Bell of Chersonesos

About

The Bell of Chersonesos, located close to the ruins of Chersonesos Taurica, Crimea, is the symbol of Chersonesos and one of the main sights of Sevastopol. It was cast before the foundation of Sevastopol for the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Taganrog, which was the Russian Navy's military base at that time. It was later seized as war booty by the French, then returned.

History: The bell of Chersonesos or the fog bell of Chersonesos is sometimes considered as "one of Taganrog's sights located abroad", which even became a symbol of another city – of Sevastopol or, to be more exact, of Chersonesos Taurica. Today's fog bell was cast in 1778 from the Turkish trophy cannons seized by the Russian Imperial Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. The bell features depictions of two patron saints of sailors, Saint Nicholas and Saint Phocas, and the following phrase on it can still be read today in Russian: «Сей колокол вылит в Святого Николая Чудотворца в Таганро… из пленен Турецкой артиллери […] весом […] пуд фу (нт) 1778 месяца Августа […] числа»., which translates as: "This bell was cast in the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Taganrog from the trophy Turkish...