The journey of Empress Catherine II from St. Petersburg to the Crimea was the largest at that time in the history of travels of monarchs, the most expensive and longest — it lasted from January 2 to July 11, 1787.
This journey was a significant historical moment — the Empress managed to defeat the Muslim invaders and the long-ravaged lands of the Crimea were liberated.
In memory of this historic event were created not only architectural monuments, built roads, but also erected entire cities. Among the monuments of the famous journey of Catherine II are the so-called Ecatherine’s Miles.
One of the main organizers of the Empress’s journey was Prince Potemkin. Among many other endeavors, he ordered the installation of special road signs — «versts» and «miles» — along the route of Catherine II’s carriage, which the Serene Prince later called «Catherine’s Way». Versts were triangular obelisks made of wild stone, and the distance of every 10 versts was measured by miles — columns 1.5 meters high. The road signs were installed between 1784 and 1787.
Considered unique monuments of architecture Ekaterininsky miles have reached our time in a very small composition, and of the versts and not at all preserved none. Including the reason that as «symbols of tsarism» they were destroyed by the Soviet authorities. However, five such miles have been preserved in Crimea, one of the most interesting of which is considered to be the Catherine Mile in Bakhchisarai.
The mile is located near the northern entrance to the Khan’s Palace on the middle stone bridge over the Churuk-Su River. To this day, this Catherine’s Mile reminds that Bakhchisaray as the former capital of a hostile state was one of the main points of the Empress’ journey. Catherine II spent 3 days in the Khan’s Palace.
It would seem such a simple and unpretentious construction, but, nevertheless, a mile is of special interest. The lower part of the column of the Tuscan order is set on a square pedestal, closer to the upper part of the column is intercepted by a hexagon. Earlier the column was crowned with a double-headed eagle, transferred from the iron gate Khan’s Palace, but this part of the monument was lost, and now it has a cone-shaped end. The mile is made of limestone and lime mortar, recently this unique monument has been restored and today it can be seen as it was more than two hundred years ago.
Catherine’s Mile in Bakhchisarai differs from other preserved miles by the fact that in 1818 it was installed two commemorative plaques with inscriptions in Arabic and Russian: «Noble memory Empress Catherine II had the pleasure to be in Bakhchisarai in 1787 May 14».
The author of this sight of Bakhchisarai, as well as other miles, is still unknown, as well as their project has not been found. It is only known that the idea to create such unusual road signs on the way of the route of the Empress Potemkin was suggested to the then governor of the Tauride region V.V. Kokhovsky. Kokhovsky, thanks to whom even today everyone can touch the centuries-old history of the peninsula. Catherine’s Miles — attractions of Crimea, architectural monuments of national importance, bearing a reminder of the liberation of the Crimean lands, which today, having traveled to the former Tavria, anyone can see.