Attractions of Volodymyr

The "Valy" hillfort (castle site, citadel) in the center of the modern city of Volodymyr in Volyn is an archaeological monument of national importance. It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

The first fortifications between the Luha River and its two tributaries arose in early Slavic times. In the Hungarian chronicles under the year 884, the city of Ladomyr is mentioned, which was the tribal center of the Dulibs.

The quadrangular earthen ramparts located between the Slavic Park and the bus station date back to the heyday of urban construction after the city was annexed by Prince Volodymyr the Great to Kievan Rus in the 10th century. The heyday of medieval Volodymyr fell on the first half of the 13th century, when Prince Danylo Romanovych ruled us.

The powerful ramparts rise six meters in the northern part of the rampart and eight meters in the southern part. On the ramparts were wooden city walls with towers and several gates, a moat with water ran around the ramparts. There were several stone temples and palaces on the territory of the dytynets (citadel). Around it was the Surrounding City, also fortified with earthen ramparts.

From the west, the citadel is adjoined by the Episcopal Castle with the Assumption Cathedral and the bell tower, built in 1494.

From the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, the government of Tsarist, then Soviet Russia used the Volodymyr Fortress as a prison for political prisoners, then as a tuberculosis hospital. The two-story prison building has been preserved, which is being restored to house a museum exhibition.

A memorial sign has been installed in honor of those who fell for the freedom of Ukraine.

The ancient white-stone Holy Assumption Cathedral rises majestically above the city of Volodymyr, a little away from the center, behind the citadel ramparts of the city center. It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

Founded in the 12th century by Mstyslav Izyaslavych, the future Grand Duke of Kyiv. "Mstyslav's Church" was the residence of the Volyn bishops and the ancestral tomb of the Mstyslavych princes. Roman Mstyslavich, the founder of the Galicia-Volyn principality, is buried here.

The temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the last reconstruction in 1900 gave it ancient Rus forms.

Nearby is the bell tower built in the 15th century, as well as the bishop's house.

Monuments to ancient Rus princes have been erected on the territory.

Saint Basil's Rotunda Church is a unique example of Orthodox architecture. The name of the architect Oleksa, who built the temple in XIII century, is mentioned in the Galician-Volyn Chronicle.

Elements of Gothic architecture can be traced in the structural and technical solution, in particular the eight-petal ceiling.

In 1901, a Russian-style bathhouse was built on top, which changed the look of the Basil's church beyond recognition.

It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

The parish church of Saints Joachim and Anne in Volodymyr was built in 1752 by Bishop Adam Wojna Orański. It is located on the site of a previous wooden Roman Catholic church, founded in 1554 with the support of Princess Anna of Zbarazh.

The three-nave basilica with two towers on the main facade is made in the strict forms of the late Baroque. The basements, covered with cylindrical vaults, have been preserved.

In 1958, the church was closed, first a furniture store was arranged in it, and later a concert hall and a coffee shop. Only in 1992 was the church returned to the local Roman Catholics.

It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

The majestic Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ rises in the center of the city of Volodymyr. An architectural monument of national importance in the late Baroque style. It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

The temple was built as a Jesuit church of the Sending of the Apostles within the boundaries of the surrounding city in 1755 by the Slonim starost Ignacy Sadowski. Construction lasted 15 years. In 1762, the Jesuit church acquired the status of the "Heart of Jesus" monastery. After the abolition of the Jesuit order, the church passed to the Basilian order, and in 1840 the monastery became Orthodox, was the residence of bishops. In 1921, it again passed to the disposal of the Roman Catholic diocese.

The temple suffered during World War II. Now it has been restored and consecrated as the Orthodox Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Volodymyr Historical Museum named after Omelian Dvernytsky is located in the historic building of the county council, which is located in the old square of the Capuchin monastery in the center of Volodymyr. The building was built in 1912 in the style of retrospective modernism, the architectural feature is the corner tower.

This is one of the oldest collections of antiquities in the Volyn region, dating back to 1887, when the Volodymyr public organized the Antiquities Store in the city for the purpose of preserving and studying ancient monuments.

Currently, the Volodymyr museum's funds include 18,000 items. A significant archaeological collection, products of Volodymyr craftsmen, tools and household items of peasants from different historical periods, a large ethnographic collection, including samples of Volyn embroidery and clothing, are presented.

The unique collection of coins of the VI-XIX centuries includes, in particular, a silver coin of Prince Volodymyr the Great. A collection of old prints, works of art of Volyn masters of different eras is also exhibited.

The Dominican monastery was founded in Volodymyr in 1497 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellon, who later became the King of Poland. Some researchers attribute the construction of the bell tower, which now stands on the corner of Daniel of Galicia (Danylo Halytskyi) and Soborna streets, to this period.

The current defensive monastery complex with the Trinity Church was built in 1789. The Holy Trinity Church, which was distinguished by its luxurious interior decoration, was located nearby.

During a major fire in the middle of the 19th century, the church burned down completely. Other buildings of the Dominican monastery, completely devoid of decoration, were adapted for city needs - it housed the city court, then the treasury, and the Polish starostvo.

Now it is one of the buildings of the Regional Vocational College of the city of Volodymyr. It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

Saint George's Church (Saint Yuriy) is a typical military church, built at the beginning of the 20th century for the 149th Black Sea Regiment quartered in Volodymyr (the so-called "Brusyliv barracks").

Similar temples were built by decision of the General Staff of the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire according to model projects approved in 1900.

In the post-war years, it was converted into an officers' house.

Today, the Church of Saint George is functioning again. Belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Church of the Holy Holy Martyr Yosafat was built in Volodymyr in 1890 as a Lutheran church for the city's German community. The pastor's house is located nearby.

After the Second World War, the church was turned into a chemical warehouse, then a sports hall.

Today it is the Greek Catholic church and monastery of Saint Yosafat Kuntsevych.

Saint Nicholas Church was built in Volodymyr in 1780 as a Greek Catholic chapel of Saint Yosafat Kuntsevych. It was on this spot that Kuntsevych's parents' house stood.

The small temple was built in the style of early classicism. The main facade is topped with a pediment.

In 1800, the chapel was handed over to the Orthodox Church and consecrated as the Church of Saint Nicholas.

It is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr".

Saint Volodymyr's Chapel at the beginning of Soborna Street in Volodymyr was built in the Rus-Byzantine style. Opened in 1888 for the 900th anniversary of Orthodoxy in Rus.

The chapel, quadrangular in plan, has an octagonal finish with arches in the form of kokoshniks. The dome resembles the helmet of an ancient Rus warrior.

The State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Volodymyr" was created in 2001 on the basis of the complex of monuments of the ancient city Volodymyr (then Volodymyr-Volynskyi), founded, as is believed, by the Kyiv prince Volodymyr Svyatoslavych in the 10th century. It protects 27 cultural heritage sites of national and local importance on an area of ​​14.5 hectares.

According to some sources, in the 9th century and even earlier, in this place, in the floodplain of the Luha River, there existed an ancient city Ladomyr of the Dulib tribe. Having conquered it, Prince Volodymyr the Great named the city after himself. It was located at the intersection of important trade routes, so it had exceptional economic importance and eventually acquired the status of the capital of the Volyn land.

The core of the reserve is the ancient Rus Volodymyr's hillfort (earthen ramparts) and the nearby Assumption Cathedral complex of the 12th century. Later monuments are the Saint Basil's Church (13th-14th centuries), the Dominican Monastery (15th century), the Church of Joachim and Anna (18th century), the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ (18th century), and the Saint Nicholas Church (18th century). Also, a number of administrative and residential buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries have been preserved in the city center.

For tourists, the reserve has developed a number of excursion routes that include not only the territory of the city center, but also the outskirts of the city. The reserve staff conduct excursions.