Zhytomyr. There are many legends about the origin of the city name.
One of them tells that in
884 the Novgorodian Prince Oleh took prisoners and later killed Kyivan Princes
Askold and Dir. Their
councilor Zhytomyr fled with his bodyguards to Drevlianian forests where founded
a castle with the
settlement that later got his name.
In the latter half of the 10th c. Zhytomyr became part of Kyivan Rus, and in
1240 the city was razed
to the ground by the Mongol-Tatar hordes. In 1362 Zhytomyr went to the
Lithuanian Principality
and turned into one of its major cities. In the mid-18th c., Zhytomyr was the
centre of Catholicism
in Right-Bank Ukraine. At that time the cathedral was built (1746) and a three-tier
bell tower,
monuments of late Renaissance architecture. Among the architectural monuments of
the 19th c. the
Transfiguration Cathedral (1866-1874) is of special interest.
Names of many famous scientists and cultural workers are associated with the
city: B. Liatoshyns'kyi,
V. Kosenko, S. Richter, V Korolenko, and S. Korolev.
Since olden times Zhytomyr has been famous for its parks. Among the granite
rocks over the Teteriv
River, in the city outskirts, a rock resembling a knight in the cuirass and
called Chatsky's Head is
prominent. The luxuriant botanical garden has numerous rare plants unusual for
Polissia.
Berdychiv. The lands where in the mid-16th c. the town appeared
belonged to the Polish
magnates Tyszkewicz. In 1627 Janusz Tyszkewicz founded here a fortress - the
Carmelite Monastery,
and in 1630 handed it over to the town.
The Liberation War of the Ukrainian people of 1648-1657 stirred up the town. In
1648
B. Kmel'nyts'kyi's troops seized it almost in ruins. In 1702-1704, Berdychiv and
its environs became
the centre of the peasant-Cossack uprising led by S. Paliy.
The town is associated with the name of the great French writer Honore de Balzac,
who married
E. Hanska in St. Barbara's Roman Catholic Church in 1850.
Korosten'. The history of the town numbers more than a
thousand years. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 946 as a fortified
settlement and centre of the Slav tribe of the Drevliane under the name of
Iskorosten'.
At present tourists can view numerous monuments of history and visit a wonderful
park over the Uzh River. There are many picturesque places in the vicinities of
the town. According to legend, in one of them, where the Uzh swiftly carries its
waters amid granite rocks, Princess Olha liked to bathe. The projection of the
rock is called Olha's bathhouse.
Ovruch. One of the oldest Ukrainian towns, which is testified by
the historical monument Oleh's Grave. Oleh Sviatoslavych fell in action against
his brother Yaropolk at Ovruch in 977. Oleh's remains were transferred to Kyiv
and buried in the Tithe Church and on the spot of his death a memorial granite
boulder was set up.
St. Basil's Church (late 12th - early 13th cc.), which has come down to our time,
is a monument of Old Rus architecture and an illustration of high skill of Old
Rus builders and craftsmen.
The town is the birthplace of a well-known silviculturist V. Graff,
crystallographer N. Belov, ethnographer, linguist and writer V. Bohoraz-Tan.
Pavoloch. The village is known from the 16th c. when it belonged to Y. Dashkevych, one of the founders of the Zaporozhian Sich. At the time of the Liberation War of 1648-1657 the Ukrainian Cossacks formed there their fighting squads. One of the regiments was called Pavolots'kyi. B. Khmel'nyts'kyi often visited the village. In the Hochari area the remainders of Cossack fortifications have been preserved.
Polis'kyi reserve. This is the first nature reserve in Ukrainian Polissia created in 1968. It is a continuous massif with the total area of 20,104 ha. Polissia is characterised by a great diversity of plant and animal life, which necessitated preserving of the pristine environment of this region. Pine forests and oligotrophic marshes are the main objects of protection in the reserve. Twenty species of flora and ten of fauna are entered into the Red Book. The reserve is of great scientific and cognitive importance.
Verkhivnia. The village attracts tourists' attention by its picturesque park, a monument of landscape architecture of the 18th c. It was laid out by Count Hanski in 1780-1790. In 1847-1850, the outstanding French writer Honore de Balzac lived in the estate of E. Hanska. The estate and the park made up a unique architectural-artistic ensemble.
Volodars'k-Volyns'kyi. First mentions of the settlement are dated
by the 15th c. In 1683-1699, Cossack detachments of S. Paliy and Z. Iskra stayed
at the settlement. In 1801 -1805 Russian military leader M. Kutuzov lived here
in his estate. There is a monument to him. The museum of precious and decorative
stones presents the collection gathered throughout entire Ukraine.
Oblast farmsteads