The bustling and busy harbour

1855

This remarkable vintage photograph captures the busy harbour of Balaklava, in Crimea, around 1855 — at the height of the Crimean War. Once a quiet fishing port on the Black Sea, Balaklava became a strategic hub for British, French, and Ottoman forces fighting against Imperial Russia.

The scene shows the harbour alive with ships, soldiers, and supplies — a striking glimpse of the Crimean Peninsula’s wartime transformation. Today, images like this are precious visual records of 19th-century Ukraine, revealing how global conflict reshaped even the most remote coastal towns.

Explore more rare Crimean War photographs and historic images of Ukraine on Oldpik.com.

Contributed by JOSE M LOPEZ on November 8, 2025

Image

The bustling and busy harbour
You must be logged in to comment on the photos.
Log in

No comment yet, be the first to comment...

Nearby photos

Training pre-conscripts at the military sports camp

Sevastopol Komsomol members

7 km away

Pokrovsky Cathedral

7 km away

View of the Future Yacht Club in Sevastopol

12 km away

Children sunbathing in the newly liberated Sevastopol

12 km away

Akademik Knipovich at Sevastopol Reed Bay

12 km away

Krymchanin tugboat in Yalta port

45 km away
c. 1975 OldPik

Neptune Day at the Sputnik International Youth Camp

54 km away

Czech Luna Park

64 km away

New World Waterfront

65 km away

Monument to three assaults on Perekopsk

65 km away

Bar inside a Trading House in Yalta

65 km away