Balaklava Submarine Museum

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

Officially, it is called the Military History Museum of fortifications, and this is one of the most popular museums of the entire peninsula. For the sake of it, tourists even specially come to Balaklava, and individual excursions to this place can be bought at all resorts of the Crimea.

The submarine base, called secret facility 825 GTS, was built here in the mid-20th century, and put into operation in 1957. Another secret 820 RTB facility is a nuclear arsenal repository. When visiting the museum, both objects are examined.

From that moment on, the whole city of Balaklava became closed, even relatives of people living in the city could not get here without special permits issued at the very top. And this is not surprising, since the base is still a unique place. Spacious repair and parking docks are located under the mountain, and are practically not vulnerable. According to calculations, they are able to withstand a direct impact of a nuclear warhead with a capacity of up to 100 kilotons. The importance of this base for that time is difficult to overestimate, it was one of the most important deterrents for the opponents of the USSR during the Cold War, because on the sides of submarines there was a serious arsenal of nuclear weapons. With the collapse of the USSR, the base went to Ukraine, and was successfully abandoned in 1993, after which it was looted. Only in 2002, this place was remembered again, founding a museum complex here. However, in our time, the uniqueness of the base remains relevant, and after repair and refinement, it can again become an invulnerable haven for submarines.

Today, only about 30% of the area of the complex is available for viewing by tourists, but even these scales are amazing. During the tour, they say that in case of a threat, all the inhabitants of Balaklava could hide in this underground city. The museum includes a central tunnel with a length of 600 meters, living quarters, repair shops, docks of submarines, premises of the nuclear arsenal. Part of the premises is equipped with expositions: nuclear arsenal, mine-torpedo weapons, Cold War Museum, Paleontological Museum and others. The only thing missing from the complex is the submarines themselves.

To get to the museum, it is best to take care of tickets in advance, especially in the summer. ie if you just come here, and contact the ticket office for tickets, at best you will have to wait for the gathering of the group, and at worst can not get at all. It is best to buy tickets early in the morning on the day of the visit, or try to book a tour in advance by phone + 79788891056. Also, many tickets are bought by tour operators and travel agencies, so an alternative may be to purchase an excursion tour from them. Such tours are offered from most resorts of the Crimea, and include tourist transport to Balaklava.

Visiting takes place only by tourist groups accompanied by a museum guide, you can not wander here on your own. Groups of up to 50 people gather at the entrance to the museum. The tour lasts 1 hour 20 minutes, starts every hour. Inside it is cool, the temperature is not higher than +15℃, so you need to dress warmer. Children under 5 years old are not allowed in the museum.

If you can not get to the museum, an alternative is offered at the entrance: a boat ride along the canal without disembarking on the "shore". It costs 275 rubles.