Attractions of Zaporizhzhia region

The "Khortytsia" National Reserve is named after the largest island on the Dnipro (23.5 square kilometers), which is now located in the middle of the city of Zaporizhzhia. Khortytsia Island is one of the most famous places in Ukraine, a unique historical and cultural complex and an ancient symbol of Cossack freedom.

The island was formed by a geological fault in the granite massif that occurred approximately 2.5 million years ago. Now Khortytsia impresses with its picturesque cliffs and small islands. In the north, granite rocks are majestically raised above the water mirror of the Dnipro by almost 30 meters, and the southern edge of the island is part of the Zaporizhzhia Velykiy Luh flooded by the Kakhovka Reservoir.

Long ago, this natural fortress served as reliable protection for the tribes that settled here, traces of which have been preserved in abundance. In particular, the "Scythian Camp" complex exhibits barrows and stone statues from the Scythian times, a pagan sanctuary has been preserved from the Old Slavic times, and the remains of the Protolche settlement from the Ancent Rus times.

In the 16th century, Zaporizhzhian Sich, a fortified camp of Ukrainian Cossacks, was founded on the island of Mala Khortytsia, which later became the center of the Cossack state, changing its location several times. A generalized image of Cossack fortresses is the Historical and Cultural Complex "Zaporizhzhian Sich" in Khortytsia, which reproduces in detail the arrangement of all eight Cossack Sichs that existed in the 16th - 18th centuries.

The current center of Khortytsia is the museum space around the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks History Museum, where a multi-year reconstruction is underway (part of the exhibits are presented in the Museum Studios "City Beyond the Thresholds"). The Hill of Unity with an observation deck and the "Circle of Unity" art object are located nearby. The venue for the ceremonial events is the Cossack Circle. Along the coast of the museum, there is a "Taras Trail", dedicated to the stay of the young Taras Shevchenko in Khortytsia in the summer of 1843.

In the southern part of the island, you can visit the only Zaporizhzhian Cossacks equestrian theater in Ukraine and see the famous Cossack seagull in the Museum of Shipping.

There is a car parking lot, bicycle rental, and a cafe in the pre-museum space. There is a hotel in the central part of the island, and in the eastern and western parts of Khortytsia there are several sanatoriums and recreation centers, and there are restaurants.

Dniprovska HPP (DniproHPP, DniproHES) is a unique hydroelectric facility, the first hydroelectric power station in the USSR and the largest in Europe at that time.

The construction of the Zaporizhzhia hydroelectric power station was led by academician Oleksandr Vinter with the assistance of American consulting engineers - Frank Feyfer, Vilhelm Meffi, Fridrikh Vinter, Heorh Binder and "General Electric" engineers Charlz Dzhon Tomson and Hyu Kuper. As a result of the construction of the dam, the Dnipro rapids were flooded, which ensured navigation along the entire course of the Dnipro. Thanks to the construction of the station, the rapid economic development of the city began.

Next to the building of the HPP directorate is the massive building of the DniproHPP museum. Currently, two halls with expositions on the construction, restoration and construction of the second stage of the hydroelectric power station are available. During the tour, you can see the layout of the station, operating turbines in the engine room.

On the morning of March 22, 2024, during a massive missile-drone attack on Ukraine, Russian troops attacked the DniproHPP with missiles, hitting hydroelectric structures and a dam. A fire broke out at the station. In addition, a Russian missile hit a trolleybus with people moving along the DniproHPP embankment.

In the south-eastern part of the island of Khortytsia in Zaporizhzhia, in the area of Plavni, there is a folklore and ethnographic equestrian theater "Zaporizhzhian Cossacks", which carefully preserves ancient Cossack traditions.

At the request of large tourist groups, equestrian performances and folklore performances are held here with the performance of folk ensembles and demonstrations of traditional Cossack crafts (the date and time of the next performance should be ascertained in advance by phone). After the performance, you can ride horses, and also buy souvenirs, made in front of your eyes by a blacksmith and a potter.

On the territory there is a cafe "Cossack Zastava" (traditional Ukrainian cuisine) with a banquet hall, two huts and summer canopies.

Nearby, in the hangar, the Cossack Shipping "Chayka" and the brigantine of 1736-1739, raised from the bottom of the Dnipro in 1999-2007, are stored, with which archaeologists and restorers of the "Museum of Shipping" are working.

The historical and cultural complex "Zaporozhian Sich" on the island Khortytsia in Zaporizhzhia reproduces a generalized image of all eight Sich, which existed in the XVI-XVIII centuries on the banks of the Dnipro.

Sich is a fortified military town surrounded by a fence, which served as a military and political center of the Zaporozhian Cossacks - the capital of the Liberties of the Zaporozhian Lowland Army, ie free Cossack lands.

The island of Khortytsia at that time was a strategic point on the way of Tatar raids on Ukrainian lands. At the same time, the political influence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Moscow Principality, which controlled other Ukrainian lands, did not extend to these territories.

Khortytsia was associated with the activities of the first organizer of the Zaporozhian Army Ostap Dashkevych and the founder of the first Sich Dmytro (Bayda) Vyshnevetsky, who in 1553 built a Cossack castle on the island of Mala Khortytsia (now Bayda Island). All subsequent Sichs were located below the Dnipro, but were formed on common principles.

A reduced copy of the Cossack fortress is surrounded by a moat, an embankment and a fence made of logs with several defensive towers. The interior space consists of two parts - the Small Kosh (trade and craft suburb) and the Large Kosh (Cossack garrison). The main building of the Sich is the current Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin on the central square. There are Cossack huts, a smithy, a pottery, an inn and a Greek house where ambassadors were received.

The expositions in the premises tell about the functioning of the Sich governing bodies (the House of the Kosh Ataman, the Military Chancellery), the work of the Pushkarnia (arsenal), and the traditional crafts of the Cossacks. The exhibition "Cossack Mamay and the Cradle" is dedicated to the image of the legendary Zaporozhian warrior-characterist.

The Cossack Battle Theater "Sich Cossacks" is based in the "Zaporozhian Sich", which regularly holds demonstrations of Cossack martial arts and master classes on the possession of Cossack weapons.

Historical and cultural complex "Zaporozka Sich" is accessible to people in wheelchairs. Attachable ramps provide access to each object of the complex.

The memorial-tourist complex "Scythian Camp" is located in Zaporizhzhia on the highest point of the Khortytsia island (59 meters above the Dnipro level), which is crowned by the largest of the Khortytsia burial mounds, the "Zorova tomb" that has survived.

A copy of the sculpture of a Scythian warrior is installed on the mound.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 129 burial mounds on Khortytsia Island. Only 3 of the 28 burial mounds that once belonged to the burial mound group "Zorova tomb" have survived. In 2005, archaeologists reconstructed 8 more burial mounds, among which one was investigated and restored, two were restored on the site of the destroyed ones, and the rest are model mounds and the sanctuary of Areus .

In the open-air museum, many stone artifacts are collected: a millstone (a symbol of abundance and fertility), a roller or garman (a device for threshing grain), stupas (for pounding grain), statues, anthropomorphic stelae, etc.

The Monument to Feeding Goby is one of the attractions of the Berdiansk embankment.

Erected in 2001, the monument is dedicated to the main product of the local fishing industry - the Azov Goby, which saved the city from starvation during the Second World War and the difficult post-war years.

The National Historical and Archaeological Reserve "Kamyana Mohyla" (literally - "Stone Grave") is located in the village of Myrne near Melitopol.

A gigantic pile of stones up to 12 meters high - the remains of the sandstone of the former Sarmatian Sea. The shape resembles a mound, which is where the name comes from. It has been used as a sanctuary since ancient times. Many stones are covered with images of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Copper-Bronze and Middle Ages (from the 16th-13th millennia BC to the 10th-12th centuries).

Some researchers believe that the writings of the Stone Tomb are more archaic than the writing of Sumer, and are the oldest examples of writing on Earth. In order to preserve the petroglyphs, the passages to them are covered with sand. Copies can be seen in the building of the "Kamyana Mohyla" (Stone Grave) museum-reserve. The 7,000-year-old fish-man sculpture is especially impressive.

During the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the "Kamyana Mohyla" (Stone Grave) reserve was located on the territory occupied by Russian troops. In April 2022, the occupiers mined all approaches and the territory of the reserve. In November of the same year, the Russian occupation authorities transferred the "Kamyana Mohyla" (Stone Grave) reserve to the management of the "Khersones Tavriyskyi" museum-reserve in the previously annexed Sevastopol. The "Kamyana Mohyla" (Stone Grave) Museum was robbed.

Ancient pagan sanctuaries of the Early Bronze Age on the island of Khortytsya are located near the Velyka Molodnyaha stream near the Museum of the History of the Zaporizhzhia Cossacks.

The main sanctuary on Braharnya hill has the appearance of a small stonehenge (a circle of stones). Archaeologists who studied the complex in 1993-1997 concluded that it had an astronomical purpose - its axis was directed towards the sunrise on the day of the summer solstice.

Another complex of religious buildings is located on the southern slope of the stream. Stone structures have an egg-shaped shape.

In 1997, the followers of the pagan Runvira shrines in Khortytsya were reconstructed, and wooden idols of pagan gods were installed in the temples. Three of them are installed in the "Tryhlav" sanctuary.

The informal museum of Cossack Shipping "Chayka" was created in Zaporizhzhia on the island of Khortytsia on the basis of two ancient ships raised from the bottom of the Dnipro in these places.

The decision to establish a shipyard in Khortytsia was made in 1737, at the height of the first Russian-Turkish war, when Russian ships could not pass to the Black Sea through the Dnipro rapids. The construction of dowel-boats and Cossack-type vessels - boats and boats similar to Cossack Chaykas, as well as "Russian-style" brigantines - was carried out here. In 1739, about 400 ships of the Dnipro flotilla were based in Khortytsia. Some of them sank during the flood.

The hull of the Cossack Chayka, preserved at the bottom under the sand, was discovered in 1998, and a year later the vessel was raised to the surface. In 2007, the brigantine found there was raised, and later - a dowel-boat, a boat and a single-masted boat. The finds were conserved and placed in a restoration shed next to the Horse Theater, and work is underway to restore their appearance.

Active support for the restorers is provided by the charity fund created by the singer Andriy Makarevych. Excursions are conducted. It is planned to create a Museum of Shipping (Dnipro Flotilla Museum).

Sobornyi Avenue in Zaporizhzhia is one of the longest avenues in Europe - 11 kilometers (with the DniproHES dam - 13 kilometers).

The avenue runs from the Zaporizhzhia-1 railway station to the DniproHES dam. The residential quarters of "Sotscity" in the area of the dam are considered to be one of the best examples of urban planning art of the pre-war USSR. The project of this architectural ensemble in 1932 received a gold medal at an exhibition in Paris. Several buildings of pre-revolutionary Oleksandrivsk have been preserved in the area of Peremohy Street.

In 1952, the avenue, which connected fragments of several old streets, was named after Lenin. In 2016, it was renamed Sobornyi (Holy Intercession Cathedral is located on it).

A classic industrial panorama of the industrial part of the city opens from the bridge over the ravine of the Kapustyanka River. Along Sobornyi Avenue there are several squares with fountains, many restaurants and cafes. Most of the administrative buildings, educational institutions and cultural institutions of Zaporizhzhia are located here.

The "Phaeton" Museum of Technology and Retro Cars in Zaporizhzhia is the only publicly accessible museum of a similar profile in Ukraine.

A private collection of rare vehicles of domestic and foreign production of the middle of the last century was collected and restored by members of the car club "Phaeton".

On an area of about 1,000 square meters in six halls, more than 250 units of active automotive equipment from the 1930s and 1960s are exhibited.

The exposition of the museum of retro cars presents cars "Dodge", "Willis", "Ural-ZiS", ZiS-5, ZiS-6 ("Katyusha"), etc. All cars are on the move, have repeatedly participated in exhibitions and races.

Visiting the museum exposition and workshops is possible with a tour on prior request, in groups of 10 to 20 people.

The Private Museum of the History of Weapons in Zaporizhzhia is located in the city center.

The museum`s exposition is based on the personal collection of entrepreneur Vitaliy Shlayfer.

The museum presents the following types of historical weapons of different times and peoples: submachine guns, rifles, shotguns, pistols and pistols, swords, sabers, swords, axes, chain mail and more. In total, more than 4.5 thousand units.

The museum conducts examination, evaluation and restoration of antique weapons.

The exhibition is located in the premises of the weapons store "Diana".

The museum complex of the "Khortytsia" National Reserve is located in the northern part of the island of Khortytsia, opposite the Dniprohes dam. This is the key object of the tourist-museum cluster on the Khortytsia island.

The Museum of the History of Zaporizhzhian Cossacks was opened in Zaporizhzhia in 1983. The exhibition highlights the history of the Cossack region from the earliest times to the present day.

Since 2016, the museum has been under reconstruction (part of the exhibits are presented in the Museum Studios "City Beyond the Thresholds"). After the opening, it will have a modern exposition, in which the dioramas "The Battle of Svyatoslav with the Pechenegs" and "The Council on Sich" will be presented.

The building of the Museum of the History of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks with an inner courtyard is part of the observation deck complex that offer a wonderful panorama of the Dnipro, rocky rapids and hydroelectric power station. Museum Square is used as the main venue for official events.

Next to the museum is the 14-meter Mound of Unity of Ukraine, on top of which in 2021 a 7-meter-high metal sculpture "Circle of Unity" will be installed.

From the Museum of the History of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks along the coast from the museum is the "Taras Trail", dedicated to the stay of the young Taras Shevchenko in Khortytsia in the summer of 1843. It is accompanied by excerpts from Kobzar's writings, which mention Khortytsia, the rapids of the Dnipro, the Great Zaporozhzhian Meadow, and the zh Cossacks.

The 700-year-old Zaporizhzhian giant oak, which became a symbol of the Ukrainian Cossacks. It has been a place of pilgrimage for millions of people for centuries.

The exact age has not been established, so some historians believe that this iconic tree was mentioned in the chronicles of the Byzantine emperor Kostyanyn Bahryanorodnyi as early as the 10th century.

Once the diameter of the green crown of the Zaporozhzhian Oak was 63 meters, the length of the trunk circle was 6 meters, and the height was 36 meters. After the construction of the DniproHPP and the rise of the groundwater level, the root system was damaged. At the end of the 20th century, the tree began to dry, now only one branch is alive.

The Church of the Intercession was built nearby (2008), and the historical and cultural complex "Zaporozhzhian Oak" was created. Theatrical performances organized by the All-Ukrainian Federation "Spas" take place on the territory.

The palace and park complex in Vasylivka, on the basis of which the historical and architectural museum-reserve "Popov's Manor" was created, received the popular name "Popov's Castle".

The grandiose palace was built in 1894 (probably according to the project of the architect Mykola Benois) in the style of neo-romanticism with elements of Gothic and Baroque and was reminiscent of medieval European castles in architecture. The main building had a ballroom, mirror rooms, a library with rare books, a picture gallery with originals by Titsian, Goya and Rembrandt.

In Soviet times, most buildings were dismantled for building materials. The crenellated walls with a gate, two outbuildings, a carriage house, a stable, and a watch tower have been preserved. The monument is in a state of disrepair, a residential building and a boarding school are located on its territory.

A museum of the manor's history has been opened in the western wing, where, in particular, Bryullov's paintings are presented. Recently, the clearing of the palace basements and other dungeons, where tours began, was completed.

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the buildings of the Popov estate were damaged, and the museum exhibits were looted by the Russian occupiers.