Sights of Novorossiysk
City Novorossiysk is quite neatly divided into the western and eastern part. The western part is residential, the eastern one is industrial. Inhabitants call the western part “this side”, and the eastern one – “that side”, so it has been historically accepted since times of “Standart”. The sides are divided by Tsemesskaya bay and a valley of the Tsemes river. The area, situated in the fluxes of this river, is called Tsemdolina.
Suduzhskaya spit serves as a boundary between the sea and a small salt lake, which was a source of peloid formerly, but now exploitation of peloid has stopped. The spit, one of the most popular city beaches, is situated quite far from the center of Novorossiysk. Go to Pioneer grove – typical for a Novorossiysk forest park. In the Pioneer grove old apricots adjoin with cherry-plum and mulberry-tree. On the boundary of the park there is a complex of buildings of Novorossiysk sea academy – one of the most prestige educational institutions of Krasnodar krai.
The Suduzhskaya spit, the Academy and the Pioneer grove are situated on the territory of the famous beach-head “Malaya land”. The monument is dedicated to a heroic landing. It is erected on the shore of the sea. “Malaya land” represents two reinforced concrete massifs, connected in form of triangle, as if forming a giant landing vessel, headily moving to the aim. Bas-reliefs of seamen and soldiers, irrepressibly rushing out of the sea waves to the shore, breaking an enemy and fixing a red standard on the narrow strip of the land, were carved on the outer surface.
On the walls of the monument there are names of military units, notable in the Novorossiysk epopee, and names of participants of battles. At the bottom of the memorial is an eternal light. In the symbolic ship is the Museum of military glory.
The memorial complex includes trenches, observation posts. A part of the territory was declared a preserve and has been kept in the state it had during the war.
Near there is a small museum of soviet and captured military equipment. The extensive area is divided into concrete squares, in the holes of which 1419 poplars were planted. For so many days the war had been lasting. The monument represents a one of the parts of the memorial complex, created by sculpture V. E. Tsigal, architects J. B. Belopolsky, R. G. Kanin and V. I. Havin. Two other monuments - “Line” and “Seaman on bended knees” – are situated in the other parts of the city, in the places of historical events.
The monument to the landing is not the only on the territory of Malaya land. “Life-spring in “Valley of death”” is a name of a memorial complex near the only well, from which soldiers, defending their positions on the valley at the Koldun mountain (Wizard-mountain) used to take water. Here very bloody battles went off.
“Valley of death”
At the entry in “Valley of death” there is another monument. On its base there is an inscription: “Remember, comrade! The enemy rained down 1250 kg of deadly metal on every Malaya Zemlya defender in days of the outstanding feat. Stones were burning, ground was melting. They withstood, the Motherland was behind them. Remember this, contemporary, remember and tell your offspring!” The monument was made of numerous fragments of mines, shells, air bombs. By its form the monument resembles an explosion. Mass of the composition makes up 1,250 kg.
An attack plane IL-2 is mounted at the intersection of Geroi-desantniki street with Lenin avenue. It reminds of feats of military pilots, fighting in the sky above the city. After descending from the planó to the sea one can find oneself in Novorossiysk yacht-club. Here there is a harbor – refuge and place for anchorage of yachts. About in 5 buildungs from the attack plane at the intersection of the avenue with general Chernyahovsky street there is a monument to a seaman with a grenade in his hand, taken away, ready to the fight. Here a line of defence on the Malaya Zemlya stretched.
Having descended on the quay we find ourselves on the cape of Love, where a monument to fishermen, lost during a storm in the area of Poti town. Despite such grievous monument, the cape of Love is one of the most romantic nooks of the city. Near it there is the largest hotel of the city “Novorossiysk”, a Novorossiysk water park, a sea park of Frunze, a water station and a Central city beach. In the city in the very heat it is allowed to swim in any place where there is a slope from the quay to the sea. Water in the quay is clear. But only the Central beach is equipped with convenient berths and little bridges for swimming, and sand is brought to the special terraces.
Central street of the city starts from the beach – Sovetov street. In this street there is a sadium, Lenin park with merry-go-rounds a city theater, a planetarium, the only in Kuban and opened in 1961 and a monument to guerillas. Opposite the planetarium there is a Museum of local lore.
Farther along the street there is a building of the State Bank. A shady square begins there. Acacias, chestnuts and other trees are planted in the square. The most notable and rare is ginkgo bilobated. In the same square there are busts of the famous inhabitants of Novorossiysk – test-pilot V. Kokkinaki and marshal of aviation E. Savitsky, and also the monument to Pushkin (Russian poet).
Having rested in the calm of the park we unhurriedly continue our walk about the town. On the corner of Sovetov and Svoboda streets there is a bronze monument to defenders of the city in the Great Patriotic War. Now let’s go to the monument to Lenin, standing opposite the city administration. From the monument one can ascend the hill and get to the bus station. Near the bus station beautiful Svyato-Uspensky cathedral stands. In Sovetov street there are other sights. There is the first and the only subway in the city, which inhabitants call “Metro”. The subway is very long. It is decorated with frescos and connects the central street with the city market. The Novorossiysk market is one of the cheapest and the most abundant in the coast.
The city quay is one of the most beautiful places of the city. It is very picturesque especially in the period of rose blossom, planted in the rosaries, stretching for many kilometers along the sea shore.
Marine passenger terminal
The marine passenger terminal is a beautiful building of original construction gives passengers an opportunity to rest in the waiting rooms, observing through the huge windows how sea liners moor.
Not far from the marine passenger terminal there is square of Heroes. A park of 3 ha is laid out and monuments to warriors, killed in the battles for the city are set, on it. Here ashes of Caesar Kunikov, Nickolai Sipyagin are buried lie, an eternal light burns and every hour the melody of “Novorossiysk chimes” sounds. In the small square far from the road there is a Triumphal arch, built of only a barrel of cement. But it was the millionth barrel which was produced in 1925 by cement works “Proletariy”, reconstructed after the Civil war.
“Rubezh”
A little above we visited the first part of the memorable complex “Rubezh”. The second part of memorable complex “Rubezh” is situated at cement works “October”. High above the high road there is a horizontally set stele. Warriors’ hands, strongly squeezing submachine guns, go beyond it. Altogether 4 hands. It means that “the enemy was stopped on the boundary of defences at cement works “October”, by soldiers, seamen, officers and political leaders, fighting nip and tuck”. On high days and holidays people set fire to the machine guns. If walking around the stele, one can see a map of the battle for Novorossiysk.
Near on the base – railway car, pierced with more than 10 thousands shell-holes. For all 360 days it was situated on the leading edge. A little higher, on the hill, there is a small obelisk in memory of poet Pavel Kogane, killed during the defence of Novorossiysk.
Farther there is a bulk-oil base and a unique deep-water bulk-oil berth Sheskharis. The bulk-oil reservoirs themselves are not seen from the road, but an orange pipe, stretching to the sea, is well seen. It is a bulk-oil berth, which permits to load tankers of any tonnage with oil.
Behind Sheskharis the city ends but out of the boundaries of the town there are other sights. A section of Novorossiysk-Sukhumsky high road is interesting. Formerly it represented a real “mother’s-in-law tongue”. Although here it was preferred to call it “Novorossiysk snake”. Now the road has greatly straightened up but a few keen turns have remained. On one of them, on the 12th km there is a unnoticeable descent to a secret bunker, made in the rock, where during the defence of Novorossiysk the military command had been accommodating, and now there a small museum is situated.
In the 14th km there is the third monument of Novorossiysk memorial complex. A viewing point is organized at the edge of the precipice. On it there is a metallic cube in which flags for rainbow dressing reproducing signal “Killed but not surrendered”. Near the cube there are figures of submerged ships, pointing to the place of wreck and distance to it.
A wonderful view of Novorossiysk and the whole Tsemesskaya bay opens from the viewing point. Mountain Koldun, which is easily perceived by white cupolas of radar stations, is perfectly seen. Southern slopes of the mountains, along which the road was built, represent an interesting natural object – so called juniper sparse growth of trees. Three kinds of juniper, including juniper arborescent grow on the lot between Novorossiysk and Kabardinka. Age of trees is about 130 years and their height reaches 7 m. Juniper evolves great number of phytocide – substances, killing harmful microgerms. One hectare of such forest can condition the air of a big city. Thus before leaving the shores of Tsemesskaya bay, you should stop and inhale healing aroma of juniper.
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