Khmelnytskyi oblast

 

Khmelnytskyi oblast. Tourism map
Khmel'nyts'kyi. The city is first mentioned in historical documents in 1493 under the name of Ploskyriv, which comes from the Ploska River and the moat (riv in Ukr.) encircling the city. At that time, it was a small settlement with a wooden fortress and a garrison. In the 1780s it was renamed Proskuriv. In 1954 to commemorate the great historic accomplishments of the outstanding military leader and statesman Bohdan Khmel'nyts'kyi the regional centre was named after him.
Tourists' attention can be attracted by the exhibits in the Museum of History and Local Lore, Art, and Literary Museums. It will be interesting to visit the Podillia Dendrological Park founded in 1964. This monument of landscape gardening, which covers an area of 30 ha, has a collection of more than 400 valuable local and acclimatised species and forms of trees and bushes: Amoor cork tree, eastern plane, European and Siberian larch, Weymouth and Crimean pine. The Leznivs'kyi forest park is a wonderful recreation place.
Antoniny. The palace was built in the latter half of the 18th c. in the Baroque style. It is notable for the unity of architectural and landscape solution. The territory of the park is now the reserve of the valuable species of trees, one of the best in Ukraine.
Kamianets'-Podil's'kyi. First mentions of the town date to 1062. In 1374 Kamianets' received the Magdeburg Right. During its centuries-old history the town-museum experienced numerous destructions and reconstructions, nevertheless it has retained its architectural uniqueness.
The Kamianets' National Historico-Architectural Reserve, one of Ukraine's oldest (1980), functions in the town. It is impossible to imagine Kamianets'-Podil's'kyi without its Old Castle, the unique fortification of the 15th -16th cc. built on a rocky promontory near the Smotrych River.
The Orthodox Resurrection Monastery (12th c.) and the Armenian Annunciation Church (13th c.) belong to the oldest architectural monuments. Unfortunately, the monastery has not survived and of the Annunciation Church only the chancel has remained, now turned into a chapel. St. George's Church (1851-1861) is a monument of the Russo-Byzantine trend in the 19th-century architecture. Almost entire western part of the old town presents a chain of Roman Catholic churches and monasteries. Numerous monuments of civil architecture also have been preserved. A visit to the botanical garden or the picturesque park over the Smotrych Canyon will undoubtedly be of great interest for tourists.
Podil's'ki Tovtry national park. The park, a monument of nature of state importance, was created in 1996 with the view of reproduction and efficient use of Podillia natural landscapes which are of great aesthetic, scientific, educational and recreational importance.
Of special interest are four sections of the park: the Kytaihorods'ke outcrop, the Atlantis gypsum cave 1.8 km long, the Smotrych Canyon, and Samovyta Mount. The Zaluchans'ka Cave, Pershak Mount with a cave, the Malyshko Cave, and the Giant's Head rock outlier are unique geological monuments. Among other places of interest mention should be made of a picturesque limestone rock Knight's Head and Teremets' Mount with an arch and a karst bridge over the cave.
The territory of the park is rich in mineral waters of Naftusia, Myrhorods'ka and Satanivs'ka types. Kamianets'-Podil's'kyi is the administrative and cultural centre of the park. Its oldest part, the Old Town, is a historico-cultural reserve which includes the Kamianets'-Podil's'ka Fortress (15th - 16th cc.), the Town Hall (14th a), the Dominican (14th c.) and the Franciscan (14th c.) monasteries, the Armenian bastion, bell tower and shop (15th - 17th cc), Sts. Peter and Paul's Roman Catholic Cathedral (15th - 16th cc), Sts. Peter and Paul's Church (1569), the Turkish minaret (17th c), the Dominican Convent (1720-1722), the Theological Seminary (1790), and other architectural monuments.
The Podolian Tovtry National Park plays a key role in the development of tourism. New tourist itineraries are worked out on its territory: pedestrian, horse, water, skiing, motor and cycling. Numerous tourist lodges, hotels and motels can satisfy any taste.
Starokostiantyniv. The castle (1561 -1571) was built to protect the region from the Tatar invasions.

 

Oblast farmsteads