The National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos was create to preserve an Ancient Greek settlement established around 2,500 years ago, it is situated on the shore of the Black Sea in Sevastopol on the south-western part of Crimea.
Chersonesos was established in 422–21 BC by Greek colonists. The city flourished in the 4th–2nd century BC, because of its geographical situation it was one of the main ports of the Northern Black Sea coast. In the 5th–11th century it became an important center of Byzantine culture.
At the end of the 10th century Chersonese was captured by the Kyivan prince Vladimir the Great; Vladimir was baptized here in 988 (Chersonesos is the cradle of Christianity in ancient Russia). In the early 1300s Chersonese came under the protection of the Trebizond Empire. In 1299 Crimean Tatars destroyed and burnt down the city. A century later the city was completely destroyed and permanently abandoned.
Excavations uncovered antique basilicas, white marble columns, hundreds meters of defensive walls, Greek temples, homes with rainwater reservoirs, and more. Saint Vladimir Cathedral, which was completed in 1892, is one of the most attractive sights in Chersonesos, it was built to commemorate the of Prince Vladimir's baptism.
Other famous attractions of Chersonesos are the Fog Bell, and the Roman amphitheatre seating over 3,000 people, nowadays, this theatre is used in Sevastopol theater festivals.
The National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos
Drevnyaya Street, 1, Sevastopol 99045, Crimea, Ukraine
+38 (0692) 550 278
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