Alushta
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 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.jpg)  Alushta Location of Alushta within Crimea  Alushta Alushta (Ukraine)  Alushta Alushta (Russia) | |
| Coordinates: 44°40′2″N 34°23′52″E / 44.66722°N 34.39778°E | |
| Republic | Crimea |
| Municipality | Alushta Municipality |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.983 km2 (2.696 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Population (2014) | |
• Total | 29,078 |
| • Density | 4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (MSK) |
| Postal code | 298500 — 298519 (Russia) |
| Area code | +7-36560 |
| Former name | Aluston ('till the 15th century) |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | alushta.rk.gov.ru |
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Alushta (Ukrainian and Russian: Алушта; Crimean Tatar: Aluşta; Greek: Ἄλουστον) is a city of regional significance on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula which is within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a region internationally recognised as territory of Ukraine, but occupied by the Russian Federation and incorporated as the Republic of Crimea. It is located along the Black Sea coast on the road from Gurzuf to Sudak, as well as on the Crimean Trolleybus line. Population: 29,078 (2014 Census).[1]
The area is notable for its arid, rocky terrain due to its proximity to the Crimean mountains. During Byzantine times, the town was called Alouston (Ἄλουστον) meaning "Unwashed".[2] Vestiges survive of a Byzantine defensive tower from a fortress from which the town's name was derived, as well as a 15th-century Genoese fortress. During Genoese rule, the name was modified to Lusta. Adam Mickiewicz dedicated two of his Crimean Sonnets to Alushta.
It is also the home of Seyit the Wolf in the Turkish drama, Kurt Seyit ve Sura.
In 1910, 544 Jews lived in Alushta, comprising 13% of the town's population. By 1939, they made up only 2.3% of the town's overall population, numbering 251 individuals. On 4 November 1941, the Germans occupied the town. On 24 November 1941, a unit of Sonderkommando 10b murdered 30 Jews by shooting along with captured communists and partisans. In early December 1941, about 250 Jews from Alushta were shot to death by Sonderkommando 11b in the park of Trade Union Sanatorium No. 7, which is today part of the local center for children and creativity.[3]
- ^ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2014). "Таблица 1.3. Численность населения Крымского федерального округа, городских округов, муниципальных районов, городских и сельских поселений" [Table 1.3. Population of Crimean Federal District, Its Urban Okrugs, Municipal Districts, Urban and Rural Settlements]. Федеральное статистическое наблюдение «Перепись населения в Крымском федеральном округе». ("Population Census in Crimean Federal District" Federal Statistical Examination) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ Variants are Ἄλουστος (masc.), Ἀλοῦστον (neu.), Ἀλούστα (fem.) The feminine form, Alusta, is consistent with application to a city rather than a fortress. The anhydrous climate likely gave rise to a satirical, anthropomorphic appellation of “unwashed” to the place from resident(s). Χαραλαμπάκης, Παντελής. “Σκέψεισγια δυο Μεσαιωνικα Τοπωνυμια της Κριμαιαs, (Αλουστου, Παρθενιται)” [Reflections on two medieval names of Crimea (Aloustou, Parthenitai], Βυζαντινά Σύμμεικτα 23 (2013): 201–216; esp. 203, note 7.
- ^ The murder of the Jews of Alushta during World War II, at Yad Vashem website