Kerch Fortress and how to visit it

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

Fortress Kerch or Fort Totleben is one of the largest historical man–made attractions of the whole Crimea, and perhaps the largest of them. But in our opinion, it is worth a visit not only if you are staying on vacation in Kerch, but also from anywhere on the peninsula. And it is not necessary to go here on purpose, you can visit the fortress and pass through the entrance or exit to the peninsula through the bridge if you are traveling by car. But let's tell you about everything in order:

If the Yeni-Kale fortress was built by the Turks to defend against the Russians, then the Kerch fortress was already built by the Russians in the XIX century to protect its southern shores, and primarily from the Turks. Interestingly, at first the issue of restoring and strengthening the Yeni-Kale fortress was considered, but as a result, in 1856, the construction of a new fortress on Cape Ak-Burun (Cape Pavlov) was started. It was designed by the military architect Eduard Ivanovich Totleben, for which the fortress is also called Fort Totleben. The fortress hardly participated in military operations, with the exception of the Great Patriotic War. Just like Yeni-Kale during the Russian-Turkish war, then the fortress was taken by the Germans from the land almost without a fight. The building served military purposes until 2003, when it was transferred to the Kerch State Historical and Cultural Reserve.

Today the fortress is an architectural monument, and it can be visited for a fee with excursion service. Most of the fortress is actually underground, as it was conceived during construction. The underground passages are so vast and confusing that it is easy to get lost in them. In addition, it is believed that it has not yet been completely cleared, so a visit is possible only with excursion service, although you can easily get into it through gaps in the fence, bypassing the paid entrance. During the tour you will be guided both underground and above-ground. There are very few exhibits inside, but the fortification itself is of greater interest, so a cursory visit with an excursion will take about two hours.

There is no infrastructure here, so you should take water and drinks with you. The visit takes place on different routes, there are 6 in total, each of which covers only a certain part of the fortress. And yet, visiting by children under 6 is prohibited. It is also important to know:

• Visiting the fortress is possible only with an excursion (included in the ticket price).
• In case of adverse weather conditions, the mode of operation and excursions may change.
• Currently, 6 routes are offered for visiting, the cost for each is different, from 200 to 800 rubles. You can check on the official website.
• The tour starts with the recruitment of a group of 10 people, so you may have to wait for those who wish.

💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Crimea with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Kerch on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Kerch on Tripster.ru