Bochka smerti

The barrel of death is an unusual sight on a rocky cliff above Balaklava. This is a barrel-shaped metal armored structure, about two meters high, hanging just over the abyss. There are slits cut in the walls and floor: it once served as an observation point for adjusting artillery fire.

The structure belongs to the fortifications of the South Balaklava Fort, which were built over the bay starting in the 1910s and completed in the mid-1920s. Concrete positions were placed on commanding heights to keep under control approaches from the sea.

The name is shrouded in gloomy legends: it is said that prisoners were thrown into the abyss from here. This version has no historical confirmation, so it remains more like creepy folklore. But the view from the cliff to the sea is quite real.