Byzantine
Which country did Yalta belong to from 395 to 1204?
Yalta Yalta ( Russian and Ukrainian : Я́лта ) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea . It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality , one of the regions within Crimea . Population : The city is located on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Yalita . It is said to have been founded by the Greek settlers who were looking for a safe shore ( yalos in Greek ) on which to land . It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black Sea , surrounded by the mountain range Ai-Petri . It has a warm humid subtropical climate and is surrounded by numerous vineyards and orchards . The area became famous when the city held the Yalta Conference as part of the Allied World War II conferences in 1945 . The term Greater Yalta is used to designate a part of the Crimean southern coast spanning from Foros in the west to Gurzuf in the east and including the city of Yalta and multiple adjacent urban settlements . History . 12th–19th centuries . The existence of Yalta was first recorded in the 12th century by an Arab geographer , who described it as a Byzantine port and fishing settlement . It became part of a network of Genoese trading colonies on the Crimean coast in the 14th century , when it was known as Etalita or Galita . Crimea was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1475 , which made it a semi-independent subject territory under the rule of the Crimean Khanate but the southern coast with Yalta was under direct Ottoman rule forming the Eyalet of Kefe ( Feodosiya ) . Yalta was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783 , along with the rest of Crimea , sparking the Russo-Turkish War , 1787-1792 . Prior to the annexation of the Crimea , the Crimean Greeks were moved to Mariupol in 1778 ; one of the villages they established nearby is also called . In the 19th century , the town became a fashionable resort for the Russian aristocracy and gentry . Leo Tolstoy spent summers there and Anton Chekhov in 1898 bought a house ( the White Dacha ) here , where he lived till 1902 ; Yalta is the setting for Chekhovs short story , The Lady with the Dog , and such prominent plays as The Three Sisters were written in Yalta . The town was also closely associated with royalty . In 1889 Tsar Alexander III finished construction of Massandra Palace a short distance to the north of Yalta and Nicholas II built the Livadia Palace south-west of the town in 1911 . 20th century . During the 20th century Yalta was the principal holiday resort of the Soviet Union . In 1920 , Vladimir Lenin issued a decree On the Use of Crimea for the Medical Treatment of the Working People which endorsed the regions transformation from a fairly exclusive resort area into a recreation facility for tired proletarians . Numerous workers sanatoria were constructed in and around Yalta and the surrounding district . There were , in fact , few other places that Soviet citizens could come for a seaside holiday , as foreign travel was forbidden to all but a handful . The Soviet elite also came to Yalta ; the Soviet premier Joseph Stalin used the Massandra Palace as his summer residence . Yalta was occupied by the German Army from 9 November 1941 to 16 April 1944 . The town came to worldwide attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the Big Three powers – the Soviet Union , the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the Livadia Palace . 21st century . Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 , Yalta has struggled economically . Many of the nouveaux riches of ex-Soviet citizens began going to other European holiday resorts , now that they had the freedom and money to travel ; conversely , the impoverishment of many ex-Soviet citizens meant that they could no longer afford to go to Yalta . The towns transport links have been significantly reduced with the end of almost all passenger traffic by sea . The longest trolleybus line in Europe goes from the train station in Simferopol to Yalta ( almost 90 km ) . Yalta is crowded in the vacation season ( July–August ) and prices for accommodation are very high . Most of the tourists are from countries of the former Soviet Union ; in 2013 , about 12% of tourists to the Crimea were Westerners from more than 200 cruise ships . Yalta has a beautiful seafront promenade along the Black Sea . People can be seen strolling there all seasons of the year , and it also serves as a place to gather and talk , to see and be seen . There are several beaches to the east and west of the promenade . The town has several movie theaters , a drama theater , plenty of restaurants , and several open-air markets . Two beaches in Yalta are Blue Flag beaches since May 2010 , these were the first beaches ( with two beaches in Yevpatoria ) to be awarded a Blue Flag in a CIS member state . Main sights . Famous attractions within or near Yalta are : - Yaltas Sea Promenade ( Naberezhnaya ) , housing many attractions , which was renovated in 2003 and 2004 . - Saint Hripsime Church of Yalta , an Armenian Church , with frescoes by V . Surenyants - A Roman Catholic Church built by Nikolay Krasnov - Yaltas cable car , taking visitors to the Darsan hill , from which one can see Yaltas shoreline - Renovated Hotel Taurica , the first hotel in the former Russian Empire with elevators - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral , constructed by the architect Krasnov , who also constructed the Livadia Palace and the architect P . Terebenyov - Former main building of the Ministry of Defence hotel , built in the style of a Gothic castle - Palace of Bukhara Emir - Yaltas Zoo - Yaltas Aquarium , housing small dolphins - Park-museum Polyana Skazok ( Glade of Fairytales ) - White Dacha – House-museum of Anton Chekhov - House-museum of Lesya Ukrainka - House with Caryatids , where the composer A . Spendiarov lived - Yalta Hotel Complex - Roffe Bath , historical monument Moreover , Yaltas suburbs contain : - Foros Church - Nikitsky Botanical Garden ( Nikita ) - Livadia Palace ( Livadiya ) - Organ hall in Livadiya - Massandra Palace ( Massandra ) - Massandra Winery and Vaults - International childrens centre of Artek ( Gurzuf ) - Ai-Petri Mountain ( 1233 metres high , with a cable car traveling to and from the mountain ) - Alupka Palace - Swallows Nest castle near Gaspra . - Tsars Path hiking trail Geography . Climate . As Yalta lies to the south of the Crimean Mountains and , within an amphitheatre of hills , the climate is mild . Yalta has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ) that closely borders on a Mediterranean climate . According to the Trewartha climate classification the climate is Do ( oceanic. ) In February , the average temperature reaches . Snow is infrequent and melts soon thereafter . In July , the average temperature reaches . The average annual precipitation is , most of it being concentrated in the colder months . The sun shines approximately 2,169 hours per year . Since the city is located on the shore of the Black Sea , the weather rarely becomes extremely hot due to the cool sea breezes . The average annual temperature for Yalta is . Demographics . As of the Ukrainian Census conducted on 1 January 2001 , the population of Yalta is 80,500 . The main ethnic groups of Yalta are : Russians ( 65.5% ) , Ukrainians ( 25.7% ) , Belarusians ( 1.6% ) , and Crimean Tatars ( 1.3% ) . The majority of people speak Russian as their mother tongue . This total number does not comprise the population of neighbouring villages and small towns . The metropolitan area population is about 139,500 . Twin towns – sister cities . Yalta is twinned with : - Antalya , Turkey - Baden-Baden , Germany - Batumi , Georgia - Eilat , Israel - Fujisawa , Japan - Grozny , Russia - Kaluga , Russia - Khachmaz , Azerbaijan - Latakia , Syria - Luhansk , Ukraine - Margate , England , United Kingdom - Nice , France - Pozzuoli , Italy - Rhodes , Greece - Salsomaggiore Terme , Italy - Sanya , China - Sharm El Sheikh , Egypt - Ulan-Ude , Russia - Vladikavkaz , Russia