Crimea - Krim

The Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany has a special one about this country Travel and safety advice released (Web link). “We strongly advise against traveling to the Crimean peninsula.” Date of last notice: 26.11.2019.

The peninsula Crimea (Russian: Крым / Krym, Ukrainian: Крим / Krym, Crimean Tatar: Qırım yarımadası) is known to most for the excellent Crimean sparkling wine and sparkling wine and is a popular destination for bathing tourism because of its pleasant Mediterranean climate. She is on Black Sea. The political affiliation of the Crimea has been controversial since 2014. While most states regard it as part of Ukraine under international law, it is in fact under the control of Russia.

Regions

The Tauride Mountains (Crimean Mountains) run along the south coast, from which the nickname Tauride Peninsula for the Crimea is derived. It forms the climatic border to the Black Sea coast with its Mediterranean climate. Located on the south coast of the Crimea, the Crimea was therefore traditionally one of the most important recreation and vacation centers for Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, who were also to be found here in large numbers. The seaside resorts are particularly popular Yalta and Alushta. It is not yet possible to predict how the changed territorial relationship will affect the 2014 tourism season. So far, vacationers from Western Europe have rarely been found. The capital of Crimea is the city Simferopol, the second major city is the port city Sevastopol, in which the Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed. The Crimean peninsula is territorial as Crimean Federal District in Sevastopol city and the Republic of Crimea with fourteen Rajons and eleven city districts, subdivided. It can be roughly divided geographically into five areas:

• Tauride Mountains (Crimean Mountains) - with the capital Simferopol and the largest forest cover, it is, like the Crimean south coast, also rich in unique historical and architectural sights.

Bakhchysarai, Belogorsk, Staryj Krym.

• Crimean steppe (Northern Crimea) - the flat northern steppe area of ​​the Crimean peninsula.

Armyansk, Dschankoj, Krasnoperekopsk.

• Kerch Peninsula (Eastern Crimea) - with miles of sandy beaches along the shores of the Black and Azov Seas.

Kerch.

• South coast - The zone south of the Tauride Mountains, which is climatically protected from the cold air masses from the north, is, like the Tauride Mountains, rich in unique historical and architectural sights.

Alushta, Feodosia, Yalta, Sudak.

• West Coast - with historical and military sites such as the city of Sevastopol, with Russia's largest military naval base of the Black Sea Fleet, the well-known spas and extensive sandy beaches and Saky one for his Healing mud famous tourist destination.

Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Saky.

places

• Alushta
• Yalta
• Kerch
• Sevastopol
• Simferopol
• Yevpatoria

Other goals

background

In ancient times, the peninsula was initially inhabited by Cimmerians, Taurians and Scythians. In the 5th century BC Then the Greeks founded colonies in the Crimea, the most important of these poles was Chersonese, which was roughly on the site of today's city of Sevastopol. Several of these city-states united to form the Bosporan Empire, which lay on both sides of the Kerch Strait. After its decline, at the end of the 2nd century BC, it became part of the Kingdom of Pontus and finally the Roman Empire. In the 3rd century AD the Goths appeared in the Crimea, some of whose descendants could be traced back to the 16th century; they were followed by the Huns, Khazars, Cumans and Tatars.

From the 13th to the 15th centuries, the Crimea belonged to the sphere of influence of the Mongolian khanate of the Golden Horde, after which the Crimean Tatars formed their own khanate, which existed until 1783, most of the time as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. Only then was it annexed by the Russian Empire. Catherine the Great declared the peninsula "from now on and for all time" to be part of Russia. As early as the 19th century, the nobility (including the tsarist family) and artists discovered the Crimea. Pushkin, Chekhov and Tolstoy lived here at times.

Within the Soviet Union, the Crimea was one from 1921 to 1945 Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, then an ordinary oblast that was transferred from the Russian to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic during the reign of Nikita Khrushchev in 1954. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it remained with the Ukraine, within which it formed the southernmost administrative unit and the only autonomous republic.

Since the referendum on the status of Crimea on March 16, 2014, the international legal status of the peninsula has been controversial. Both Ukraine and Russia see Crimea as part of their own national territory. According to the Russian Federation, which has de facto control of the area, Crimea is now a south-westerly one Federal district, which consists of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. It is home to around 130 ethnic groups, the largest of which is Russian, second is Ukrainian, and third is Crimean Tatars.

language

The most common is the Russian language. English, French or even German foreign language skills are rather the exception. Tourists without knowledge of Russian can therefore expect problems of understanding. Before the outbreak of the Crimean conflict, a good 10% of the inhabitants of Crimea spoke Ukrainian as their mother tongue. Since the annexation of the peninsula, however, many ethnic Ukrainians have left the peninsula and the pro-Russian forces tend not to hear this language very much. The Crimean Tatars (about 12% of the population) speak Crimean Tatar, a Turkic language.

getting there

Since Crimea is under de facto control of the Russian Federation, you need a valid Russian visa to enter the country must be requested.

From the point of view of the Ukrainian authorities, however, entering the Crimea with a Russian visa is considered to be an illegal border crossing, so that if you visit Ukraine later, entry can be refused, fined or even arrested if there is evidence of the former Crimea -Travel become known.

Central transportation hub and capital of Crimea is Simferopol.

By plane

The most important airport in Crimea is the airport Simferopol. Since the Crimean crisis and the annexation by Russia, there are no more international connections for the time being, only flights from airports in Russia.

By train

Since the connection to Russia, the rail traffic from the Ukrainian mainland to the Crimea has been discontinued. However, the journey can be made from the Russian side. Of Krasnodar D-trains run four times a day to Simferopol in 11½ hours, from Anapa another two trains in 9 hours. The train goes to the ferry terminal at Port Kawkas, then you cross the Kerch Strait by boat, before continuing by train from Kerch. Of Rostov on Don With a change in Krasnodar it takes about 15:20 hours, from Moscow 31½ hours to Simferopol.

At the end of 2019, the rail connection is to open parallel to the road bridge (Крымский мост) via Kerch to Taman.

In the street

The usual journey from the Ukrainian heartland via Armjansk has not been possible or at least not advisable since the Crimean crisis in 2014. See also the notes of the Foreign Office.

Since May 2018 there has been a road bridge from Krasnodar Krai (Краснодарский край) to Kerch in eastern Crimea, so that you no longer have to drive to Ukrainian territory.

By boat

Cruise ships from EU countries are no longer allowed to call at the ports of Crimea due to sanctions. The most important shipping connection to the Crimea is the port Kawkas – Kerch ferry. There are also ferries from Novorossiysk to Yalta.

mobility

There are bus connections between the different places in the Crimea. The longest trolleybus line in the world runs from the train station in Simferopol via Alushta to Yalta (approx. 60–70 km). She is owned by society Krymskyj trolejbus operated. On the coastal road from Alushta to Yalta you can also be driven with rickshaws, but they are not cheaper than a taxi.

Tourist Attractions

Gran Canyon	Tatar architecture	Black Sea coast
Voronzow Palace	Nikita - Botanical Garden	Swallow's nest

activities

kitchen

nightlife

Since 1992 found that KaZantip, a large, multi-week festival of electronic music, held on a Crimean beach, 2002-2013 in the village of Popovka near Yevpatoria. Up to 100,000 visitors came to the festival, which lasted several weeks. However, after the political events of 2014, the organizers decided to relocate the festival from the Crimea. In 2014 the KaZantip will take place from 20.-30. August in Georgian Anaklia occur. It is currently unclear whether the KaZantip will return to the Crimea at some point.

security

At critical points in Crimea, roadside checks are carried out, including by military personnel who, however, rarely have any knowledge of German or English. It is therefore advisable in the transitional period to bring a translation and a residence / booking certificate with all personal details and the length of stay in Russian from the hotel in addition to your own passport. Due to the conflict situation, you should never mess with any security guards and neither should you take photos of them or any security-relevant facilities.

Danger! Due to the tense security situation in Ukraine, a visit to the northern part of Crimea towards the border with Ukraine is not advisable. It is currently not advisable to travel through and travel through Ukraine by road.

The Federal Foreign Office strongly advises against traveling to the Crimea. However, there is no formal travel warning. Non-Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons are officially only allowed to enter or leave the country with a Ukrainian special permit, but this is not granted for tourist purposes.^[1]

Since most states de jure consider Crimea to be part of Ukraine, but in fact control it by Russia, consular support is difficult for nationals of western states. The representations in Russia are not responsible because, from their point of view, they are not on Russian territory, but the representations in Ukraine can practically do nothing, as Ukraine no longer has control over the area.

climate

trips

literature

Web links

• crimea.gov.ru - Official website of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, in English and Russian.
• crimea.gov.ua - Official website of the Ministry of Spas and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea, in English, Russian and Turkish.

Individual evidence