In the mid-19th century, it passed to Prince Vorontsov Jr, whose father
was the governor of New Russia. Enraptured by a picturesque setting,
Vorontsov in 1881 engaged a team of French architects to design for him a
ch�teau in the Louis XIII style. He died the following year and
construction work was suspended until 1889, when the messuage was
purchased by Alexander III of Russia. The tsar asked architect
Maximilian Messmacher to finish the palace for his own use but he did
not live to see it completed in 1900. During the Soviet years, the
palace was employed by Joseph Stalin as his dacha.
Today, Massandra is known for its agricultural production, namely fortified wines
