Attractions of Bilsk

The Bilsk Hillfort near Kotelva is the largest Scythian settlement in Europe (4 thousand hectares). Scientists identify the Bilsk Hillfort with the legendary city of Helon - the "Scythian capital" described by Herodotus.

The system of defensive ramparts and ditches that surrounded the city, with a total length of about 34 kilometers, is located on the banks of the Vorskla River around the present village of Bilsk. First, the Western and Eastern fortifications were built, then they were connected by a common oval-shaped rampart, which was called the Great Hillfort. In the northern part is the least explored Kuzemyn fortification.

According to one of the versions, it is this Scythian settlement described by the "father of history" Herodotus in the "History of the Greco-Persian Wars" (5th century BC) as the northernmost Greek city of Helon, founded in the Scythian lands by Hellenes who moved from the Black Sea.

To protect the archeological monument, the historical and cultural reserve "Bilsk" was created with the administration in the town of Kotelva (Pokrovska Street, 13), whose employees conduct tours of the ramparts, the Scythian necropolis of Skorobor, Barvinkova Mountain, the Skovoroda Oak and other archaeological and archaeological sites weekends - by prior authorization).

An open-air museum is being created on the site of the Eastern Fortification, located on Barvinkovaya mountin at the entrance to the reserve from the Kotelva side. Currently, enlarged copies of the most famous artifacts from the territory of the settlement and its stylized map are presented here. A stylized palisade, copies of Scythian idols, an observation tower, and gazebos for relaxation have been installed.

The Bilsk Museum of Local Lore is located in the village house of culture.

The main exposition is dedicated to the Scythian period in the history of the region on the basis of archeological materials of the Bilsk Scythian Hillfort - the largest settlement of the Scythian epoch in Eastern Europe.

Also in the museum you can get information about the development of the region during the Cossacks. Under the current name the village was founded in the XV century. Prince of Bilskym. Later it grew and became the hundredth town, which was part of the rank of Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

The museum has data on the number and composition of the rural population at different times, tells about the crafts that were engaged in by the inhabitants of Bilsk.

The exposition of the department of the Second World War is very rich.