Yalta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the city. For the World War II summit, see Yalta Conference.
| Yalta | |
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| Ялта Ялта Yalta |
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| Region of Crimea: | Yalta municipality |
| Location: | |
| Altitude: | 40 m |
| Area: | ? km² |
| Population: | 80,552 (2005) |
| Density: | ? /km² |
| Postal codes: | 98600 — 98639 |
| Phone prefix: | +380-654 |
| Time zone: | EET: UTC+2 |
| Previous name: | Yalita (until 15th cent.) |
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| [ official web-site] | |
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).
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.
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.
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. 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 cafes, as well as a large open-air market.
[edit] Affiliations
Yalta is twinned with the following cities:
[edit] External links
- (English) Yalta: The visitor's book
- (English) Yalta tour overview
- (English) Yalta City Guide
- (English) Yalta City and Yalta Zoo photoalbum
