#harax

Nicholas II with Maria Georgievna, Olga Nikolaevna and Tatiana Nikolaevna in Harax, Crimea. May 1912

The other palaces in the Crimea

The Palace of Koreiz was owned by the Yousupov Family, and the inside photos show an exquisite place. It is worth taking the time to check them out.

The Palace of Kichkine was built by Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich as a place he could enjoy with his nephews.

Dulber means "beautiful" or "heart stealing" in Tartar. This palace was built by Grand Duke Pyotr Nikolaievich. Design and construction were based on his sketches. The Grand Duke had great knowledge of Middle Eastern Architecture and history. The palace has more than 100 rooms.

The Vorontzov Palace (built by Prince Mikhail Vorontzov) is one of the oldest palaces in the Crimea. It has 150 rooms and is surrounded by gardens and parks. Vorontsov's palace started a tradition of imperial residency in the area. Many Russian elite were attracted to build villas and palaces in the Crimea.

Massandra: This palace was initially being built for the Vorontzovs, but a death in the family caused the project to halt. Alexander III bought the palace and had it redesigned. The family never stayed in the palace, preferring their other palace at Livadia (the old Livadia palace, not the beautiful white heaven we all know and love.

The Golytzin Palace: This palace can only be seen on the outside. It has a long and turbulent story. The Golytzin who built it only lived in it for one year.

Harax: Grand Duke George Mikhailovich's wife, Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna, wanted an English country house in the middle of the Middle East. Everybody thought it could not be done but it was. George and Marie spent the best years of their very troubled marriage living at Harax.

Bagçesaray Palace of the Crimean Khans is a compact architectural ensemble consisting of 17 buildings and 9 inner closed courtyards. I have included a photo here because it is a source of much controversy. The palace is said to be magically beautiful and, in 2013, was listed by UNESCO as a potential addition to its World Heritage List. It was the administrative capital of the Crimean Khanate from 1532 to 1783. Apparently, the renovations have been botched. The issues regarding this historic treasure will have to be picked up again once the region has restored peace. Right now, they are not the priority.

The nobility in the Crimea

By the end of the Russian Empire, Crimea had become the most coveted "vacation spot" for the Russian elites. Palaces continued to sprout up. The sun, sea, mountains, flowers...and nobility had each other. Summers in Crimea became almost like an informal season, with teas, picnics, the occasional balls, dinners, etc. And protocol was eased. The Tsar was a frequent visitor to Harax and Dulber (at one point.) He enjoyed sitting outside and smoking. When he was there, the cossacks were there for musical entertainment.

Hello there! Thank you for your question.

Grand Duke Georgiy Mikhailovich married Princess Maria of Greece and Denkark in 1900. Upon the marriage, she became 'Maria Georgievna'. Georgiy seemed very much in love with Maria at first, he courted her for five years before she decided to marry him, having turned him down initially. They seemed to be, on paper, a good match - they were notably both very artistic, and together they designed their own English-style house in the Crimea, called Harax.

They were close with the Romanovs, especially Xenia Alexandrovna, who was Maria's best friend, cousin, AND sister-in-law! Georgiy and Maria's daughters occasionally played with Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna, and were friendly with Nicholas and Alexandra.

Unfortunately, Maria never seemed to be able to settle in Russia and longed to return to Greece, which I suspect put strain on the marriage. The final blow (in my opinion) came in 1913, when Maria's father King George I of Greece was assassinated. It was such a shock and she was devastated. This was even more distressing as it was the Romanov Tercentenary year, and Georgiy and Maria were expected to attend celebrations, despite being deep in mourning.

Maria seemed to have been deeply unhappy, and took her children to London in 1914 as a way to take a break from the marriage, with Georgiy meant to follow them to London later on. Of course, Maria couldn't have predicted war would break out, but it meant that there was an excuse to stay in London and away from Russia where she was unhappy, as her and her daughters couldn't travel back to Russia due to the danger it posed. It is believed that her daughters, Nina and Xenia, who had tumultuous relationship with their mother, always resented her for taking them away from their father in 1914 - he would be shot in 1919, and they would never see him again after the move to London.

Despite this, there was clearly some affection between Georgiy and Maria. From London, Maria tried desperately to help Georgiy, contacting Russian relatives, the Danish embassy, and offering £50,000 (almost £3,000,000 today) of her own money in return for him being freed.

So, their marriage wasn't absolutely disastrous - there seems to have been some closeness and they clearly shared common interests. Their collaboration on Harax especially indicates that they had a good partnership. Despite this, Maria never seemed able to fall in love with Georgiy, or Russia. It wasn't a success by any means, but they did not hate each other.

5th May 1912 part 2/2

Photo 1 : Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna and Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna in the garden of the Harax palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 2 : Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna and Princess Xenia Georgievna walking in the garden of the Harax palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 3 : Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna in front of the Harax palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 4 : Princess Nina Georgievna and Princess Xenia Georgievna in the garden of the Harax palace, 5th May 1912.

Photo 5-7 : The Harax Palace and garden, 5th May 1912.

"5th May. Saturday. [...] At around 4 o'clock Erni, Ella, Onor, Olga, Tatiana and I went Harax. We stopped by the lighthouse to inspect the excavation sites. Drank tea at George and Minnie's and walked around their flowering garden. We returned home at 6 1/2. [...]"

1912 Diary of Tsar Nicholas II

Princess Nina Georgievna, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, Princess Xenia Georgievna and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna at the Harax estate in Crimea, September - October 1909.