A Bit of History:
The Russians were the first to arrive in the area in 1741. They were lured by the fur trading possibilities—otter, seal, blue fox. They could harvest boat loads of pelts in a few weeks and then sell them for a fortune to the Chinese Empire.
By the end of the 18th century, sea otters were disappearing, hunted almost to extinction. The Russians traveled north of Sitka- into Tlingit Indian territory. In 1802, the Tlingits attacked, killing most of the residents. In 1804 the Russians returned with reinforcements. For six days, they fought the Tlingit in the Battle of Alaska. The Tlingits were defeated and did not return for over two decades. The Russians built a stockaded city, New Archangel, and made it their American capital.
By the mid-1800’s sea otters were mostly hunted out and Alaska had become more expensive than rewarding to Russia. Russia was in dire financial straits and negotiated with U.S. Secretary of State William Seward to sell Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million.
Sitka Today:
As the only city on the Inside Passage fronting the Pacific Ocean, cruise ships have to tender in and the seas can often be rough. We lucked out and the tender ride was not choppy. Sitka today seems the most “normal” of all of the cities we’d visited to date. It had a population not focused entirely on tourism and cruise ships. The primary industries are commercial fishing, government and tourism. With 14 miles of road and a population of 8,800, it had a nice small town feel. (And, at a population of 8,800, it’s the 5th largest city in Alaska—1-Anchorage, 2-Fairbanks 3-Junea 4- Ketchikan, 5- Sitka!)
Climate:
Another rainy climate – 100 inches of annual precipitation. They average 75 days of sun, 75 cloudy days, the rest are rainy. Average temps in the summer- 57 degrees, 41 in the winter.
Exploring Sitka:
Our tour bus took us to the Alaska Raptor Center, formerly known as the Raptor Rehabilitation Center. Knowing Mom’s feelings about the baby-loon killing eagles at Viola Lake, I wasn’t sure how receptive she’d be to the rehab of hurt eagles. But, she made no anti-eagle comments…. The center opened in 1980 and treats about 200 wild birds a year, most of which are returned to the wild.
Interesting Facts
* Eagles can spot a fish from over a mile away.
* They dive at 100 miles/hour
* Ravens are extremely curious birds and need constant stimulation or they will die.
* Totem Poles- Only the carver can tell the story of the pole.
Back on the bus, and we were taken to the Harrigan Centennial Building to watch a performance of the New Archangel Dancers. A company of 6 women- they even play the men’s parts – perform Russian, Moldavian, and Ukrainian folk dances. It had a feel of an amateur production – but the crowds loved them- and they tour internationally. Go figure…. 
Our next stop was the Sitka Historical National Park, with a 30 minute movie explaining the history of Sitka and a focus on the Tlingit culture and history. We got off a few cell phone calls home. We got to drive by the house where James Michener lived when writing the novel, “Alaska”.
After a quick tour of the city, we were dropped off at the city center in front of St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral. But first, we had to make a visit to the Finnish Lutheran Church across the street. It turns out that the Russians used Finnish labor to build their cathedral, but those stubborn Finns would only do it if they could build their own place of worship. The church was founded in 1840 and was the first Lutheran Church on the West Coast of North America. (The first pastor of the church, Uno Cygnaeus, later achieved fame in Finland as founder of the Finnish Public School System). The church burned in the fire of 1966 and only a few artifacts remain- the pulpit, original chandelier, communion rail, kneeler and platform, the painting “The Transfiguration of Christ” and the 1844 Kessler pipe organ. Today, there’s not much more than those artifacts in the church! You know how those Finn’s love simplicity in décor!
Across the street, St Michael’s Cathedral is a reproduction of the original (1844) which was destroyed in a fire in 1966. The residents of the town saved all of the contents of the cathedral- the beautiful icons, chandelier, and wooden doors. The icon, the “Sitka Madonna” is considered to work
miracles- particularly healing of the eyes. he most amazing part- the congregation of 88 are primarily Tlingit. Imagine converting Tlingit Indians to Russian Orthodox! 
As we headed through the city, the rain started to come down- in buckets. We made a fast dash to the tender—only to find a long line waiting. Fortunately, they had the hot chocolate fairies there to give us something warm to drink while we waited. We got onto the ship, and stopped at the Cova Café for a few pastries and tiny sandwiches.
Dinner was wonderful- Shrimp Cocktail, Chicken with Velvet Corn soup, Boston Lettuce with Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese, Rack of Baby Lamb Provencale, and a birthday cake for Naomi for dessert.
After dinner, we got good seats for the Celebrity Theater performance, Encore. It was another great show.
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