The urban-type settlement Ramon is at the M4 highway, 30 kilometers to the north of Voronezh. There you can see the interesting palace of Dukes of Oldenburg, the members of the House of Romanov.
The estate of Ramon was given to them by Emperor Alexander II in 1879. The construction of the palace began in 1883. The palace was built in the English neo-Gothic style. The manor house is opposite the gate with a clock tower.
According to the genealogical tree of the dukes of Oldenburg, they were close relatives of Russian tsars. Eugenia Maksimilianovna (1845-1925), Princess Romanovskaya, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Princess de Beauharnais, was a granddaughter of Emperor Nikolai I. Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg (1844-1932) was a great grandson of Tsar Paul I. They married in 1868 and that same year a son Peter was born to them. He then married Olga, a daughter of Emperor Alexander II.
The state rooms of the palace were on the ground floor: a drawing-room, a billiard room, a library and work-rooms. The private chambers of Dukes of Oldenburg were on the first floor of the palace. The interior of the place has not yet been restored. Only the ground floor is open for visiting. The rooms still preserve the traces of various organizations but restoration works are under way. The photos of hosts and their relatives are in all rooms of the palace.
A well-appointed regular park with alleys and flowerbeds is in front of the palace. A water tower is not far from the park. Dukes of Oldenburg had it built to supply with water the entire village.
A steep descent to the big park is behind the palace. Earlier, it could be approached by a magnificent staircase flanked by water falls and grottoes. There was also two hills connected by the Bridge of Love. The house for Peter and Olga was built on one of the hills. Now this part of the park is being restored.
Apart from the construction of the palace, Eugenia Maksimilianovna was engaged in active economic activity in Ramon. She inherited a sugar factory where only manual labor was employed. The factory produced only 100 kg of sugar per day. She equipped the factory with the latest machines. As a result of all these improvements its production grew up to 20 tonnes of sugar per day.
At first a refinery section was attached to the factory. Then a confectionery factory (with steam power) was built in 1900. And soon the factory gained world-wide celebrity. Its production won first places at European contests. All products had a beautiful quality packaging.
