Historical, cultural and architectural monuments of the Crimea

Crimea is a real Mecca for tourists. And attracts them here are not only picturesque nature, the sea and rocky mountains. A lot of historical and cultural sights are concentrated on the peninsula. Monuments of Crimea are cave monasteries, ancient cities, lush palaces and military monuments. Every year they are visited by thousands of travelers from different countries and continents.

About the most interesting architectural, cultural and historical monuments of the Crimea, we will tell you in our article.

Crimea and its treasures

The Crimean land is unique in many aspects. Geographically, it is a peninsula (almost an island), connected with the mainland part of Europe only by a narrow isthmus. It is washed by the waters of two seas - Black and Azov. The northern and central parts of the peninsula are dominated by steppes and semi-deserts, while the Crimean mountains rise smoothly in the south to break abruptly to the sea with a grand rocky ledge.

Historically, Crimea is a conglomerate of many cultures and ethnic groups. It is inhabited by representatives of various nationalities: Russians, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Greeks, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Gypsies, Jews, Turks and many others. Each of these ethnic groups brought their architectural and cultural traditions to the peninsula. Their numerous traces can be seen today in the ancient Crimean buildings, and in the everyday life of modern Crimeans.

Crimea is a real treasure chest. The entire territory of the peninsula is densely covered with these "treasures" - historical, cultural and architectural monuments. Crimea also gave the world a special school of painting - the Cimmerian. Representatives of this school were such talented artists as Ivan Aivazovsky, Adolf Fessler and Maximilian Voloshin.

Top 20 Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Crimea

In Crimea there is absolutely everything a tourist needs: the sea, the perfect climate, mountains, forests, parks with exotic plants and, of course, a lot of historical and cultural sites. This palace and park ensembles, medieval fortresses, the remains of ancient cities, the ruins of ancient buildings, cave monasteries, mounds, mysterious settlements and much, much more.

Below we list those monuments of the Crimea, which are of greatest value and enjoy the greatest popularity among tourists. So, here are these objects:

1. Vorontsov Palace.
2. "Chersonese of Tauric".
3. Panorama "Defense of Sevastopol".
4. Monument to the Scuttled Ships.
5. Adzhimushkay stone quarries.
6. The royal burial mound in Kerch.
7. Livadia Palace.
8. Khan's Palace in Bakhchisaray.
9. Aivazovsky Picture Gallery.
10. Sudak fortress.
11. The fortress of Kafa.
12. The fortress of Eni-Calais.
13. Castle «Swallow's Nest».
14. Kerkinitida hillfort.
15. The cave city of Chufut-Kale.
16. Naples Scythian.
17. The Massandra Palace.
18. The monastery of Surb Khach.
19. St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Sevastopol.
20. Victory Monument (Sevastopol).

Some of the listed monuments of the Crimea will be described in more detail later in the article. Among them - one historical, one architectural, one military and one monument of art.

Vorontsov Palace and Park Ensemble

This outstanding monument of architectural and park art is located in Alupka on the Black Sea coast. It was created in the middle of the XIX century for Count MS. Vorontsov with the participation of the best European architects and gardeners.

The palace itself is unique in its kind: its northern facade is designed in the style of English Gothic, and the southern one is already decorated in the Moorish style. Incredible combination! The visiting card of this ensemble is the southern front staircase, decorated with three pairs of white marble lions.

An integral part of the Vorontsov architectural ensemble in Alupka is a 40 hectare park. It contains an amazing botanical collection of exotic plants brought here from Asia, America and Southern Europe.

"Chersonese of Tauric"

The reserve "Chersonese Tavrichesky" was created to preserve the unique ancient landscape on the south-western coast of the Crimea. In the fifth century BC, the ancient Greeks founded the policy of Chersonese near the modern city of Sevastopol. Thanks to its favorable geographical position, it quickly turned into a powerful and prosperous city. In 2013, the ruins of Chersonesos received the status of a UNESCO monument.

Until now, the main square of the ancient city, the ancient theater (the only one on the territory of the CIS), the foundation of the medieval basilica, the defensive tower of Zeno remained.

Aivazovsky Picture Gallery

Art Gallery. I.K. Aivazovsky is in Feodosia. This is one of the most important monuments of the Crimean art. The gallery presents paintings by different artists, which are united by one theme - marine. About 12 thousand canvases are collected here. 417 paintings belong to the brush of the famous seascapist I.K. Aivazovsky.

Ivan Aivazovsky is a Russian artist of Armenian origin. An outstanding painter and seascape painter, whose paintings were admired all over the world. Born and raised in Feodosia, for his long and fruitful life he created over five thousand paintings. The main theme of most of his paintings is the sea.

Monument to the Scuttled Ships

Crimea has always been a tasty morsel for many empires and states. Therefore, almost the entire history of the peninsula is an endless chain of armed conflicts and wars. In the middle of the XIX century, another war broke out in the Crimea. The monument, established in 1905 in Sevastopol, is the most famous object dedicated to the events of those distant years.

The monument to the flooded ships was erected in memory of those ships that had to be flooded in order to protect the city of Sevastopol from the sea attacks of the enemy. This happened in 1855 during the so-called First Defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. Directly in the sea there is a seven-meter column crowned with a bronze figure of an eagle with its head lowered and its wings open. The pose of the eagle completely conveys the tragedy and hopelessness of this historic event.

The total height of the monument (along with the pedestal) is 16 meters. The name of the author of this monument became known only in 1949. He was an outstanding Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson.