Kerch

On the Eastern extremity of the Crimean peninsula and the steep shores of the ancient Cimmerian Bosporus, as the Kerch Strait was once called, the oldest town of Ukraine lies - Kerch. It is placed in the UNESCO "Eternal Cities of the World" list (as Athens, Rome and Alexandria ) since it has always been alive with people and culture. Kerch is 26 centuries old. It is the city of a huge variety of cultures and traditions.

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Kerch is a seaport, which lies at the easternmost tip of Crimea. The town stretches along the coastline for about 60 km. Russia looms on the other side of the water and the city has become an important crossroads into Asia for round-the-world travellers. The original Greek colony of Panticapaeum was founded in the 6th century BC and within a century had developed into the independent Bospor Kingdom. Several ports were built on both sides of the Kerch strait. Some of these are underwater now and make for curious diving legends claim the Apostle Andrew first set foot on Slavic land near Kerch 1st century AD.

The Genoese, then the Turks realized the Strategic importance of the Kerch Strait,
connecting the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.

Here you can discover ancient Greek ruins, explore momentous Turkish fortresses and learn Kerch's military history.

Panticapeum was the name of the first settlement founded by the Greeks on the site of modern Kerch in the 6th century BC. Later it became the permanent residence of Bosporus Kings.
Today one can see the remains of the central part of the ancient town, Acropolis, on the top of Mitridat Hill.

The symbol of Kerch is a long Mitridat stairway that has more than 400 steps and rises up to the top of Mitridat Hill, the largest concentration of the most ancient sites in Kerch.

Mitridat Hill

Mitridat Hill

Mitridat Hill

Tsar's Mound was created for the Kings of the Bosporus Kingdom in the 4th century BC and is extremely unique in its architecture.

John the Baptist Church is a monument of early Byzantium architecture, dates back to the end of the 9th century. It is the most ancient acting temple in East Europe.

The Turkish fortress Yeni-Kale (from Turkish "a new fortress") is located on the north-east outskirts of the city. The fortification made to the project of the French and Italian engineers, was constructed during several years and completed in short terms in 1706.

Yeni-Kale Fortress

Yeni-Kale Fortress

Yeni-Kale Fortress

Underground museum "Adzhimushkai Stone Quarries" - catacombs where the Soviet partisans found shelter in 1941.

Fortress "Kerch", the masterpiece of the 19th-century fortification art. The visit to the fortress includes visit to the former laboratories, gunpowder sore, fort "Totleben", defensive moats and barracks. From the highest point of Kerch peninsula located on the fortress territory you will enjoy the panoramic view of the city, the Russian shore on the opposite side of the Strait of Kerch , the border island Tuzla.

Adzhimushkai Stone Quarries

Fortress "Kerch"

Fortress "Kerch"

Possible to visit Kerch Historical & Archaeological Museum (One of the oldest in Ukraine. It boasts more than 130,000 exhibits, unique lapidary monuments) Or Ethnographic Museum.

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