Yalta is the largest and most famous beach resort in Crimea and all of Russia. Yalta can be compared with Sochi, which is located on the Caucasian coast of Russia. Yalta began to develop as a resort at the end of the 19th century, and it became a resort for the high society of the Russian Empire. Emperors and aristocrats built their palaces here.
In the 19th century, the largest resort on the Southern coast of Crimea was Gurzuf, however, the climate of Yalta was more conducive for the development of the most famous resort in Crimea. This is due to the structure of the Crimean Mountains. In the Yalta area they are located in a form of large amphitheater far from the sea. Thanks to this, pine forests have grown here. Pine phytoncides, sea breeze and mountain air have created a unique climate in Yalta, useful for the treatment of lung diseases.
History of Yalta
The first inhabitants of the lands in the vicinity of Yalta were the Taurus tribe. They had no written language, so archaeologists have not found any information about their way of life. Only a few Taurus grave-boxes in the Gaspra area, similar to the Caucasian dolmens, have been preserved.
In the Middle Ages, the Genoese owned the entire coast of the Crimea. The capital of their Crimean possessions was the city of Kafa (modern Feodosia), which in the 14th and 15th centuries was one of the largest cities in Europe. Powerful military bases were located in Sudak and Balaklava. There were also small defensive fortifications on the site of Simeiz and Gurzuf. But there was nothing in place of Yalta.
In 1838 Yalta was declared a city, but at that time it was a small village with 30 houses and 224 inhabitants. It was located to the north of the modern center of Yalta. In 1860, the population of Yalta exceeded one thousand inhabitants, but even then, it remained a backwater village. Everything changed in 1860. The wife of Emperor Alexander II, Maria Alekseevna, bought an estate in Livadia from the Pototsky family. Since 1866, the royal family has established the tradition of spending every autumn in the Livadia Palace. Maria Alexandrovna was ill with tuberculosis, and doctor Botkin advised her to spend more time on the Southern coast of Crimea, in the Yalta area, where the air is most healthful.
The second factor that pushed the development of Crimean resorts was the construction of a railway that connected Crimea with both capitals. From that moment, all the richest people of St. Petersburg and Moscow rushed to buy land in the Yalta area and build their palaces here. The city began to develop rapidly, hotels and beautiful houses appeared here. At the beginning of the 20th century, Yalta became the most famous resort in Crimea.
Yalta attractions
At the beginning of the 20th century, the resort infrastructure was limited in the area of the Yalta Embankment, which stretches from Lenin Square to the Seaside Park for 1.5 kilometers. The busiest part of the embankment is even smaller – from the park to the Oreanda Hotel. Yalta embankment remains the tourist center of the resort even now, where thousands of people walk and relax every evening. There are many restaurants and cafes here, street performers and brisk trade create a festive atmosphere of the city.
Nowadays, the resort infrastructure of Yalta stretches for many tens of kilometers within the so-called Great Yalta. It unites several surrounding villages: Livadia, Oreanda, Kurpaty, Gaspra, Mishor, Koreiz and Alupka. There are many royal and noble palaces, beautiful parks, beaches and other interesting places.
The main natural attraction of Yalta, which has made it a popular resort of the Crimea, is the Yalta Nature Reserve. In the mountain amphitheater among the pine forests there are walking terrains: the Botkin trail and the Shtangeevskaya trail. Doctors recommend walking on them to people who have lung diseases. However, these routes are so picturesque that absolutely all tourists who come to Yalta walk along them. The Shtangeevskaya trail ends near the highest Crimean Waterfall Uchan-Su.
The most famous mountain of the Crimea, which rises above Yalta, is Mount Ai-Petri. Its teeth have become one of the symbols of the Crimea, together with the Swallow`s Nest Castle, which is located on the edge of a cliff above the sea in the village of Gaspra, near Livadia. You can climb Ai-Petri Mountain by cable car from Miskhor or by car along the mountain serpentine.
The most famous palaces of Yalta and the whole Crimea are the Livadia Palace, which belonged to the imperial family, as well as the Vorontsov Palace, built in the first half of the 19th century by Count Mikhail Vorontsov. There are magnificent parks around the palaces. Vorontsov Park and Livadia Park are considered by many people as the most famous and beautiful parks in Crimea.
There are also wonderful attractions in the northern area of Yalta. This is the Massandra Palace and Park, as well as the oldest Massandra winery in the Crimea. In 1812, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden was founded here, which became one of the most beautiful landscape parks of the Crimea and the whole of Russia. In the same area there is a beautiful mountain Gorge Uch-Kosh, which is part of the Yalta Nature Reserve.
