The capital city of Crimea republic.
Simferopol is a city and administrative center of Autonomous Republic of Crimea situated in Southern Ukraine. Simferopol lies along the Salgir River where it emerges from the Crimean Mountains. Simferopol is an important highway junction of Crimean peninsula. There is an airport in the city.
Simferopol city has the population of about 360,000 (2010).
The phone code is +380 652; the postal codes are 95000-95490.
First settlements on the territory of present day Simferopol were formed at pre-historic times, Napels-Scythian is the most famous among ancient ancestors of the city. It was the capital of late Scythian state formed in about 3rd century B.C. and presumably destroyed by Goths in 3rd century A.D.
There was no large town on the territory of Simferopol in early medieval epoch. During Crimean khanate a small town Akmesdzhit (known as Ak-Mechet in Russian sources) which was a residence of kalga - the second person in the state after khan. The quarters built at those times now are called the Old town. The Old town differs in its design with narrow and crooked streets - typical for oriental towns.
After Crimea was included into Russian Empire it was decided to form Tavricheskaya oblast (later – gubernia) on the most of the khanate territory and to found its center on the place of Ak-Mechet. In 1784 construction of administrative and apartment buildings and an Orthodox church began close to Kebir-Dzhami mosque. This district differs by its regular design (direct streets crossing each other at the right angle) and mainly 2-storeyed buildings.
The city including both newly built quarters and the territory of Ak-Mechet received the name Simferopol - it is translated from the Greek as “the town of benefit”. The Greek name was chosen due to the fact that at Catherine II time there was a fashion to give Greek names to new towns on the southern joined territories. It was a kind of memory of Greek colonies existing there at ancient and medieval times.
Since that time Simferopol is the administrative center of Crimea. Soviet power was established in Simferopol city in 1918. During Russian Civil War 1918-1920 Simferopol was occupied by foreign troops. In 1945 after Autonomous republic was abolished and Simferopol became the center of Crimean oblast of Russian Federation. The oblast was granted to Ukrainian Republic in 1954.
After the declaration of Ukrainian independence in 1991 Simferopol city became the capital of the movement (Sevastopol was another important center) for separating Crimea from Ukraine.
The historical and actual closeness of Crimea to Russia is the important reason for this movement: till 1954 Crimea administratively was a part of Russian Federation, most part of Crimean population is Russian-speaking.
Simferopol street view
Simferopol street
Simferopol trolleybus
Simferopol is an important transportation juncture of Crimea. Most of ways from the republic to outer world cross Simferopol. Simferopol, Alushta and Yalta are connected with a trolley-bus line - the longest in the world (86,5 km).
Most part of Crimea Universities are located in Simferopol, among them - the main University of the republic, one of the 10 classical Universities in Ukraine - Tavrichesky National University named after V.I.Vernadsky, founded in 1918.
Simferopol has teacher-training, medical and agricultural institutes and several research establishments.
Simferopol city has a wide range of food-processing industries and makes wine, tobacco and cigarettes. There are also light engineering and consumer-goods industries, producing machine-tools, armatures, television sets, clothing and footwear in Simferopol.
Vorontsov Palace. One of the earliest monuments of classical architecture in the Crimea built in 1826-1827. The palace is situated in a landscape park “Salgirka” founded in the early 19th century. Today it is a botanical garden of Tauric National University named after V. Vernadsky. Address: Simferopol, Yaltinskaya Str., 2, park “Salgirka”.
Scythian Naples. The ruins of the ancient capital of late Scythian state are located at the top of Peter’s Hill in the center of Simferopol. You can see reconstructed tower, the remains of the wall. There is an excavated area with the foundation of a large public building with columns, a granary. Address: Simferopol, Neapolskaya Str.
Kebir-Jami Mosque. The main spiritual center of Muslims of Crimea and architectural monument of the time of the Crimean Khanate. It is the oldest building in the city that gave it the first name of Ak-Mosque (“white mosque”). The mosque was built in 1508. In 1907 the mosque was reconstructed and received its current forms of Turkish religious architecture. The mosque is open to tourists (you have to take off your shoes at the entrance). Address: Simferopol, Kurchatov Str., 4.
Crimean Ethnographic Museum. The collection of the museum has four thousand artifacts that characterize traditional culture of ethnic groups of Crimea. The collection includes exhibits of the material culture, customs and rituals, traditions and holidays of thirteen ethnic groups of the peninsula. Address: Simferopol, Pushkin Str., 18. Opening hours: 9:00-17:00, day off - Tuesday.
The chestnut with five trunks. The tree planted in 1829 reaches 25 meters in height and about 5 meters in circumference. Address: Simferopol, Frunze Str., 30.
Chokchura Cave. The site of Paleolithic man, one of the oldest monuments of human life in the Crimea. The cave is located on the eastern outskirts of Simferopol, in the valley of the Maliy Salgir River. Among the archaeological finds are flint tools, bones and tusks of mammoths, figures carved on the limestone. Address: Simferopol, Lugovaya Str., 77.
Obelisk of Dolgoruky. The monument was erected in honor of the capture of the Crimea by Russian army under the command of General V. Dolgoruky in 1771. Address: Simferopol, Zhukovsky Str.
Republic of Crimea Parliament
Simferopol city hall
Simferopol railway station
Chocolate Museum. The permanent exhibition “The history of chocolate made in chocolate” is opened in Salon Du Chocolat. All exhibits are unique and made by hand in one copy. The exhibition opens with the cocoa tree, near which there are figurines of the American Indians who first learned to make chocolate. Chocolate portraits of famous people are also presented. The pride of the exhibition is a chocolate Eiffel Tower. Address: Simferopol, Kirov Str., 66. Opening hours: 10:00-18:00.
Simferopol Art Museum. The museum has more than six thousand works of the Crimean artists. Departments of the museum: Domestic and foreign paintings of the 16th-20th centuries; Hall of graphics; Hall of battle-painting; Art of the 20th century; Hall of religious painting; Hall of Western European paintings of the 16th-19th centuries. Address: Simferopol, Karl Liebknecht Str., 35. Opening hours: 10:00-17:00, day off - Monday.
Central Museum of Tavrida. Crimean Republican Museum of Local History was founded in 1867. The collection has more than 100 thousand exhibits, among them - a large archaeological collection from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages, a collection of coins, unique graphic works of the 18th-19th centuries with views of the Crimea.
The museum holds interesting historical household items, decorative and applied art, a collection of porcelain, ethnographic materials. Permanent exhibitions: “The landscapes of the Crimea”, “The Past of Tavrida”, “Crimea in the Second World War”. Address: Simferopol, Gogol Str., 14. Opening hours: 9:00-17:00, day off - Tuesday.
Museum of Simferopol history. The museum was opened in 2009. The exhibition includes household items, documents, photos, pictures, and coins. Address: Simferopol, Pushkin Str., 17. Opening hours: 10:00-17:00, day off - Monday.
There are several theaters, philharmonic society and circus in the city.
Simferopol puppet show theater
Simferopol movie theater
Simferopol circus
Ancient Neapolis remains
Simferopol church
Simferopol church view
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