Tykhomel

The Arian tower in Tykhomel is a unique landmark of sacred architecture, the only similar structure in Ukraine.

The chapel was built by a local landowner, Pavlo Kshyshtof Senyuta, who was a follower of the Arians' Christian teachings, which were considered heretical. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Arianism was widespread in Eastern Europe, and, in particular, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Arians denied the triune essence of God, that is, the Holy Trinity, affirming the superiority of God the Father over God the Son, who was created by him - Jesus Christ.

The frescoed chapel is built on a mound above the grave of Pavlo Kshyshtof Senyuta, on the site of the ancient Rus settlement of Tykhomel. Later, the chapel served as a tower of the fortress built here. Preserved in ruins.

The defense ramparts of the chronicled ancient Rus city of Tykhomel (Tykhoml) are located on the banks of the Horyn River on the outskirts of Yampil near the modern village of Tykhomel.

According to one of the versions, the fortification was built by order of the Kyiv Prince Volodymyr the Great at the end of the 10th century. The city was first mentioned in 1152 during the war between the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Mstyslavych and the Galician prince Volodymyrko Volodarevych. In 1214, the city was captured by the troops of the Hungarian king, but soon it was repulsed by the Galicia-Volyn prince Danylo Romanovych. Subsequent internecine wars devastated the city, and it soon lost its importance.

In the 16th century, these lands became the property of Vilnius bishop Yanush, who founded the nearby town of Yampil, and the ancient Tykhomel has since disappeared from the maps.

A panorama of the valley of the Horyn river opens from the walls of the fortified settlement. Nearby are the ruins of the only Arian chapel of the 16th century in Ukraine.