Attractions of Kropyvnytskyi district

The Pedagogical and Memorial Museum of Anton Makarenko in Dolynska was opened in 1978 at the local school. Since 1991, it has been housed in the historic building of the Dolynska Railway Lower Primary Two-Class School, built in 1891.

The one-story building is made of wooden beams, was faced with brick in 1904, and was remodeled several times. It was here in the years 1911–1914 that the then young teacher and writer Anton Makarenko lived and taught.

Today, the museum's collections include more than two thousand exhibits. The exhibition in five halls introduces the history of the formation and development of education in the Dolynska region from the abolition of serfdom to the present, tells about the life and creative path of Anton Makarenko. In particular, photos, documents, works of Makarenko and other outstanding teachers of the world are presented.

In the room where Makarenko lived, the typical atmosphere of those times is reproduced. The transition room is decorated with views of the then Dolynska station, you can read the text of Makarenko's story about Dolynska and its surroundings.

"Veseli Bokovenky" is a dendrological park as part of the breeding and dendrological research station subordinated to the Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Agroforestry named after Heorhiy Vysotskyi.

The work on the foundation of the park was started in 1893 by Mykola Davydov according to the project of the Ukrainian landscape artist Ippolit Vladyslavskyi-Padalka. The well-known connoisseur-botanist Arnold Regel participated in the design.

The area of the park is 109 hectares. The park is laid out in a landscape style. Its main compositional axis is the Bokovenka River and the Skotuvata stream, on which a system of picturesque ponds has been built. Five plots reproduce in miniature the natural landscape of certain geographical areas. The park's collection includes about 1,000 species and forms of trees and shrubs, including mountain oak, Nutkan cypress, tulip tree and others. The only ginkgo tree in Kirovohrad Region grows here.

The Archaeological Museum named after Ninel Bokii at the Central Ukrainian State University named after Volodymyr Vynnychenko in Kropyvnytskyi was opened in 2011. It bears the name of its founder, historian and archaeologist, assistant professor of the Department of History of Ukraine, Ninel Bokiy.

The main exposition of the museum represents the work of the archeological expedition of Kirovograd archaeologists for 30 years and contains artifacts from almost all archaeological eras. In particular, items from such well-known monuments as the Melhunovskyi kurgan, Samur-Mohyla, Scythian burial mounds near the village of Zalom and the city of Svitlovodsk are presented. Among them: ceramics, weapons, jewelry, horse bridles and ritual objects.

The pearl of the collection is materials from the Golden Horde period, which represent a unique archaeological site near the village of Torhovytsia in the Kirovohrad Region.

The exposition of the Art Museum in Kropyvnytskyi is housed in a building in the Art Nouveau style, built at the end of the 19th century by the order of the merchant Israel Shpolyanskyi.

For the first time, the question of creating an art museum in the city was raised by the local intelligentsia back in 1870, but real work began only in 1921.

Today, the museum's holdings include 9,000 exhibits: painting, graphics, sculpture, ceramics and glass, fabric, wood, metal, archival and documentary, photos. The museum received part of the exhibits from the funds of the Hermitage, Tretyakivska Gallery, Kyiv museums, others represent the creative work of famous artists from Kropyvnytskyi.

The museum has five exhibition halls, three of which are stationary: "Sacred Art", "Art of the 18th - early 20th centuries", "Compatriot Artists".

The pearl of the collection is the painting "Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg on January 9, 1905" by the original Polish artist Voytsekh Horatsiy Kossak.

A complex of decorative and applied art is also presented in the museum exposition.

The Ascension of Cross Church (Khrestovozdvyzhenska Church) in Rozumivka is the ancestral burial ground of the ancient noble family of the Rayevsky family. This is one of the most outstanding architectural monuments of mid-19th century classicism in Ukraine. It is located on a high hill above a pond in the center of the village of Rozumivka, which belonged to the Rayevsky family since 1805.

The stone temple of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church was laid in 1833 on the grave of the hero of the French-Russian War of 1812, cavalry general Mykola Rayevsky, who spent the last years of his life in his Bovtyshka estate near Rozumivka. General Rayevsky became famous in the Battle of Saltanivka and during the Battle of Borodino. The panoramas that opened from the hill in Rozumivka reminded Rayevsky of the places of his battles. He was buried here, and later his descendants built the stone Ascension of Cross church-tomb on this place, the construction of which was completed in 1855.

The white-stone temple-pantheon is made in the style of classicism. The entrance portico is supported by 12 cast-iron columns, each made of seven prefabricated blocks. There is a stone crypt in the basement. On the cast-iron plate covering the burial of Mykola Rayevsky, it is written: "He had a shield in Smolensk, and a sword of Russia in Paris." Nearby are the burial grounds of the general's descendants. Other representatives of the Rayevsky family are buried in the cemetery adjacent to the tomb.

The Ascension of Cross Church is an active church. Since 2006 it has been part of the Historical and Architectural Reserve "Ascension of Cross Church" (the former the Raevsky Family Reserve), which is now a branch of the Central Ukrainian Regional Museum of Local Lore. Excursions are conducted by the abbot of the temple.

The Cathedral in honor of the Ascension of the Lord is considered the main architectural decoration of Bobrynets.

Founded in 1898. Construction was carried out for 14 years. The construction was supervised by the architect Yakiv Pauchenko, for whom this work was the last.

In terms of architecture, the Ascension Cathedral resembles the Volodymyrsky Cathedral in Kyiv.

"The Battlefield Trophies Museum" opened in 2022 in Kropyvnytskyi in the public space "Krop:hub".

The collection of military trophies began in 2014. Most were brought by the defenders in 2022. The trophies here are from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The exhibition presents more than a hundred trophies: dry rations, flasks, rocket parts, remnants of ammunition, drones and helicopters, money and clothing of Russian occupiers, etc. They are transferred to the museum in the public space from the front by Ukrainian military personnel. It is planned to make an open-air museum.

The public space and volunteer center "Krop:hub" is located on the first floor of the House of Life (entrance from Ostrivska Street).

Black (Berestuvate) lake is located near the highway "Znamyanka - Oleksandrivka", near the village of Bohdanivka. This reservoir is the southernmost sphagnum bog on the territory of Ukraine.

The origin of the lake is connected with the accumulation of warm water in the glacial and post-glacial periods. Its depth has not been fully explored (according to legend, it is bottomless). Different types of algae grow in the lake at different depths, and the debris that settles on them forms a multi-layered bottom, making it difficult to measure the depth.

Another feature of Black Lake is floating islands, so-called rafts. They are formed by overgrowing the surface of the water with sphagnum, reeds, ferns and trees. In some places, the distance between the rafts and the lake shore reaches 10-15 meters.

In addition, several species of rare orchids and several huge oaks 400-600 years old grow in the vicinity of Black Lake. In April, flowers bloom around the lake, many of which are listed in the Red Book.

Near Lake Berestuvate (towards Znamyanka) you can find excavation sites of Scythian settlements.

The stone church of the Holy Virgin of Volodymyrska with a bell tower was built at the expense of the Greek community of Yelysavethrad (now Kropyvnytskyi).

Initially, there was a wooden temple built in 1766 by Greek merchants at this place. In 1898, the building was rebuilt, the rector's house is located next to it.

The interior has preserved ancient paintings, which were restored in 1905. Today it is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin.

The Central Ukrainian Regional Museum of Local Lore in Kropyvnytskyi is a descendant of the first museum institution in the region, which was created in 1883 at the initiative of historian and teacher Volodymyr Yastrebov. Previously, the institution was called the Kirovohrad Regional Museum of Local Lore.

Since 1929, the museum has been housed in the former house of the merchant Oleksandr Barsky, which is a vivid example of the "early modern" architectural style. It was built between 1895 and 1910 by the city's leading architect Oleksandr Lyshnevsky. According to legend, the owner never had to live in it, as he died after completing all the works just on the doorstep of his new house.

The museum collections include about 68,500 thousand items of the main fund, which characterize the historical development and culture of the region from ancient times to the present day, as well as the nature of the region. The basis of the collection is the collection of private collector Oleksandr Ilyin: archaeological finds, paintings, icons. The museum lapidarium presents a Neolithic anthropomorphic stele, a log culture sarcophagus and 6 Scythian statues.

The branches and departments of the Central Ukrainian Regional Museum of Local Lore include:
- Reserve-museum of Ivan Tobilevych (Karpenko-Kary) "Khutir Nadiya";
- Marko Kropyvnytsky Memorial Museum;
- Ukrainian Choreographic Art History Museum;
- Museum and nature reserve "Tobilevychi";
- Historical and architectural reserve "Ascension of Cross Church" (Rayevsky Family Reserve);
- Historical and memorial reserve "Black Raven".

Arboretum in Kropyvnytskyi is one of the most popular recreation spots for the townspeople.

The 45-hectare park was created in 1958. At the first stage, about 50 species of various trees and shrubs were planted. And in 1972, the park was classified as a monument park.

In 2001, the park area, which had fallen into disrepair over time, began to be revived: the green area was recreated, children's playgrounds were built, attractions were restored and new ones were installed - now there are 40 of them in the park.

In 2008, the Arboretum in Kropyvnytskyi was recognized as the best park in Ukraine. Its real highlight is 100,000 tulips that bloom at the end of April.

In 2009, an avenue of thuja was planted in the park in honor of the region's 70th anniversary.

The park has an entertainment zone with 44 attractions. A huge samovar treats visitors to tea all year round. There are also 2 cafes and 2 restaurants on the territory.

The City Local Lore Museum of Znamianka was founded in 1961 as "Kobzar Room" on the initiative of distant relatives of the poet Taras Shevchenko - Kateryna and Antonina Krasytski. Since 2004, the local lore museum has had an official status, and "Kobzar Room" functions as its branch. Another descendant of Shevchenko, Vyacheslav Shkoda, made a significant contribution to the development of the institution (a memorial plaque has been installed near the entrance).

The museum exhibits are located in four rooms. They tell about the history of the foundation of Znamianka during Cossack times, its development as a station on the Odesa - Kharkiv railway, cultural and public figures of the end of the 19th - the first half of the 20th centuries, the events of the Second World War and the modern Russian-Ukrainian wars. The central exhibit here is a model of the railway station "Znamianka" and the nearby town of the beginning of the 20th century.

In the exhibition "Kobzar Room" a prominent place is occupied by a loom of the beginning of the 20th century. Also on display is a collection of Ukrainian towels, agricultural and household items, works of sacred art. Paintings by Borys Yehorov, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, works from natural materials by Antonina Krasytska, wood carvings by masters Serhiy Batyuk and Mykola Puntus, portraits of the Krasytskis by Mykhaylo Hryshyn from Znamianka, etc. are presented.

Coryphaeus Theater - Kirovohrad Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after Marko Kropyvnytskyi - built in 1867 according to the project and at the expense of engineer-colonel Heorhiy Trambytskyi.

Ukrainian and Russian performances by amateur troupes were staged in the Trambytskyi Theater, in which the future founders of the Ukrainian professional theater, Marko Kropyvnytskyi and Ivan Tobilevych, performed.

During its existence, the Coryphaeus Theater has undergone many repairs and major alterations, the last of which led to the complete loss of the original appearance of the interiors and a significant change in the external forms.

It was restored in its original form in 2011-2012.

Tours of the theater are held, during which you can visit the stage, learn how the theater prepares for performances and how the magic of the theater is created on the stage, get acquainted with various aspects of the theater, including its history and architecture.

The Dolynska Local Lore Museum in Kirovohrad Oblast is a communal institution of the Dolynska City Council. Founded in 1966. It is located in the historical part of the city, on the oldest street, next to the main architectural monuments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The exposition in four halls tells about the history of the city of Dolynska, culture and life of its inhabitants from ancient times to the present day. In particular, the paleontological exposition presents a petrified tree whose age reaches 250 million years.

An important section of the museum is devoted to the construction of the Znamyanka-Mykolaiv railway line and the "Dolynska" station, named after the local landowner Olha Dolynska, who initiated the development of the city.

A separate hall is set aside for an art gallery, where a collection of works by more than 30 local artists is presented. The collection is decorated with the works of the famous Kirovohrad sculptor Viktor Frenchko.

"Elvorti" is one of the oldest and largest agricultural machinery factories in Europe, specializing in the production of seed drills.

Founded by English brothers Robert and Tomas Elvorti. The success of the factory, which in pre-revolutionary times employed more than half of Yelisavethrad's population, contributed to the development of the city.

In Soviet times, it was renamed "Red Star", whose products were known all over the world. Currently, the factory will return the historical name of Elvorti.

After the restoration and overhaul of the Elvorti building, the factory museum was opened in 1994, which now has more than 3,500 exhibits.