Welcome to Swallow's Nest: the castle open after restoration

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The restoration work of the castle has been carried out since August 2019, and today, 15 months later, one of the most popular landmarks of Crimea is open again for visitors. The Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov called this an epoch-making event.

"The Swallow's Nest is a symbol of Crimea and the Russian Federation, a recognizable place in the country. Everyone knows that it is in Russian Yalta. All decisions [for works] were made in accordance with the presidential order. It was quite a challenge, there were many technical options, − said Aksyonov. − The building was under the threat of collapse. A lot of work has been done, in my opinion, qualitatively. The castle will be fully open to the public. I am sure there will be a huge flow of tourists here. We discussed the need to reconstruct the piers here, so we will make the infrastructure so that pleasure boats could stop here. In short, we will expand the opportunities for Crimeans and tourists to visit the Swallow's Nest".

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As the Speaker of the State Council Vladimir Konstantinov noted, the reconstruction of the castle is a symbol of the transformations that take place on the peninsula after the reunion of Crimea with Russia.

"This object is architecturally graceful, it is small, and name was given to it quite appropriate. I'm sure the place will always be a full of visitors. The work has been done amazingly and it seems to me that even in its original form it was not so beautiful. Now in Crimea as a whole, there are many transformations, including in the cultural sphere, and this is important," Konstantinov said.

In her turn Arina Novoselskaya, the Head of the Ministry of Culture, noted that excursions to the renovated castle will begin after the restrictions imposed in Crimea due to the pandemic are lifted.

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"Finally, today, the castle of love, a place recognized as one of the most beautiful in the world according to authoritative publications, will be open. Thanks to everyone who took part and was involved in the reconstruction of our castle, − said Arina Novoselskaya. − Exhibitions of unique valuable works will be held here. These will be unique paintings, unique sculptures, unique jewelry − everything that can shock the visitors as well as the palace itself. These will be world renowned authors".

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The castle was built on a 40-meter steep cliff of Cape Ai-Todor in the village of Gaspra in 1912. In 1927 the building was badly damaged by an earthquake, and only in 1967-1968 it was renovated. Until 2011, a restaurant was located there. Then the masterpiece of architecture and monument of history of national importance was transferred to municipal ownership, and in 2015, by a decree of the government of the Russian Federation, it was classified as a cultural heritage site of federal significance.