Hello. And we will start with the hero-city of Kerch, from which the entry to Crimea from the mainland now begins. Historically, a lot connects me with this city, despite the fact that I was born in two bast shoes on the map. The city is ancient, has more than one hundred years and has gone through several great wars. As in all of Crimea, the composition of the population here is multinational, but it does not cause any discomfort to anyone. There are many attractions in the city, and for every taste - from the battle sites of the Second World War to mud hospitals. According to the first, Adzhimushkai alone is worth something, personally I have been to many places, but I saw only two gloomy places with a heavy aura - these are the very catacombs and the Mamayev Kurgan. But besides this, many ancient monuments have survived. Even a stump from an oak tree, on which a golden chain hung and a scientist cat walked (see photo). According to the legend,AS Pushkin sat and wrote his poem exactly at the place where the monument stands. As they say, come and have a look, but since the magazine is slightly thematic, we will focus only on technically unusual things and structures. Despite the fact that during the Second World War the city was very well ironed with all means of warfare of that time, a lot has survived in it. But, alas, even more has not survived, which we can now understand only from old photographs. So, let's begin. But, alas, even more has not survived, which we can now understand only from old photographs. So, let's begin. But, alas, even more has not survived, which we can now understand only from old photographs. So, let's begin.
The main attraction of the city is Mount Mithridates. A lot has been written about her, her history goes back centuries. There is information that it was she who was the city-forming, the ancient fortress of Panticapaeum existed on it since ancient times. But due to the large number of wars, almost all buildings on this mountain have been lost. From the moment when the first photographs of these places appeared, only a small part of the preserved structures have been recorded on the mountain.
Neither the chapel nor the building with columns on the mountain has survived in this form. The chapel was destroyed during the last hostilities and is currently being rebuilt. The building with columns has a somewhat longer history, and perhaps it is necessary to dwell here in more detail.
In 1835, according to the project of the Odessa architect Yegor Ivanovich (Giorgio) Toricelli and according to the drawings of the mayor Zakhary Semenovich Kherkheulidze, a museum building was built on Mount Mithridates in the style of the Athenian temple of Hephaestion.
During the Crimean War, the museum was plundered and partially destroyed by the invaders, and after its end it moved to another place, and since that time the building has housed the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Further, due to the dilapidation of the building, the temple was moved to another place, and after a series of restoration works, the church of the Evpatoria regiment was located in the building. Since 1922, the building again houses a museum. He was evacuated during the war, and since that time the building has actually been abandoned. In 1959, the building was demolished. Perhaps it was to erase the traces of the Wehrmacht soldiers' cemetery. And to make them have fun, a restaurant was subsequently built on this place, which successfully disappeared in the 90s and is now also in ruins.
The official history tells us about all this. Several photographs of this building have survived before the demolition.
Promotional video:
Note how many metal bonds were in the building. The regional peculiarity is that 99% of all buildings of this city, even the old ones, are made of shell rock, which was mined in the same Adzhimushkay catacombs. There are also blocks of some other material. And no less strange is the fact that 30 years after the official construction, the building suddenly decays, even taking into account its damage during the Crimean War. It is possible that, as in many similar cases in history, the building was not built in the 19th century, but only restored, and most likely even dug up, because this building stood in the middle of the mountain on a flat area, when there were relatively steep slopes on all sides. On the other side of Mount Mithridates, the excavations of Panticapaeum are officially underway, they began recently.
This building structure was lifted from a lying position by a crane, it was assembled over stones. Now compare the style of the architectural details in this photo and the previous ones. I don't know about you, but I see that on all sides of Mount Mithridates, buildings were built at the same time by the same architect, only this was not in the 19th century, but earlier. As always, the question immediately arises whether ancient Greece was ancient, and whether it was at all. And how did they know iron in it, which was used for the metal connection of the building.
A no less famous object is the Church of St. John the Baptist, which is considered the oldest surviving Christian temple in the whole of the Russian Federation.
As you can see, the bell tower and the side-chapel are made of a different material than the temple itself, and they were made later. Actually, history does not deny this, they were added in the 19th century. Here, perhaps, it is necessary to dwell in more detail.
This is a photo of the same church in the 30s of the 20th century. As you can see, the temple part is completely different. It is now almost completely rebuilt. What was the temple like in the 19th century?
As you can see, the spire is completely different than the one installed now (more precisely, now it is not there at all). Only the roof of the bell tower of copper sheets has survived from the old structure.
It is not entirely clear why the spire was demolished. However, if he kept some technical secrets, then it is quite understandable.
Another notable object is the Romanovskaya women's gymnasium.
The building was officially built in 1885. The scope of construction for the scale of that time is amazing. But let's pay attention to the superstructure on the corner of the building. What was it for?
If for a clock, then the size of the windows is too small, from a great distance the clock cannot be seen. What did it look like in the 19th century?
Aces, in fact, were not there. But there was a dome with unclear pommel, which has long been gone. For what purpose was it built there? Previously, many old gymnasiums had such superstructures, and they clearly had nothing to do with religion. Perhaps this superstructure provided lighting in the building with its contents? Anything can be. The building itself is very large, and the need for its interior lighting was very urgent.
As you can see, many existing buildings keep traces of technically incomprehensible artifacts, and a lot of destroyed buildings, judging by the photos, also had them. To confirm the second conclusion, I enclose the same old photos.
As you can see, incomprehensible domes and spiers were present on rich buildings almost everywhere. Some buildings even still have them.
Another destroyed attraction is the Kerch lighthouse.
And once upon a time there was a floating lighthouse in Kerch.
For those who are interested in the subject, I ask you to look and guess how it worked in principle.
Until next time.
Part 2. Mysterious Crimea. Massandra.