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 Rayevsvsky 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 Rayevsvsky 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, but since 2006 it has been part of the Historical and Architectural Reserve of the Rayevsky family, which is now a branch of the Kirovohrad 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 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.

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.

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.

The defensive ramparts of the fortress of St. Elizabeth, which started Kropyvnytskyi, are located near the current city center.

Founded in 1754, the fortress bears the name of Saint Elizabeth, the heavenly patron of the Russian Empress Elizabeth. The ramparts of the fortress are built in the form of a star-shaped polygon, the ends of which are sharp bastions.

The Elizabethan fortress served as the headquarters of the Russian military command in the south of Ukraine, a stronghold of Russian influence in the Zaporizhzhia lands and a center of struggle against the Haydamak movement. In 1769, the fortress withstood the siege of the Turkish-Tatar army of Khan Crimea-Girey. After the end of this stage of the Russo-Turkish war and after the liquidation of the Zaporizhzhia Sich, in 1775 the Elizabeth fortress lost its military and strategic importance, and in 1784 it was disarmed.

However, the unique earthen fortification structure has survived to this day. The barracks in which the regiment of General Mykhaylo Kutuzov was stationed at the end of the 18th century have also been partially preserved. A memorial sign was installed - ancient guns.

On the territory there is a memorial to the Eternal Flame at the military cemetery of those who died during the Second World War.

A large chorale synagogue in the characteristic eclectic style of the end of the 19th century with a romantic direction of the Moorish style was built in Kropyvnytskyi in 1853.

In 1895, it was reconstructed according to the project of the famous Elisavethrad architect Oleksandr Lyshnevskyi. At that time, about 25,000 Jews lived in the city.

After the Second World War, the synagogue was closed, the building was in a state of disrepair. Now it has been restored and returned to the Jewish community of Kropyvnytskyi.

In 1998, 2 significant projects of Jewish culture started working in the premises of the synagogue - the historical museum "Jews of Yelisavethrad" (at the time of its creation it was the first communal Jewish museum in Ukraine) and the Jewish musical and dramatic theater "Thiya".

Historical and memorial reserve "Black Raven" was founded in 2020 in the tract "Chorny Voron" near the village of Rozumivka.

It was here that Mykola Sklyar, better known by the pseudonym Black Raven (Chorny Voron), died here, the legendary rebel leader of the times of the Kholodny Yar Republic, the commander of the shock-reconnaissance detachment of the Steppe Division of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

According to the chronicler of Kholodny Yar, Yuriy Horlis-Horskyi, the Black Raven detachment gave its last battle to the Red Army in October 2020, covering the withdrawal of the Steppe Division to the Kherson region. In a battle with much larger enemy forces, the chieftain himself and all 300 of his Cossacks died.

Residents of the village of Rozumivka buried the rebels at the site of the battle. This is the only precisely known burial place of one of the five insurgent chieftains of the time of the Ukrainian revolution, who had the pseudonym Black Raven (the prototype of the main character of Vasyl Shklyar's book of the same name is another Black Raven – Ivan 'Chorny Voron' Chernousov).

In 2005, a wooden cross was installed on the chieftain's grave. In 2017, a monument to Yuriy Horlis-Horskyi was opened nearby.

Since 2020, the creation of the "Black Raven" Historical Memorial Reserve, which is a branch of the Kirovohrad Regional Museum of Local Lore, has been underway. According to the project, the reserve will include a memorial composition "Crosses", a Cossack-style chapel, reconstruction of a rebel camp, training and tourist camps.

The historical and memorial reserve "Black Raven" is an object of the tourist historical and local history route "Kholodnoyarski stezhki Chornolissya".

The historical museum in the city-type settlement Kompaniivka was founded in 2009. It is located in the premises of the Kompaniivka House of Culture.

The museum's funds include 330 permanent exhibits and more than 200 items of temporary use.

The exhibition presents archaeological finds from different eras, in particular, the Cossack era, fragments of weapons and equipment from the Second World War, materials about prominent countrymen, collections of coins and banknotes from different times.

A separate exposition is devoted to the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war.