in which he remained until the last years of his life). And in December 1913 he got into a train accident, but remained unharmed. Prince Peter Alexandrovich Oldenburgsky was returning by courier train from the Caucasus. “At night, on the stretch between the stations of Saguna and Liski, a train traveling at a speed of about 50 km / h collided with a steam locomotive standing in the way. Despite the darkness, the train driver noticed a steam locomotive and applied emergency braking, but the collision could not be avoided. Many passengers were hit and bruised from the blow. The prince remained unharmed and in gratitude for the vigilance shown by the driver, which allowed him to avoid a terrible catastrophe, presented him with his gold cigarette case. " In the direction of the arrow, the main entrance is generally. But there is also a staircase upstairs to the turret, which has now been restored. Nobody told me exactly about its purpose. Tour guides usually say that this is a hunting lodge with a falconer's tower or just a servants' corps. But now, if the prince settled his son and wife there, then this is somehow more understandable. There must have been a tap to the bowl. A bowl with a faucet definitely has to do with water, possibly to the water supply of Alexander Petrovich. Does the arrow indicate the direction of movement of the water or a drain of water from one bowl to another, or into a bathtub? It was unlikely that the arrow indicated where the wife and son were, The prince could probably find his way to them without arrows. Well, if we assume that he still could not, then they would have painted higher - at eye level. Could designate only as a joke. Those were still jokers. And it was probably not the prince himself who meant, but the one who erected the structure. - “The most valuable buildings of the town were equipped with perforated pipelines located in the middle of the ceiling of each room. the rear of the enemy, destroy it from the inside. A hereditary transfiguration, a participant in the Turkish campaign, the prince knew a lot about such things. True, fires in Gagra, like in a Turkish bath, happened extremely rarely, but that's what sanitary measures are for. Sanitation is a great thing! No wonder the prince of Oldenburg at one time headed the commission for the fight against the plague. " What am I leading to? Maybe this bowl was filled with water and was intended just in case, to extinguish fires in the rooms of the PJSC? PJSC - fire emergency support? And the arrow - the direction of evacuation in case of fire? Her, all these signs made on stone, I think, do not belong to the category of technical ones. They symbolize something. Knowing about the widespread passion for Freemasonry at the turn of the century (and the prince was no exception), I would rather give a runic explanation to this set of symbols. Especially taking into account the number 1913. The arrow, for example, is a symbol of the masculine principle, and, as you know, this was exactly what Peter Alexandrovich lacked. And of course, the inscription is somehow connected with the water that filled this cup. Unless, of course, this is just a personalized drinking fountain. |
Stylized manhole covers are awaiting use in the area adjacent to the outbuilding.
Speaking of the aqua tanks in the palace, I would like to note that the bowl with the tap was equipped, apparently, in 1913, when the palace was already fully built. The question about its purpose remained open. A separate fireplace adjoined the bath on the other side of the wall, obviously serving to heat the water. And on the first floor, in the rocky wall of the corridor leading to the basement, a grotto with a minipool was also carved out, also of unknown purpose.
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Photo of 2015 |
Photo of 2010 |
So, the direction of the arrow on the bowl is hardly connected with the indication of the path to the residence of Peter Alexandrovich. But the very version that the upper wing was originally built for the only son of Oldenburgsky - Peter and Olga Alexandrovna, his wife, I continue to like. Indeed, in 1902, while the main palace was just beginning to be built, the so-called Provisional Palace was built on the shore for the newlyweds personally, in fact - a shield house. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that on the territory of a real palace they could also be equipped with a personal dwelling. By the way, one of the old photos (see Appendix, photo No. 37) shows that the entire area inside is divided in two by a transverse wall, which still exists today.
On September 27, 2013, the grand-nephew of Prince Alexander of Oldenburg, Duke Gounod von Oldenburg, and his wife, Duchess Felicitas von Oldenburg, paid a private visit to Gagra. The reception was held in a restored wing.
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The castle of the Prince of Oldenburg, built by the talented architect I.K.Lutseransky in 1902, is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the Art Nouveau style on the territory of Abkhazia. Initially, the building, erected on a mountainside near the mouth of the Zhoekvara River, housed the summer residence of the Prince of Oldenburg, a relative of Emperor Nicholas II and a major public figure who took on the hard work of improving the Black Sea coast. The prince dreamed of turning the picturesque area into a resort area, where his compatriots could improve their health at a reasonable price, so the first thing he ordered was to drain the swamps and lay out the park, which later received the name Primorsky. The implementation of grandiose plans was prevented by the war: the prince was urgently summoned to Petersburg, from where he later emigrated to France. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the castle received the status of a boarding house and was renamed "The Chaika". After the collapse of the USSR, the building fell into decay, was plundered and survived a fire that destroyed part of the building. It is currently leased to a private person planning a complete restoration of the object.
What to see
The road to the castle passes through the picturesque Seaside Park with many rare plants and trees that fill the air with an amazing fragrance. From time to time on the way there are recreation areas with fountains and benches, where you can sit down and watch the dance of crystal clear streams. The pond, where live herons live, causes considerable delight among visitors: they are not at all afraid of people and calmly react to camera flashes.
Opposite the entrance to the park is the Gagripsh restaurant, famous for the fact that it was there that the Prince of Oldenburg in 1903 announced the decision to create a resort area. The past of the institution is inextricably linked with the past of the castle and the city as a whole, so you should definitely visit it, if not for the sake of delicious food, then at least for the opportunity to capture the unique interior. The building of the restaurant resembles a classic London train station with a built-in clock. Once inside, you can examine in detail the mechanism of the device - it is always open for viewing. The restaurant's balconies offer stunning views of the city and the sea. It is hard to believe that this structure is more than 100 years old: it was brought from Paris in 1902 and assembled on site without a single nail. Within its walls I. Bunin, M. Gorky rested and worked, F. Chaliapin performed.
The building of the Gagripsh restaurant is over 100 years old: it was brought from Paris in 1902 and assembled without a single nail.
Having paid tribute to "Gagripsh", we enter the territory of the park and, having strayed a little, we go out to the ruins of the castle. The once beautiful structure with snow-white walls, a falcon tower, balconies with carved railings and a sloping tiled roof is now abandoned, and it is unsafe to be in it. Here and there, fallen ceiling beams block the road, but this does not stop the brave ones: they strive to the second floor, from where an amazing view of the surroundings opens. Ornate patterns are still preserved on the floor in places, and the fireplaces that have suffered from the hands of vandals have not lost their beauty and grace, despite the inscriptions covering them and a thick layer of dust. Looking at the remnants of the former luxury, one would like to believe that the current owner of the castle will do everything possible to restore this unique architectural monument with a rich past.
Practical information
The castle stands near the final stop of city minibuses. You can get to it on foot or by cable car from the Primorsky Park. Given the current state of the castle, access to it is limited, so you can visit it on your own or as part of an excursion for visitors to the Gagripsh restaurant.
Restaurant address: Gagra, st. Nartaa. Opening hours - from 11:00 to 00:00. The average account in the institution is 2000 RUB. Prices on the page are for June 2018.
Another amazing place in Gagra is the castle of the Prince of Oldenburg. Every tourist who comes to Gagra should visit there, because this castle is the initial step in the history of the development of Gagra. Like any tourist, I was attracted by this castle for its curious history, architecture and scenic surroundings. If you are relaxing in Gagra, then you should definitely take a walk to the castle of the Prince of Oldenburg. Now I will tell you how to get to it without difficulty.
How to get to the castle
So the very first question is how to get to it?
The castle of the Prince of Oldenburg is located in the old part of the city of Gagra. It is located near the Zhoekvara River, on the slope of Mamzishkha Mountain. If you want to walk and relax, then next to the castle there is a magnificent Seaside Park, where you can enjoy the surrounding nature.
Thus, you can get to the castle of the Prince of Oldenburg:
The history of the castle of the Prince of Oldenbourg
The castle begins its history with one of the noble families of Oldenburg. What is this dynasty?
This branch begins with a small branch, namely the Holstein-Gottorp Oldenburg family. Once they were excellent rulers of this small possession, and a little later the glorious county of Oldenburg was formed. If we recall the history of the Romanov dynasty, then Prince Alexander Petrovich was their closest relative. So, the great-grandson of Emperor Paul was Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg.
One of his most important decisions is the establishment of a unique resort on the Gagra coast. In those days it was called the second Nice. It is here that the prince decides to start building his castle. The architect I. Lucernsky was appointed to supervise all construction work, as he was very educated and loved new styles and trends in the art of that time. Therefore, the castle was built in a completely new and unique Art Nouveau style. It was very atypical for that time!
The palace was finally completed in 1902. And the next year, a wonderful resting place was set up near the castle - Seaside Park.
A variety of bushes and trees from all over the world were brought and planted here. Cypresses, date palms, cork oak, pink olendras, magnolias, araucaria and many, many others.
During the reign of Soviet power, the house of the Prince of Oldenburg was reorganized into a sanatorium. Stalin, it was here that the entire Soviet elite came to rest.
Somewhat later it became known as the Chaika sanatorium.
The castle fell into a war zone during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict (1992-1993) and was badly damaged. Passing it, you can see traces of bullets and other shells. But the palace has survived and has survived to this day.
Description of the castle
And so we arrived at the castle of the Prince of Oldenburg. Immediately striking is a huge stone structure with a bright red tiled roof.
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Every tourist wants to look at it not only from the outside, but also take a walk inside the castle itself. I note that this must be done very carefully, since it is in an emergency condition.
Nevertheless, we took a chance and entered the castle itself. I immediately drew attention to the rooms that once shone with expensive decoration with paintings still remaining on the walls, beautiful columns near the staircase, fireplaces and windows of various shapes and sizes.
Unfortunately, we managed to walk only in a few rooms, the rest were completely destroyed. Peeling paint, debris and broken glass indicate that urgent repairs and restoration are needed. 
Extremals can be advised to get to the round window and observe the Old Gagra area from the top. From there, a beautiful view of the sea and the city itself opens up!
When we left the castle, we were immediately struck by the picturesque tower, which is called "Sokolnichnaya". In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the castle. It can be clearly seen from anywhere in the Old Gagra area, especially from the embankment. It is said that it was from this tower that the prince once hunted local birds.
Excursions to the castle
The restaurant "Gagrapsh" sometimes conducts excursions to the castle for its guests. Its approximate cost is 700-1000 rubles. Maybe on different days (they can change, so you need to check with the organizers).
Those who wish to save money can independently get to the castle. Many travelers come here on their own to admire the beauty.
It is worth clarifying a very important point. Since the castle is in disrepair, now it is officially closed for excursions (except for excursions for guests of the Gagrapsh restaurant). However, no one forbade entering the territory of the Oldenburg Castle.
Therefore, if desired, tourists can even go up to the top floor. True, I did not do this for security purposes.
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We were very pleased with our trip to the castle of the Prince of Oldenburg! Despite the fact that today it is in a very poor condition. We, like every tourist visiting the castle, believe that one day it will transform and shine like in the old days. Then you can see all of its original beauty both inside and outside!
