Fort-Shevchenko
Форт-Шевченко
A 19th-century Russian fortress town on the Caspian coast where Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was exiled; home to his memorial museum and an ethnographic museum.
Fort-Shevchenko was founded in 1846 as the New Petrovsk Fortress. Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was exiled here to serve from 1850 to 1857, and the town was later named after him. The town has the Shevchenko Memorial Museum, a garden he planted by hand, an ethnographic museum showing the life and yurts of the Kazakhs of Mangystau, and an old lighthouse, and by the sea is a small fishing harbor. It is about 130 km from Aktau, roughly 2 hours on asphalt road, and makes a good overnight stop on the northern route.
Opening hours
Open all day; museum approx. 09:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Sultan-Epe
- Shakpak-Ata Underground Mosque
- Koshkar-Ata Necropolis
- Aktau Caspian Embankment
- Mangystau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore
- Aktau Lighthouse
- Torysh Valley of Balls
- Sherkala Mountain