Yalta
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| Yalta | |
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| Ялта, Ялта, Yalta | |
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| Region: | Yalta municipality |
| Coordinates: | |
| Altitude: | 40 m |
| Area: | ? km² |
| Population: — Density: |
80,552 (2005) ? /km² |
| Postal codes: | 98600 — 98639 |
| Phone prefix: | +380-654 |
| Time zone: | EET: UTC+2 |
| Former name(s): | Yalita (until 15th cent.) |
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| Website | |
Yalta (Ukrainian: Ялта, Russian: Ялта, Crimean Tatar: Yalta) is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea. The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore (γιαλος - yalos in Greek) on which to land. It is situated on a shallow bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by wooded mountains. It enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate with many vineyards and orchards in the vicinity.
The term "Great Yalta" is used to designate a part of the Crimean southern coast spanning from Foros in the west to Gurzuf in the east and including the city of Yalta and multiple adjacent urban settlements (the area of Great Yalta is marked yellow on the map).
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[edit] History
[edit] 12th-19th centuries
The existence of Yalta was first recorded in the 12th century by an Arab geographer, who described it as a Byzantine port and fishing settlement. It became part of a network of Genoese trading colonies on the Crimean coast in the 14th century, when it was known as Etalita or Galita. Yalta and the rest of Crimea was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1475, which made it a semi-independent subject territory under the rule of the Crimean Khanate. Yalta was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783, along with the rest of Crimea, sparking the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792.
In the 19th century, the town became a fashionable resort for the Russian aristocracy and gentry. The writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov spent their summers there; Yalta is the setting for Chekhov's short story The Lady With the Pet Dog. The town was also closely associated with royalty. In 1889 Tsar Alexander III built the Massandra Palace a short distance to the north of Yalta and Nicholas II built the Livadia Palace south-west of the town in 1911.
[edit] In the 20th century
During the 20th century Yalta was the principal holiday resort of the Soviet Union. In 1920, Lenin issued a decree "On the Use of Crimea for the Medical Treatment of the Working People" which endorsed the region's transformation from a fairly exclusive resort area into a recreation facility for tired proletarians. Numerous workers' sanatoria were constructed in and around Yalta. There were, in fact, few other places that Soviet citizens could come for a seaside holiday, as foreign travel was forbidden to all but a handful. The Soviet elite also came to Yalta; the Soviet dictator Stalin used the Massandra Palace as his summer residence.
The town came to worldwide attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" powers; the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the Livadia Palace.
[edit] Modern Yalta
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yalta has struggled economically. Many of the nouveaux riche started going to other European holiday resorts, now that they had the freedom and money to travel; conversely, the impoverishment of many ex-Soviet citizens meant that they could no longer afford to go to Yalta. The town's transport links have been significantly reduced with the end of almost all passenger traffic by sea. A main form of transportation to and from Yalta is the Crimean Trolleybus line, which runs from Simferopol—Alushta—Yalta. In recent years, Yalta has staged a recovery, as economic conditions have improved and tourists have returned. It is still almost entirely frequented by Russian and Ukrainian tourists, with relatively few visitors from Western Europe.
Today, Yalta has a beautiful embankment along the Black Sea. People can be seen strolling there all seasons of the year, and it also serves as a place to gather and talk. There are several beaches along the embankment where people relax and go swimming. Some hardy souls even do this in the winter. This embankment is also the site of several hotels, sanitoria, and amusement-park-like rides. In addition, the city has several movie theaters, and many restaurants and cafés, as well as a large open-air market.
[edit] Attractions
Famous attractions within or near Yalta include:
- Yalta's Sea Promenade (Naberezhna), housing many attractions and being recently renovated (2003-2004);
- Armenian Church, built by V. Surenyatsky;
- A Roman Catholic Church
- Yalta's Cablecar, taking visitors to the Darsan hill, from which one can see Yalta's shoreline;
- Renovated Hotel Taurica, the first hotel in the former Russian Empire with elevators;
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, constructed by the architect Krasnov, which also constructed the Livadia Palace;
- Former main corpus of the Ministry of Defence resort, built in the style of a Gothic castle;
- Palace of Yemir Bukhara;
- Yalta's Zoo;
- Yalta's Aquarium, housing small dolphins;
- Park-museum Polyana Skazok (Field of Fairy tails);
- House-museum of Anton Chekhov's;
- House-museum of Lesya Ukrainka;
- House with Caryatids, where the composer A. Spendiarov lived
In addition, there are many other attractions not located within the city of Yalta itself, which comprise:
- Nikitsky Botanical Garden (Nikita)
- Livadia Palace (Livadiya)
- Organ hall in Livadiya
- Massandra Palace (Massandra)
- International children's centre of Artek (Gurzuf)
- Ai-Petri Mountain (1233 meters high, with an cable car traveling to and from the mountain)
- Vorontsov Palace (Alupka)
- Swallow's Nest castle near Gaspra.
[edit] Climate
Because Yalta lies to the south of the Crimean Mountains and within a "valley," the climate is very mild. In February, the average temperature reaches 4°C. Snow is rarely seen and the city's thin layers of snow thaw quickly. In July, the average temperature reaches 24°C. The sun shines approximately 2,250 hours per year. Since the city is located on the shore of the Black Sea, the weather never becomes very hot due to the cool sea breazes.
[edit] Demographics
As of the Ukrainian Census conducted on January 1, 2001, the population of Yalta is 80,500. The nationality structure of Yalta is: Russians — 68.3%, Ukrainians 25.7%, Belarusians — 2.1%, Jews — 0.8%, Crimean Tatars — 0.1%, and many other minority groups.
[edit] Sister cities
Yalta is twinned with the following cities:
[edit] External links
- Verkhovna Rada website — Statistics for Yalta
- Yalta: The visitor's book
- Yalta City and Yalta Zoo photoalbum
Wikimedia Commons — Media on Yalta
