Main

::

About

::

Building

::

Plane

::

History

::

Climate

::

Photos

::

Cost

::

Contacts

History of Gurzuf Gurzuf is a city type settlement. Its name presumably came from the Latin "Urzus" which means "a bear". It is one of the most charming and most beautiful places of the southern coast The excavation spent on the territory of Gurzuf show that the Tauris, ancient inhabitants of mountainous Crimea, have constructed on the Mountain Ayu-Dag fortifications and a temple to their main goddess the Virgin. The first record of Gurzuf is found at Procopy, the Byzantian writer of the VI century. Almost 300 years - from 1475 up to 1774 - Gurzuf, as well as all the southern coast of Crimea, was a part of colonial possessions of Turkish Sultans. At that time Gurzuf like other settlements of the southern coast was a small village. In 1778 under the initiative of empress Ekaterina II all Christian population of Crimea, and basically the Crimean Greeks, has been moved to Priazovye. There they have founded new settlements, giving them the habitual Crimean names. So, the Greeks from Gurzuf have founded the village under the name Gurzuf. From the beginning of the XIX century the destiny of Gurzuf is indissolubly connected with the name of duke Armand du Plessis de Richelieu. Being the hero of Izmail, the Patriotic War of 1812, general-governor of Novorossiya (1805-1814) and a builder of Odessa, Richelieu bought the estate of Gurzuf and by 1811 had built the first villa for the visitors coming for rest. At that time it was a sole villa at all southern coast which was a house of the real European level as well in architectural as household sense. Duke de Richelieu set Gurzuf Park which in 2008 will be 200 years old, and also he was the founder of Nikitsky Botanical Garden. Owing to activity of Richelieu, Gurzuf for many years became a resort capital of Crimea. After Richelieu, Russian and European aristocracy began to build their estates in the region of Gurzuf and the settlement Artek. The magnificent estate of Duke de Richelieu became a place where such outstanding people of Russian culture as A.S.Pushkin, A.Mitskevich, A.Griboedov, V.Zhukovsky were accepted. Today, since 1989 this building acts as Pushkin's House-museum being at its true worth a center of cultural life of Crimea. Owing to Duke de Richelieu, Gurzuf can be proud of two hundred years' tradition of the Crimean hospitality. For this reason “Richelieu-chateau” Housing Estate carries the name of this historic figure. Since that time Gurzuf became a place of the life, rest, creativity and dialogue of aristocracy and intelligentsia. Gurzuf is closely connected with the name of Alexander Pushkin. Traveling in the south of Russia with the family of the hero of Patriotic War of 1812, general Raevsky, in August, 17th, 1820 Pushkin arrived to Gurzuf on a small military brig. Up to now the house where Pushkin stayed in Gurzuf is kept. The memorial board is installed on this house. Now the well-known camp complex "Artek" is situated in the territory of Gurzuf. This chidren's resort complex has at its disposal Suguk-Su Palace with a big hall, library and museum of cosmonautics by Y.Gagarin. Since 1959 the best camp of "Artek", "Sea" Camp became international. Visitors from 36 countries have visited this place. There are a lot of picturesque and remarkable places in the territory of the settlement, among which are the Suguk-Su Cape (Cape of Cold Water). A rock of this cape which is the most far stretching in the sea is named the Shalyapin's Cape. A grey tower assembled like a medieval fortress is visible in the top part of the cape. There is a small monument of Pushkin placed on a platform near to the tower. A well-known Pushkin's Grotto is at the basis of this rock.

Copyright © 2006 Rshato, all right reserved