Ancient Chersonesus 

Chersonesus was founded by ancient Greek colonists in VI-th century on the territory of modern Sevastopol. It was called – Chersonesus the Taurics. In ancient Greek the word “Chersonesus” meant “Peninsula” and the word “Tauric” came from the name of the Tauric tribes lived in the Crimea. Nowadays “Tauric Chersonesus” is a national reserve. 

In the III-th century BC the city-state rosen its peak. Greeks have built buildings, fortress, mint and theatre. They also specialized on winemaking and viticulture. They made wine of high quality and exported it to Athens, Alexandria and cities of Black Sea. 

Chersonesus successfully waged wars against Scythians and Taurics. Since the Ist century BC Roman navy and legion constantly stayed here. 

One of the key events in the history of the East Slavonic nations – the Christening of Kievan Rus in 988 was also connected with Chersonesus. The light of Christianity that he brought to Kievan Rus was lit in Chersonesus.

 Inkerman the cave town

Inkerman is a small town in the countryside of Sevastopol.

On the territory of contemporary Inkerman, on the left coast of the River Chernaya  there is the oldest Touric relic – Uch-Bash settlement appeared in XI-th century BC. Besides corn, bones of wild and domestic animals, pots, stone tools archeologists found grape seeds.

A fortress of on the plateu of Monastyrskaya Skala (literally "Monastery cliff")  appeared in the VI century BC. Genoese sea maps of the 14-th and 15-th centuries were the first documents to supply this fortress name in the form of "Kalamita", prince Alexios of Mangup renovated this fortress, wich he intended to protect the port of his principality.

It had an intensive overseas trade through Kalamita port. The Mongol-tatars brought from here cattle, leather, wool and slaves, caught during predatory attacks onto Kievan Rus, Poland and Lithuania.

The legend says that the first cave monastery in Inkerman was founded by the Pope Clement. The Pope Clement was deportated to Inkerman quarry by the Roman Emperor in the I-st century BC.

In 1854 at the time of Crimean war there occurred a bloody Inkerman battle between Russian and English-French forces.

In 1976 the town was renamed into Belokamensk – for its snow-white limestone, which was mined in huge amounts in local quarries and mine galleries. In 1991 it was returned the previous name – Inkerman.

Legendary Sevastopol

Sevastopol is a city of monuments, a well-known city for its heroic Crimean War and World War II. Today Sevastopol is a large industrial, military and also popular seaside resort.

Sevastopol was founded in 1783 (when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula) under an edict issued by the Empress Catherine II of Russia on June 14. The unique geographic location and navigation conditions of the city’s harbors make Sevastopol a strategic important naval points. The name Sevastopol is translated from the break as “venerable reverend”.

The siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855) carried out by the British, French, Sardinian and Turkish troops during the Crimean War. The Russian Navy and army defended heroically the city for 11 months. Leo Tolstoy took part in the defense of the famous Fourth Bastion and in the Battle of Chernaya River. In Sevastopol he wrote the Sevastopol Sketches (1855-1856), where he detailed the siege in a mixture of reportage and short fiction.

On the batter fields and in Russian and Allies hospitals volunteer nurses cared for wounded soldiers. At first military reporters work on the fields of Sevastopol.

During World War II Sevastopol withstood bombardment by the Nazis in 1941-1942, during the siege that lasted for 250 days. The city of Russian Glory was liberated by the Red Army on May 9, 1944 and was awarded the title of Hero City a year later.

A Hero City was entirely rebuilt in the middle of 1950-s in its former glory after its total destruction by the Nazis. For the rebuilding of the central part of Sevastopol it was used white limestone from Inkerman quarries (Inkerman Winery was founded in one of these quarries). That is why sometimes Sevastopol is called “White Stone City”.