Mikhailovskaya battery

The Mikhailovskaya Battery is a museum complex that is part of the Fortification Museums. This museum displays collections of guns exclusively from the 19th century. The battery was built in 1846 on the shore of Sevastopol. It was named in honor of one of the greatest princes of the time, the Romanovs, son of Nicholas I Pavlovich and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna.

History of the Mikhailovskaya Battery

The construction site was a former artillery battery that defended the naval port from the enemy. The material used for the construction of the Mikhailovskaya Battery was limestone quarried in the Nakhimovsky District of Sevastopol. The museum has a U-shaped port structure, consisting of a central building and adjacent forecastle buildings. The total length of the entire structure reaches 108 meters, excluding the flanks. Including the flanks, it measures 205 meters. The wall's thickness is impressive at 180 centimeters. Two towers were built within the complex, but only one survives today. The entire complex could accommodate 115 guns and 750 men. At that time, the battery was one of the best defensive positions on the entire Crimean Peninsula.

The Mikhailovskaya Battery at Different Times

In 1920, new employees of the complex were given courses on gun design. During the Great Patriotic War, the Mikhailovskaya Battery was a vital strategic asset. The first salvos of the guns were heard in 1942, when enemy forces began their attack. Today, the Mikhailovskaya Battery has been converted into a museum complex, which reopened in 2010 after a major restoration. The museum currently hosts the exhibition "Heroic Sevastopol." The exhibition features the most incredible inventions of that time. The museum's exhibits number up to 10,000 and are spread across 30 halls. The main part of the exhibition is dedicated to the Crimean War of 1853-1856.