Cape Lantern in Kerch

Cape Lantern is considered the most eastern part Kerch Peninsula and the Republic of Crimea as a whole.
Cape Lantern is located in the northeastern part of Kerch in the village of Mayak, which is fifteen kilometers from the city itself, and one kilometer from Kerch ferry crossing, so everyone who travels by ferry to Crimea can visit these places.
Coordinates of Cape Lantern N 45 23.117 E 36 38.450
From the cape there is a wonderful panoramic view of the Sea of ​​Azov, Kerch Strait(you can see how ferries ply at the Kerch ferry crossing), and you can also see the shore Krasnodar region.
The Yenikalsky sea lighthouse is installed on the cape, which helps the navigation of ships passing from the Kerch Strait to the Sea of ​​Azov and back.

The coast near the Lighthouse consists of sandy beaches with small rocky bays. Here you can find a large number of wild and uncrowded beaches, so for those who like to relax without people, these places are just right. You can get to Cape Lantern by minibus number 18 (depart from the central Kerch bus station) and go to the final stop, or take your bike and ride it, you can gather the whole family, and for a child choose a Stealth bike, it will be practical and reliable in any walk. The journey by bicycle will take about one hour.
In the area of ​​the village there is a monument to the wars of the Second World War.

From the history

On the night of November 2-3, 1943, during the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation, units of the 2nd Guards Taman Rifle Division landed in Golubinaya Bay from the ships of the Azov Military Flotilla. This landing marked the beginning of the battles for the liberation of Kerch.
The flora and fauna of these places is quite diverse; there are a large number of snakes, gulls, and cormorants.
Due to the fact that these places are remote from the city and difficult to access, cleanliness has been maintained here, and in the bays you can very well relax, pitch a tent and enjoy the Azov coast.

Eastern outskirts Crimean peninsula, the place where the Sea of ​​Azov meets the waters of the Kerch Strait is called Cape Lantern. Here you can see the sunrise before anyone else in Crimea: the first rays playfully frolic on the water surface and rocky shores. Curious travelers will discover blue healing clay in local coves and taste fresh mussels growing on pebbles near the shore.

Cape Lantern in the photo:

Helpful information:
The distance from the center of Kerch and the seaport is 14.5 km.
The coordinates of Cape Lantern are 45°22′58″ N. w. 36°38′43″ E. d.
The height of the Yenikalsky lighthouse is 26 m.

A little history:

The location of the cape is so favorable that people began to settle on these shores starting from the end of the fourth century BC. This is confirmed by the findings of archaeological expeditions: the remains of settlements of ancient people, tools, and jewelry from the Bronze Age were found on the cape. The ancient Greek colony stretching along the coast was called Parthenium.

In the Middle Ages, just south of the tip of the cape, the Turkish fortification structure of Yeni-Kale was built. From its towers guards vigilantly guarded the coast from sea robbers.

The Great Patriotic War was going on. On the cape, a division of anti-aircraft gunners held the defense of the city. The liberation of Kerch in November 1943 began with the landing of the Soviet troops of the Second Guards Taman Division. This operation marked the beginning of the liberation of the city from fascist troops. The memorial obelisk reminds of the events of that harsh time. And in Golubinaya Bay there is a memorial plaque.

What to see around

Although Cape Lantern is considered the territory of the city of Kerch, the area is quite deserted, remote from civilization. Lovers of solitude and inner harmony will feel comfortable. Interesting objects include:

• Deserted sandy beaches. During your daytime exercise, you have the opportunity to swim in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of ​​Azov. Curls like a narrow ribbon sand beach in Pigeon Bay, on the southern edge of the cape.
• Bizarre stone sculptures in the sea near the shore. If you're lucky, you can find blue clay on one cliff.
• Observation of the life of colonies of seabirds: ducks, cormorants, gulls. Harmless snakes, water snakes, bask in the sun.
• Climb to the highest tip of the cape and admire the views Sea of ​​Azov, the sandy spit Chushka, a ferry crossing and a piece of the coast of the Krasnodar region. The panorama of the Kerch Strait is especially good at sunset.

A lighthouse that serves faithfully

Showing the way to merchant ships was the main responsibility of the Yenikal lighthouse. The first reports of lighthouse lights on the cape date back to 350 BC. The structure was made of wood, the stone tower was built only in 1820 and gets its name from the Turkish fortress Yeni-Kale.

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, it was considered the oldest operating lighthouse on the entire Crimean coast. It is a pity that during the battles it was destroyed to the ground. Immediately after the war, they placed on a high cape wooden structure with signal lights, a stone building was built again already in the 50s.

Now the Yenikalsky lighthouse is equipped with the GLONASS-GPS system.

Video review:

Walking tour around Cape Lantern

Near the foot of the cape is the Podmayachny microdistrict of the city of Kerch, and a little further away is the residential area of ​​Gleiki. You can go on a walking tour around the area from one of these settlements. A well-marked trail goes along the coast. At dawn, local fishermen, mussel collectors, and tourist photographers meet along the road. The shores of Cape Lantern are rocky, with piles of boulders in some places. Suddenly, a small quiet bay opens up among the stones. Here you can swim, pick mussels, and make a fire.

In just a few hours you can explore all the surrounding areas on foot, recharging yourself with the positive energy of the sea, steppe grasses and sun.

How to get to Cape Lantern

To get to Cape Lantern you need to get to the city of Kerch in any convenient way and from the bus station to shuttle bus No. 18 follow to the village of Gleiki. Then go on a walk. By car it is possible to travel to the Yenikalsky lighthouse.

Cape Lantern on the map of Crimea

GPS Coordinates: 45°23’07″N 36°38’27″E Latitude/Longitude

In how many Russian fairy tales the main characters went to the ends of the world, an unknown and distant place. Crimea has its own edge of the world, where the sun lives - this is the most East End peninsula - Cape Lantern.

Today this territory is part of the city of Kerch. A place so convenient in location that people settled here back in the 3rd century BC. e. In ancient times, there was an ancient Greek colony called Parthenium. In the Middle Ages, a little south of Cape Lantern, the Turkish fortress Yenikale. Today, at the very foot of the cape, there is the village of Podmayachny, and a little further, the village of Zhukovka.

The name of the cape is “Lantern”, translated from Greek as a torch, a light. Since the time of Greek colonization, Cape Lantern has had a lighthouse providing sea ​​vessels safe passage of the Cimmerian Bosporus.

Cape Lantern itself is a rocky hill on the border of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait. From its tip there are stunning panoramas of the Sea of ​​Azov, the Krasnodar Territory, the Chushka Spit and the ferry crossing. The Kerch Strait is clearly visible from this place, and in good weather the buildings on the Russian side are clearly visible.

During World War II, Cape Lantern was the scene of terrible bloody events. In 1942, during the hasty evacuation of Soviet troops, the lighthouse workers and the battery of the 571st separate anti-aircraft artillery division diverted the attention of the fascist troops. All hydrographers died under enemy fire, the Germans destroyed the lighthouse. At the beginning of November 1943, in parallel with the landing on Eltigen, in Geroevka, units of the Taman Infantry Division landed on the shores of Cape Lantern. This was the beginning of a long and difficult liberation of the city, which lasted six months. Kerch was finally liberated by the Nazis on April 11, 1944.

Steles and obelisks today remind us of those events and fearless exploits in the name of life during the war. On one of the hills, not far from the cape, there is a monument in the form of a red, waving flag. The creation of this monument was prompted real events, when during the battles for Kerch, Soviet soldiers were able to install the Red Banner on this hill. Cape Lantern

Not far from the lighthouse on Cape Lantern, a monument-spire proudly rises, dedicated to the soldiers and sailors who died for this land. In Golubinaya Bay, another monument preserved the memory of the landing, but more than 10 years ago it was damaged by a landslide and a memorial plaque was installed nearby.

Having bowed to the obelisks, you see this area differently, a huge peace covers the soul when looking into the expanses of the steppe, the free steppe and the clear deep sky. Creepy thoughts quickly dissolve in the surrounding calm. The wide Kerch steppe fills the salty sea air with infusions of herbs.

Cape Lantern today is a secluded, rarely visited place. The village of Podmayachny is about a kilometer away, and the hilly terrain discourages the lazy. Local fishermen and tourists sometimes wander here in search of attractions. One of the main attractions of Cape Lantern is the lighthouse. The tall white building is visible from afar, but up close it is especially majestic.

Natural pyramids are interesting. Natural hills fancifully took on the shape of regular figures. The empty coastal strip stretches for 2 kilometers, from the village of Zhukovka to the boarding houses, on the north side of Cape Lantern. Wild bays, free from the noise of civilization, crowds of people and garbage, are endlessly beautiful. The bays especially sparkle with magic at dawn. Cape Lantern is the first in Crimea to meet the sun. Warm rays play whimsically on wind-cut boulders, setting you in a sublime, romantic mood.

The most curious tourists will be able to find sources of blue medicinal clay in these bays and enjoy fresh mussels that grow on rocks underwater.

Legendary Thirty, route

Through the mountains to the sea with a light backpack. Route 30 passes through the famous Fisht - this is one of the most grandiose and significant natural monuments of Russia, the closest to Moscow high mountains. Tourists travel lightly through all the landscape and climatic zones of the country from the foothills to the subtropics, spending the night in shelters.

Cape Lantern is not only the easternmost point of the Crimean Peninsula, but also one of the main advantages of the city of Kerch. It is at the foot of the rocky hill that the Kerch Strait flows into the calm Sea of ​​Azov, and the functioning Yenikalsky lighthouse on the top of the cape has been showing the way to lost ships since 1820.

Why visit this place

Opens from the cape scenic view on sea ​​port Kerch and the Chushka Spit, and to the south of the strait Cape Yeni-Kale with the ruins of the ancient Turkish fort that gave it its name is clearly visible. Clean sandy beaches will be a great place to relax from the bustle of the city; here you can pitch a tent and enjoy the natural beauty of the Azov Sea. Lovers active rest can rent a bicycle or a yacht to see one of the most famous sights of Kerch from the sea.

Excursion into history

Cape Lantern is not only a natural, but also a historical and memorial site, because during the Second World War, serious military operations took place in this place. Despite the fact that the entire navigation complex from the tower of the Yenikalsky lighthouse was removed during the war and placed in safe warehouses, the cape itself remained a strategic point, for which fierce battles were fought with the German occupiers in 1942. This was the site of the 571st Artillery Battalion's anti-aircraft battery. At that time, the Red Army was retreating, and the fascist troops continuously fired at the hydrographs that were helping to carry out the crossing. And the valiant division commander decided to call fire on himself, but under the onslaught of massive shelling, all the soldiers at Cape Lantern died a heroic death.

In 1943, the lighthouse was completely destroyed and for the safety of ships entering the Kerch Strait from the north, it was decided to light a signal lamp. And in 1946, a wooden tower was built, which was later replaced by a permanent stone structure. Today it is a modern navigation facility with an innovative GPS station.

Since it was at Cape Lantern that the first paratroopers of the Azov Navy landed, which marked the beginning of the liberation of Kerch and the Crimean Peninsula as a whole, in memory of this historical event 2 monuments were erected here and 1 memorial plaque was opened.

Note to tourists

Cape Lantern is located near the village of Zhukovka, since you need to walk to it and, while walking, admire the natural beauty, it would be a good idea for a tourist to get comfortable sports shoes and clothes. In the warm season, you can take swimsuits, because when you see the clean sandy beach of Golubina Bay, it’s hard to resist swimming in the warm waters of the Azov Sea.

How to get to Cape Lantern

You can get to the natural and historical memorial complex of Cape Lantern at any time of the year, every day. Since there are no local guides here, it is better to come as part of a tour group or with your own guide.

Flashlight- a cape in the Kerch Strait, which is the easternmost point of the Crimean Peninsula. It is installed on the elevated part of the cape.

Cape Lantern is located at the northeastern outskirts of the city of Kerch at the entrance to the Kerch Strait from the Sea of ​​Azov. From the cape you can see the Sea of ​​Azov, the Kerch Strait, the Chushka Spit and the coast of the Krasnodar Territory, as well as the Kerch ferry crossing.

The fauna of the cape is represented by numerous waterfowl, mainly gulls and cormorants. In summer, near the shore you can find water snakes basking in the sun or hunting small fish in the sea.

The coast of Cape Lantern is usually deserted. Occasionally, the cape is visited by local fishermen and mussel collectors, as well as tourists who are attracted by the picturesque rocky shores of the cape. Along the path leading along coastline, you can walk from the village of Zhukovki to the recreation centers located north of the cape. Despite the rocky coastline and abundance of boulders, there are several small bays suitable for swimming in calm weather. There is a sandy beach in Pigeon Bay, located on the southern side of the cape.

Story

As a result of archaeological excavations near Cape Lantern, ancient settlements dating back to the Bronze Age were discovered. During antiquity, near Cape Lantern there was a city called Parthenium, mentioned in the periplus of Skilacus, dated 350 BC. e.

During the Great Patriotic War, battles between Soviet and German troops repeatedly took place in the area of ​​Cape Lantern.

In May 1942, the batteries of the 571st separate anti-aircraft artillery division of the retreating Red Army held the defense here.

On the night of November 2-3, 1943, during the Kerch-Eltigen landing operation, units of the 2nd Guards Taman Rifle Division landed from the ships of the Azov military flotilla at Cape Lantern. This landing marked the beginning of the battles for the liberation of Kerch and Crimea.

On a hill not far from the Yenikalsky lighthouse in 1944, according to the design of the architect B. M. Nadezhin, an obelisk was erected in memory of the soldiers and sailors who died in battle. Also, a small obelisk was installed in Golubinaya Bay at the landing site. In the late 1990s, soil shifts damaged the monument in Pigeon Bay, and a memorial plaque was erected to replace it.

The accident of the cargo ship Dozha

On July 23, 1995, during a storm, the cargo ship Dozha sank near Cape Lantern. "Doja") with a load of glass and fibreboard (fibreboard). The ship belonged to a Syrian shipowner. The ship lost stability due to one-sided filling of the ballast tank and displacement of the cargo, lay on the left side and sank at a depth of 7 m. The crew of 13 people escaped. The owner abandoned the sunken ship.

About 30 tons of fuel remained in the ship's tanks, some of which entered the environment, forming a spot measuring 100 by 300 meters. Several fiberboard packages from the cargo were carried by the waves to the shore and dismantled local residents for household needs. In the first months after the disaster, the side of the sunken ship was visible above the water several hundred meters from the shore, but over time the ship sank into the sandy bottom.

From the history of the ship: built in Great Britain in 1962, original owner - the company James Fisher & Sons(Great Britain); the ship bore the names: “Leven Fisher” (1962-1982), “Haj Hassan” (1982-1989), “Allah Kareem” (1989-1994), “Doja” (since 1994).