Attractions of Vasylkiv

Fragments of the ancient Rus settlement Vasyliv earthworks have been preserved on the hill to the west of the Cathedral of Anthony and Theodosius.

The current city of Vasylkiv was founded in 988 by Prince Volodymyr the Great, who received the name Vasyl at baptism. The old name of the city Vasyliv (Vasylyev) comes from the Christian name of the prince. It was a well-fortified fortress with earthen ramparts and ditches, often used as a stronghold in times of strife. The city was destroyed by the Mongols in 1240. Remains of an ancient wooden temple and princely palace were found on the territory of the cub.

Later, the settlement of Vasyliv was included in the system of Cossack fortifications of the 16th and 17th centuries. The remains of ramparts can be traced throughout the city center. The best preserved is the rampart behind the cathedral, the crest of which can be climbed by stairs from the temple courtyard.

The Baker Synagogue in Vasylkiv was built at the beginning of the 20th century on the site of a wooden Jewish prayer house.

The two-story brick building of the synagogue has characteristic features of a Jewish religious building, richly decorated using elements of medieval architecture.

In 1927, the "Baker" synagogue was closed, the building was handed over to the South-Western Railway and rebuilt under the "Vasylkiv-2" railway station.

Currently, the building is in communal ownership, until recently several families lived in it.

The Cathedral of Anthony and Theodosius in Vasylkiv is an example of Ukrainian Baroque architecture.

The cathedral in honor of Saints Anthony and Theodosius was built in the middle of the 18th century by the serf of the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra, Stepan Kovnir, by order of the Lavra Archimandrite (according to legend, an underground passage was laid from the Vasylkiv Cathedral to the Lavra).

From the outside, it resembles the Kozelets Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Gables with cornices of double curvature are considered a characteristic detail of architecture (sculptor Talyanets).

Paintings by Vasyl Bibibkov have been preserved in the interior. The main shrine is the miraculous icon of the Three-Handed Mother of God.

The oldest administrative building of Vasylkiv is the County Present Place, built at the beginning of the 19th century. The headquarters of the Chernihiv regiment, which on January 10, 1826, joined the Decembrist uprising against the Russian autocracy and for the abolition of serfdom, was located here.

The uprising of the Chernihiv regiment, organized by the Southern Society of Decembrists, was led by lieutenant colonel Serhii Muravyov-Apostol and battalion commander Mykhailo Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The uprising was crushed within a week, and the organizers were later convicted and executed. A monument to the Decembrists was erected on the square opposite the building.

The building of the headquarters of the Chernihiv regiment is two-story, brick, plastered. The facade is typical of Russian classicism. The building was rebuilt several times. It housed the places of attendance, then the district police headquarters.

The local history department of the "Decembrists in Vasylkiv region" museum, which covered the activities of the Vasylkiv administration of the Southern Society (now under renovation), still worked in the two rooms. In particular, the cell in which Serhii Muravyov-Apostol and Mykhailo Bestuzhev-Ryumin were kept after the arrest was preserved.

The monument to Decembrists was installed in the center of Vasylkiv, on the square in front of the city council.

In 1825, an uprising of the Chernihiv regiment began in Vasylkiv, led by the Decembrists Serhiy Muravyov-Apostol and Mykhaylo Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The uprising was organized by the Southern Society after the performance of the Decembrists on Senate Square in St. Petersburh. The Decembrist nobles, who opposed serfdom, tried to overthrow the autocracy by force. In Vasylkiv, the rebel troops seized weapons and the regimental treasury, after which they marched on the Bila Tserkva, on the approaches to which they were defeated by government troops. The instigators of the uprising were later executed.

The memorial sign in Vasylkiv depicts the profiles of five executed Decembrists: Pavlo Pestel, Kindrat Ryleev, Serhiy Muravyov-Apostol, Mykhaylo Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Petro Kakhovsky. Authors of the monument: sculptor Makar Vronskyi, architect Vasyl Hniezdilov.

A monument to the poet Taras Shevchenko in Vasylkiv was erected in 1993 on one of the city's central squares.

The monument is distinguished by its "humanity" - the Ukrainian genius is depicted not as a stern old man with a judgmental look, as usual, but as a young and inspired poet who sat down to rest with a book in his hands.

The private museum of Vasylkiv majolica opened in 2021 in the "Passage" shopping center in Vasylkiv.

It was founded by public activist Lyudmila Shkulkova on the basis of her own collection of products of the Vasylkiv majolica factory.

The factory was founded in 1934 in Vasylkiv, which has long been known as one of the centers of pottery in the Dnipro region. Many masters of artistic ceramics worked at the factory, including Prokip Bidasiuk, Nadiya and Valery Protoriev. In the second half of the 20th century, the factory was one of the leading enterprises of the art industry of Ukraine, its products participated in exhibitions of decorative art in many countries around the world.

Many samples of products are presented in the exposition of the museum: wall plates, services, kumans, vases, jugs, mugs, candlesticks, decorative sculptures. Among them is the famous "Borodianka rooster", which became a symbol of the indomitability of Ukrainians during the Russian armed aggression. Its authorship is attributed to Prokip Bidasyuk, but it is more likely the work of Valeriy Protoryev.

The exposition is available for external inspection at all times, but tours must be arranged in advance.

The ancient wooden church of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin is located in the northern suburb of Vasylkiv, at the entrance to the city from the Kyiv side.

Built in 1859. A small building with two baths is characterized by a successful composition and plasticity of forms. Consecrated in honor of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the second half of the 20th century.

The ancient building in the Art Nouveau style at the corner of Soborna and Pokrovska in the center of Vasylkov was built at the end of the 19th century.

In various sources, it is called a new synagogue or a Jewish school. In old photos above the building you can see two domes with attics, which are now missing.

Since 1944, a high school has been located here - now Vasylkiv Lyceum No. 2.

The old part of the building of the current Vasylkiv Secondary School No. 1 is a synagogue built in Vasylkiv in 1812.

Later, a Jewish school was located here. After the Second World War, a comprehensive school was opened in the premises of the former synagogue. For some time, a museum operated under it.

A small park in the central part of Vasylkiv is called "Venice", where an elongated pond, similar to a canal, has been created. Some resemblance to Venetian canals is provided by openwork bridges thrown over it.

On the shore of the pond stands a small neo-Gothic building of a children's art school with two pointed towers.

In the center of the park there is a monument to Afghan soldiers.

The Church of Saint Nicholas in Vasylkiv combines features of classicism with characteristic elements of the Baroque. It is famous for its rich decoration, paintings of the 19th century and a wonderful carved iconostasis.

The architectural monument is an active Orthodox church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Near the Saint Nicholas Church is a spring discovered by Saint Theodosius. A chapel was built above it.

The source of Saint Theodosius is located at the foot of the Vasylkiv Castle Hill, under the Cathedral of Anthoniy and Theodosius.

It is believed that the first well at this place was dug in the 11th century by Theodosius Pecherskyi, who was originally from here.

The chapel above the spring was built in 1832. It was destroyed during the Soviet era, but restored in 2001.

The Vasylkiv majolic factory is a former enterprise of the porcelain and earthenware industry, where highly artistic handmade ceramic dishes were produced.

The enterprise arose in Vasylkiv on the basis of a group of artisans who in 1928 created the "Keramik" craft. Since 1931, pottery began to be painted with Ukrainian national ornaments, dishes began to take on a look close to majolica. Since 1960, the Vasylkiv majolica plant has become one of the leading enterprises of the Ukrainian art industry, its products were sold all over the country.

In 2005, a private enterprise "Vasylkiv Majolic" was established on the basis of a part of the factory's production premises, which continued the traditions of the production of majolica dishes in an ethnic style. Excursions were conducted for children's groups.

Unfortunately, the Vasylkiv majolic factory finally ceased to exist in 2019.

Vasylkiv Museum of Local Lore is located in the building of the House of Culture in the center of Vasylkiv.

The museum funds include 1,200 exhibits. Ancient tools, weapons, jewelry, and other archaeological material from the Stone Age, Trypillya culture, Scythian times, and Ancient Rus are presented, collected in particular during excavations near Vasylkiv settlement during the archaeological expedition of 1985.

The ethnographic exposition presents work tools, dishes and clothes used by Vasylkiv residents in the past.

There are also departments of collectivization in the 1920s and 1930s, cultural development of the Vasylkiv region, World War II, decorative and applied arts.