Swallow’s Nest

«Swallow’s Nest» is a castle that is located in the Crimea in Ukraine. It seems that it seems to hang at an altitude of forty meters above the sea. After all, the rock of the Aurora of the Ai-Todor Cape cuts abruptly to the sea.

«Swallow’s Nest» is similar to a medieval European feudal castle. Its walls rise gradually, by ledges to the crenellated tower standing on the very edge of the rock.

In the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, the first building was built on the site of a modern castle. At that time this place was called «The Castle of Love» or «Generalife». The truth so far no one can say for sure who this castle was built for. Also unknown is the very love story, which turned out to be a catalyst for building on the strange place of the castle. Even then, the wooden structure looked so effective that the great artists Bogolyubov, Aivazovsky and Lagory painted it on their canvases.

Also, no one knows why the wooden lock gradually fell into desolation. And in the year 1912 the wooden building was demolished, and in its place was erected a new castle made of stone, to which we can admire to this day. The new castle was built for the German oil industrialist Baron Steingel. The architect was Sherwood Leonid.

But the new castle was not destined to stand still all these years. In the year 1917 there was a strong earthquake of six to seven points, which quite significantly damaged the castle. Some enthusiasts, to save the castle from further damage, were offered even to transfer it to some other quiet and safe place. But no one supported their idea. And in one thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven, only a small part of the castle was rebuilt and a rock was fortified. In the modern form the castle is not large: its height is twelve meters, the length is twenty meters, and the width is ten meters.