The Khan’s Palace was the primary residence of the Crimean khans of the Geray dynasty, the rulers of the Crimean Khanate (XV-XVIII). In addition, it was an administrative and political centre of this state since the first third of the 16th century.
This is the only surviving example of Crimean Tatar palace architecture and a unique architectural complex of Islamic Mediterranean and Black Sea culture for Europe. The Khan’s palace is also evidence of the centuries-long history of state formation and political agency among the Crimean Tatars, one of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples.
The history of the Khan’s Palace begins with the founding of the city of Bakhchysarai, which in translation from Crimean Tatar means ‘palace-garden’ (bağça — ‘garden’, saray — ‘palace’). Khan Sahib I Geray started construction of the palace. He was a great reformer, the ruler of the Kazan and Crimean Khanates, the founder of the Crimean Khanate’s new capital, namely the city of Bakhchysarai. The oldest objects of the complex are the Portal Alevizo de Montagnano or Demir-Capu (‘Iron Portal’), created in 1503 by the famous Italian master Alevizo de Montagnano, the bathhouse ‘Sary Güzel’, (1533), and the Khan’s Mosque (1532).
The palace was not constructed as a fortified residence but rather as a representation of a paradisiacal garden, permeated with light, drenched in flowers and foliage, and featuring numerous courtyards and fountains. The palace with arches and a colonnade dominates the composition of the garden. Over time, the palace grew and expanded, and each successive ruler contributed to its growth.
In 1736, during the Russian-Turkish war, Russian troops captured Bakhchysarai, and the palace was burned down. After the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Empire in 1783, the complex was rebuilt several times. As a result, this place gradually lost its unity of style, and the interiors and exteriors of the former khan’s residence became more eclectic. Due to the whims of Russian imperial architects, authentic paintings and frescoes were destroyed. Moreover, many premises were demolished between 1796 and 1822: a khan’s harem complex, a Persian courtyard, a winter palace, a complex of saunas.
In the 20th century, restorations conducted by Soviet authorities continued to obliterate the monument’s authentic style. And following the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars, all references to this nation on the peninsula were eradicated. In Crimea, the Soviets engaged in ‘toponymic repressions’, destroyed Crimean Tatar monuments, burned books and manuscripts, and opened cinemas and shops in mosques. After such near-total destruction, the miraculously preserved complex of Bakhchysarai Khan’s Palace became not only a symbol of birth, development, and statehood in this territory for the Crimean Tatars but also a reminder to return from exile and thrive in their native land.

Only in the 1960s, when Crimea became a part of Soviet Ukraine, was the palace restored under a specific scientific project for the first time. In particular, paintings in the arbour and ceilings of Divan Hall were restored. In the early 21st century, complex renovations were carried out in the interiors of the Great Khan Mosque (Biyuk Khan Jami).
However, the unique monumental ensemble, which belongs to the history of all of Europe, once again became a victim of Russian aggression due to the temporary occupation of Crimea by Russia since 2014. Pretending to carry out ‘restoration’ activities, the Russians dismantled the roof of the Khan Mosque using heavy construction equipment and jackhammers. This caused destructive vibrations in the mosque walls and led to much damage that destroyed the authentic appearance of the Khan Mosque. The early 19th-century frescoes and ancient stained-glass windows are damaged, the walls have become mouldy due to humidity, and water stains have appeared where the paintings used to be. The original oak floor beams were removed, sawn, and replaced with modern building materials. The ancient roof tiles were replaced with modern Spanish factory-made tiles. Due to a violation of restoration requirements, a huge crack appeared on the wall of the Secular Building of the Khan’s Palace.
In addition, the absence of archaeological excavations during such projects destroys more than just the ruins of ancient buildings and portions of the palace. This neglect causes the loss of genuine treasures buried in the soil.
The Khan’s Palace is regarded by the occupation administration as a late 18th–early 19th-century architectural landmark. This accomplishes the two most essential objectives of Russia’s hostile cultural policy in Crimea. First, this legalises the destruction of Crimean Tatar heritage, specifically the palace complex’s archaeological site. Second, the palace is no longer seen as the centre of the once-largest state in Eastern Europe, the Crimean Khanate. It became an ordinary travel palace for Russian emperors with an oriental romantic character.
For years, Russia has rejected all appeals and efforts by Ukrainian authorities and activists to allow specialists and the UNESCO monitoring mission to join in the restoration work. The aggressor state continues to destroy, on purpose, the cultural heritage of the Crimean Tatars and obliterate any evidence of this nation’s centuries-long presence on the Crimean peninsula.
The only preserved palace among the five residences of the Crimean Khans, which survived the wars and a 9-point earthquake in 1927. A monument that is the heart of national identity for Crimean Tatars. A one-of-a-kind location that may soon vanish, particularly due to the indifference of the international community.
The site that once held memories for almost 500 years may now turn into a memory itself.

We thank the NGO ‘Crimean Institute of Strategic Studies’ for expert advice during the material preparation.