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Once in these places was located a rich and famous Greek colony, founded in the 5th century BC. The city existed here until the 14th century, and then was abandoned: life moved to the Tatar villages, on the territory of one of which the modern Sevastopol was founded already in the 18th century.

Ancient Chersonesos: the history of the city

Crimea was considered the breadbasket of the ancient world; the places were rich, and the city of Chersonesos even minted its own silver coin. The colony was founded by Dorian Greeks, natives of the island of Delos. It was a typical Greek polis. It was governed by a popular assembly, which elected a city council. Any free citizen could become a member of such a council. The oath test, which was pronounced by the Chersonese when entering adulthood, has been preserved: it affirms the principles of democracy and loyalty to the native city.

Greek gods were honoured in the city, and first of all the virgin goddess. She was called Parthenos, and was associated with the Greek Artemis.

Chersonesos was on the very border of the Oikumene, the world known to the Greeks, and was almost constantly at war, so that by the 1st century AD it was a powerful fortress. During these times, it fell under the Bosporan Kingdom, or gained independence: in the I-II centuries A.D. Roman garrisons stood here, ready to fight back the Scythians, and then a whole legion, called to fight the Huns and other barbarians. Until the 13th century Chersonesos (in these times already Korsun) was part of the Byzantine Empire.

In 988 it was captured by the Kiev prince Vladimir, after which an alliance with Byzantium was concluded: the prince received the Byzantine princess Anna as his wife and was baptised. In the 14th century the territory belonged to the Genoese, and by 1398 Korsun was finally destroyed by Lithuanian princes Olgerd and Vitovt.

Chersonesos Tavrichesky Museum

The open territory of the archaeological museum represents the cleared remains of the city. The first research here began under Nicholas I in 1827 and continues to this day: now about a third of the settlement has been excavated.

What has been preserved:

- City layout. The city was built on a clear plan with intersecting streets and square distinct neighbourhoods. Since city life lasted here for almost a thousand years, the ruins of Greek and Roman buildings are juxtaposed with medieval ones: old stone was used for new buildings, new houses were built on the burnt remains of the previous ones, churches were rebuilt.

- Theatre building, built at the turn of the IV-III centuries B.C. In Christian times, when the theatre was considered an unacceptable pagan entertainment, it was first a city dump, then a church was built on the old foundations. Now the ancient amphitheatre cleared in the middle of the 20th century is available for inspection.

- "Mint": a large city house of 4th century BC. It once occupied half a quarter, was made of powerful limestone slabs and most likely belonged to a very rich family. In the cellar were found bronze blanks for coins, from which it got its name - this cellar is just accessible for inspection.

- "The House of the Winemaker": manor house of the 2nd century AD. Here are the remains of wine production: three crushing platforms for extracting grape juice, and the remains of vessels for storing wine. Once there was a small temple in the basement of this house: an altar surrounded by lamps and animal bones was found.

- Temples - pagan and Christian. An interesting find of 21th century excavations is an ancient temple complex built over a limestone cave. It preserved the altar, with gutters on which the sacrificial blood flowed into special vessels, as well as a well with a sump, which were used for washing the altar. As many as six Christian basilicas are available for inspection (in fact, there were even more in the city). The "Basilica within a Basilica" is interesting: there was once a large temple here, built in the 6th century AD and burnt down in the 10th century. And then a smaller temple was made inside it, which stood until the 13th century.

- Public baths, built under Emperor Constantine in the 10th century. There is a cistern twelve metres deep and the remains of baths.

The towers of the medieval fortress, parts of the ancient and medieval port, an inn, Roman thermae have been preserved. There is also an open-air exhibition on the territory of the museum: architectural fragments from ancient columns to the remains of the Vladimir Cathedral blown up by the Germans, clay amphorae and cannonballs have been collected.

The exposition of the museum itself is new: it has been undergoing restoration for a long time, and in 2017 the ancient collection finally opened to visitors.

It is also worth mentioning the "catacombs". The territory of the ancient settlement has been cleared and explored far from the whole. In the vicinity of the museum there are numerous remains of old cellars with church burials, underground passages and natural caves, they are covered with various mystical legends, serve as a shelter for vagrants or just drinkers. This is an entertainment for extreme people: without special education it is still impossible to understand the remains of structures of what time you are in front of you, and it can be dangerous to be there.

Vladimirsky Cathedral

According to legend, Vladimirsky Cathedral stands exactly on the place where Prince Vladimir was once baptised in 987-988. The remains of the ancient Christian church were found during excavations in 1827 in the central town square. Since in the "Tale of the Temporal Years" mentions just the church "in Korsun on the bargain", it was decided that this is the one, and it is certainly necessary to immortalise the baptism of Russia, building the church anew.

In 1850 a small St Vladimir's Monastery was founded here. But all that was built, turned into ruins in 5 years during the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War in 1855. But after the war, when the city was revived and rebuilt, it was decided to build a two-storey stone cathedral. At the laying of this temple was present the young Emperor Alexander II with the Empress.

The construction of the cathedral lasted 30 years, and by the nine hundredth anniversary of the Baptism of Russia, it was not yet finally ready. The main throne was consecrated only in 1891. The temple was built on the model of Byzantine basilicas - with one central dome designed by architect D. Grimm.

In 1924 the temple was closed and was under the jurisdiction of the museum. During the Great Patriotic War it was first hit by a shell, and then the Germans, leaving the city, blew it up. Almost nothing remained of the historical interior decoration. Restoration of the church continued from the nineties and was finally completed on Easter 2004.

Even before construction began, a part of the relics of St Vladimir the Equal-to-the-Apostles was transferred here from the house church of the Winter Palace, in a precious ark in the form of a Gospel binding. The most venerated icon of the church is the "Korsun" icon of the Mother of God. This is a list of the icon, which was once taken from Korsun to Russia Prince Vladimir. In the summer of 1861 the imperial couple at the laying of the temple donated for this icon a precious cover. The lining did not survive, but the icon itself was preserved.

Fog Bell

Photos of the sea against the background of the "fog" bell are an iconic view of Chersonesos. The bell was installed on the shore of the Quarantine Bay in 1925 as a signalling beacon for passing ships. Now it has turned into a romantic attraction: ships are equipped with special equipment and will not run into the shore.

The bell was cast in 1778 from captured Turkish cannons and was located in Sevastopol, in the church of St Nicholas. St Nicholas is considered the patron saint of sailors, and the bell is decorated with an image of the saint. After the Crimean War, as a trophy it ended up in France, and not just anywhere - but right in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris. The French vice-consul in Sevastopol L. A. Ge proposed to the then French President R. Poincaré to return the bell to Russia, and as a sign of friendship and strengthening international relations the bell was solemnly returned in 1913. Initially it was not a beacon bell: it was an ordinary church bell, and it was raised on the belfry of St Vladimir's Cathedral. It became a beacon after the closure of the church.

After the war for some time he was without a tongue, and sounded again in the early 2000s: together with the restoration of the cathedral again gave voice and the bell. However, now the "tongue" is locked - it is impossible to come and ring it.

Lighthouse

Another landmark of Chersonesos is the lighthouse. The lighthouse has existed here since 1816 on the most extreme point of Cape Chersonesos. It is an active lighthouse, its modern building was built of reinforced concrete in 1951 and faced with white local limestone, which is mined in the vicinity of Inkerman.

In pre-revolutionary times at the lighthouse was installed oil lamp with several wicks and reflectors, then switched to paraffin. Now the lighthouse has a signal lamp with a power of 1 KW, as well as a radio beacon (which just replaced the signal fog bell).

Interesting facts

- The very word "Chersonesos" in Greek simply means "peninsula". Chersonesos in the world more than a dozen: there are settlements with these names in Greece, Crete, Sicily. Even in the Crimea itself, Chersonesos is not alone - this is the name of another ancient settlement, not far from Kerch.

- Prince Vladimir, baptised here, changed his pagan name to a Christian one. He became Basil. However, in the centuries he remained Saint Vladimir, and his Slavic name was included in the Orthodox saints.

- Both the bell and the lighthouse have twin brothers. The exact same lighthouse is installed on Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea. The exact same bell was cast for Taganrog at the beginning of the XXI century.

On a side note

  • Location: Sevastopol, Drevnyaya Street, 1.

  • How to get there: shuttle buses № 4, 107, 109, 110 or buses № 22, № 77 to the stop "Dmitry Ulyanov Street", then on foot.

  • Official website: www.chersonesos.org

  • Opening hours: the museum is open from 1 May to 1 October - from 9.00 to 19.00 hours without days off, from 1 October to 1 May - from 9.00 to 17.00 hours without days off. Entrance to the ancient settlement - daily from 08.00 to 21.00. Entrance to St Vladimir's Cathedral during the service is free of charge.

  • Tickets: adult - 100 rubles, student - 70 rubles, discount and children - 50 rubles.