Yalta is considered to be the most brilliant, famous and desirable resort on the South Coast of Crimea. Its palaces, villas and hotels have hosted the last monarchs of the Russian Empire and the coolest politicians of the past century. Before the revolution, the best Russian writers liked to vacation here, and today all domestic pop stars, deputies, and their entourage flock here.
Holm of Glory is as much a symbol of Yalta as the profile of Mount Ai-Petri, «Fairy Glade», Armenian Church, the Aquarium, Roffe baths and Villa Sophia, located on the Embankment. But this memorial appeared thanks to an occasion more sad than joyful. Thus, local residents immortalized the memory of the soldiers who died on the territory of the locality. Taking into account that the complex was erected to the fiftieth anniversary of the October Revolution — to November 7, 1967, they had in mind those people who died during the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War.
One of the leveled areas of Darsan Hill was chosen as the site for the Hill of Fame complex. This form of relief rises above the historical center of the city and its famous Naberezhnaja. By the way, from the latter to the top of the hill you can go up in a cable car. For those who decide to climb to the foot of the monument on foot, 2.5 km of road is asphalted.
The memorial complex «Hill of Glory» is a giant ring with the Eternal Flame in the middle. The concept of the project was developed and realized by a trio of Russian architects — Petersburg, Popov, Stepanov. The base of the monument was made of iron rebar and poured concrete. The inner and outer walls of the ring were faced with limestone brought from Inkerman. The inner perimeter of the ring was covered with bas-reliefs, in which the viewer will recognize the images of Red Army soldiers, underground fighters, paratroopers and partisans who fought for the southern coast of Crimea.
For young visitors to the Hill of Glory, who are not as familiar with the past as their parents, the images will be explained by dedication signatures: «Partisans and underground fighters!», «Soldiers of the Soviet Army!» and «Sailors of the Black Sea». The ring of the monument on the Hill of Glory is broken by an opening for a pathway, through which visitors can get inside. Thanks to the original architectural solution, the guests of the complex find themselves as if inside that fiery epoch, while the still living heroes of the cruel warriors rush past them to their death.
The logical continuation of the Hill of Glory is the granite stele created by P.A. Starikov. It appeared in 1973. The author put not images on it, but the names of specific people who fought for Krym. The most high-profile are Dmitri Ulyanov, Mikhail Frunze, and V. K. Blucher, later exterminated by Stalin. Kids from Crimean schools, often find on the stele the name of the one in whose honor their school was named.
The eternal flame on the Hill of Glory was lit in 1967 and burned uninterruptedly until 1991. In the era of free Ukraine, this attraction of Yalta is «revived» only on major anniversaries — Victory Day, November 7, Independence Day.