TOURIST AND ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF OLDENBURGSKIH CASTLE: HISTORY AND MODERNITY

The article discusses the tourist and historical significance of the castle of the Princess of Oldenburg, located in the village of Ramon, Voronezh region. The Castle of the Princess of Oldenburg is a miraculously preserved monument of history and architecture. Until today, you can see the remains of the unique interior of the noble estate of the XIX-th century in the castle. Restoration work has been underway in the castle for 40 years, only a small part of the estate has been restored. But it is precisely this archaism, as well as many dark secrets and legends that envelop the castle, that make it extremely attractive for tourists and not only Russian ones


I. INTRODUCTION
The noble estate is a magnificent landscape and architectural ensemble consisting of 6 buildings surrounded by a park. The area of the manor is 7 hectares, the center is a castle built of red brick in neo-Gothic style, which revived the main elements of the Middle Ages. The cast-iron fence of the veranda, the balconies and the entrance gate, made in the form of a meandering vine, add sophistication and style to the overall appearance of the complex. Majestic towers at the corners of the house make it austere and pompous, window openings framed by white lines and white stone tongs give the building an exquisite lightness.
The history of the palace begins in 1879, when a new owner arrives in the Ramon estate -a person of royal blood Evgenia Maximilianovna Oldenburgskaya, nee Princess Romanovskaya. Eugenia's mother, Maria Nikolaevna, was the daughter of Tsar Nicholas I. The father of Princess Eugenia, who was born in 1845, was a native of Bavaria, Maximilian Beauharnais, the grandson of Josephine, the wife of Emperor Napoleon. Maximilian had two titles: Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince Romanovsky.

II. DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
It is believed that Eugenia of Oldenburg received the Ramon estate from her uncle Alexander II as a wedding gift. But this is not at all the case: the couple got married in 1868, and the gift was made 10 years later -on June 27 (July 10, according to New Style), 1879. This was stated in the inscription on a marble stone delivered in Ramon from the Bormazund military fortress. The gift was not a manifestation of the emperor's kinship feelings for his niece, but a reward for her services during the Russian-Turkish war in the Balkans. The Princess of Oldenburg not only donated huge sums to organize assistance to the wounded -she controlled every penny, achieved exemplary order in the work of the sisters of mercy and the provision of hospitals with everything necessary.

Castle of the Princess of Oldenburg (photo: Slava Andrianov)
The castle of the Princess of Oldenburg in Ramon from the outside is more impressive. Almost nothing has survived inside. Upon entering, attention is drawn to the fireplace, the design of which completely copies the appearance of the North Tower. The bifurcated staircase leading in both directions to the second floor is made of solid oak, made without a single nail.

Castle of the Princess of Oldenburg in Ramon view of the fireplace and stairs.
The calculation of the height and depth of the steps was made by the princess herself, taking into account the long dresses of the ladies of the court. Convenience when climbing stairs is noted by all visitors.
The interior of the palace, during the life of the owners, was luxurious. Three fireplaces on the 1st floor were decorated with dark cherry Italian tiles, the walls were upholstered in expensive silk. The mansion was heated by 3 more Dutch stoves lined with white tiles.
Doors and windows inside the mansion were decorated with bronze handles, which today can only be seen in photographs. Solid ceiling beams made of bog oak are well preserved. In some places, fragments of Dutch tiles are visible, which were laid out in the private bathroom of Princess Eugenie.
In the small room of Peter of Oldenburg (the firstborn of Evgenia Maximilianovna), a mysterious Masonic sign has been preserved on the ceiling. The hexagonal oak slabs lining the library's ceiling have preserved heraldic symbols, floral ornaments, and heroes of ancient mythology created by burning.
One of the main merits of the Prince of Oldenburg is the opening of the Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Petersburg. He also founded the Gagra climatic resort, the first on the Caucasian coast. He was considered an implacable fighter against homosexuality in military life. A.F. Koni described Alexander Petrovich as a person "in whom good intentions intersected with frantic impulses and attempts to be useful -with ruthless manifestations of gross violence." Opposite the manor's house there is a gate with a tower and a clock of the Swiss company "Winter" built into it. The turret is designed in such a way that amplifies the sounds. Nearby is the retinue building. -music room. The employees of the museum, which the palace has now become, like to conduct one experiment in this room: they begin to speak monotonously and at the same time slowly move towards the geometric center of the hall. So at this point, the sound volume is many times higher than the value that was at the edge of the hall (we observe the effect of resonance). It is interesting that neither in the walls nor in the ceiling there are any voids that could act as a resonator. However, in the basement, three beams are laid above this room (there are none elsewhere in the basement). So far, researchers have not thoroughly studied them, but we can say with a high degree of probability that it is in these beams that the secret of the music salon lies. Next to the music room (behind the screen) is another room identical in size to this one. There was a billiard room. Unlike the music room, the soundproofing system was so professionally thought out in it that the players never heard that loud music was playing behind the wall. Yes, our modern builders have a lot to learn. At the same time, since we started talking about the design features of the castle, one more fact should be noted. There have never been mice, rats, bedbugs, cockroaches, or anything like them in this house since its existence. The thing is that at the stage of construction of the castle, one "cunning" technique was used. Oldenburg brought a large number of camels to the estate. They were combed out and magnificent carpets were woven from the resulting wool, which adorned many palaces of the august persons.
They say that during the war years, German pilots were ordered not to bomb the castle -after all, it belonged to the descendants of the highest German aristocracy. However, the building did not have a permanent owner and was not repaired for about 100 years.
Restorations in it began 40 years ago, it was then that the complex architecture was discovered. Since 2006, it has been considered a tourist site of regional importance. They tried to quickly restore the palace: the Upper Garden and the Suite building, located to the right of the entrance gate, are the results of these efforts.

Svitskij korpus
Evgenia Maksimilianovna was very active in social and cultural life. She performed as: -President of the Mineralogical Society -an honorary member of the Charitable Society for the Charity of Intelligent Workers, created in 1901 to provide assistance to elderly governesses and teachers who served in private and public institutions, "who, due to old age or illness, cannot earn their livelihood with their work." -an honorary member of the Society for the Aid to the Crippled, studying crafts and crafts in St. Petersburg (consisting under the august patronage of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna).
-Honorary member of the Imperial Russian Automobile Society (IRAO), organized in 1903.
Evgenia Maksimilianovna was engaged in the development of production, took an active part in the publishing business, organized the release of postal open letters, postcards, sketches for which were created by the best artists of that time, and used the income from her activities for charity, for which she received a high award -the Order "For Immaculate Service Fatherland in the field of charity and education". Her "Steam factory of sweets and chocolate" subsequently "spawned" the Voronezh confectionery factory, which continued the traditions of the factory of Eugenia of Oldenburg, although in a different building, because. the steam factory subsequently burned down. The equipment of the burned down (there was an arson) factory was moved to a new building and is probably still working.
In 2013, the palace park was reconstructed in accordance with the canons of the classical style, where guests are greeted by geometrically shaped bright flower beds, clearly defined paths, neatly trimmed trees and shrubs that delight the eye and create an amazing mood. The government of the Voronezh region and the administration of the Ramonsky municipal district did a great job of resettling the inhabitants of the buildings of the Palace complex in new houses at the expense of the Fund for Supporting the Cultural Heritage of the Voronezh Region. In the Palace, 3 fireplaces were restored, the roof and facade in the building. Engineering communications are connected to these buildings. In 2014, the autonomous cultural institution "Historical and Cultural Center "The Palace Complex of Oldenburg" began its activities, created by the Decree of the Government of the Voronezh Region.

Evgenia Maksimilianovna Leuchtenbergskaya
Princess Eugenia opened a stud farm in Ramon, an elementary and drawing school, set up a hospital, an exemplary free canteen for workers, a hostel for arriving engineers, and built the Grafskaya-Ramon railway line. A water tower and a water supply system began to operate, and enterprises were electrified. On the opposite bank of the Voronezh River from the palace, a section of the forest was fenced off -a "menagerie", where outlandish animals were kept.
Every day, the princess personally went around all the shops and warehouses, the canteen, sugar beet plantations, she always went to school, visited the hospital, families of workers, kept cleanliness, tried the food prepared for the workers.
In four years, a castle unprecedented in the entire Voronezh Territory was erected with outbuildings, a house for a retinue of guests and fountains. Two kilometers from the main manor house there is another estate -"Olgino". It belonged to the sister of the last Russian emperor, Olga Romanova, who became related to the Oldenburgskys. At the age of 19, she married Pyotr Alexandrovich and for some time lived with him in Ramon. Until recently, a hospital was located in the building of the manor house, now it is empty along with other surviving buildings. Which, in general, does not prevent you from walking around the manor park with centuriesold trees on your own and inspecting the former estate of the representative of the royal family. The author of the castle design is not exactly identified. According to some sources, he is Christopher Neisler (Netsler), according to others -Nikolai Leontyevich Benois. But there is an opinion that the author of the project, being highly educated and active, was Evgenia Maksimilianovna herself; but this version is questioned, believing that a woman who did not have an engineering or architectural education could not build such a perfect structure (both in architectural and engineering terms). At the same time, they do not refute the fact that the same woman was able to build and develop many industries here, the productivity of which increased in a short time and the products gained fame and recognition both in Russia and in Europe. So, it is quite possible that Eugenia herself was the author (or one of the authors) of the project of this palace. And this is another of the many secrets of this castle. We go out into the courtyard and recall some more moments of history: in 1908, when the entire estate, with the exception of the palace, became the property of the Department of Affairs of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, Eugene and her husband leave Ramon, leaving the household to their son Peter and daughterin-law Olga. I must say that the family life of the last owners of the castle did not work out, and in 1914 Olga, together with the 12th royal Akhtyrsky regiment (of which she was the chief and honorary colonel), went to the front as a sister of mercy (with her lover, Nikolai Kulikovsky) . Olga did not return to Ramon again, and in 1916 she married Kulikovsky in Kyiv. After the 1917 revolution, when all members of the royal family were arrested, Olga was saved from this fate by her new surname. She and her husband moved first to the Crimea, then to the Caucasus, and in 1919 I completely left Russia moving to Denmark. In 1948 they moved to Canada, where they lived out their last years in a small house in a working-class suburb of Toronto. Peter of Oldenburg left Ramon in 1917 and moved to Paris. He died there from transient consumption in 1924. After Ramoni, Evgenia and Alexander of Oldenburg managed to take the oath to the Provisional Government, and after 1917, the paralyzed former princess was transported to Finland, from there to France, where she died in May 1925 on eightieth year of life. As for Prince Alexander Petrovich, in exile he headed the "Union of Preobrazhenets". He survived his wife by 7 years and in 1932 was buried in Biarritz on the Atlantic coast.

III. CONCLUSION
Despite all these incredible stories, the castle of the Princess of Oldenburg is a wonderful place for a traveler: landscapes that any European town would envy, the old spirit of a bygone era and the history of generations that make travelers excited will be remembered for a long time.