Attractions of Zhytomyr district

The complex of buildings of the Uniate consistory was built in Radomyshl after the metropolitan of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Atanasiy Sheptytskyi, chose the city as the metropolitan residence and the administrative center of the Kyiv diocese in 1746.

Governing, administrative and judicial bodies were located here, a theological seminary operated, church meetings and synods were held, and hundreds of delegations from all dioceses gathered here. The consistory operated until 1795.

The Metropolitan Chambers have been preserved to this day in a rebuilt form - since Soviet times, it has housed the comprehensive school No. 5. The Radomyshl Tower, built in the 19th century as a water tower, rises in the school yard, which is now considered an informal symbol of the city.

The modernized Gothic water tower is one of the symbols of old Zhytomyr.

It was built in 1898 according to the project of architect Arnold Ensh.

After the commissioning of the new "Vodokanal" complex, the need to use separate water towers disappeared.

Currently, it is an architectural monument of local importance.

The ancient mansion built in the 19th century on Castle Square for the head of the Zhytomyr Catholic Diocese is called the Bishop's House in Zhytomyr.

Currently, the Zhytomyr Regional Local Lore Museum is located here, founded back in 1865, when Volyn Governor Mykhaylo Chortkov exhibited his collection of samples of 48 minerals and rocks in the public library.

Then the exhibition was supplemented by the coin collection of the leader of the Zhytomyr nobility, Symonych, materials of the Volyn Diocesan Antiquities, nationalized art collections of Counts Ilinsky-Stetsky from Romanov and Baron Ivan de Shoduar from Zhytomyr.

Currently, the funds of the Zhytomyr Museum of Local Lore include 150,000 monuments of history and culture, but the exposition presents only a small part, which relates to the historical events of the first half of the 20th century. The main exhibition space is occupied by the art department of the museum, where a unique collection of works of fine art by Italian, Dutch, French, Polish and Russian masters of the 16th-20th centuries is presented.

The historical exhibition is planned to be opened in the magistrate's house.

The building of the regional state philharmonic named after Svyatoslav Richter was built in Zhytomyr in 1858 as a city theater on the initiative of the Polish playwright and public figure Yuzef Ihnatsiy Krashevski, who was also the theater's artistic director.

At that time, the theater building was considered one of the best in Ukraine.

Currently, the Zhytomyr Philharmonic Hall is an architectural monument of local importance.

Castle Hill in Zhytomyr is located on the banks of the Kamyanka River. A stone castle surrounded by moats stood here until the 19th century.

The castle was probably founded in the 9th century by a retainer of the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir, but then it could have been located in another place. Zhytomyr Castle was first mentioned in written annals in 1392, when it was captured by the Grand Duke Vitovt of Lithuania. Subsequently, it was repeatedly destroyed and restored. The last castle buildings were demolished in 1852.

Currently, a city square has been laid out on the territory of the castle, and a memorial sign has been installed in honor of the founding of Zhytomyr.

Separate buildings of the manor of the ancient count family Olizars, to whom Korostyshiv belonged since 1565.

The palace and park complex was founded in Korostyshiv in the 19th century by the outstanding poet and public figure Gustav Olizar. An excellent picture gallery was collected in the palace, the library consisted of several thousand volumes.

The service wing, part of the colonnade has been preserved.

An Alley of Glory was built in the manor park during Soviet times, and in the lower part you can see a collection of granite sculptures.

The cultural and artistic center "Polissya House" (Poliska Khata) was founded in the village of Horodske in 2008.

The project is implemented by the Zhytomyr regional youth creative union of artists and art critics at the initiative of the fine arts teacher Inna Velychko.

The cultural complex is a Polissya estate with objects of folk life. Such houses with a large stove, a ceiling supported by two beams, small windows and spacious halls are still found in almost every Polissya village.

Various cultural events and festivals are held on the basis of "Polissya House".

SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler's camp "Hegewald" (Hegewald - protected forest) was built in 1941 in the village of Huiva near the military airfield "Skomorokhy".

The construction was carried out by Soviet prisoners of war under the supervision of the SS. The headquarters of the military leadership was located in a two-story building that was the House of Culture before the war. In case of bombings, a light ground reinforced concrete bunker was built, the walls of which were 3 meters thick.

In 1942. In "Hegewald" there was a meeting of the highest ranks of the police and the commanders of the SS units, at which Himmler read the famous "Ost" plan, which provided for the colonization of the occupied eastern territories.

Unlike Hitler's and Goering's bunkers, which were located nearby, Himmler's bunker was not blown up when the German troops retreated.

Currently, the building with the adjacent plot of land is in private ownership. The entrances are closed by armored doors with a thickness of 5 centimeters. German fire hydrants in operation have also been preserved.

Ribbentrop's bunker is located nearby, on the opposite side of the Zhytomyr - Vinnytsia highway, on the closed territory of the military unit.

The picturesque artificial lake, which was formed on the site of a flooded granite quarry, is located at the entrance to Korostyshiv from the Kyiv side, a little south of the highway.

It belongs to the enterprise "Korostyshiv Quarry", which is engaged in the processing of natural stone from various deposits of Ukraine.

The rocky shores of the lake up to 10 meters high, overgrown with pines and birches, resemble Karelian landscapes. The water has an unusual turquoise shade. The vertical walls of the quarry with a pronounced relief attract climbers and lovers of extreme sports.

The luxurious two-story town hall building on Castle Hill in Zhytomyr was built for the magistrate in the 18th century.

Made in Neo-Renaissance forms, it is distinguished by durability and strictness of architectural forms. Although the building was badly damaged during the Second World War, it was completely restored in 1951. For some time, residential apartments were located in the premises of the former magistrate.

In 2021, to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, the capital reconstruction of the magistrate's building was completed. Later, it is planned to place the natural and historical expositions of the regional museum of local history here. The museum space will be filled with a three-dimensional archive of the natural world and human relations with the environment. A small museum garden will be laid out in the courtyard with an experimental plot where children can plant a plant and then watch it grow.

The Kmytiv Museum of Fine Arts named after Yosyp Bukhanchuk presents a unique collection of paintings in the style of socialist realism.

Opened in 1974 on the initiative of art critic and collector Yosyp Buhanchuk, who taught in the 1960s at the Leningrad Art Institute.

The museum building was designed in 1985 under the leadership of Professor Ihor Fomin. Bukhanchuk provided the museum with his own painting collection, which included 600 exhibits. In the future, the collection was replenished from state funds, many Soviet artists donated their works to the museum, and soon the collection already included 3 thousand originals.

In particular, the paintings of national artists of Ukraine Tetyana Yablonska, Mykola Hlushchenko, Mykola Maksimenko are presented. The works of St. Peterburg sculptor Nikiforova are fascinating with the filigree technique.

Photography in the halls is prohibited.

A hundred-year-old oak with spreading branches in the forest near Vyshpol is called the Oak "Chudodiy" (Miracle Oak).

According to legend, the "Chudodiy Oak" has the miraculous power to heal those who touch it with the words: "I touch you, I gain health."

Located at the entrance to Chudodiyevo Park Hotel.

The complex of buildings of the 19th century post office in Zhytomyr includes the main building, a hotel wing and a stable, surrounded by a fence. Taras Shevchenko stayed here in 1846.

Regular postal service between St. Petersburg, Kyiv and Radyvilov began to be established after the royal decree of 1827. In the 1840s, several postal stations were built on the route between Kyiv and Zhytomyr at a distance of about 20 kilometers from each other (several of them have survived).

All of them were built according to a typical project, the characteristic feature of which are the arrow windows in the Neo-Gothic style.

A beautiful neo-Renaissance manor house with Gothic elements in Turchynivka belonged to the Tereshchenko family of rich sugar millers and patrons.

The construction was started in 1899 by Fedir Tereshchenko, as the date on the facade reminds us. The construction was completed in 1901 by Nataliya, the daughter of a sugar factory, who married Count Serhiy Uvarov, a leader of the Berdychiv County nobility.

The building is made of terracotta bricks, almost all decorative elements are also brick. The facade is decorated with the coat of arms of the Uvarov family with the letter U. The interiors are decorated with moldings.

The palace is located in an old park on the bank of a pond (XIX century), which remained from the previous owners of the estate. Nearby is a utility building with an elegant tower.

Since Soviet times, the palace has housed the Turchynivka Vocational Lyceum, thanks to which the building is kept in good condition.

Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko is located in the center of the city in a complex of buildings of the former male gymnasium.

Construction of a gymnasium for boys began in Zhytomyr in 1862. For many years, it was the largest and most authoritative educational institution not only in Zhytomyr, but also in the whole of Volyn. First, the main building was built, later two auxiliary buildings were added on the sides - for the gymnasium teachers' apartments and for the library. In front of the main entrance was a front garden with rare trees and a fountain in the center. A large garden adjoined the houses.

Until now, the complex has been completely preserved, but the educational building of the gymnasium was reconstructed after a pedagogical institute was opened in it in 1919.

Today it is Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko.