Legend has it that the history of Yalta begins with Greek sailors who wandered for a long time in search of land where they could land. They called the coast "yalos", and the settlement they founded on this place was called Yalos or Yalta. In the XIII century, Venetian merchants settled here, later ousted by the Genoese. The latter created trade ports along the entire coast. At the same time, they began to build fortresses. Their ruins can still be found. They date back to the XI-XV centuries.
The next period of Yalta can be attributed to the Byzantine Empire. This was the principality of Theodoro. The city was called Yalita or Jalita. It was never a fortress, nor was it an important strategic point. In the 14th century, the city can be found on maps under the names Kallita, Gialita or Etalita. But they all look like the current toponym.
Middle Ages
Not being a military post, Yalta has gone through many dramatic pages:
- the conquest by the Turks in 1475;
- a devastating earthquake in the same 15th century;
- resettlement of Christians to Russia in 1778.
So, the city, which had no defense value, fell into desolation, became a small fishing village. A new wave of settlement in this area began with the distribution of land by the Russian emperor, when the Crimea came under the leadership of Count M. Vorontsov as governor-general. Then vineyards, orchards began to appear here, and behind them palaces of noble persons. The Russian leadership liked Yalta because there was enough fresh water here, and the bay was very convenient.
The status of the city of Yalta was assigned in 1838. It became a county town. There is a good road here. And then a full-fledged port was built, so that the ships did not have to transfer passengers and reload goods onto launches that could come directly to the shore.
Resort town
The value of Yalta as a resort was understood by citizens only after the Crimean War. The healthiness of the climate was proved by S. Botkin and V. Dmitriev. These doctors became the culprit for the emergence of palaces here - Massandra and Livadia. But not only imperial palaces, but also mansions of other wealthy citizens began to be built here almost in large numbers. It was the status of the resort that helped Yalta to become a large settlement. The construction boom was also helped by the construction of a railway to the Crimea.
Today, perhaps the most interesting object near Yalta is the Swallow's Nest. The beautiful castle seems to hover over the cliff. Few people know that engineering thought saved this architectural object. After all, the earthquake knocked out half of its foundation from under the building.
The events of the Red Terror and the Great Patriotic War were a dark page in the history of Yalta. But the city was no longer destined to cease to exist, it was revived and survived, remaining a beautiful pearl of the Crimea.
