The Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai is a palace-garden that has preserved the secrets of the Khan's Girey dynasty. Description of the ensemble of the Bakhchisaray Khan's Palace

The question of how to get to the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai, the heart of the Crimean Gireys, was relevant for all Zaporizhian Koshe atamans. It is still relevant now, however, priorities have changed a lot over the past 450 years - if the Cossacks a couple of hundred years ago dreamed of its destruction, now everything is being done to preserve it. The brilliant castle of the Crimean rulers is the oldest and most important historical and architectural object on the territory of the peninsula; its significance for both contemporaries and descendants is very great. Truly, this is one of the most visited places by tourists in Crimea; interest in it has not cooled since the reign of the Romanovs.

Where is the palace in Bakhchisaray?

Bakhchisarai stands out with some unusual color. The Khan's Palace in Crimea is located in this regional center of the southern part of the peninsula, halfway from Simferopol to, 30 km southwest of the Crimean capital. It is located in the Churuk-Su river valley, in the foothills of the Inner Crimean Ridge.

Khansky on the map of Crimea

History of the ensemble's construction and legends

Construction of the palace began under Mengli Girey I in 1503 in parallel with the new Khan's capital; the construction of Demir Kapa dates back to this period of time. But the main work on its creation was carried out during the reign of Sahib-Girey I: from 1532 to 1551. Most of the beautiful buildings were built.

However, to say that its construction was completed shortly before the death of Sahib-Girey would be wrong. In fact, each of the khans added something of their own - this continued until the liquidation of the Crimean Khanate in 1785. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739. in 1736 it was taken by Russian troops, and the khan's residence was burned on the orders of Field Marshal Minich.

Restoration work in the XVIII-XX centuries.

As a result of the fire, the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai was severely damaged, and some of its buildings were completely destroyed. Almost immediately, renovation work began: in 1741, he attempted to restore the palace of Salamat-Girey II, but his reign was short-lived and he accomplished little. Following him, Arslan-Girey and Kyrym-Girey tried to rebuild the residence: as a result of their activities, new buildings appeared, and even more damage was caused to the old ones.

Afterwards, during the 19th century, it was rebuilt several times and it completely lost its original appearance, having changed beyond recognition. The last restoration work was carried out in 1961-1964. Thanks to the fact that a team of specialists used the description of Captain Manstein’s palace, made by him before the burning, the khan’s residence was actually returned to its original appearance, which can be seen today.

Our days

In 1921 it was transformed into the Museum of History and Culture of the Crimean Tatar People. Since 1955, it received the name of the Bakhchisarai Historical and Archaeological Museum of Crimea. And in 1979, after restoration, being a monument of Crimean architecture, it became a historical and architectural museum.

The Legend of the Snakes

At the end of the 15th century. The Crimean Khanate has not yet completely freed itself from the rule of the Golden Horde. On the eve of the decisive battle between the Horde Khan Akhmat and the Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II, in which the fate of the Crimea was decided, the son of Mengli-Girey went hunting to escape from heavy thoughts. During this he wandered
very thicket and stopped to rest and drink water near the Churuk-Su River.

Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard, the khan’s son turned and saw two of them appearing from the bushes and grappling in mortal combat. He saw this at the very moment when one of the snakes dealt the other the final, fatal blow. Suddenly a third snake attacked the winner and the battle began again. But the son of Mengli-Girey did not take his eyes off the dead snake - it very much reminded him of the fate of his homeland. Suddenly she moved and slowly crawled towards the river until she disappeared into the water.

A moment later she appeared on the other side, stronger and without a single scratch. The young khan immediately hurried to his father and told him about what he had seen, and a few hours later the messengers brought the good news: the Horde were completely defeated by the Ottomans. Mengli-Girey considered this a good sign, and in the place where the healed snake crawled out, he ordered to build a palace, and in memory of this event, carve a coat of arms - two snakes intertwined in a fight.

Khan's Palace - a huge open-air museum

Every year, many tourists from all over the world come to admire the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchisarai - these beautiful buildings open to the public. It is very difficult to single out something among all the diversity - they are all unique and bear the imprint of different eras. But more importantly, after the restoration of 1961-1964. the complex acquired the appearance of a single architectural ensemble, lost for many years, a combination of harmony and spirituality. The most interesting palace objects:

In order to create one stained glass shebeke, the craftsmen had to work for 5-6 months

The façade is painted with intricate floral and geometric patterns.

The finest painting covers the walls and ceilings and interior chambers. Visitors get the impression that they are inside a jewel.

None of the rooms in the palace are identical in decoration to another. Here you can see mythical birds in the Garden of Eden, as well as strange animals, flowers

Trees, flowers, animals and birds are symbols of fertility

Many masters worked on palace paintings, but the most famous of them are Abas Gulu and Usta Gambar Garabakh

In total, the Khan's palace has 6 rooms, 4 corridors and 2 mirrored balconies. The second floor is divided into male and female halves.

Thanks to stained glass windows, the daylight entering the chambers shines with all the colors of the rainbow

Once upon a time there was a marvelous garden around the Khan's palace. Now all that remains of it are two giant plane trees

These plane trees are even older than the palace. The sign says that this giant, 34 meters high, was planted back in 1530

Shah's Palace is located behind a powerful fortress wall. She saved from enemy attacks

And this view opens from the walls of the palace to Sheki - one of the most ancient cities of Azerbaijan

Address: Russia, Republic of Crimea, city of Bakhchisarai
Main attractions: Great Khan Mosque, Stables Building, Library Building, Main Building, Harem Building, Falcon Tower, Divan Hall, Golden Cabinet, Golden Fountain, Fountain of Tears, Demir Kapi Portal, Summer Gazebo
Coordinates: 44°44"56.5"N 33°52"55.1"E

Short description

On the territory of the Crimean peninsula in the city of Bakhchisarai there is a luxurious Khan’s palace, which occupies more than 4 hectares of land. Khan-Saray - its ancient name, was built in the best traditions of Crimean Tatar architecture of the 16th - 18th centuries. Initially, the khan's residence was located in the Atlama-Dere valley, but when the ruler began to experience a lack of space to maintain his large court, he decided to build a new palace and chose a site for it on the banks of the Churuk-Su River.

Aerial photography of the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisaray

Construction work was carried out during the reign of Adil-Sahib-Girey, the son of Mengli-Girey, and at the same time, Bakhchisarai was first mentioned as the place of residence of a descendant of the khan. By 1551, the construction of the palace came to an end, but it was not a single large-scale structure, but an entire miniature city, which became the center of the political, cultural and spiritual life of the Crimean Tatar state.

The main task of the craftsmen who worked on the creation of palace buildings was to convey the Muslim idea of ​​paradise on earth. This is how a palace-garden appeared on the Crimean land (translated into the Crimean Tatar language - bakhchisarai). The palace territory is rich in courtyards, fountains, and greenery. All structures are light and painted, with openwork bars on the windows. However, the original appearance of the Bakhchisarai Khan's Palace changed several times over the 2.5 centuries of its existence. Each subsequent ruler considered it necessary to supplement the palace complex with new buildings or remodel it at his own discretion.

North Gate and gate tower

In 1736, during the invasion of Crimea by Russian troops, the palace was set on fire, and after the fire, all its buildings were repaired many times. However, the restoration work was carried out so ineptly that many valuable architectural and artistic elements of the complex’s design were lost. At the end of the 18th century, after the end of the Russian-Turkish war, hard times came for the palace buildings.

During the renovation work, the traditions of local architecture were absolutely not taken into account, and European notes were imposed on the Bakhchisaray ensemble, which did not fit into the general background of the Crimean Tatar masterpiece. By decree of the government of the Russian Empire, dilapidated buildings were simply demolished, and unique paintings by the best court artists were replaced with primitive images.

Living quarters

In the 60s of the 20th century, the craftsmen still managed to return the palace to its former appearance. Thanks to complex and time-consuming restoration work, the architectural appearance of the previously changed premises was restored, and the original paintings again took their places. Today, tourists can explore the living quarters of the Khan's family, official buildings and attend services in the mosque if they are Muslims.

Description of the ensemble of the Bakhchisaray Khan's Palace

You can enter the palace complex through one of the entrances. In ancient times there were four of them, at the moment there are only two. The northern gate, which is also the main gate, is made of wood, but upholstered in iron. You can approach them via a bridge spanning the Churuk-Su River.

View of the Golden Cabinet

The main gate is recognizable by its arch with the image of 2 intertwined snakes. The meaning of this emblem has its own legend, according to which the old khan Sahib I Giray saw two fighting snakes. One of them, wanting to heal the wounds received in battle, immediately plunged into river water and regained her strength. For this reason, the khan chose this area to lay the foundation for the future palace. The gate watchtower rises above the main gate.

Immediately outside the gates, the palace square begins, which is the compositional center of the entire residence. Its southern side is built up with garden terraces, which are clearly visible from the square. Today its territory, paved with stone, is covered in the shade of numerous trees, but previously the area was sandy and had no vegetation.

Stable building

Standing on the palace square and turning to the east of the main gate, it is difficult not to notice the Great Khan Mosque, recognized as the largest mosque in Crimea. In 1532, it was built by Sahib I Giray himself and named it by his own name, but it bore it until the 17th century. The luxurious massive mosque is decorated with a pointed arcade at the bottom, and majolica inserts on its walls attract the eye. The roof of the mosque was initially domed, but later the craftsmen turned it into a hipped roof and covered it with red tiles. The interior decoration of the shrine is a huge hall with a colonnade. Sunlight pours into it from the southern windows with colored glass. Along the entire perimeter of the upper tier of the walls there is a wide balcony supported by columns. On it there is a painted glazed Khan's box, decorated with stained glass and decorated with glazed tiles.

Northern and Southern Durbe

The oldest building of the Bakhchisaray Khan's Palace in Crimea is considered to be a bath complex with the interesting name Sary-Gyuzel, that is, “yellow beauty”.

The baths are located to the east of the mosque, and they are built according to the Turkish type. The air for them was heated in the basement, then it rose from the firebox and heated the floor slabs mounted on short columns.

Water was supplied through lead pipes. Stone benches and sinks stood along the bath walls. The bathhouse complex was divided into men's and women's sections, with covered courtyards with fountains at the exits. Above the men's section there is an inscription notifying that the Sary-Gyuzel bathhouse owes its appearance to Sultan Sahib Giray, who built it in 939.

The Divan Hall is a special room in the center of which stood a luxurious throne intended for the khan. On both sides of the throne there were low sofas on which the khan's entourage sat. And to accommodate the beys - persons who were members of the state council (Divan), long benches were provided. The ceiling of the hall is wooden, the windows of the room are in two rows and decorated with stained glass. Above the entrance to the hall, on its northern wall, a narrow lattice balcony (in Tatar - choir) was built. According to legend, the khan sometimes hid in this choir and overheard what was said at meetings in his absence. A similar balcony was located on the southern wall.

Divan Hall

Today, only the windows on the eastern wall remain of the Divan Hall. Before the fire of 1736, the floor of the room was marble, there was a square-shaped pool in the center of the hall, and the walls were decorated with porcelain tiles. Those paintings that can be seen on the walls at this time were painted in the 19th century. In 1917, an important historical event took place in the Divan Hall - the kurultai of the Crimean Tatars announced here the news of the creation of an independent Crimean Tatar government.

Golden fountain

Fountain of Tears - an addition to the Dilyary-bikech dyurba

The project of the “Fountain of Tears”, installed at the mausoleum-tomb of Dilyara-bikech, the beloved wife of the khan, was developed and implemented by the Iranian architect Omer in 1764. The fountain was fed from a natural spring, but as it dried out, the supply of water to the fountain stopped. Before Queen Catherine II visited the Bakhchisarai Khan's Palace, the fountain of tears was located near the dyurbe, but in preparation for her arrival it was moved to the Fountain Courtyard. It still stands here today. There is a fountain of a similar design in the Basin Courtyard. The fountain, erected in memory of the khan's wife, is a symbol of the grief of the formidable ruler.

Fountain of Tears

The most attractive part of the fountain is its center, decorated with a marble flower. Below it there are three bowls - one large, the rest - smaller. Water dripping from a flower first falls into a large bowl, then into smaller ones one by one, and again the water ends up in the flower and drips into a large bowl. This “cycle” occurs continuously. The process of filling the bowls with water can be compared to the grief that fills the heart of the khan. Changing the size of the cups shows alternate intensification and subsidence of pain. And the symbol of eternity is a spiral carved at the foot of the fountain.

Harem Corps

Harem building - place of residence of the khan's wives

The harem rooms were located in 4 buildings, and there were 73 in total. By 1818, three dilapidated buildings containing 70 rooms were demolished due to the arrival of Alexander I. Today, only a gazebo and a three-room outbuilding remain from the harem building, the building of which has been restored and complemented by balconies for tourists.

In the outbuilding you can see the interiors of the rooms “Living”, “Buffet”, “Living Room”. The entire harem building is surrounded by 8-meter stone walls. The Falcon Tower adjoins it from the south, offering the khan's wives a view of the palace square. The tower itself is located in the Persian Garden, rich in fountains and gazebos. The exit from the harem to the garden was a wide gate.

Demir Kapi portal

Demir Kapi portal - the main entrance to the palace