The Bakhchisaray Palace was not the only place of stay of the Crimean khans. There were also five so-called small khan palaces in the neighbourhoods of Bakhchisaray: Devlet Saray (formerly main residence), Ulaqlı Saray, Alma Saray, Qaçı Saray and Süyren Saray. But they were just khans' countryhouses while Bakhchisaray stayed the main official residence of the Crimean sovereigns.

The general look of the Palace encountered significant changes during two and half centuries when Bakhchisaray was the capital of the Crimea and especially after Russia had annexed Crimea in 1783. It is not easy to restore the exact sequence of changes, which has resulted in the present appearance of the Palace. Almost each new Crimean khan built a new construction in the Palace or repaired its old buildings. Many rulers of Crimea created eternal monuments to themselves erecting new constructions in their residence.

The main monument to Sahib I Giray is the town of Bakhchisaray itself. Under Devlet I Giray the first mausoleum (durbe) was built in the Palace; Islam III Giray built the second mausoleum and a court hall. Bahadır I Giray built one more hall for official ceremonies and Qaplan I Giray was the builder of the Golden Fountain. Selamet II Giray constructed an arbour (which hasn’t remained) but the name of that khan could be still seen on portals of three buildings in the Palace (Big and Smaller Khan Mosques, Divan Hall) restored by him from ruins after destruction of the Khan Palace by Russian forces in 1736. Arslan Giray was the founder of an educational institution (medrese) near the Big Khan Mosque. Qırım Giray is known as a person which made a significant contribution to beauty of the Palace and Bakhchisaray: he built the Durbe of Dilara bikeç and “The Fountain of Tears”, he ordered to invite the best artists to decorate the interiors of the Palace. As a Turkish traveller of the 17th century wrote "Each building here is constructed by someone from the padishahs (i.e. khans)". The Khan Palace is a true chronicle of the Giray dynasty, many representatives of which made contribution into the magnificence of their patrimonial residence.

The Palace in the first half of the 17th century

The last Crimean khan Şahin Giray, known as a great adventurer who led his country to crush, planned to move the capital of the Khanate from Bakhchisaray to Kefe (presently Theodosia in Eastern Crimea). He even started building works at the new site – but having lost the throne in 1783 Şahin Giray didn’t manage to accomplish this.

Under the Russian Empire the Palace was in jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A police official present here allowed visitors (only those who had got an appropriate paper from the provincial governor) to take a tour in the Palace. From time to time the khans' residence was visited by Russian emperors and members of the ruling dynasty (and that's why it was an object of restricted access). An exception was made during the Eastern war of 1854-55 when the Palace became a large hospital for Russian soldiers.

After the February Revolution of 1917 a lot of claimers wishing to misappropriate the unique Palace appeared. Fortunately, there was also a person – a Crimean Tatar artist Husein Bodaninski – who convinced the Provisional Government to arrange a museum institution in the Palace. From thence and till now the Palace is a museum. 

The principal features of the present look of the Khan Palace established in the 18th century, which was the epoch when Crimean Tatar ornamental art and architecture reached the top of perfection. 
The Palace is a unique and marvelous monument, though the visitors see today just remains of its original magnificence. In 1736 the palace was burnt down by the army of Russian field-marshal Münich. Damages resulted by the Russian raid were quickly repaired by Selamet II Giray and other khans who rebuilt the burnt Palace and even made it more modern and luxuriant. The fire didn’t damage the Palace so much as reconstructions of the 19th century did.

Bakhchisaray in the first half of the 19th century

The first alterations in the Palace were made in 1787 when the conquerors of Crimea prepared the khans’ residence for the visit of Russian empress Jekaterina II. The further reconstructions in most cases were also performed before the visits of crowned guests. These works were often conducted by occasional people. As a result the internal apartments of the Palace were altered in a "European" style showing the worst kind of provincial bad taste: inimitable wall-paintings by famous Crimean Tatar artists were replaced with the “works” of the cheapest-to-employ non-professionals and number of buildings were simply destroyed instead of repair. For example, architect Kolodin in the 1820s destroyed 3 of 4 buildings in the Harem, the entire Winter Palace, a large complex of bathes and several other constructions. Russian czars visiting the Palace were disappointed with the distortion of its exotic appearance, auditors found gaps in financial documentation of the reconstruction works– but, of course, it could not help the monument. Almost all reconstructions up to the 1930s were conducted in the same way. To tell enough, the total area of the Palace has been reduced from 18 hectares down to 4 since 1783.

Scientifically based works were started here just in the 1960s. Due to them the present look of the Khan Palace is much closer to the original that 20-30 years before. A new restoration under a thorough scientific control has been started in the Palace in 2003. It has to prepare the monument to the inclusion into the World Heritage List of UNESCO.