Well, I certainly didn't expect to see an ancient palace resembling an English Gothic castle in the Voronezh Region. It is located in a village with the beautiful name of Ramon. Once upon a time, a real princess lived there. Rumor has it that her ghost still roams here. The Oldenburg Palace complex is currently being restored. And although the work to restore its historical appearance has not yet been completed, the estate has already become one of the most iconic landmarks of the Voronezh Region and a center of cultural life.
The construction of the large red brick palace in the old English style began in 1883. At that time, the lands in Ramon were owned by the Oldenburg couple - Evgenia Maximilianovna and Alexander Petrovich.
The Oldenburgs are a dynasty of German origin, whose members reigned in various European countries. The Romanovs also belong to a branch of the Oldenburg house.
Evgenia Maximilianovna Romanovskaya (Oldenburgskaya after marriage) was a princess with the title of "Imperial Highness". She was the granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I and the niece of Alexander II. Her husband, Alexander Petrovich Oldenburgsky, was a Russian general and statesman, and the great-grandson of Emperor Paul I.
According to some sources, the Oldenburg family bought the estate in Ramon. According to others, Emperor Alexander II gave it to his niece Eugenia Maximilianovna as a wedding gift. The Oldenburg family owned the estate from 1878 to 1908. During this time, they did a lot to make Ramon prosper. There is a museum dedicated to the Oldenburg family on the ground floor of the palace for tourists.
Evgeniya Maksimilianovna put the estate on a capitalist footing. She not only built a palace, but also reconstructed the sugar factory that was in Ramon. She equipped it with modern equipment. She built a candy and chocolate factory, extended a railway line to Ramon, opened a stud farm and carpet workshops.
In Ramon, the princess maintained a canteen for workers, a dormitory for engineers, as well as a school and a hospital. In St. Petersburg, she was the president of the mineralogical society, and was a trustee of the Red Cross sisters' community, a girls' gymnasium, and a house of mercy.
Her husband, Prince Oldenburg, organized the world's first multidisciplinary medical and biological research institute, which studied the causes of diseases. Alexander Petrovich also opened a law school at his own expense, which was one of the best educational institutions in the country.
The Oldenburg family's only son, Pyotr, was interested in agronomy. An experimental field and a meteorological station were organized in Ramon under his supervision. At the beginning of the 20th century, this field became part of the experimental fields of the All-Russian Society of Sugar Manufacturers. It was on its basis that two all-Union research institutes were founded during the Soviet era.
There is much more to tell about the Oldenburg family and their achievements. After the revolution, the estate was nationalized. The palace housed a children's camp, a library, and a school. As a result, the building fell into disrepair.
I am glad that today not only the palace is being restored, but also the memory of its former owners. After the revolution, the Oldenburgs emigrated to France forever.
So far, only the museum on the ground floor of the palace is accessible to tourists. Restoration in other parts of the building is not yet complete. Unfortunately, most of the historical interiors were lost during the Soviet era. However, the original fireplaces and stoves, the main oak door and the staircase with railings, which the princess herself once held on to, have been preserved. And in the basement you can see a unique stove that once heated the entire palace.
Although the palace's state rooms have not undergone restoration work yet, they sometimes host classical music concerts and theme nights. Of course, such a place is shrouded in mystery. They say that the ghost of a princess lives in the palace. In the basement, plaster fell on one of the walls in such a bizarre way that the silhouette of Evgenia Maximilianovna appeared. I found the silhouette in one of my photos. The shadow cast on the wall by a baluster is very reminiscent of the outline of a woman. As if the princess herself is descending the grand staircase.
In addition to the palace itself, other buildings are being restored in the Oldenburg estate. The front gates with the clock have already been restored. An exact copy of the house with the risalit lost during the Soviet era was built on the site, and the suite building was repaired. Work is currently underway in the service premises.
I will definitely return to Ramon. I really want to take a walk in the estate park in the summer, which was recently laid out on the site of a former sugar beet field. I also want to see the palace after a large-scale restoration and visit the rest of the estate buildings.
For the opportunity to visit the Oldenburg estate, I thank the Eurasian Commonwealth of Tourism Industry Specialists ECOT, the Tourism Development Department of the My Business Center, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Trade and Tourism of the Voronezh Region, and the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max crossover.
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