Description of the attraction
Potemkin's Palace in Krichev is an architectural monument of the 18th century, built in the style of classicism.
After the division of the Commonwealth, some gentry refused to take the oath of allegiance to Empress Catherine II, for which they immediately lost all their real estate - a large number of castles, estates, estates and cities. The inhabitants of these vast areas did not want to come to terms with the Russian government. It took a strong hand to keep the new territories in check. But Catherine figured out how to solve the problem that had arisen. She began to distribute truly royal gifts - entire cities, villages, regions. The recipients of it always turned out to be the military who distinguished themselves in the recent Crimean War. All of them were distinguished by a very decisive disposition.
So, on January 11, 1776, one of the largest possessions - the Krichevskoye starostvo and 14,274 serf souls in addition, which was previously owned by the rebellious marshal, the great crown count M. Mnishek, received the general-in-chief, His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky.
Potemkin admired Krichev, and he decided to build a palace here. For its construction, the architect Ivan Yegorovich Starov was invited. The builders had a super task - to meet in the shortest possible time, so that the palace was ready at the time when the Empress's inspection trip across the Crimea was planned. On January 19, 1787, the magnificent palace shone with festive illumination. Here one single ball was given, after which, without even resting, Catherine went on. The palace, and with it, all the Krichevsky lands were sold in the same year to Yan Golynsky.
In 1849, the grandson of Jan Golynsky, Stefan Golynsky, took up the rebuilding of his grandfather's estate in a new fashion - in the neo-Gothic style. The project was drawn up by the architect Bernard Simon. The most notable changes have been made to the main entrance. The classic four-column portico and balcony were removed, but a neo-Gothic risalit with faceted pylons resembling the battlements of a tower appeared.
In Soviet times, the long-suffering building was transferred from one organization to another and rebuilt several times. In 1980, the dilapidated building undertook to restore specialists from "Belspetsproektrestavratsiya", however, the treasury did not have enough money for reconstruction, and all attempts ended with the conservation of the building.
The restoration of the palace was undertaken only in 2005. It opened to visitors in 2008. Now the palace houses the registry office and the Krichevsky Museum of Local Lore. In the park and the castle garden that have survived to this day, reconstruction festivals take place, where, as in ancient times, balls, knightly tournaments, reconstructions of battles and uprisings are held.
