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"With views of
island-studded waters and stately spruce
forests reaching to the water's edge,
Sitka is considered Alaska's most
beautiful seaside town. Sitka's past is a
unique blend of Tlingit culture and
Russian history.
Our
historic and scenic community is situated
on Baranof Island, nestled between
forested mountains and the great Pacific
Ocean, on the outer waters of Alaska's
Inside Passage. Sitka offers a
combination of Native culture, Russian
history, and Alaskan wilderness which
will provide a diverse and unequaled
experience.
Wildlife
adds to Sitka's natural beauty. Our mild
climate, rich habitat and relatively low
human population make Sitka one of the
best places to view wildlife. Nearby
waters are a popular feeding ground for
humpback whales in the late fall and
early spring. Summertime provides a
wonderful opportunity to view tufted
puffins and other sea birds at St.
Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge. While
out on the ocean, you may also spot sea
otters, sea lions and other marine
wildlife.
Sitka
lies at the heart of the largest
temperate rain forest in the world, the
Tongass National Forest. Enjoy the fresh
outdoors on well-marked mountain trails.
Take to the water for a picturesque boat
trip or kayaking adventure among nearby
islands or charter a boat to nearby
fishing grounds to fish for world-class
salmon and halibut.
The
history of the United States is but a
heartbeat in the history of Sitka. The
Kiksadi Clan of the Tlingit Indians had
lived in and around Sitka centuries
before the Russians or Americans ever set
foot on the island’s rocky shores.
Choosing the seaward side of the island
they named Shee, the Tlingits called
their settlement Shee Atika, meaning
"people on the outside of Shee".
The name Sitka is merely a contraction.
The
Tlingits thrived undisturbed on their
island paradise until 1799, when the
Russians arrived. It wasn’t long
before Alexander Baranof, Manager of the
Russian-American Company, established a
fort a few miles North of the present day
Sitka. The Tlingits grew immediatelyhostile, understanding that submission tothe Russians meant allegiance to the Tzar
and slave labor to the fur trade company.
Their suspicions turned to violence, when
the Tlingits finally attacked the Russian
outpost in 1802, killing nearly all of
the Russians and their Aleut slaves.
Two
years later Baranof retaliated. For six
days, the island Natives fought
gallantly, but were out-gunned and exited
silently into the night. The Russians
renamed the settlement New Archangel.
Russian Orthodox Church clergy soon took
up residency and fortress-like structures
systematically replaced clan houses atop
a shoreside hill, a site later known as
Castle Hill.
The
fur-trade flourished and the Russian-American
Company became the most profitable fur
trader in the world. By mid-century,
however, overhunting had diminished the
number of sea otters, and thus the
Russians’ interest in the new world.
In 1867, the Russians sold Alaska to the
United States for $7.2 million with a
transfer ceremony that took place in
Sitka on October 18 of that year."
From:
Sitka,
Alaska
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. . "a
unique blend of Tlingit culture and Russian history" 
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