In Alushta, one of the frequently visited attractions is the unique Temple-Lighthouse of St. Nicholas, erected in memory of all those who died at sea.

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Visitors to the Crimean peninsula are attracted by a complex attraction located in Alushta. This is a unique Temple-lighthouse of St. Nicholas. The building of the saints is a real architectural monument, its appearance delights all pilgrims and tourists.

Temple history

The first stone of the temple was laid on the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God on October 24, 2004 by the metropolitan Lazar. The solemn prayer service was attended by important religious persons, local residents, deputies, and the Cossacks. This place was recognized as a "spiritual beacon" for all Orthodox believers of the Crimean peninsula.
The official opening of the holy place took place in 2006. The lighthouse temple of Nicholas the Wonderworker, which patronized all travelers, was dedicated to all those who died at sea. Relatives and friends of people who have been swallowed by the depths of the sea come here and pray for their repose. A wall was specially built nearby, where you can leave the belongings of the victims.

Hand made beauty

The Church of St. Nicholas, the territory of which resembles the bow of a ship, directed to the sea, is incredibly beautiful. White walls rise on a 50-meter cliff above the sea surface. The temple is decorated with crosses depicting St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from a bright mosaic.
The dome is crowned with a golden ball in which the lighthouse is located. It burns very brightly and is clearly visible from the sea even in bad weather.
There is a bell tower under the lighthouse. It is modernly equipped with an electric drive, which allows you to play various bell melodies befitting the occasion.
The interior of the temple is impressive. The iconostasis is made of valuable species of various trees and decorated with gilding. This gives it incredible grandeur. The entire church is painted with elements of a marine theme. The ceiling and walls here are decorated with paintings from the life of St. Nicholas. The constellations are drawn along which navigators navigate at night.
The territory of the temple is decorated with sea anchors, ropes, flags. A gazebo was built here in the form of a ship - the famous "Flying Dutchman" with a real steering wheel and sails.
In the lower tier of the pedestal on which the Church of St. Nicholas stands, the Museum of Water Disasters was opened. There are 17 compartments here, with a total area of \u200b\u200bone thousand square meters. The interior is made in the style of an old sunken ship, and documentaries about tragedies at sea are broadcast on the walls.

Location on the map

I learned that there is something to see in Malorechenskoye from my Ryazan friend Anna. That's why I love all these friendly "information exchanges". I climbed to look for what was so special there, and found it.
In the ancient Crimean village of Malorechenskoe (Big Alushta) there is a unique church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It is both a museum, a lighthouse and a temple of St. Nicholas of Mirliki. Indeed, this is not just a church, it is a whole memorial complex, including, in addition to the temple, the world's only Museum of Water Disasters.
Having learned about this Crimean miracle, I was on fire to visit here. The first time we arrived unsuccessfully - the downpour went like a wall, we could not even get out of the car. What kind of walk could we talk about? And without this it makes no sense to go here. Beauty is the main advantage of this place. ... But we just looked at this miracle and regretted that "the elbow is near, but you won't bite."

But the desire to return, especially for me, did not pass.

Therefore, we came here again five days later during our trip to Crimea along the route "Koktebel - Malorechenskoye - Alushta - Utes - Yalta". How we got to Malorechensky, I told in the article.
Nikolsky Cathedral is visible from afar. Still, the giant is 66 meters high.

We drive up to the cathedral. The parking lot across the street from the temple is all busy

Therefore, we park the car from the side of the temple, on a wide roadside.

Signs on the gates. This one - "Moscow Patriarchate" - seems to me quite fresh. However, maybe I'm wrong. The temple itself was built quite recently - in 2007.

Undoubtedly, the presence of a museum in the complex makes this place more interesting.

The Water Disaster Museum is open daily from 9.00 to 17.00.

The information was studied. We go into the territory. The temple stands on a large four-leafed platform, stylized as the deck of a ship. It seems to float above the water.

We go down the stairs.

Look to the right - a panorama of lush greenery opens, sea, Malorechenskoye village and distant blue mountains. Here it is Crimea in all its regal, bright beauty.

Unfortunately, some of the photos were taken against the sun. This was the lighting. But do not regret that the day was sunny.

The decor of the temple and the adjacent territory actively uses the nautical theme - ships, anchors ...

There is a memorial gallery on the wall, where plaques with the names of sunken ships and anchors hang.

On the four sides of the temple there are huge mosaic canvases depicting St. Nicholas of Mirliki, the Athos Mother of God, the Virgin of the Intercession and the Sign.

Instead of the traditional dome, the temple is crowned with an equilateral cross. Under the cross there is an openwork ball - the symbol of the Earth. The lighthouse is located in the ball.

Crosses decorating the area around the temple.

Walking around the cathedral, we go to the museum.

Opposite the museum there is an observation deck in the form of a ship's captain's bridge. Only those who bought a ticket to the museum can get to the observation deck.

Well, we go to the museum - the Museum of Water Disasters.

The cost of visiting is low - 100 rubles / adult, 20 rubles / child. We really wanted to listen to the excursion, but we were told that there are no excursions for 2 people, and we have to wait for a small group to gather. There were not many people in the museum, and there were no people willing to go on a tour. I had to go like this.

In general, there is nothing special to say about the museum. I present to you some more or less normal photos. Shooting in the dark is a pleasure.

The museum has such a room for watching films.

On the walls of this hall there are paintings on the marine theme.

The museum left a double impression. On the one hand, it is a good thing to honor the memory of all sailors, fishermen, travelers, whose lives were taken away by the water element. On the other hand, being here is a very dark feeling. The topic itself is difficult. And the exposure is weak. And without an excursion, it is generally not very good. My husband absolutely did not like the museum. Money out of thin air.
Well, we go to the observation deck. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe temple is a large ship with a cape, a wheelhouse and a deck.

Mentally. You can even climb up the stairs to the second floor of the building.

In my opinion, there is some negligence in the storage of historical exhibits. For example, an anchor from the beginning of the 18th century is lying on the ground, rusting ... Is it really possible?

View of Malorechenskoye.

The observation deck offers stunning views of the sea, mountains and, of course, the St. Nicholas Church itself.

Standing on the bridge, you can feel like the captain of a ship.

I turn my eyes down and observe a picturesque picture.

Tents, bedspreads on the ground, bags with things. People came to rest in such a special place.

Fantastic beauty places!

Genuine exhibits - units. Only the eternal human craving for historical riddles and secrets associated with grand catastrophes is used.
It is also not thought out that there is nothing to do in the museum without excursions. There is simply nothing to watch. The main thing here is tragic events, which can and should be told truthfully and fully. So, it is necessary to put together small groups of visitors and make the passage with the excursion mandatory. Otherwise - only disappointment.

The area around the church is a real deck with the sea overboard.

This was the end of the visit to the temple and museum. We're leaving.

Summing up, I want to say: of course, the Church of St. Nicholas in Malorechenskoye is a very beautiful sight of the Crimea, in which everything has merged - the beauty of the local nature, the beauty of architecture, the nobility of the idea. In my opinion, it is this beauty and idea that is what you should come here for.

How to find the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village. Malorechenskoe?

This temple is quite young - it was consecrated only in 2007. But its architectural solution is very original and certainly differs from the classical canons of the Orthodox Church. The temple itself, apparently, is part of the memorial to those who died on the water, since the museum of disasters on the waters is located directly below it, and various memorial plaques are placed around in memory of certain shipwrecks. Be that as it may, this piece of Crimea attracts tourists, of course, cunning travel agents organize excursions there, which by the way are very expensive. But there is, however, a very budget option for vacationers in Alushta - a regular bus. A one-way ticket for an hour route costs an unrealistic 44 rubles. With this bonus, you get an excellent voyage along the mountain serpentines of the Alushta-Sudak highway with slopes here and there (and quite often) of 10%.

1. This is how the temple looks from the highway, when the driver, upon request, drove a little further than the Malorechenskoye stop directly to the temple. By the way, the temple is the highest in Crimea, its height is 65 meters.

2. Traditionally, it is not allowed to take pictures inside the church, therefore another view, already from the foot of the temple, so that frescoes and other images can be seen.

3. On the territory of the memorial there is also a gazebo stylized as a bridge of a sailing ship. Entrance to the gazebo is either with tickets to the museum, or for 40 rubles without visiting the museum. This is how this temple looks from the gazebo. An interesting fact: there is a lighthouse lantern in the ball under the cross, which makes it possible to use the temple as a lighthouse. However, this "object" is not included in the Black Sea navigation and, although it may be, it is not officially a lighthouse.

4. The temple is located at an altitude of 86 meters above sea level and the following view opens from its walls:

5. The Museum of Disasters, to be honest, disappointed. Small dimly lit rooms with a minimal set of exhibits. Basically, these are various parts of ships and weapons raised from the sea. On the walls there are diagrams and semaphore flags, possibly hung with meaning, but hardly anyone knows how to read this alphabet from visitors. Personally, I was interested in the models of the lost ships. But there are few of them and I will show them all. APK Kursk - its death is probably still remembered very well, but the reasons have not yet been announced.

6. Model of the nuclear submarine K-278 "Komsomolets". The boat died in 1988 in the Norwegian Sea. And before that, in 1985, she set an absolute world diving record among submarines - 1027 meters.

7. The most famous ship that crashed. His very name is now, perhaps, associated with a shipwreck. Of course it's the Titanic!

8. To prevent or minimize the consequences of disasters in any part of the world, there are special diving units. One of the museum halls is dedicated to the history of diving equipment.

9. And finally, one more view of the temple and the gazebo (on the right). Now from the beach of the village of Malorechenskoye. By the way, the beach itself is quite comfortable and well-groomed, but the sea, or rather the entrance to it, is not very: large, very large and very large stones. Although they are bathed in the sea, they are still unpleasant for the legs. By the way, if anyone decides to estimate the fullness of the beach using this photo, take into account the time of the picture - about noon, that is, the bulk of people at this time are hiding from the hot sun in cafes / shops / houses.

A real vacation in Crimea will not be like that if you do not visit the sights of the Crimea. There are many different historical monuments and architectural monuments in Crimea. In this article we will tell you about the church, which was built quite recently - this is the Temple-lighthouse in Malorechenskoye, Crimea.


The lighthouse church rises 54 meters above sea level and with its architecture resembles the bow of a ship going into the sea. This is the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was solemnly opened on June 18, 2006 on the southern coast of Crimea in the village of Malorechenskoye, with the regional center - the city of Alushta. On the opening day, at the entrance to the temple, Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea made a thanksgiving service, and a church icon was brought into the church building.


The prayer service dedicated to the opening day of the church was attended by very important church and state officials. Among the guests were: the rector of the Intercession Church, Father Fyodor, Archbishop of Lvov and Galician Augustine (UOC), deputies of the State Duma of Russia Alexander Lebedev, Andrey Samoshin, Alexander Fomenko, People's Deputies of Ukraine Dmitry Vydrin, Yuri Boldyrev, deputies of the Crimean parliament and the Crimean government, representatives of local self-government , Cossacks, local residents.
According to Vladyka Lazar, the Temple-Mayak in the village of Malorechenskoye is intended to become a kind of "spiritual beacon", a gathering place for all Orthodox believers in Crimea, supporters of the idea of \u200b\u200bchurch canonical unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. The Lighthouse Church was originally conceived by its creator-architect Anatoly Gaydamaka from Chernigov as a lighthouse temple dedicated to the memory of all people who died at sea. All, the architect emphasized, since the cruel sea, which takes the lives of people every day, does not care what faith, nationality, gender they are ...


The Lighthouse Church was built as a place where parishioners could pray, as well as pay tribute to the memory of those who died at sea. A wall has been built near the temple, on which people can leave any memorabilia of those who died at sea. The Black Sea is not only the Ukrainian sea, but also the Russian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Turkish and Romanian ones. And how many ships, together with the crew from other countries, did not return to their homeland due to storms and disasters.
Quite famous Ukrainian designers, decorators, icon painters took part in the design of the church building. The cross, which rises above the temple dome, was created in the Byzantine tradition, which expresses the universal unity. And the entire Orthodox world, and the world in general. The temple has very bright lighting, especially the upper part of the church. At night, the church will be visible far from the sea, which will allow it to be at the same time a lighthouse.


The lighthouse church is dedicated to the memory of the dead, and will also serve the living. In the basement of the church, with an area of \u200b\u200bover 1000 sq. meters, it is planned to open a Center for Spiritual Education, where educational work with children will take place. Children from the nearby Crimean villages of Malorechenskoye, Solnechnogorskoye, Rybachye will receive education here. All those present at the opening on June 18 predicted that the Lighthouse Church would play a significant role in the political and social life of the Crimeans.
Deputy of the State Duma of Russia Alexander Lebedev said in his speech that the construction of the temple is a small contribution of Ukrainian and Russian businessmen to strengthening the unity of all Orthodox believers in Russia and Ukraine. According to him, the Church belongs and will always belong to the canonical UOC. The church highly appreciated the contribution of the deputy Lebedev to the construction of the temple and his services to Orthodoxy: during the solemn events he was awarded the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of Kievan Rus.


The Lighthouse Temple in the village of Malorechenskoye was built largely thanks to the efforts of Lebedev. According to estimates of designers and builders, the total cost of design, construction, decorative, icon painting and finishing works is estimated at about $ 5 million, and the construction of the church was financed by the National Reserve Bank of Ukraine, which is controlled by Lebedev. In 2004, the foundation stone of the church was laid by Metropolitan Lazar with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

Photo: Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Malorechenskoye