Poltava. The city is first mentioned in the Ipatiivs'kyi
Chronicle in 1174 in connection with the campaign of the Novhorod-Sivers'kyi
Prince Ihor Sviatoslavych against the Polovtsians. Sixty-five years later
Poltava was completely destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars. The rebirth of the city
began in the 15th c. Later Poltava was under the oppression of the Polish and
Lithuanian feudal lords. More than twenty monuments and a museum commemorate the
Battle of Poltava.
The fates of many outstanding cultural figures are associated with Poltava: I.
Kotliarevs'kyi, T. Shevchenko, N. Gogol, Panas Myrnyi, and V. Korolenko.
The city architecture has preserved its original aspect for the most part. New
structures blend harmoniously with its historical part. The Church of the
Saviour and the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (17th - 18th cc.)
are architectural monuments. The monastery complex includes the Cathedral, the
first stone structure (1650), and the 45-metre bell tower (1786).
Dykan'ka. The township is mentioned in the chronicles of the
17th c. For a long time it belonged to the Kochubeis. To our days there have
been preserved St. Nicholas' Church (1794) and the Kochubeis burial vault. The
Trinity Church (1780), described by N. Gogol, is now an architectural monument.
Dykan'ka is famous for its numerous picturesque localities, among them the Lilac
Grove, Mykhailivs'ki Lakes, the Vorskla flood-lands. The famous Dykan'ka oak
trees of 500-600 years are monuments of nature.
Myrhorod. The town is a famous balneological resort as the
Myrhorod mineral water has medicinal properties. Myrhorod is the native town of
Panas Myrnyi (1849-1920). In Velyki Sorochyntsi, near Myrhorod, N. Gogol (1809
-1852) was born. Outstanding painter V. Borovykovs'kyi (1757-1825) was born and
worked in Myrhorod. Here lived the great Georgian poet D. Guramishvili
(1705-1792).
Opishnia. Here functions the museum-reserve of Ukrainian
ceramics where the earthenware of diverse shapes is represented, tastefully
decorated with Ukrainian folk ornaments.
Velyki Sorochyntsi. The Transfiguration Church (1732) is of
great interest as an example of decorative and applied arts of the 18th c.
Oblast farmsteads