Moorish palace (Kuris Castle), Petrovka

Moorish architecture in the middle of an ordinary village near Odessa - fiction and only. Palace in the eastern style belonged to Ivan Kuris - Chief of Cabinet Suvorov. After the fire, and many of the looting of luxury has disappeared - only walls survived. But now there is something to see. Recently, the ruins of the manor was sold at the price of two-bedroom apartment in Odessa - one million hryvnia. Come, walk until it was rebuilt. The place is beautiful and very unusual.

Petrovka village 60 kilometers from Odessa. There is already a quarter of a century is an abandoned mansion in the Moorish style. To begin with, according to tradition, the history in two paragraphs. In 1791 the Russian Empire reconquered from the Turks, another piece of the Northern Black Sea. Desert land willingly handed infamous military. The plot was Colonel Ivan and Kuris, who served under the command of Suvorov. The village Kurisovo Virgin appeared in 1793, a year ahead of Odessa. Hereditary nobleman decided to build a family estate. The work went 10 years - from 1810 to 1820. The eastern facade - the oldest part of the palace.

Son of Ivan Kuris planted near the name of the English fleet, and grandson - grandfather rebuilt the old homestead in a luxurious palace in the Moorish style. It was in 1891. The last owner of the estate - another Ivan, the great-grandson of the founder of the estate. Together with his family, he managed to escape to France before the revolution and civil war. Local farmers, inspired by the ideas of communism, looted property, destroyed the family vault Kuris and bones scattered over the fields. In the estate placed agricultural school, and soon - Agricultural College. The village was renamed in the first of Peter, and then to Petrovka. During the Second World then placed Romanian commandant. Retreating, Romanians have taken out everything that did not have time to plunder the peasants. At the same time for some reason cut down the English landscape park. From its former magnificence was gone. In 1990 the castle was first decided (!) To restore. But - no luck. During a thunderstorm, lightning hit the roof, a fire destroyed all the rooms. Since then, the palace and stands abandoned.

The western facade. It was built last, in 1891. Rounded grand staircase led to the pond and park. There used to grow all sorts of tropical plants and fruit garden. Now everywhere unsightly trees and weeds. Windows in the ceremonial hall was almost no light got through the atrium. Chronicles of those years say that under the transparent roof was an aquarium. I mean, the fish swam right under the ceiling, over the heads of people. The highest tower of the palace locals call it the minaret, although it is, of course, wrong. Why Kuris so loved the east - is unknown. But in an economy other than cows and pigs, they had camels. And they survived the revolution and the plundering of the estate and died during World War II.

Knowledgeable people say that this palace - one of the earliest buildings of architectural romanticism in Ukraine. Manor resembles a medieval castle. The decor - elements of Gothic and Moorish architecture. Like most buildings in Odessa, the palace is built of limestone and how much it will exist in this form is not known, so we advise you not to put off a visit to this interesting place.