After the conquest of Crimea by the Russian Empire, there was a need for defensive structures designed to protect the peninsula from attack from the sea. For this purpose, the batteries of Sevastopol were built. They honorably coped with the tasks assigned to them during the Great Patriotic and Crimean Wars. Today, some of these fortifications continue to remain in operation, and the Mikhailovsky Battery naval museum, created on the basis of the ravelin of the same name, acquaints visitors with the history of the city and with the exploits of Russian soldiers and sailors who defended Sevastopol in different years.
History
The unique defensive significance of the Akhtiar bay was first noticed by the great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov. He also initiated the construction of the first earth batteries. Half a century later, in their place, they began the construction of coastal defensive structures using stone mined in the Quarry ravine and in Kilen-beam.
The fortification plan of the new fortress was developed by Colonel-Engineer K. I. Byurno and during the construction was supplemented several times by his colleagues - Pavlovsky and Felkersam.
In 1846, the main work on the Mikhailovsky Battery was completed.
Naval Museum Mikhailovsky Battery: Description
Ravelin is a 2-tier U-shaped fortress. To its main body, at an obtuse angle of one hundred degrees, 2 side wings adjoin.
The outer walls of the fort are 180 cm thick. The total length of the structure along with the flanks is 205 m. A moat is equipped in the rear. Initially, two 3-tier towers with embrasures adjoined the internal corners of the facades. Unfortunately, one of them has not survived to this day.
When the fortress was used by the Navy of the USSR as a warehouse, it was plastered in white. During the restoration, the external finishing layers were removed from the stone, and the ravelin acquired its former appearance. Moreover, it was decided not to mask the numerous traces of bullets and shells on the walls of the fortress, since they are dumb evidence of its heroic past.
Exposition
The Naval Museum "Mikhailovskaya Battery" presents to visitors the exposition dedicated to the Crimean War. According to experts, this is the richest collection in the world dedicated to this topic. Also, there are exhibits related to other historical periods: the First World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. The highlight of the museum are installations showing what happened in the walls of ravelin in different years. When creating the exposition, everything was done to accurately reproduce the interiors characteristic of the Sevastopol fortifications of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In particular, about 2 dozen Dutch ovens are installed there, which are located throughout the enfilade, there are lanterns, and a wooden floor has been recreated. In its historical place, a long one-pooled Unicorn is installed on a rotary fortified carriage, specially recreated according to the original drawings.
It will be interesting to visit the hall number 16, which houses the bunker of the German general. There you can see German officer ammunition, an office and documents relating to the times of the occupation of Sevastopol.
Visitors who come to the Mikhailovsky Battery naval museum seem to travel in time, since the exhibition halls are arranged in chronological order, starting from the foundation of Sevastopol and ending with the victory of the USSR in the Second World War.
Features
The creators of the museum made sure that visitors wanted to visit it again and again. Due to the fact that there are a huge number of exhibits in its reserves, employees have the opportunity to regularly change installations and put on display all new household items, weapons and ammunition.
The Naval Museum "Mikhailovskaya Battery" (Sevastopol) also invites you to get acquainted with the exhibition of paintings on the Black Sea Fleet and Sevastopol, which is located in the western wing of the battery.
Exhibition of Old Technology
In the courtyard of the museum, samples of old equipment and weapons are demonstrated. Old anchors and guns that took part in the defense of Sevastopol during the years of the Crimean (1853-1856) and World War II are also exhibited there.
Naval Museum "Mikhailovskaya Battery": reviews
Many tourists, vacationing in the Crimea and coming on excursions to Sevastopol, seek to get acquainted with the opinions of those who have already seen the sights of the city. The goal is to find out what historical monuments and museums are worth visiting.
The reviews indicate that the Mikhailovsky Battery should definitely go to the Naval Museum for those who are interested in the history of our country. Thanks to the numerous installations and the use of modern technology, such an excursion will be interesting not only for adults, but also for children, especially schoolchildren.
Many tourists claim that they were very strongly impressed by the bulk of the Mikhailovsky ravelin with all its complex engineering structures. Guests of the city also like that the exhibition of paintings is located in unreconstructed halls, where the atmosphere of past centuries has been preserved.
By the way, this museum complex is one of the few about which you can hardly hear negative reviews. The only thing that causes dissatisfaction is the distance from the city, but this inconvenience is fully offset by the ability to quickly get there by sea.
