MOSCOW, August 1./TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has invited UNESCO representatives to visit Crimea and marvel at the state museum-preserve Tauric Chersonese.
His comments came as the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture is trying to have it put on the List of World Heritage in Danger. "Every cloud has a silver lining. UNESCO representatives, if they wish, can come to Crimea, to Tauric Chersonese and admire what it has become," Peskov said.
Access to the new historical and archaeological park in Sevastopol opened to the public on August 30.
Chersonesos was founded as a Greek colony in 424-421 BC. It is believed that it was here that Prince Vladimir, who later baptized Rus, adopted Christianity in the 10th century. The museum on the territory of the ancient settlement has been open for over a century, but work to create a historical and archaeological park nearby started a few years ago. It includes several museums and other facilities, as well as an expansive park.
According to the My History Foundation, which oversaw the park’s creation, the total area of the historical and archaeological park is 22.4 hectares. Over 40,000 shrubs and trees were planted and 103 sculptural compositions installed on a gentrified area of 170,000 square meters.