Tourist places around Kiev

Vinnytsia. The light-musical fountain “Roshen” is a regional city, located on the banks of the Southern Bug River near Kyiv (266 km). The name of the city comes from the Old Slavonic word “v’no”, which means “gift”. For the first time the city is mentioned in documents in 1362. In recent years, Vinnitsa has been actively visited by tourists. Reason is in the light-musical fountain “Roshen” built in the riverbed, which today is the largest floating fountain not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe.

In warm weather (April 20 – October 20) in the evenings you can see an amazing 3D laser show. Crowds of tourists come to admire the lights’ performance. But there is another amazing place next to the city, which is not known to everyone – it is the “Werwolf”, a former German military complex of 80 structures and 3 bunkers, built in 8 km from the city. “Werwolf” (translation from German – “werewolf”) was built as Hitler’s headquarters and acted in 1942-1944.

According to official documents, Hitler was in Werwolf three times. When the Germans retreated, the entrance to the bunker was blown up by them, while some sources assert that the internal premises were not damaged. To this day, this place attracts researchers who want to find out the last secret of the Third Reich. Today, here is the historical memorial complex in memory of the victims of fascism.

Cherkasy. Kremenchuk water reservoir – is a city of regional and industrial importance, located on the right bank of the Kremenchuk reservoir (195 km from Kyiv), is a regional centre. Today it is also the cultural centre of the region. The uniqueness of the city is its location on the hills along the Dnipro river. Cherkasy are at the foot of the Dnipro, which here is not only wide, but very wide – the distance between the banks reaches up to 13 km.

This is the largest width, than in any other large city on the river. Therefore, the favourite place of citizens and the venue for the events is the “Rose Valley” park, which is laid out on the shore of the reservoir, from where it opens an unparalleled view of the Dnipro. Near the park there is a visiting card of Cherkasy – the Hill of Glory, on top of which there is a majestic statue “Motherland”.

A special attraction in the city is the Buddhist temple “White Lotus” – a building built in 1988, which has no analogues in Ukraine. In addition, the temple is one of the largest in Europe. The temple regularly hosts master classes on yoga, kung fu and meditation. You can get to the territory of the monastery by appointment with an excursion. Architectural buildings of the XIX century, cathedrals and churches, museums, many interesting monuments have also been preserved in Cherkasy.

For example, in the city there is a well-known monument to the plumber. It should be noted that in Cherkassy there is a street Khreshchatyk and a monument to Holokhvastov and Pronya Prokopovna, which is in no way inferior to the Kyiv analogue, set on the Andriivsky descent.

Buky canyon in the village of Buky- is a village in the Cherkassy region on the Gorny Tikich River (190 km from Kyiv). In recent years, this place is gaining popularity and alluring tourists with its picturesque nature. Its main beauty is the Buky canyon – a rocky canyon on the Gorny Tikich River near the village of Buky. The canyon itself is not large – its length is about 5 km.

The Gorny Tikich River flows in the Proterozoic granites, forming a deep (up to 20 m) and narrow (in some places 20-40 m) canyon. The Buky canyon has the status of a state nature monument of local significance. Atypical for Central Ukraine nature of this area is amazing with its landscapes, and overhanging cliffs are similar to the Norwegian fjords. Canyon attracts to itself fans of active leisure. Canoeing, rafting, rock climbing – all this is possible to organize here, releasing a little adrenaline.

Uman. The national arboretum “Sofiyivka” is a city in the Cherkasy region (212 km from Kyiv), located at the confluence of the Kaminka and Umanka rivers, from where it takes its name. For the first time the city was mentioned in 1616 and territorially located on the border with Poland, undergoing constant raids and destruction. And only in 1726 begins the development of Uman, when this area passes into the possession of the Poles Francis Potocki.

By the beginning of the 1760’s the city became one of the most important centres of the Right-bank Kyiv region. But another attack of rebels in 1768 (“Haidamak”) led the city to complete decline. The restoration of Uman began in 1795. Today Uman is a well-known all over the world city and a popular tourist centre. Its main attraction is the park “Sofiyivka”, founded in 1796 by Polish nobleman Stanislav Pototski for his wife Sophia. A park with an area of almost 180 hectares annually is visited by more than 500 thousand people.

Here you can see a variety kinds of trees and shrubs, created ponds and waterfalls, architectural structures and sculptures. “Sofiyivka” is a monument of landscape type of world garden and park art of the turn of the XVIII – XIX centuries. In addition, the grave of the founder of the Breslov Hasidism, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, is located in Uman, which annually attracts more than 30,000 Hasidic pilgrims to Rosh Hashanah (the celebration of the Jewish New Year).

Medzhybizh. Medzhybizh castle-fortress is a settlement in Khmelnytsky region, located in 310 km from Kyiv. This ancient settlement (founded in 1146) is noteworthy in that it is the birthplace of the Hassidic movement (Judaism). The fact that the area has a long history is confirmed by the remains of the ancient settlement of the 11th-13th centuries that have survived to this day. Medzhybizh was a well-fortified frontier point, and built here in the XIV century castle did not dare to capture even the Crimean Khan. This once again confirms the importance and power of Medzhybizh.

In connection with the fact that in 1740-1760 here lived the founder of Hasidism Israel Baal Shem Tov, the settlement is considered the birthplace of this movement. So tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to the grave of the founder every year. The most important tourist attraction is Medzhybizh castle-fortress (XIV-XVI centuries). Every summer a medieval festival “Ancient Medzhybizh” is held here with knight tournaments, a fair and theatrical performances. At the territory of the fortress there is a museum of local lore.

Sokyryntsi. Galahans’ manor – is a small settlement in the Chernihiv region (180 km from Kyiv). Village remained inconspicuous until it passed at the beginning of the XVIII century in the property of a noble family – landlords Galahan, who have owned this estate for 150 years. Thanks to them, the village became famous. Creating its ancestral nest, the owners built a magnificent palace, as well as a wonderful park.

And Galahans’ love to the art turned the estate into a cultural centre, where famous people came to visit, namely – T.Shevchenko, P.Kulish, M.Lysenko, etc. Today the estate appears before visitors with a snow-white palace and a park. It is the palace and park complex, which has historical value. In the building of the palace there is a room-museum dedicated to the famous bandura-kobzar Ostap Veresay who lived in Sokyryntsi.

Veresai was familiar with the very same park, decorated with sculptures, alleys and picturesque lakes, is a monument of landscape art and includes more than 70 species of trees and bushes. Not far from Sokyryntsi (20 km) there is a small village of Dehtyari, which also belonged to the kin of Galahan (XVIII century). Here, as well as in Sokyryntsi, was built up an estate with a large palace and a park. Nowadays in the building of the palace house the agrarian lyceum and the ethnographic museum of Ukrainian life.

Sedniv. The Lyzohubs’ manor – is the urban type settlement of the Chernihiv region (168 km from Kyiv). Interest to this small village arose in the nineteenth century, when excavations were made here, as a result of which were found burial of the retinue with spears and arrows. In fact, the burial mound existed here in the 10th century, and the first mentions are found as a town-fortress called Snovsk. In 1068, not far from this place, Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavovych with his regiment defeated the Polovtsi (Cumans) army.

In the XVII century Sedniv became a volost centre of the Chernihiv Province, during the hetman period there was a reign of centurions (sotniks). At the end of the XVII century the settlement was taken over by the Cossack family Lyzohub, who built a beautiful farm here and laid out the park. The Lyzohubs’ love to art turned the estate into a cultural centre, which made the village famous. There were famous cultural figures, among them – Shevchenko and L. Hlibov. Today, the Lyzohubs’ manor is a monument of landscape architecture of the XVII century.

In addition to the manor in Sedniv, the Resurrection Church (XVII century) was preserved, where members of the Lyzohub family were buried, St. George’s Church (XVIII century) which was built without a single nail. It is interesting that a number of scenes of the famous Soviet film “Viy” took place in St. George’s Church. Not far from the village there is the river Snov, along which kayakers can be rafted in the summer. On the river is built hydroelectric power station (active).

Kachanivka. The National Historical and Cultural Reserve “Kachanivka” is a tiny village in the Chernihiv region, located in 184 km from Kyiv. This place was unremarkable and unknown until in 1771 the farm turned into the possession of count Petro Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, who built a residence here and laid out the park. After the death of the count, the estate have replaced by not one master for 150 years, and each of them rebuilt something. So the owner G. Tarnovsky rebuilt the palace in the style of classicism, completing the second floor with a dome and ennobling the park.

Here was his collection of paintings of famous Russian and European artists. Today the collection is in the Chernihiv Art Museum. G. Tarnovsky transformed the village into the centre of cultural life, inviting famous poets, writers, composers and artists to the estate. T.Shevchenko, M.Gogol, M.Glinka, V.Sternberg visited this place. Artist I. Repin spent the summer of 1880, working on the picture “Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.” Since 1981, on the basis of the palace and park ensemble, the historical and cultural reserve “Kachanivka” was created, and since 2001 it has been given the status of a national one.

The territory of the manor in two levels (732 hectares) consists of a palace complex, two parks, 12 ponds, sculptures, bridges and “romantic ruins” in the form of an imitation fortress. It should be noted that the park is one of the largest landscape parks in Ukraine and Europe (560 hectares), has more than 50 species of trees and 30 species of bushes, the total length of park paths is 60 km. Also at the territory there is a church (1817-1828), built by one of the owners of the manor. Today it is the only estate in Eastern Ukraine, preserved in the complex.

Baturyn. The citadel of the Baturyn fortress is a city in the Chernihiv region (220 km from Kyiv), founded in 1575 by the Polish king Stefan Bathory and named in his honour. At the beginning of the XVII century here, at the foot of the river Seim, a fortress was built, which later gave the origin of Baturyn’s story. Its importance was acquired by the city in 1669-1708, when it became the capital of the Cossack hetmanate, and the fortress – the hetman’s residence, in particular, of I. Mazepa, I. Samoilovych, D. Mnohohrishny.

In 1708, on the orders of Peter I, Russian troops attacked Baturyn and destroyed the fortress to the ground. Today Baturyn attracts tourists to the Citadel of the Baturyn Fortress, reconstructed in 2008 on a historical site. A new wooden structure completely in shape and size corresponds to the destroyed original. At the territory of the fortress, defensive towers, a hetman’s house, a church, a treasure house, etc. have been reconstructed.

It is worth noting one more attraction of Baturyn – the palace of the last Ukrainian hetman K. Rozumovsky, built in 1799-1803. The palace was restored in 2008, has 55 rooms, but not all are open to visitors. Around the palace is a park in which you can enjoy the beauty of roses. Also to this day, the house of the general judge V.Kochubey (the 17th century) and the Resurrection Church (1803), where K.Rozumovsky is buried, have been preserved. These object are open to visitors.

Pryluky is a small town in the Chernihiv region, located on the Uday River (148 km from Kyiv). The city was first mentioned in 1085, where says about the fortress, which served as the protection of Kyivan Rus from the raids of nomads. In 1459, Pryluky was considered a large city and included in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Already in the XIX century the city was the parish centre of Pryluky county of Poltava province. Today on the territory of all Ukraine there are 12 cities, which bear the name “Pryluky”.

Pryluky in the Chernihiv region is one of the important industrial centres. There are many factories and plants. For example, in the city there is a tobacco factory of British American Tobacco, where such brands as “KENT” and “Pryluky Osoblyvi” are produced. In the Soviet times the city had a strategic importance, because it was here located the South Railway junction, as well as the 184th Guards Aviation Regiment of heavy bombers where Tu-16 planes were in service, which were capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

In addition, Pryluky is one of the tourist centres in Ukraine. Until now many temples have been preserved, the main among them is the Transfiguration Cathedral of the 18th century, built with the funds of Colonel Galagan. The main shrine of the cathedral is the icon of the Sorrowful Mother. Galagan is buried himself in the walls of the temple. One of the noteworthy architectural objects can be called the House of Culture ,built in the turn of the XIX – XX centuries.

In front of the building there is a monument to Ukrainian actor of theatre and cinema Mykola Yakovchenko, who was born in this city. By the way, the monument is very similar to the one installed in Kyiv near the Franko Theatre. It is impossible not to remember two shrines that are not far from Pryluky – the Gustyn Holy Trinity Convent (11 km) and the Intercession monastery of Ladan (16 km), founded in 1600.

Chernihiv. The city of churches is one of the most ancient cities of Ukraine, located in 143 km from the capital, today it is a regional city. It was first mentioned in 907 in the “Tale of Bygone Years” as the second major city in Kyiv Rus after Kyiv. The city with rich centuries-old history has left to the present day a lot of sights and ancient shrines, wherewith annually draws to itself not only tourists, but also pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world. T

he most ancient historical object can be called the Princely Detynets, so-called Val, on the site of which once was a fortress. From the Val opens a picturesque panorama of the city. At the territory of Detynets the unique Transfiguration Cathedral (XI century), which was founded by Mstyslav – the son of Prince Volodymyr, have been survived to the present day. The grave of Prince Igor is located in the temple. It is also worth noting the nearby Borys and Hlib Cathedral (XII century), which was founded by Prince Davyd Svyatoslavovych.

Today there is an exposition of the historical museum. Thanks to ancient caves, the Ilyinsky Monastery, founded in 1069 by the monk Anthony Pechersky, attracts tourists. At the territory of the monastery are situated three cave temples – St. Theodosius, St. Anthony and St. Nicholas. The monastery itself is located on the Boldyn Mountains, and under the monastery there are cave temples, where you can descend through the the Ilyinsky Church. Near the monastery you can see the Bezimenny and the Gulbyshche mounds, preserved from pagan times.

It is necessary to say that in Chernihiv there are countless amounts of churches and cathedrals, thus, the city is rightly called the “city of churches”. Besides shrines in Chernihiv, there are many museums, monuments, parks and squares. This city will leave an indelible impression for fans of ancient history.

Velyki Sorochyntsi. The National Sorochyntsi Fair – is a small village in the Poltava region (280 km from Kyiv), known throughout the world with the National Sorochyntsi Fair, which since the middle of the 19th century is held annually. But not only the fair became famous this place. It was here that the outstanding writer Mykola Gogol was born, who immortalized the village by writing the work “Sorochyntsi Fair”. Today, here is the literary-memorial museum of M. Gogol, in front of which there is a bronze bust of the writer.

The main attraction is the Holy Transfiguration Church with a unique iconostasis, preserved from the time of the Cossacks. Of course, the largest number of tourists attracted Sorochyntsi Fair, which takes place in the last week of each August and lasts 5 days. At this time tourists from different countries come here to get acquainted with Poltava customs and culture, listen to music performed by Ukrainian stars, see Gogol characters and bright theatrical performances, take part in games and master classes and taste national dishes.

Korosten. Ostrovsky Central Park is one of the most ancient cities, located on the Uzh River in the Zhytomyr region (164 km from Kyiv). The first mention of the city as the centre of the Slavic tribe – Drevlyans is found in “The Tale of Bygone Years” (945) and was then called Iskorosten (“from the bark-wall”). T

he main tourist site of Korosten is the central park named after Ostrovsky, located on the slopes of a granite rock. At the territory of the park are the so-called Olzhyny baths, which represent a scattering of boulders in the middle of the river Uzh. Here, according to legend, Princess Olga liked to swim. The landscape of the park is natural, which attracts the attention of tourists. The park is decorated with sculptures, monuments, pavilions and bridges. Here, city holidays are held, and newlyweds make a photo session.

No less interesting for tourists is the former secret facility – an underground military station, called the “bunker of Stalin”, erected in the caves of a granite rock in the mid-1930s. Today it is the museum complex “Skelya”, in which one of the three levels of the military station is open for tourists. In addition to attractions Korosten invites to attend the festival “Derun Fest”, which is held annually on the second Saturday of September. On this day, you can taste the national potato dish – deruns. Master classes, competitions, performances of creative teams are also held during the fest.

Berdychiv. The monastery-fortress of the Order of Discalced Carmelites is a small town in the Zhytomyr region (200 km from Kyiv), whose history dates back to 1320. Berdychiv is not very popular with tourists, but it is known among believers. Annually hundreds of pilgrims from all over Ukraine come here.

As Berdychiv is a city of cathedrals, churches and temples. The main Orthodox church of Berdychiv is St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in 1908 on the site of the wooden church of St. Nicholas (1748). It is worth noting founded in 1826 Catholic church – it is the church of St. Barbara. It was in this church that in 1850 the great French writer Honore de Balzac was married to the Countess of Ghana, as is confirmed by the memorial plaque on the building. The most significant and ancient object of Berdychiv is the monastery-fortress of the Order of Discalced Carmelites.

A majestic architectural complex with defensive walls, towers and a church was laid in the 16th century. as the castle Tyszkiewicz. In 1630 Y. Tyszkiewicz presented the castle to the Catholic Order of Discalced Carmelites, after which the castle was reconstructed. The central building of the monastery is the Mariinsky Baroque church with an amazing decor and rich interior. In one of the buildings of the monastery there is a historical museum of Berdychiv, exhibitions, concerts of folklore music are held.

Radomyshl. “Radomysl Castle” is a small town in the Zhytomyr region (190 km from Kyiv). Interest to this town arose among tourists recently, when here in 2011 the private museum complex “Radomysl Castle” was opened, the founder of which was Ukrainian physician and doctor of medicine Olga Bogomolets. The main building of the complex is the castle itself – it is an old-time mill, built in 1902 and restored with the reconstruction of the interior of the XVII-XIX centuries.

Here you can see the Refectory, the Ritual Hall, where marriages are held, the Concert Hall, where classical music concerts take place. “Radomysl Castle” includes the only in Europe Museum of the Ukrainian home icon, which is based on the personal collection of icons O. Bogomolets (more than 5 thousand images). Among them is worth noting the unique ancient stone icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (XV – XVI centuries). In the “Castle Radomysl” ancient techniques of making paper, used by Orthodox monks 400 years ago, were revived.

You can visit the master class and make a piece of paper manually. In addition, the complex includes a landscape park with waterfalls, rare plants, and the territory is decorated with ancient sculptures of the XVII-XIX centuries. The landscape park consists of several islets connected by bridges. Everyone can boat on the Mika River. At the territory of the complex there is a boutique hotel with rooms decorated in medieval style and with unique antiques. Exhibitions, concerts, excursions are held in the museum complex.

Korostyshiv. Korostyshiv quarry is a picturesque town on granites in the Zhytomyr region (108 km from Kyiv), which dates back to the 13th century. The first mention of the settlement occurs only in 1499, when the Lithuanian prince Jagellon presented him to the boyar Krzysztof Kmit. Since 1565, the village was owned by the kind of counts Olizarov. In the XVII century in the city a castle and a church were built.

By 1783 there were already more than 100 houses. In the 1850’s in the city began to extract granite, and at the beginning of the XIX century in the area started to develop industry – was built the first stone bridge in the region. There were also water mills, cloth factories, sawmills, breweries, tanneries and glass factories. Korostyshiv is still one of the centres of the granite mining industry. Due to the extraction of granite, the so-called Korostyshiv quarry was appeared, which each year attracts connoisseurs of scenic places and climbers.

Pine covered rocky shores and a transparent turquoise lake give the career an amazing landscape reminiscent of Karelia. The height of the rocks reaches up to 10 meters, and the depth of the lake is up to 20 meters. But for the lovers of history and architecture, the city has preserved such objects as the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (18th century) in the Baroque style, the building of the Count Olizarov’s Estate (XIX century), the Lutheran church (XIX century), museums and much more.

Zhytomyr is a regional city located on the Teteriv River (140 km from Kyiv) and one of the oldest cities of the Kyivan Rus period. The date of the founding of the city is 884, and the first chronicle mention occurs in 1321 under the name of Zhytomel. The city can boast not only with its rich ancient history. Such great people as academician S.Korolyov, writer Haim-Nahman Byalik, pianist S.Richter, etc. were born here. A cozy green city always attracted the attention of tourists.

One of the main sights of Zhytomyr is a museum of local lore, founded in 1865, which houses a unique collection of European artists of the 16th – 20th centuries. The Cathedral of the Transfiguration, built in 1874, is considered a visiting card of the city. The cathedral is built in Byzantine style, and the height of its towers reaches up to 50 m. In memory of the famous resident in the city there is a house-museum of the great constructor S.Korolyov, where his personal belongings were preserved. Near the house there is a museum “Cosmos”, dedicated to cosmonautics.

In addition to monuments of architecture, there is in Zhytomyr an unusual museum of the ancient tool “Craft yard”, which has no analogues in Ukraine for today. It contains rare specimens of tools of various crafts of that time. The favourite place of the citizens is the central park, laid out on the slopes of the river banks. Going deep into the park, you can go to the viewing platforms, where opens the picturesque view on the canyon in the granite rocks. One of the rocks called “Chatsky’s Head” is a geological monument of national importance.

Bohuslav. Bohuslavsky granite outcrop is a small regional town in 120 km from Kyiv, located on the rocky banks of the river Ros. It was founded in 1032 by Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise, although the first mention occurs in 1195 in the annals as a fortress of the Poros line of Bohuslavl, built to protect the southern outskirts of Kyivan Rus. Throughout its history, the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, and from 1796 became the centre of the Bohuslavsky county of the Kyiv province.

With this city are connected not only historical events, but also famous personalities. Here the Olympic champion A. Tymoshenko was born, the actress N. Cherednichenko, the American politician Herman Tol. In due time M. Gogol, T. Shevchenko, Sholom-Aleichem visited Bohuslav. This picturesque region attracts tourists and nature lovers, because it is here that such a wonder of nature is located – Bohuslavsky granite outcrop – a geological monument of nature from granite rocks up to 10-12 m in height and up to 1.5 km long. The canyon, formed from red and gray granite, is popularly called a place of power. It is believed that red granite charges a person with positive energy and helps with various diseases.

Ancient Bohuslav preserved for us some historical buildings, the oldest of which is the so-called “Kamenytsia” – a two-storied building of the XVIII century, built for the Jewish religious school. It is noteworthy that the thickness of the walls of this building reaches 1.2 m, and inside it there are deep cellars. Also in the city there are museums devoted to cultural figures – namely, the house-museum of the artist Soshenko and the estate-museum of Ukrainian writer Marco Vovchok. In 30 km from Bohuslav in the village of Medvyn is another place of power – the Mount Totokha, comparable in energy to Tibet. Explore the mound and “recharge” come from all corners of Ukraine and from abroad.

Pereyaslav. The Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Middle Dnieper – is the ancient city of Kyivan Rus, called Pereyaslavl, which means “took over the glory.” The city was first mentioned in 907, becoming from the XI century the capital of the Pereyaslavl principality. In 1943 the city was renamed Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky. Current name the city bears since 2019 and is part of the Kyiv region (90 km from Kyiv). In due time there lived Taras Shevchenko, Hryhorii Skovoroda, Sholom-Aleikhem, etc. Pereyaslav entices tourists not only with ancient history.

This is the only city in Ukraine, declared a city-museum. Here today amounts 27 museums (!). The main attraction of the city is the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of the Middle Dnieper. This is an open-air museum (area – 30 hectares), which represents Ukrainian life from the times of Kyivan Rus to the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Here you can see dwellings, tools and household items of settlements of the Ukrainian steppe. Here are also represented houses of a peasant, a priest, a potter and even the house of a sorcerer. In addition, there are 13 thematic museums at the territory.

The landscape park in the village of Buky – is a small village in the Kyiv region (115 km from Kyiv), which became famous due to the landscape park founded here in 1996. The park was created on the initiative and on the funds of businessman I.Suslov. The park is interesting due to its unusual design: sculptures, fountains, arbours, a church with a chapel, and even a mini-zoo where live bear cubs, deer, ponies, etc.

You can also see the famous fountain- roulette in Kyiv, which was located at the Independence Square till reconstruction of the main square of the capital. The trademark of the landscape park became the “Glade of Fairy Tales” with figures of fairy-tale heroes. On the territory of the park there is also the estate of businessman I.Suslov. So, walking in the park, you can see the very founder of this unique landscape park. The park is open for visitors during the warm season, the entrance to the park is free. Here also conduct excursions.

Bila Tserkva – is a city in 90 km from Kyiv, founded by Yaroslav the Wise as a fortress for protection from nomads. The main attraction of the city is the arboretum “Alexandria” – a landscape park arrangement of plants, architectural structures, sculptures and ponds. It is one of the largest parks in Eastern Europe. The park was founded in the late 18th century by Alexandra Engelhardt, wife of the Polish hetman Franciszek Branicki and the niece of Prince Potemkin, and named after her. The author of the development plan is the French architect Myuffo. Trees from Europe and the world were brought here to equip the park.

In the middle of the nineteenth century the park has become more famous. It was visited by poets and artists, as well as members of the royal family. A huge damage to the park was caused at the beginning of the Soviet power arrival and during the World War II. Since 1946 began the restoration of the park. In 1953 it was handed over to the scientific and methodical leadership of the Central Republican Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1955 a project was developed for the restoration and development of the park. Today in the park area of more than 200 hectares there are 25 reservoirs, 2500 plant species, including from South America, Japan and China. The main architectural structures are the colonnade “Echo”, “Chinese bridge” and “Ruins”. Every year thousands of tourists come here to enjoy the beauty of the arboretum.