Leonid Sherwood, a Russian architect, designed the Neo-Gothic castle for Baron Pavel von Steingel, a Russian noble of German descent, whose surname the article also spells Steinheil. It was built in 1911 and 1912 on top of Aurora Cliff, 130 feet (40 m) high, at Gaspra near Yalta. An earlier wooden cottage, the Castle of Love, stood on the site around 1895.
The building is 66 feet (20 m) long and 33 feet (10 m) wide. The original plan included a foyer, a guest room, a stairway to the tower and two bedrooms on different levels in the tower. An observation deck surrounds it. In 1914 von Steingel sold it to P. G. Shelaputin, who used it as a restaurant.
A 1927 earthquake left the building undamaged apart from small decorative items, but cracked the cliff. Restoration began in 1968 with a concrete plate to strengthen the cliff, and a restaurant began operating in 1975.
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