About Sevastopol (Crimea)

Sevastopol is a big tourist center. It means it is impossible to go over, to estimate and to understand during one tour. Sevastopol is an excellent resort having an unsurprassed combination of climatic factors, the city of monuments and exotic verdure as well.

The most famous is Primorski Bulvard with its monument to Scuttled Vessels and Grafskaya Pier.

Ancient Greeks founded a city of Chersonesus, which existed until the 14th century. The creation of Sevastopol (the city of Glory) was begun in 1783.

After the Crimean War Sevastopol lay in ruins for a long time and began to grow in the late 19th century. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 it was also severely ruined. The heroic city was reconstructed according to the master plan of 1949 during classical architectural forms.

To the east from Southern Bay is Malakhov Mount, which became a sacred place and a center of numerous memorials. Another legendary place of battles in Sevastopol is Sapun Hill «The Assault of Sapun Hill on May 7, 1944» makes the center of the memorial. In ancient town Balaklava the remainders of Genoese Fortress Chembalo have been preserved.

Ancient Chersonesus was a cradle of Russian Orthodox. The well known Kirill and Mefodi visited it many times. The out famous people of Sevastopol are the heroes of Russian Fleet — admirals M. Lasarev, V. Korniliv, P. Nakhimov, V. Istomin, the surgeon P. Pirigov, L. Tolstoi.

The lieutenant P. Shmidt was buried with other participants of revolt on the cruiser Otchakov here.

Sights of Sevastopol

Grafskaya (Count) pier
It is the main moorage, a peculiar town emblem and architectural monument. It was built together with the first buildings in Sevastopol. For the first time it was an original boating moorage but in 1787 by Ekaterina the Second’s arrival a wide stone staircase and pier were built. In honour of the empress’ arrival it had been called Ekaterinskaya. But that name did not live long as the name of the Third International (the name of the pier before the War).

And now the pier is called Count Pier. It is connected with the name, and to be more exact, with the title of count Voynovich who was in command of the Black Sea Fleet in the forties last century. The pier acquired its present appearance only in 1846. There were four marble statues (only two were preserved) in recesses of the portico and two marble lions in front of the staircase; Italian architect Ferdinando Pellichio was their designer. Count Pier has survived many historic events which a lot of memorial boards talk about. One of them on the pier’s wall reminds: «Conducting the fight with its enemy the cruiser „The Red Ukraine“ was lost here in 12 November, 1941». The soldiers of the second guards army forcing the Northern Bay disembarked on the pier in 9 May, 1944.

Inkerman cave monastery

Inkerman cave monastery is situated on the right bank of the river Black, where it falls into the North Bay in the neighbourhood of Sevastopol.

The monastery was founded in the 8-9th centuries by monks-iconoworshipers, who fled from Byzantine to escape the persecution of iconoclasts.

At that time the monastery consisted of some churches and a complex of inhabited and utility caves.

All of them are connected by passages, cut out in the rock, and by the fort Kalamita, which is situated on the rock.

This fort was built by Byzantines in the 6th century to defend the approaches to the city of Khersones.

The entrance to the monastery was made near the church under the rock, a long corridor ended with a little hall with stone benches. The hall led to the Kliment church. On the outside of the rock cave premises are marked with arched windows united by triangle tympana.

Khersones

For almost two millenium has this city on the Crimean shore existed. It was called Khersones Taurical (from the Greek ’Khersonesus’- a peninsular) In 422-421 B.C. it was founded by Heracliots — who had come from the south Black Sea coast city Heraclea — on the coast of the Karantinnaya bay.

In a century Khersones turned into one of the biggest — the City-State of the Northern Black Sea Region. Politically it was a slave-holding republic with the democratic form of governing, and its social-economic function was to be a center of trade, handicraft and culture. Its population has reached 20 thousand people.

Since the 5th century A. D. Khersones has been a member of Bysantine Empire. In 988, after a 9-months siege, the city (the Russsian name of which is Corsun) was conquered by Prince Vladimir. Here Vladimir has adopted Christianity.

At the end of the 12-14 century Khersones suffered from the Tatar Hordes attackes twice. In the middle of the 15th cent. the city stopped existing. In 1472 genuesus consul in Kaffa (Feodosia) called it ’an uninhabited place’.

At present there is a Khersones historical-archeological preserve at its place (the territory of Sevastopol). While visiting the museum one can see the ruins of an antique theatre — the only one in our country, — the city blocks, an area of defensive walls with the Zenone Tower and many other interesting architectural constructions.

WELCOME TO SEVASTOPOL !