Crimea - interesting facts. Interesting facts about Crimea Interesting information about Crimea

1. Crimea is a unique peninsula, in a small territory of which there are immediately three natural and climatic zones: steppes (with a temperate continental climate), mountains and the southern coast of Crimea (zone close to subtropical)
2. Grow in Crimea 240 plant species, which are found nowhere else in the world.
3. On the territory of Crimea it flows 257 rivers, there are also about 50 salt lakes. Coastline Crimea is 1000 km. And the most high point peninsula - Mount Roman-Kosh. Its height is 1545 m.
4. Crimea is the modern name of the peninsula (Turkic-Tatar), and some hundred years ago it was called Tavrida and Crimea was part of the Russian Empire as the Tauride province.
5. It is in Crimea that it takes place the longest trolleybus route on the planet. The trolleybus runs between Yalta and Simferopol. The length of the route is 86 km
6. It also operates in Crimea the shortest tram line in the world. Its length is only 1800 m and it is located in the “Beregovoi” boarding house. It was built in order to deliver vacationers to the sea.
7. Crimea has attracted people since ancient times. Thus, in the Kiik-Koba cave, archaeologists discovered traces of Neanderthal sites
8. Located in Crimea The world's most powerful solar power plant(as of 2014). The power plant was built by the Austrians in 2011 in the village of Perovo. The power of the station is 100 MW.
9. Crimea is not the calmest region in terms of seismic activity. Thus, even in the 20th century it was recorded several earthquakes. One of which, from September 11 to 12, 1927, was quite destructive. People and infrastructure in the region were damaged.
10. Popular Cinema group was founded in Crimea in the village of Morskoye. This happened in 1981. In general, Crimea was glorified and loved by many cultural and artistic figures - I.K. Aivazovsky, Chekhov, Voloshin, Green, Arkady Averchenko, Marina Tsvetaeva, Mitskevich, Zoshchenko, Bulgakov and many others.
11. Europe's largest astrophysical observatory is located in Crimea, in the village of Nauchny, Bakhchisaray district. The first telescope was installed here in 1949 and since then more than 850 asteroids have been discovered here.
12. The first motorist to pay a fine for speeding in Crimea was Geza Kovacs, Hungarian engineer. This happened in 1901, Geza Kovacs was the first autotourist in Crimea.
13. In autumn in Crimea it takes place woodcock hunting- a bird with a rare “pictorial” feather, which is used by artists and watchmakers to draw the finest lines.
14. Movies were shot in Malorechenskoye "Treasure Island" and "Farewell of a Slav", and in the vicinity of Demerdzhi - the legendary "Caucasian Captive"

10 facts about Crimea

1.The oldest city in Crimea is Kerch.

The oldest city in Crimea and the city of Kerch is considered one of the oldest cities in Europe. The first name is Panticapaeum. The city was founded in the 7th century BC by the ancient Greeks, who arrived on the peninsula from the city of Miletus, near Troy, now part of Turkey. For comparison, to understand how ancient it is, Panticapaeum is a little less than two hundred years younger than Rome. After the founding of Kerch, Paris was founded only 5 centuries later, and London was founded another 4 centuries later. Kyiv was founded almost 1000 years later. .

2. The baptism of Rus' began in Crimea.

Vladimir Svyatoslavovich In 970 he became the Prince of Novgorod, in 978 the Grand Duke of Kyiv and in 988 he chose Orthodox Christianity as the main religion of Kievan Rus. In chronicles he can be found under the names Vladimir the Baptist or Vladimir the Great. You may ask how does this relate to Crimea? So here it is. The baptism of Rus' began in the city of Chersonese, now Sevastopol, with the baptism of Prince Vladimir himself. At the supposed place of baptism, now stands

3. Radio communication was first used in Sevastopol.

The first practical use of radio communications or wireless telegraph took place at naval exercises in the city of Sevastopol under the leadership of physicist A.S. Popov in 1899 and opened a new era of radio communications.

4. Yalta Conference ending the Great Patriotic War.

5. Bear Mountain, Ayu-Dag, a failed volcano.

Bear Mountain one of the most famous mountains to Crimea. Located between Partenit and Gurzuf. It got its name because of its resemblance to a bear lying on the coast, with its muzzle buried in the sea. According to one legend, the bear's face ended up in the water because he tried to drink the Black Sea in an attempt to return his beloved. But Bear Mountain is also interesting because it is a failed volcano. About 160 million years ago the volcano began to form. Tectonic processes took place for almost a million years, the volcano grew, was preparing to erupt, but at some point it went out and no longer showed signs of life. This is how one of the most beautiful sights of Crimea was born -

6. One of the highest waterfalls in Europe is located in Crimea.

7. Crimea has the longest trolleybus route in the world.

9. The balaclava hat is named after the city of the same name in Crimea.

A knitted hat with slits for eyes first appeared in Crimea during the Russian-Turkish War. The British captured the city of Balaklava with fierce battles, and decided to spend the winter there. But as always, when the enemy seizes Russian lands, the weather comes to the rescue. From 1854 to 1855, the winter in Crimea was extremely harsh, with incessant storms, icy winds and constant snow turning to rain. It was precisely these weather conditions that began to mow down dozens of English sailors on watch. Constant frostbite of the face, ears and nose, sinusitis, meningitis and other troubles in just a few weeks turned into a natural disaster for the English invaders. Trying to somehow escape from the elements, the British came up with a hat with a hole for the eyes. That is why it is called “Balaklava” - in honor of the city in which it was invented.

10. The most famous palace is located in Crimea.

The most famous palace in the post-Soviet space is located in Crimea, although in fact it is very difficult to call it a palace. I think you have already guessed, we are talking about a palace built on Aurora rock. Right! .

1. First mention in literature.

Homer, "Odyssey":

“There is a sad region for the Cimmerians,

Covered with eternally damp fog and haze of clouds;

The face of the radiant Helios never shows to the eyes of people...”

The Greeks called the Northern Black Sea region Cimmeria, including Crimea. Scientists date the creation of the Odyssey to the 9th-7th centuries. BC e. Homer writes that the climate in Crimea at that time was not so hot. This was later confirmed by Herodotus (5th century BC), writing that snowstorms, “unprecedented in Hellas,” rage here in winter, and local residents crossing the Kerch Strait on horseback. This means that the Sea of ​​Azov froze.

By the way, there is a medieval manuscript that says that in the winter of 763-764. The Black Sea was completely frozen: it was possible to ride a sleigh on the thick ice.

Sacrifice to Iphigenia. Tiepolo's fresco dedicated to ancient Greek myth. According to the plot, the beautiful Iphigenia was supposed to be executed, but at the last moment they took pity on her and sent her to Taurida (as Crimea was called by the Greeks).

2. The first Russians in Crimea.

In the same century, Prince Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Khaganate, after which the Tmutarakan principality was created, which included the Kerch Peninsula and some other territories of Crimea. In 988, Svyatoslav’s son Vladimir reached the Byzantine Chersonese Tauride with an army (located on the territory of present-day Sevastopol - Ed.), besieged it and took it. He was baptized there, bringing Christianity to Rus'.

Korchev (now Kerch - Ed.) was considered the main Russian city in Crimea. In 1068, Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich, ruler of the Tmutarakan principality, “measured the sea” from Tmutarakan (now the village of Taman on the Taman Peninsula, Krasnodar region. - Ed.) to Korchev. There is an inscription about this on the Tmutarakan stone (marble slab, now in the Hermitage. - Ed.). The inscription reads: “In the summer of 6576, indictment 6, Prince Gleb measured the sea on ice from Tmutorokan to Korchev 14,000 fathoms.”

3. Homeland of camels.

Camels were brought to the peninsula during the Great Silk Road. In Crimea, the center of this route was the city of Soldaya (now Sudak - Ed.). It is known that it was from Sudak that the Byzantine merchant Marco Polo set off on his first journey to China on camels (the merchant’s brother had his own estate in Sudak. - Ed.). Camel breeding was practiced in Crimea until the end of the 19th century.

4. The most famous legend.

Based on myths Ancient Greece— Euripides’ tragedy “Iphigenia in Tauris” (5th century BC). Iphigenia is the daughter of King Agamemnon. When the Greeks set out on a campaign against Troy, their ships could not go to sea for a long time due to a strong storm. Then the oracle said that the goddess Artemis was angry with Agamemnon and demanded his daughter to be sacrificed. Iphigenia agreed to go to the stake, but at the last moment Artemis took pity and took her to Taurida (at that time that was the name of the Crimean peninsula).

There, the locals wanted to kill her at first, too, but then made her a priestess in the fire temple. Many years later, Orestes, the youngest son of Agamemnon, who had been killed by that time, brother of Iphigenia, sailed to the shores of Taurida, with his friend Pylades. Captured, they were preparing to die on the altar, but the brother and sister recognized each other. All three managed to escape safely to Greece.

About 50 tragedies, more than 70 operas, and over 100 paintings were created based on the myth of Iphigenia.

In Crimea, in the village of Beregovoe (not far from Simeiz) there is a rock called Iphigenia.

5. Fashion capital.

TO ardigan, raglan and balaclava - all these items of clothing were invented during the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Lord James Cardigan commanded a British light horse brigade during this war. Winter 1854/1855 It was very cold in Crimea.

The lord, who was already 57 years old at the time, was very cold. He was famous as a strict expert on the rules and demanded impeccable appearance officers. Therefore, he ordered to knit himself a warm jacket with buttons without a collar, which was not visible under his uniform. The idea caught on. And Lord Raglan commanded all the British troops. The brave warrior lost his right arm in the Battle of Waterloo. And going to his last war (he died in 1855 from cholera in Sevastopol - Ed.), he ordered himself a special overcoat with an armhole, a one-piece sleeve and a cape. In addition to hiding a physical defect, raglan also served as protection from rain due to the displacement of the shoulder seams.And so that ordinary English soldiers in Balaclava would not freeze, they came up with woolen hoods that covered the entire face, with slits for the eyes and mouth. Then they transformed into the famous hats.

6. How the Black Sea caught fire.

The peculiarity of this sea is that living creatures exist in it only to a depth of 200 meters. Below, the water is too saturated with hydrogen sulfide. During the Crimean earthquake of 1927, high columns of fire were observed in the Black Sea near Sevastopol: hydrogen sulfide was burning, rising to the surface.

7. Catch phrase.

In 63 BC. e. Pontic king Farnak Evpator from Kerch with an army went to the territory of present-day Turkey to fight the Roman Empire. His army was defeated by Gaius Julius Caesar, after which he sent a victorious report to Rome: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

8. Title "Crimean".

Only two people received the honor of adding the title “Crimean” to their surname. The first is Prince Vasily Dolgorukov-Krymsky, commander of the 2nd Russian Army, which occupied Crimea in 1771 (in honor of this, the Dolgorukov Obelisk was erected in Simferopol). The second is Major General Yakov Slashchev-Krymsky, military leader of the Armed Forces of Southern Russia, who in the winter of 1919/1920. In heavy battles with units of the Red Army, they managed to defend Perekop, prolonging the existence of the White Crimea for almost a year. The title was awarded to him personally by Baron Wrangel.

9. Black Death.

The largest plague epidemic in history, which destroyed about a third of the population of Europe, came to the West through Feodosia. In 1346, the city, which then belonged to the Genoese, was besieged by the Tatar-Mongols of Khan Janibek. When the plague began in their army, which was brought by troops returning from Eastern China, the khan ordered catapults to throw corpses into the city, where an epidemic also broke out. The Genoese who fled from Feodosia brought the plague to Europe - and its dark march across Europe began. It is believed that up to 75 million people could have died.

10. History through the centuries.

The only city in Crimea that has retained its name from ancient times is Feodosia. Founded in the 6th century. BC e. Greek colonists. Then it successively belonged to the Alans, Byzantines, Khazars, Genoese, Tatars, and Turks. It was given different names, but after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, in 1804, Feodosia was returned to its original name.

Sources: Central Museum of Taurida, Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum, Feodosia Museum of Local Lore.

The publication was published with the financial support of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications.

1. Crimean Holland

In the Crimean steppes, and in the Koktebel region, wild Shrenk tulips grow. Partly thanks to these tulips, Holland became the country of tulips. Today, varietal tulips are grown in the village of Yantarnoye, and the bulbs are imported from Holland.

This is how it historically happened that the wild tulip, which came to Holland several centuries ago, is now returning from there in a cultivated form.

The word tulip comes from the Turkish "turban". In the 16th century, wild tulips were brought to the Sultan's court from Crimea. In 1593, from the Ottoman Empire, through Vienna, these tulips came to Holland.

By the way, on the Crimean land, out of 100 bulbs brought from Holland, 95 tulips grow, while in Holland itself no more than 65 grow. Apparently, flowers also have genetic memory.

2. Crimea is a trendsetter

Cardigan, raglan and balaclava - all this was invented during the Crimean War. Lord James Cardigan commanded the British Light Horse Brigade. The winter of 1854-1855 turned out to be very cold, and the lord was severely cold. But he was a terrible rule-maker and could not afford to wear anything that did not comply with the rules. And then a quick-witted aristocrat ordered a jacket to be knitted, with buttons, but without a collar, so that it would not be visible from under the uniform. The idea caught on and the cardigan was born.

Balaclava from the Crimean War, photo 1855.

Lord Raglan commanded all British troops. Having lost an arm at Waterloo, he wanted to hide his one-armedness, and already being near Sevastopol, he ordered himself a special overcoat, with an armhole, a one-piece sleeve and a cape. True, this overcoat did not save the lord from cholera, from which he died near Sevastopol.

In addition to the fact that the raglan hid the one-armed lord, it also protected him from the rain. The officers liked the idea so much that soon almost all overcoats began to be sewn this way.

And so that ordinary British soldiers did not freeze, they came up with knitted hats that fit completely on their heads. The caps had slits for the eyes and mouth. And they were called after the place of their invention - balaclavas!

3. Karaites – forgotten old-timers of Crimea!

Now the whole world knows that Crimean Tatars supposedly they are indigenous inhabitants of Crimea. Actually this is not true!

The Karaites have a much greater right to be called an indigenous people. Well, judge for yourself, the Khan’s Palace did not yet exist, nor did Bakhchisarai itself, and the Karaites already had real cities throughout the peninsula.

There are two main ones: Chufut-Kale, and Solkhat, now Old Crimea. And Evpatoria is even more so a Karaite city. Evpatoria in general oldest city Crimea, which still exists not in the form of ruins. And its entire old part is one large Karaite city.

Nowhere else in Crimea have Karaite prayer houses - kenasses - been preserved. And thanks S. E. Duvan, the mayor, Evpatoria has turned from a remote provincial town into an international-class resort.

Under Duvan, many luxurious houses were built, streets were paved with stone, water pipes were installed, etc.... And Duvan was also the first gaham, that is, the spiritual leader, of all Crimean Karaites.

Already during the USSR, the head of the Evpatoria Karaite community became a man named Bobovich. He and his whole family lived in a family house in the old city. The house has existed to this day, naturally, no longer in its original form, but it has retained the features of the past.

The Crimean Bobovich family deserves a separate discussion. This is the oldest Karaite family not only in Yevpatoria, but one might say in the whole of Crimea.

In 1818, when the Emperor Alexander I visited Evpatoria, he stayed overnight in the house Khoja Agi Bobovich. According to unofficial data, the Bobovich family was richer than even Duvan himself. When Soviet power came, no matter how hard the Bolsheviks tried, they could not get anything from the “poor” Bobovich Karaites.

I knew the last Bobovich personally. His fate is tragic. After drinking heavily, he died in his sleep, and his old mother left two weeks after the death of her son. Bobovich left no offspring. Thus, one of the most ancient families of Crimea ceased to exist.

In the photo - the courtyard of the Karaite kenass.

Today there are about six hundred Karaites in Crimea. Most of their families died during Stalin's repressions.

I’ll briefly tell you about one more ancient inhabitants of Crimea - the Krymchaks. Also one of the branches of Judaism. Being adherents of Orthodox Judaism, they were expelled from Israel and settled in Crimea. This small ethnic group had its own script and language.

Krymchaks are often confused with Karaites, but they are different Jews.

In Crimean Tatar, krymchak sounds like - iudiler, which is translated as - Jew, or srel balalary, that is, “sons of Israel”.

Now there are no more than two hundred pure Krymchaks left in Crimea. But only old people have national names, and only they know the Krymchak language. Writing is almost lost. During the years of repression, most of the Crimeans were shot. And many of those who lived to see perestroika left for Israel, where, due to their small numbers, they began to be treated loyally.

4. The Yalta Conference of 1945 was a big mess!

The famous photo of Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin from the Yalta Conference.

Initially, it was assumed that at the airfield where Churchill and Roosevelt were greeted there would be only tea and black bread and butter. But still, they didn’t stop there. There, in addition to tea and bread, there was vodka and cognac, caviar, red fish and other snacks. The conference members refueled with alcohol throughout the day.

Officially, the following invoices were delivered to Livadia: half a ton of caviar, half a ton of various cheeses, half a ton of butter, 1120 kg of meat, which was delivered to the base alive. There were six and a half tons of vegetables! There were 5,000 thousand bottles of wine, 5,132 bottles of vodka, 6,300 bottles of beer, 2,190 bottles of cognac! There were many other products, but their number is difficult to even list. Several thousand eggs alone were delivered.

And it's official. And, as they say, at least half of what was listed was collected in reserve, just in case. It was a hungry time, Crimea had not even really begun to recover after the occupation, but here there was such luxury! It is, of course, understandable - it’s a political question, but... A group of four locals, who were engaged in cleaning the area after the delegations had left Livadia, were caught carrying food from a landfill, where they threw away things that were not eaten, and that raised doubts about their quality .

All four were shot. And the food left over after the conference was not distributed to the hungry or sold to the population, and was not even sent to hospitals - everything was destroyed. Unforgivable mismanagement! Especially in wartime!

5. Flood!

About 5,500 thousand years ago, the Black Sea was much smaller than it is today. Only according to rough estimates, its level was 140 meters lower than the current one. And the sea as such did not exist. There was a freshwater lake, due to several powerful earthquakes connected to the Mediterranean Sea, which made it salty. During this connection of the seas, the Bosphorus Strait was a gigantic waterfall, the power of which exceeded the power of Niagara by 200 times!

The rapid increase in water volume led to the formation of the Sea of ​​Azov, flooding huge territories, turning Crimea into a peninsula. Before that it was part of the continent.

Plato, speaking about Atlantis, quite accurately indicated where the places he described were located. After all, it was in the waters of the Black Sea several years ago that divers discovered the remains of ancient city. The size of what remains of the buildings is impressive - they are huge!

At the bottom of the Black Sea, photo from 2015.

As a result of the flooding, dozens of the richest cities went under water. Every year, archaeologists and amateur divers make more and more underwater discoveries. And lastly: the Black Sea is still growing. Over the course of a century, its banks expand by about 25-30 centimeters. This is not so little... on a global scale.

6. Where to look for treasures in Crimea?

And finally, I will try to consider this issue that worries many. First of all, I mean the copars. Some of them do not study maps well, the history of the places where they are going to search, but in vain. In some places in Crimea, rarity hunters rarely appear to this day.

We will talk about the Crimean steppes.

Take, for example, the deportation of Tatars from Crimea. Many deportees did not take the most valuable things with them, but hid their goods near their place of residence. More than once I have encountered wandering through the forests Crimean diggers looking for gold hidden by the Tatars before deportation. But it’s worth looking at the old maps and it becomes obvious that most of the villages where the Tatars lived are today’s steppe Crimea.

According to the most conservative estimates, there were up to 70% Tatars living in the steppe!

And they were all evicted almost simultaneously.

But during checks and searches, it turned out that almost no one had precious metals with them. The question is - where can a person hide his goods if he does not have enough time to arrange a good, thorough hiding place? That's right - bury it close to home!

After the Tatars were evicted, many of their villages were literally bulldozed, so that, as they say, not a trace remained. And until now, most of these places have not been explored by search engines at all.

People, of course, go around with metal detectors, but, basically, this is done by those locals who themselves live in the steppe zone. But there are very few visiting diggers. Yes, digging in the steppe is a complex and difficult task. In summer the heat is incredible, in winter it is freezing cold...

But it is precisely in such inconspicuous ruins of stones that sometimes very valuable rarities are hidden.

By the way, the most expensive coin of Crimea was sold at a New York auction for 3 million 250 thousand dollars, and this coin was found precisely in the steppe zone! There's a lot to think about.