Crimea is one of the most interesting regions of the country. Here are the ruins of ancient Greek cities, and Turkish fortresses, and mysterious cave cities, and monasteries, and grandiose palaces that the nobility built for themselves in the 19th century. It produces the best wines and grows the most beautiful roses.
Top 10 sights of Crimea
Chersonesos Tauride
This is the most famous and largest museum of antiquity on the southern coast of Crimea. Once upon a time there was a huge city, the history of which goes back almost 2000 years: from the 5th century BC. NS. by XIV. There was a powerful fortress, which was rebuilt several times, temples - first pagan, and then Christian, wine production, pottery workshops, trade shops.
Now the territory of the museum is a huge mothballed excavation: the urban planning of the III-II centuries BC has been revealed. e., the remains of several large city estates, theaters, baths and much more. Finds from excavations are presented in the closed exposition of the museum.
Near the ancient ruins is the most beautiful Vladimir Cathedral of 1891 - according to legend, it was built on the site of the baptism of St. Prince Vladimir.
On the shore of the Karantinnaya Bay, you can see the famous Chersonesos "fog bell". Once it hung on the bell tower of St. Nicholas Church in Sevastopol, then fell into the French "captivity", was returned to his homeland in 1913, and after the revolution it became a beacon bell for passing ships.
Nikitsky Botanical Garden
The famous Nikitsky Botanical Garden is more than two hundred years old. Plants bred in this garden grow throughout the south. All the popular parks of Crimea, the Caucasus and the southern coast of the Black Sea were planted with trees brought from here.
Now the garden is still conducting breeding and scientific work, and for tourists it is a huge park with several thematic zones. It has its own rose garden, continuously blooming in summer, orchards, vineyards, groves of unique conifers. Only here you can see giant sequoias and Lebanese oaks. The park has a small museum with an interactive exhibition.
The Nikitsky Botanical Garden includes the Primorsky Park with ceremonial palm alleys, now it is more of an amusement park: there are attractions, an area with dinosaurs for the little ones, and much more. The Nikitsky Botanical Garden also includes a small natural reserve, Cape Martyan.
Bird home
The visiting card of Crimea is that you cannot come here and not see the famous Swallow's Nest castle. At the beginning of the 20th century, a real medieval castle appeared on the high Aurora rock. It is quite small: 10 meters wide and 20 meters long. But here there is everything that a castle should have: a donjon tower, battlements, lancet windows - the castle looks mesmerizing from the sea.
Its history is covered with mysteries. The fact is that the revolutionary years left almost no documents about its construction and owners. It was built by one of the famous Barons Steingel, but different sources name different members of this family. In the Soviet years, the most famous restaurant of the Crimea was here, and now it is an exhibition hall.
The castle on the mountain is under constant threat of collapse: now they are strengthening not only the structure itself, but also the rock on which it is located.
Bakhchisarai Palace
The palace of the Crimean khans in Bakhchisarai became famous after the appearance of Pushkin's poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai". The “garden-palace” in Bakhchisarai was built in the middle of the 16th century, when Bakhchisarai became the capital of the country, but little has survived since that time.
The main complex of the palace with numerous courtyards, gardens, fountains and passages was created in the 18th century. A part of the harem, a mosque, baths, a necropolis with mausoleums, a hall of the State Council - Divana have been preserved. Now there is a museum that tells about the Crimean khans and their way of life. One of the rooms is a memorial, here Catherine II stayed during her trip to Crimea. A crystal chandelier made especially for her hangs in the room. One of the few surviving "Catherine's miles" stands in the courtyard to commemorate this visit. Here is also the famous "fountain of tears" described by Pushkin in 1764, erected by Khan Kyrym-Girey in memory of his beloved concubine.
Tsar's residence in Livadia
The history of the Crimean residence of the imperial family began with the fact that Alexander II acquired a small estate for his wife Maria Feodorovna. She was happy to have a rest here, laid out and equipped the park, built new buildings - and this place became a favorite southern "dacha" for three generations of the Romanovs. It was here that Alexander III died - he was buried in the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in Livadia. Nicholas II spent his youth here.
Now there is a museum in a grandiose palace, built for Nicholas II before the First World War. It was not only beautiful, but also created with the latest technology: there was a telephone connection, electricity (and not only lighting, but also electric refrigerators), garages for cars.
In the Soviet years, this palace was chosen to host the famous Yalta conference; a photograph of I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill has been preserved in the Italian courtyard of Livadia. It was here that Lope de Vega's famous film adaptation of Dogs in the Manger was filmed. Now in Livadia there is a rich museum dedicated to the Romanov family.
Massandra
A suburb of Yalta is the village of Massandra, known throughout the country for its winery. Wine has been produced here since 1828, when, on the initiative of Prince Vorontsov, at the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, they began to grow grapes and engage in its selection. Now these are huge vineyards, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, a winery, to which excursions with tastings are taken, and a company store.
Another imperial residence was located in Massandra. The palace was built here by M. Vorontsov, and then the famous lover of Russian alcoholic beverages, Alexander III, bought it for himself, and then Nicholas II often came here to also watch the construction of new factories for the production of wine. The palace houses a museum dedicated to Alexander III, and a park is laid out around the palace, which is considered one of the most picturesque in Crimea.
Malakhov Kurgan and Panorama of the Defense of Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city, twice covered with military glory. Fierce battles took place here in the Crimean War, in 1854-1855, when the heroic defense of Sevastopol became a key episode of hostilities. The second time there were battles in 1941-1942 and in 1944, when the city was occupied by the Germans, and then recaptured.
Now all these events are reminded of the memorial complex on the Malakhov Kurgan - a strategic height above the city, which was mainly fought for during both wars. The first monuments appeared here in 1905, to the centenary of the defense of Sevastopol, and in the 1950s, after the Great Patriotic War, the complex was supplemented and reconstructed. The defensive tower - the remnant of the fortifications from the Crimean War - houses a museum.
And in a separate building is the famous Panorama of the Defense of Sevastopol by F. Roubaud - a grandiose canvas that tells about the storming of Sevastopol on June 6, 1855.
Cave Inkerman
Crimea is a country of famous cave cities and monasteries. The soft limestone of which these mountains are composed makes it possible to make fortifications and shelter here.
The famous ancient monastery of St. Clement was founded in the earliest times of the Crimean history in the rock that defended the former fortress of Kalamita. Tradition says that the first altar appeared here in the 1st century, when the holy Martyr Clement suffered from the pagans in these places. There are ruins of the fortress - but it existed here from the 6th to the 15th centuries. When the Turks captured it, they began to call this area "Inkerman" - "the city of caves": around the fortress in the caves there was a whole city, which is now accessible for inspection.
Monastery of St. Clement existed until the 15th century, when the territory of Crimea became part of the Ottoman Empire, and was revived in the middle of the 19th century. Now this monastery operates, and in its cave temples divine services are conducted, there is a particle of the relics of St. Clement, in memory of whom it was formed sometime ago.
Voloshin Museum in Koktebel
The cult place of Koktebel is the famous house of M. Voloshin, which was visited by all the most famous people of the Silver Age. It was a "literary commune", a place where one could simply come to the hospitable host to rest and work. V. Bryusov, M. Tsvetaeva, O. Mandelstam, M. Bulgakov and others have been here. M. Voloshin literally saved many friends in the turbulent revolutionary years. A. Green, who lived nearby, has been here many times.
In the Soviet years, a writers' rest house grew up around the small Voloshin's house, where the intelligentsia of the new era - Yu. Drunin, B. Akhmadulina and others - had already visited. Now the museum is here: the atmosphere has been restored, you can see a rich collection of paintings collected by M. Voloshin, memorial things.
Address. Pgt. Koktebel, st. Morskaya, 43
Vorontsov Palace in Alupka
The most grandiose of all the Crimean palaces, incomparable even with the royal residences, was built in the middle of the 19th century for Mikhail Vorontsov, the Novorossiysk governor. It combines English and Moorish styles, and a huge park is laid out around it, which is rightfully considered the most beautiful in Crimea.
The visiting card of the park is the famous lion staircase to the main entrance, decorated with six statues of lions. The park has preserved many pavilions, pavilions and fountains, and the palace itself has ceremonial interiors. After the revolution, a lot of valuables from all over the Crimea got here, so now the collection of this museum is one of the richest and most interesting.
Address. G. Alupka, Palace highway, 18
