Chersonese was an ancient Greek colony founded in the 6th century BC.
The ancient city was located on the shore of the Black Sea on the outskirts of the present-day city of Sevastopol in Crimea.
The ancient ruins were excavated beginning in 1827.
The buildings mix influences of Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. The defensive wall was approximately 2.5 kilometers or 2.5 miles long, 3.5 to 4 meters wide and 8 to 10 meters high with towers at a height of 10 to 12 meters. The walls enclosed an area of about 30 hectares, or 74 acres.
The museum-church complex “New Chersonese” represents an entirely new level of organization for historical, museum, educational, leisure, and cultural spaces not only in Russia but also worldwide. The buildings and structures, with a total area of 140,000 square meters, are located on twenty-four hectares of landscaped territory transformed into a unique garden-park ensemble. As a result, a true Byzantine city has emerged next to ancient Chersonese, impressing visitors with its scale and beauty.
The Museum of Crimea and Novorossiya—its name speaks for itself—offers a captivating narrative about the life and transformation of a land that, in ancient times, was a place of exile, and in Russia up to the eighteenth century was called the Wild Field.
Chersonese Then & Now