Sebastopol

sebastopol – севастополь

Sebastopol was founded on June 14, 1783 by orders of Katherine II as "a sea fortress in the south of Russia".

The memorial sign marking the foundation of Sebastopol.

Sebastopol is called "the city of Russian military glory". It was the venue of fierce battles in the 1853-56 Crimean War against allied Turkish, French and British forces and during the Second World War against allied German, Italian, Hungarian, Croatian and Romanian forces. In 1854-55 it took the allied Turkish, French and British forces 11 months to breach the defense and to occupy the city. The museum of the 1854-55 Sebastopol defense features a magnificent panorama painting that measures 14 x 115 meters. The museum and the panorama were opened to the public in 1905.

The statue of admiral Kornilov mortally wounded in this spot October 5, 1854.

The statue of admiral Nakhimov. He took over admiral Kornilov and was killed June 28, 1855.

The world famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was in charge of one of such cannons during the defense of Sebastopol.

The monument to the scuttled ships. The ships were scuttled at the entrance of the bay to prevent allied warships from entering the bay.

Sebastopol was also the venue of fierce battles during the Second World War against allied German, Italian, Hungarian, Croatian and Romanian armies. In 1941-42 it took the Hitler allied force 250 days to breach the defense and to occupy the city. Sebastopol was liberated in May 1944. The museum with a diorama painting measuring 5.5 x 25.5 meters was opened in 1959. It is located on top of Mount Sapun in the outskirts of the city.

The battlefield today as seen from the museum.

CHERSONESES – ХЕРСОНЕС

The ruins of the ancient Greek town of Chersoneses are one of the major sights in Sebastopol. The town was founded in 5th century B.C. The place is known as the cradle of Russian Christianity. It was here where Prince Vladimir of Kiev was baptized in 988. Gradually the Christian religion was introduced all over ancient Russia.