Mount Mithridates. Kerch
For many people of Kerch, Mithridates personifies a holy place. The glorious history of the city of Kerch originates from here. The mountain keeps many ancient secrets and secrets, giving permanent work to archaeologists different countries... Every inch of its land is abundantly watered with the blood of defenders during the Great Patriotic War. Standing here and looking at the city from a height, your heart stops, you understand what exactly depends on you, what will remain for descendants - the memory of the unique history of your native city, of its military and labor glory, or gray streets with faceless structures.
The city of Panticapaeum, founded 26 centuries ago, did not grow out of thin air. Before him, small settlements already existed on the shores of the strait. The city was repeatedly destroyed as a result of unrest, uprisings and invasions of enemy hordes, but it was constantly reborn, although under different names: it became Bospor, Korchev, Cherkio, until it finally became Kerch. . The historical center around which the city was formed has always been Mount Mithridates- one of the hills that are so characteristic of the Kerch Peninsula. Height - 91 meters above sea level.
The name itself - Mount Mithridates - takes us back to those distant times when Kerch was the capital city of the kingdom that united the lands on both sides of the strait. Kerch Strait was called then Bosporus Cimmerian. This state exerted a considerable influence on the course of events in the Northern Black Sea region. At that time, there was an acropolis (upper city) on the mountain, surrounded by battlements and powerful towers.
The mountain bears its name - the figure is extremely interesting. He sought - neither more nor less - to crush the mighty Roman Empire. He repeatedly became the winner of the legions of the Senate. But he was still defeated in this struggle. In order not to be captured by the enemies, Mithridates ordered himself to be stabbed. It happened in 63 BC. on the terrace of the palace that once adorned this mountain. Until now, there are legends about the untold treasures of the king, the dungeons of his castle, which once stood on the top of the mountain ...
Centuries will pass, and the young poet Alexander Pushkin, having got to Kerch in 1820, will want to find traces of Panticapaeum, but he will never see them. These traces were still hidden. The time of remarkable archaeological discoveries on the Kerch Peninsula came later and enriched us with outstanding works of ancient art. Most of them are kept in the Hermitage. However, a lot remained on this land: themselves, in which the finds were made, paintings of crypts, excavations on the slopes of Mount Mithridates ...
Mount Mithridat is the center of modern Kerch and an excellent observation deck, from above it opens beautiful view the entire Kerch bay.
You can get to the top by overpowering 423 steps of the great Mithridat staircase. Architect Alexander Digby created this magnificent architectural monument, in the style of classicism.
At the end of 1943, having broken through the defenses of the Wehrmacht troops, the soldiers of the 318th Novorossiysk division ascended to the top and spread the red banner over the city. A few days later, all of Kerch was liberated from the Nazis. In 1944, in memory of all who died in the battles for the liberation of their native land, an obelisk of glory was erected at the top of Mithridates - 24 m high.It will always remind the people of Kerch about the price of our victory in the Great Patriotic War. Three 76mm cannons are mounted at the base of Stella.
It got its name, as you might guess, from Mount Mithridates, on which it is located. 432 steps soar up from the central square of Kerch to the top of the mountain. Mount Mithridates was named in memory of the glorious historical past, in honor of the worthy ancient king Mithridates (whose full name is Pontus Mithridates VI Eupator). Mithridates was the ruler of the Bosporus kingdom. In ancient Panticapaeum (present-day Kerch), where the eternal fire now burns and rises Obelisk of Glory on Mount Mithridates, there was a magnificent palace of Mithridates.
Being a talented military leader, Mithridates Eupator expanded the possession of the Bosporus state through constant wars with the powerful Roman Empire. The Romans were expelled from Greece and Asia Minor. Legend has it that King Mithridates was afraid of possible poisoning at the hands of enemies, and therefore took poison - in small doses, every day. When, towards the end of the king's life, his own son rebelled against Mithridates, the king decided to die. He took a strong poison, but death did not come to him, the years of preventive intake of the poison affected. The proud king asked his slave to stab him with the sword. Since then and to this day, legends have been circulating about the innumerable treasures of Mithridates ...
It was built in the 30s of the 19th century, the project was developed by an Italian architect Alexander Digby... Decorative vases and stone griffins - fabulous lions with the head and wings of an eagle, symbols of the city - adorned the observation decks of the stairs. Kerch now has an urban decoration and a favorite place for walks of the townspeople. A wide panorama of the central part of Kerch opens from the stairs. At that time, there was a museum of antiquities at the top of the mountain - a copy athenian temple Theseus. survived unchanged until the Crimean War of 1853-1856, and during the shelling of the city from ships, the stairs and the museum were damaged.
The staircase was restored 130 years later. The remains of stone sculptures were found in the ground, and the Kerch sculptor Roman Vladimirovich Serdyuk copied them exactly. Now on the upper tier of the restored staircase sit winged stone lions with the heads of eagles - griffins.
At the top of the mountain, the Eternal Flame and the Obelisk of Glory are currently located - the mass grave of soldiers and officers of the Soviet army who died during the storming of the city during the Great Patriotic War.
Today, Mount Mithridates, towering 91.4 m above the Kerch Strait and named after the Pontic king Mithridates the Sixth Eupator, is the geographical and cultural center of Kerch, a large number of ancient monuments are located here. It is from here that it is best to start exploring the city.
V highest point cities - on the top of Mount Miridat - in ancient times there was an acropolis. It was famous for the temples of Cybele and Apollo. Also, palaces were built here, in which the rulers of the Bosporus kingdom sat.
The main patron deity ( ancient city, which was located here) from its very foundation was Apollo, and it is to him that main temple acropolis. The construction of the most ancient and grandiose by the standards of the Northern Black Sea region, the building of the temple of Apollo Ietra was completed by the end of the 6th century BC.
Ruins of Panticapaeum
From the top of Mithridates opens beautiful view to the city and the Kerch Strait. On the top and slopes of Mount Mithridates, you can still see the ruins of Panticapaeum: the remains of defensive structures, houses, public buildings; mysterious ruins, old buildings.
Stone staircases connecting streets on different terraces of the mountain, as well as steep streets with stepped sidewalks and cobblestones, ramps, give a special picturesque and cosiness of the old part of the city. You can climb Mithridates either on foot by stairs or by car.
The top of the mountain connects with the center of the Great Mithridates Staircase, a magnificent work in the style of classicism. The staircase, built in 1833-1840 by the Italian architect Alexander Digby, has 423 steps. The Miridat staircase is decorated with sculptures of griffins - mythical creatures with the body of lions, the head of birds and wings. The griffin, the image of which is also on the coat of arms of Kerch, is a symbol of the city.
At the top of Mount Mithridates is the temple of St. Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria, one of the oldest temples in Kerch. It is clearly visible from almost all points of the city, except southern regions... The Church of St. Athanasius was built in 1864 with donations from the merchant Athanasius Marinaki. It was erected in eclectic forms. The volume of the temple, hidden by overgrown trees, is completed with zakomaras of bizarre outlines and crowned with a hipped top.
Mount Mithridates entered the history of Russia as the place of heroic battles for the liberation of Kerch during the Great Patriotic War. Here, at its summit, on April 11, 1944, during the Crimean offensive operation, the paratroopers of the 318th Novorossiysk Rifle Division under the command of Colonel V.F. Gladkov hoisted the Red Banner. Since then, April 11 is celebrated as the Day of the Liberation of Kerch, and on the top of Mithridates in memory of the heroic battles, the obelisk of Glory, erected in 1944, rises. It was the first monumental monument on the territory of the USSR, which was dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War.
For the construction of the stele, the stone of the Holy Trinity Cathedral was used - the central temple of Kerch, dismantled in 1944. Near the obelisk of Glory, on the so-called First Chair of Mithridates, from where, according to legend, the Pontic king admired the Black Sea, the Eternal Flame burns.
In the depths of the northern slopes of Mount Mithridates, right under the residential buildings, there is a giant underground necropolis - a complex system of late antique crypts of Panticapaeum, connected by predatory manholes.
Exploration of the mountain crypts began in the 19th century. The necropolis is over 1 km long and up to 250 m wide (its area is over 15 hectares). Currently, only a few hundred crypts are known and described, built in the 3-5th centuries AD, however, according to scientists, the necropolis has over 3.5 thousand chambers.
Three crypts were recently museumified, and now massive excursions are held here. The descent to the first crypt is carried out along a well, the depth of which is about 3 m. The second crypt, on the walls of which ancient paintings have been preserved, can be freely accessed after a short excursion. A narrow manhole leads to the third crypt.
Mount Mithridates - drainage
Unlike the necropolis, the drainage system, built in the 19th century under Mount Mithridates, is rarely visited by tourists. At the same time, drainage galleries extending into the depths of the mountain at the level of the sidewalks of the central streets of Kerch and collecting groundwater from all over Mithridates deserve attention. Water through the gravity water supply system once fell into the V.Ya. Gushchina.
Its foundation, which for many years lay near the Church of John the Baptist, is now installed in its original place - opposite the building of the main post office. The system of underground galleries of the conduit has survived to this day: water still flows from the tunnels. True, the path to the fountain is blocked by a layer of accumulated dirt and the foundations of buildings. Because of this, water goes into a crack in the wall of the tunnel.
The construction of the water conduit was carried out under the light of oil lamps, for which small niches were cut in the walls of the underground galleries. Galleries under Mount Mithridates and city streets are connected by a winding corridor. In some places there are shards of ancient pottery.
Mount Mithridates aerial view on video
Mount Mithridates is the main attraction of the city of Kerch. Its height reaches 92 meters. All the extraordinary sights of the city can be seen there. The mountain keeps the secrets of ancient antiquity, gradually revealing its secrets to archaeologists. But it is not possible to figure out many of them. It rises majestically and is visible from afar.
To enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the area, you need to go to the observation deck, which is located at the top, and the staircase itself has 436 steps. This is not an easy staircase, it is a unique design where the steps expand from the bottom to the top. On its columns beautifully settled griffins with a naked and eagle's wings and the body of a lion, which guard it. The staircase itself has several viewing platforms, which greatly facilitates the ascent and makes it possible to enjoy the views of the city from different heights.
If you climb the stairs and walk to the side, you will see the remains of the ancient city of Panticapaeum. Its name is translated from ancient Greek as "The Fish Way" or "the gates of the sea." And although only the foundation remained from the ancient city, it is quite possible in your fantasies to imagine how everything was and what beautiful city was at this place. And if you go downstairs, you will find the site where the meetings of the ancient Greek council took place.
Its name ancient mountain received in honor of the ruler Mithridates IV, who was considered a powerful commander and leader. I associate old legends and legends with his name. One of the most exciting is the legend of the golden horse that was hidden in sacred mountain... For many years, treasure hunters have been trying to find the golden statue, but all searches are fruitless. Legendary, there are some reasons to believe it. For example, treasures with silver and gold have already been repeatedly found, and today they can be seen in the Golden Pantry.
Mount Mithridates is the place where all important city dates and events are celebrated. On the mountain you can see the Obelisk of Glory, erected back in 1944. An eternal flame, reminiscent of a difficult time in the life of our people. Every tourist, having arrived in the city of Kerch, simply must visit this beautiful mountain, visit the top and admire the stunning views of the city.
How to get there
Getting to Mount Mithridates is not difficult at all. Any public transport: a minibus or bus will take you to the pl. Lenin ". Right behind the stop there is one of the ancient temples - the Church of St. John the Baptist. Then from the church we go along Dmitrov Lane towards Lenin Square. And already a little to the left we will have an extraordinary view of the mountain, with a staircase leading to its top. You can also get there by car. It doesn't matter at all how you get here, but the impressions of visiting this beautiful place forever remain in the memory.
Useful information
A visit to Mount Mithridates is completely free. At the top you can find several tents with Kerch souvenirs, but you will not find grocery points where you can buy water on the way, so you need to stock up on water in advance.
