Pushkin and Mickiewicz, Akhmatova and Kuprin and many other great authors wrote about this city. All of them were amazed by the local beauty and amazing nature. Today, lovers of the most exquisite and unusual recreation come here. To relax on the beach, you will have to sail to it on a skiff or boat. This will allow you to get unforgettable impressions from the Balaklava Bay, protected by mountains from the shore.
The city of Balaklava, whose sights are well known to many residents of the former Soviet Union, is located in the southwest of the Crimean peninsula. This is a settlement that is part of Sevastopol, although it is separated from it by a rather large territory. The name of the city is translated from Turkish as "fish tank".
This amazing city has a huge number of monuments of nature, history, architecture. Today we will introduce you to some of them. So, Balaklava (Crimea), attractions by name.
Cembalo Fortress
It must be said that many come to Sevastopol. Balaclava, whose sights are described in all advertising brochures of travel agencies, is certainly included inexcursion routes. Most often, acquaintance with memorable places begins with the fortress of Chembalo.
This fortification appeared on Mount Kastron, above the entrance to Balaklava Bay, in the 14th century. It was built by the Genoese who settled in these places. The administrative part of the fortress was located on the mountain - the City of St. Nicholas, below was the City of St. George, which was surrounded by three lines of walls. It was inhabited by ordinary citizens. In 1475 it was captured by the Turks, who renamed it Balak Yuve.
They owned Balaklava for three centuries, until Russia conquered the peninsula. During the Crimean War, the British garrison was stationed here. Today, only ruins have survived from the Cembalo fortress, nevertheless, the silhouette of its towers on the Fortress Hill is the hallmark of Balaklava. It is planned to create a museum here, restoration work is underway.
Cask of Death
Sights of Balaklava, photos with descriptions of which can be seen in city guides, reflect the history of this amazing place.
The long-term coastal fortification, bearing such a terrible name, is located on Mount Asceti, in the suburbs of Balaklava. An unusual element of this structure is an observation post made of thick sheet armor in the shape of a barrel.
The first earthen fortifications in these places were erected by the allies in the Crimean War and were somewhat rebuilt during the First World War. Fort like thisThe balaclava, which can be seen today, appeared in the 1920s, and two observation posts were built at the same time.
"Barrel" has a diameter of 1.8 m, a height of 2 m. It is perfectly preserved and hangs on a rock over a huge abyss (360 m). Slots were made in its floor and walls for firing and viewing the territory. For a long time, the inhabitants of Balaklava told a legend about how the Nazis shot captured Soviet soldiers in this "barrel", and their bodies were thrown into the sea. Hence this terrible name appeared - the Barrel of Death. True, documentary evidence of this version has not been preserved. Now it is a wonderful observation deck. It offers a stunning view of the picturesque Cape Aya, the Ayazma tract, as well as the entrance to the famous Balaklava Bay.
Cape Aya
It is located on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula. This is a steep spur of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains with the highest point - Mount Kokiya-Kala (558 m). Today it is the state landscape reserve "Cape Aya", which is owned by Balaklava (Crimea). The sights of the cape are the Batiliman tract, the vast groves of Pitsunda pine, Stankevich pine and high juniper, as well as the aquatic coastal complex, which is located near Cape Aya. At its foot there are numerous grottoes and an excellent beach with the romantic name "Lost World". You can get to it from Balaklava only by sea.
Balaklava: underwater museum
View this complexthousands of tourists come from our country and from abroad. "Balaklava" is a museum created in 2002 on the basis of an underground plant for the maintenance and repair of submarines.
Balaklava Bay became the base of the Black Sea Fleet even before the Second World War. Then the 155th brigade of submarines was located here. In the 1950s, construction began on a secret underground facility. The complex occupied an area of 10 sq. km. It was cut into a mountain that rises 120 meters above sea level. It included a repair part and a nuclear arsenal. An eight-meter-deep canal that runs through the entire mountain allowed seven boats of the 613th and 633rd classes to be placed.
At the end of the 20th century, due to the re-equipment of the fleet, the plant lost its relevance as a military facility. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all valuable equipment was removed from its territory.
Today it is one of the most visited attractions that Balaklava has. The museum was created on the basis of well-preserved underground structures. There are expositions telling about the history of the Navy, about the submarine forces of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR, about the political military aspects of the Cold War.
Today, visitors can see the underground channel, the workshops of the former factory and the arsenal where nuclear warheads and torpedoes were once stored. Here are samples of models of warships, weapons and equipment.
In one of the galleries today there is a large-scale exhibition of exhibits relating to the period of the Crimean War. It includes: military ammunition, awards, uniforms, samplesfirearms and cold steel, personal belongings and letters of officers and soldiers of the warring parties, dishes and household items.
Northern Balaklava Fort
Its construction lasted three years (1912-1915). It is located at an altitude of 212 meters, on Mount Kefalo Vrisi. The fort consists of a system and partly concrete moats carved into the rock. They are three meters deep and two kilometers long.
The western and eastern ditches are connected by a concrete adit. Its length is 124 meters, its width is just over 2.5 meters, and its height is 3.5 meters. The ditches are covered with concrete, one meter thick. There were 240 beds in the adit. Ventilation holes in the walls were arranged every 7 meters, and shafts with stairs leading to the surface were located every 30 meters.
The adit from the west adjoins the command post, which has a ceiling of 2.2 m and side walls 1.5 m high. It was planned to install 75-millimeter guns here, but the guns were not installed due to the October Revolution. This facility was later used as a storage facility for explosives and ammunition.
Temple of the Twelve Apostles
Balaklava (Crimea) is famous not only for monuments related to the history of the Black Sea Fleet. The sights, the photos of which you see in our article, have historical, cultural and architectural significance.
The first temple in the city was built by the Genoese in 1375 on the very spot where it is todayTemple of the Twelve Apostles. It was erected in the 18th century on the foundation of the previous temple. During the Crimean War, it was damaged and consecrated again in 1875. Priceless relics of the Greek battalion of Balaklava were carefully stored here. In Soviet times, the temple was closed, in its premises the House of Pioneers was first organized, and later a club. In 1990, the building was returned to the church.
Monument to Kuprin
Balaklava, whose sights are dedicated to famous people, is famous for the monument to the Russian writer A. Kuprin, which was installed on the city's embankment in 2009
A. Kuprin lived in Balaklava from 1904 to 1906. At this time he wrote the first chapters of "Duel", the famous essay "In Memory of Chekhov". In November 1905, he witnessed the events in the Black Sea Fleet and the massacre on the cruiser Ochakov. After the publication of the article "Events in Sevastopol" in the newspaper "Our Life" in St. Petersburg (1906), Kuprin was forced to leave the city by order of the police, but the theme of Sevastopol and Balaklava continued to sound in his stories such as "Dream", "Listrigons", Caterpillar, Svetlina.
The monument was created in full size. Its author is S. Chizh. Sculptors - K. Tsikhiev, V. Gordeev. Architect - G. Grigoryants.
19th Drapushko Battery
This structure, known as Captain Drapushko's Battery, took twelve years to build (1912-1924). It is located on the top of the mountain, on Cape Kurona. After construction, she was armed with four guns with a caliber of 152 mm,which could hit battleships and cruisers at a distance of up to 20 km. Each gun was assigned a crew consisting of 12 people. Shells weighing 52 kg were fed manually.
In November 1941, this battery, under the command of Captain M. Drapushka, took the fight to the fascist units. During the assault on Sevastopol, the 19th battery was badly damaged. Immediately after the war, it was restored and continued to serve. In 2002 it was decommissioned and liquidated.
This is the unique city of Balaklava. Sights (photos are presented in our material) are carefully and very reverently guarded here, since many of them tell about the heroic past of Russian sailors.
Chelter-Marmara Monastery
This amazing cave monastery stretches along the cornice of Mount Chelter-Kaya above Ternovka. It consists of more than 50 caves, which are located in five tiers: a refectory and cells, a gallery with five columns, utility rooms, and a Christian church. The complex is surrounded on all sides by impregnable cliffs and rocks. This monastery was active from the 13th to the end of the 15th century, although some researchers attribute its creation to the 6th-9th centuries. The epithet "Marmara" (which means Marble) came from the medieval village of the same name. Its ruins can still be seen on the slopes of the mountain.
We talked about the wonderful Crimean city of Balaklava. Its sights deserve careful study. The article discusses only a fewmonuments. It is worth coming to this picturesque place and seeing all its sights with your own eyes.
