Palace & château
Swallow's Nest
🇺🇦 Ukraine · 20th century
The Swallow's Nest (Russian: Ласточкино гнездо, romanized: Lastochkino gnezdo, Ukrainian: Ластівчине гніздо, romanized: Lastivchyne hnizdo) is a decorative castle located at Gaspra, a small spa town between Yalta and Alupka on the Crimean peninsula. It was built between 1911 and 1912, on top of the 40-metre-high (130 ft) Aurora Cliff, in a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood for Pavel Leonardovich von Steingel, a Russian noble with German roots.
The castle overlooks the Cape of Ai-Todor on the Black Sea coast and is located near the remains of the Roman castrum of Charax. The Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea, having become the symbol of Crimea's southern coastline.
Text adapted from “Swallow's Nest” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Swallow's Nest ranks #407 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #4 of the 127 mapped in Ukraine. Founded 1912 — one of 151 atlas entries founded in the 20th century. See how Ukraine compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →Frequently asked questions
Where is Swallow's Nest?
Swallow's Nest stands in Ukraine, at 44.43057°, 34.12851°.
When was Swallow's Nest built?
The atlas dates its founding to 1912. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.
How famous is Swallow's Nest?
In this atlas's fame ranking: #407 of 7,044 worldwide, and #4 in Ukraine. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.
What is the nearest castle to Swallow's Nest?
Charax, about 1 km away.
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