Chernihiv. Due to the fact that the olden city situated on the
high right bank of the Desna River has a
favourable geographical location it was always in the centre of historic events.
First chronicle mentions of
Chernihiv date from 907. The Chorna Mohyla burial mound (10th c.) is an
outstanding archaeological monument of the city. In it Prince Chornyi was buried.
According to legend, the city was named after him but there is an opinion that
the name of the city should be looked for in the name of Chernych, the first
settler or the elder of the tribe which lived on these lands.
In the early 10th c. Chernihiv was the centre of the principality, an important
military-defence fortification, one of the largest cities and a cultural centre
of Kyivan Rus. The citadel, the oldest fortified part of the city, was the
central administrative part (the territory of the contemporary park on the
rampart). At that time famous architectural monuments were built: the
Transfiguration Cathedral (11th c.), Sts. Borys and Hlib's Cathedral (12th c.),
the Dormition Cathedral of the Yelets Monastery (12th c.), and St. Parasceve's
Church (12th c.) which has survived in the considerably modified aspect.
In the 17th -18th cc. Chernihiv was enriched with new architectural monuments:
the ensemble of the buildings of the Trinity Monastery (1677-1695), Sts. Peter
and Paul's Church (1676), the house of Y. Lyzohub (17th c.), St. Catherine's
Church (1710) and the building of the Collegium (18th c.). St. Elijah's Church
(17th c.) and St. Anthony's Caves were repeatedly reconstructed. At present on
the olden Val (rampart) over the Desna stand cannons of the Chernihiv Fortress
(16th - 18th cc.).
Names of numerous outstanding figures are associated with the city: here studied
G. Uspensky, P. Tychyna, O. Desniak, N. Kibalchich, worked Marko Vovchok, M.
Kotsiubyns'kyi and B. Hrinchenko. Writer M. Kotsiubyns'kyi and poet-fabulist L.
Hlibov are buried in the city.
In the territory of Val, where the oldest architectural monuments are
concentrated, the Chernihiv State Reserve of History and Architecture was
established.
Baturyn. The first mention of the settlement is dated by 1625
when the Chernihiv-Sivers'kyi lands belonged to Poland. Since 1669 the Hetman's
residence was here. Along with the town fortifications there existed also the
fortified Hetman's court. The vestiges of the ramparts seen now on the banks of
the Seim River have remained of the former fortifications.
An interesting architectural monument is the house of V. Kochubei (17th c.), the
Judge General, one of the prominent representatives of the Cossack chieftains.
Kyrylo Rozumovs'kyi, the last Hetman of Ukraine, invited the best architects
from St. Petersburg to build "the second Petersburg" in Baturyn. The Hetman's
palace (1799-1803) stands on the elevated bank of the Seim. The author of the
design was an outstanding Petersburg architect Ch. Cameron. Around the palace a
large park was laid out after the design by architect A. Rinaldi. In 1803 the
Resurrection Church was built. It became the burial vault of K. Rozumovs'kyi.
Kachanivka. The farmstead Kachanivka was founded in 1742 by a
singer of the court choir
S. Kachanivs'ky.
The well-preserved palace-and-park ensemble was built up in the 1770s - 1780s by
order of Field-Marshal P. Rumiantsev-Zadunaisky (he got this farmstead for his
military services). The area of this grandiose park is 572-ha. It is associated
with the names of many outstanding people: M. Glinka, N. Gogol, S.
Hulak-Artemovs'kyi, T. Shevchenko, V. Zhukovsky, Marko Vovchok, and I. Repin.
Now the Kachanivka palace-and-park ensemble is declared the state historical and
cultural reserve. The
architectural monuments that have survived include a two-storey palace;
19th-century outbuildings, bridges and towers; the pavilion where M. Glinka
wrote his musical masterpieces, some subsidiary structures. Opposite the
entrance gate stands St. George's Church (1817-1828). There is a monument to T.
Shevchenko.
Korop. There is an assumption that contemporary Korop is ancient
Khorobor which is mentioned in the
chronicle in 1153. The "fish" name of the town (korop in Ukr. means carp) is
supported by the olden emblem where a fat carp is represented.
In the late 17th - early 18th cc. Korop was the centre of Cossack artillery. The
settlement has preserved several architectural monuments, including St. Elijah's
Church (18th c.), the Ascension Church (1764) and the Trinity Church (19th c.).
Korop is the birthplace of M. Kibalchich (1853-1881), a pioneer of space
technique. In the house where he lived a memorial museum was opened and the
monument to the famous countryman was erected in the centre of the settlement.
Liubech. The first chronicle mention of Liubech, one of the
oldest settlements in Ukraine, dates from 882. The centre of the Liubech
Principality played a significant role in the history of Kyivan Rus. It is the
birthplace of St. Anthony of Pechersk (983-1073), the famous church figure of
Kyivan Rus and one of the founders of the Kyiv-Pechers'k Monastery. The remains
of the cave monastery founded by him have survived in Liubech.
The favourable location in the place fortified by high hills and surrounded by
swamps made Liubech a strong north outpost of Kyiv and Chernihiv lands. On
Zamkova Hill you can see the remains of the Liubech settlement from Old Rus
times. Near it, in Korablyschi (shipyard) area the remainders of the wharf and
shipbuilding shop have survived. Among the monuments of architecture there are
the house of Hetman P. Polubotok (18th c.) and the Resurrection Church (19th c.)
Nizhyn. The town was first mentioned in the Ipatiivs'kyi
chronicle in 1147 under the name of Unenezh. In the 12th c. Unenezh was a
fortified settlement of the Chernihiv Principality on its southeastern borders.
At present, the remains of ancient earthen ramparts along the Oster River remind
of the olden fortress. The contemporary name of the town is known from 1514.
In 1648-1782 the town was an administrative centre of the Nizhyn Regiment, the
largest in Ukraine. In 1663 the Chorna Rada (Black Council) took place in Nizhyn
and the Hetman of Left-Bank Ukraine was elected. In 1668 the majestic St.
Nicholas' Cathedral was built, in 1702-1716 the cathedral at the Epiphany
Monastery. Among the churches, which survived, mention should be made of St.
Michael's Church (1729), the Trinity Church (1733), and St. John the
Theologian's Church (1752), the Intercession Church (1765), the Presentation of
the Virgin Cathedral (1775), Church of the Exaltation of the Cross (1775), and
All Saints' Church (1780s). In the centre of the town you can see the samples of
the olden construction of the period of trade flourishing – trim stone houses
with forged doors and window frames.
In 1820 the Nizhyn Gymnasia of higher learning was inaugurated. It was built
after the design by architect A. Rusca. Many famous people studied there
including N. Gogol, Y. Hrebinka, and L. Hlibov. Now this building houses the
Nizhyn State Pedagogical University which bears the name of N. Gogol. In the
main building of the University there is a picture gallery with works from the
14th - 20th cc. and the Gogol Museum. In the central public garden stands the
monument to the writer, one of the first in the Russian Empire. It was erected
in 1881.
Novhorod-Sivers'kyi. The first chronicle mention of the town
dates from 1044.
In the 11th - 12th cc. the town was the capital of the Novhorod-Sivers'kyi
Principality. From here in 1185 Prince Ihor Sviatoslavych, the main hero in the
Tale of lhor's Host took the field against the Polovtsians.
The 17th - 18th cc. were favourable for the town development. At that time the
grandiose Dormition Cathedral was built, as well as the ensemble of the
Transfiguration Monastery, and St. Nicholas' Church, a splendid monument of
Ukrainian wooden architecture. In the late 18th c., in honour of the transient
visit of Catherine II the Triumphal Arch was erected. Rows of stalls, an example
of civil architecture in the late 18th c., have survived to our days.
In 1979 the Novhorod-Sivers'kyi branch of the Chernihiv State
Historico-Architectural Reserve was opened.
Oster. Prince Volodymyr Monomachus founded the olden town under
the name of Horodets' Osters'kyi
in 1098 but first fortifications appeared there in 988. By its geographical
location, Horodets' Osters'kyi was an important strategic and defence settlement.
In the 13th c. Horodets' was destroyed by Mongol-Tatars and in the 14th c. a new
town rose up under the name of Oster. The remains of olden Horodets' can be
still seen on the outskirts of the town.
St. George's Chapel, part of the former St. Michael's Church (11th c.) and the
Resurrection Church (1845) will be of interest to tourists.
Northwards of the town, near the village of Koropie there is Lake Sviate with
rare vegetation.
Pryluky. The Old Rus settlement of Pryluk is first mentioned in
the Ipatiivs'kyi chronicle in 1092 as a fortress in the system of southeastern
fortifications of Kyivan Rus. The town attained great fame during the Liberation
War of 1648-1657. The remains of Old Rus ramparts and Cossack fortifications can
be seen on the height over the Udai River.
The Halahan Arsenal, or the regimental treasury (1708), named after the Cossack
Colonel H. Halahan, is the oldest brick structure in the town. On the central
square stand monuments whose architecture demonstrates artistic tastes of past
epochs: the five-domed Transfiguration Cathedral (1710-1720), St. Nicholas'
Church (1720), and the Nativity Cathedral (1806).
Sedniv. The olden name of the settlement – Snovs'k – appeared in
the 8th – 9 th cc. First mentions in chronicles date to 1068 when at the walls
of Snovs'k Chernihiv Prince Sviatoslav Yaroslavych smashed thousand-strong
detachment of the Polovtsians. According to legend, the name of Sedniv appeared
when once the Tatars could not capture the town after a long siege and were
forced to retreat, calling the fortress defenders "sedni" (those who did not
stir from the place).
In the late 17th c. Sedniv became the property of the Cossack chieftains
Lyzohubs. Among the luxuriant vegetation of the olden park stands the stone
house of the Lyzohubs, the monument of architecture. In the first half of the
19th c. a new building was erected near it, where T. Shevchenko and L. Hlibov
stayed. A 500-year old linden tree grows in the park, under which T. Shevchenko
liked to rest, and a pavilion stands where the famous fabulist L. Hlibov wrote
his works. In 1904 one of the first monuments to T. Shevchenko was erected on
the estate of the Lyzohubs.
Among other architectural monuments mention should be made of the Resurrection (Annunciation,
17th c.) Church and St. George's Church (18th c). The spacious basement of the
Resurrection Church became the burial vault for members of the Lyzohub family.
Sokyryntsi. The olden village is mentioned in the historical
chronicle in 1092. In the 19th c. a wonderful palace-and-park ensemble was built
on the place of P. Halahan's estate after the design and with the participation
of architect P. Dubrovskyi and gardener-researcher I. Bisterfeld. The two-storey
palace (1824-1831) with the facade decorated with marble sculptures of goddesses
Hera and Ceres stands in the middle of the park which covers an area of 60 ha.
The monument to O. Veresai, the local kobza-player whose creativity was deeply
appreciated by T. Shevchenko, stands in one of the park lawns.
Sosnytsia. In olden times on the territory of the contemporary
village a Slav settlement existed which is mentioned in chronicles in 1234.
At present Sosnytsia is well known thanks to O. Dovzhenko, the great Ukrainian
cinema director and writer (1894-1956). In 1960, in the estate where he was born
and grew up, the literary-memorial museum was opened. The wooden Intercession
Church is an interesting monument of 19th-century architecture.
Trostianets'. The dendrological park Trostianets' is a wonderful
monument of landscape gardening of the 19th c. Its construction began in 1834
under the supervision of landowner I. Skoropads'kyi.
The picturesque mountain scenery artificially created on the flat country is a
peculiarity of the Trostianets' dendrological park. All earthworks which lasted
till 1887 were carried out without mechanisms. And this excellent park is a
result of hard labour of thousands of serfs.
In 1951 the Trostianets' dendrological park was transferred under the auspices
of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Now it occupies an area of almost 200 ha
and is a well-known centre of acclimatisation research. Here grow various trees
and shrubs, the majority of which was brought from Western Europe, Mediterranean
regions, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Far East, China, and Northern America.
Oblast farmsteads