Attractions of Poltava district

The memorial museum-manor of the philosopher and collector of Opishnia ceramics Leonid Smorzh was opened in 2010 in the village of Opishnia Miski Mlyny.

The exposition is based on the largest in Ukraine private collection of Opishnia ceramics, which during 1960-1990 was collected by a famous Ukrainian scientist, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Leonid Opanasovych Smorzh. The collection includes about 700 unique author's pottery works of famous potters Opishny - Ivan Bilyk, Mykhaylo Kytrysh, Havrylo and Mykola Poshyvaylo, Hryhoriy Tyahun, Vasyl Omelyanenko, Trokhym Demchenko, Oleksandra Selyuchenko. The vast majority of these works exist in only one copy, as they are made to order.

In addition to ceramics, the exhibition presents embroidered Ukrainian men's and women's shirts, towels and tablecloths, as well as about 100 Easter eggs collected in different regions of Ukraine, striking bright colors and rich symbolism.

The Leonid Smorzh Museum-Estate also houses a private library of the scientist, which is about 3,000 books, including rare editions. A large number of photographs and personal belongings of the collector, which are presented in the museum's exposition, complement the exposition.

The Memorial Museum-Estate of the philosopher and collector of Opishnia ceramics Leonid Smorzh is one of the subdivisions of the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery in Opishnia.

The lilac grove on the outskirts of Dykanka was laid out in 1822 by the owner of these lands, Prince Victor Kochubey, on the site of a clay quarry where raw materials for his brick factory were mined.

According to legend, Kochubey created this floral miracle to please his terminally ill daughter Hanna. Lilac seedlings of 40 varieties were brought to Dykanka from different countries of the world.

Now the lilac grove is under the protection of the regional landscape park "Dykanskyi". To date, only 5 varieties of lilac have survived, but due to the large area of the grove (2.5 hectares), it is called the largest in the world.

Every spring, during the flowering of the lilac, Dykanka becomes a place of tourist pilgrimage. Every year in the middle of May, the traditional holiday "Songs of the Lilac Grove" is held.

The monument at the resting place of Peter I in Poltava was erected where the house of the Cossack Mahdenko was located in the 18th century, where the Russian Tsar Peter I stayed on the second day after the Battle of Poltava in 1709.

The first monument, erected in 1817, was a simple brick obelisk. In 1849, the current monument of architect Oleksandr Bryullov, brother of the famous artist Karl Bryullov, was erected instead.

The rest of the emperor after the victory in the Battle of Poltava is symbolized by the ancient Russian helmet crowned with a laurel wreath and the round shield, which rests peacefully on the hero's sword. A high-relief image of a sleeping lion is placed in the lower part of the granite pedestal. The inscription on the pedestal says: "Peter I rested here after his exploits on June 27, 1709."

The monument to the Swedish soldiers who died during the Battle of Poltava was opened in 1909 at the initiative of the Russian public in recognition of the bravery and courage of the soldiers of the army of Charles XII.

A memorial cross on a granite pyramid was installed at the place where the right flank of the Swedish army was located in the second stage of the battle. The height of the monument is about 9 meters. The inscription on the bronze plaque reads: "Eternal memory of the brave Swedish soldiers who died in the battle near Poltava on June 27, 1709."

According to various estimates, the losses of the Swedish army in the Battle of Poltava ranged from 6,000 to 7,000 people. Most of the dead were hastily buried in trenches and ravines.

The monument to the Swedes from the Russians is located right next to the highway at the entrance to Poltava from the Okhtyrka side.

The monument of Cossack glory in Poltava was opened in 1994. Dedicated to the Ukrainian Cossacks who died during the Battle of Poltava.

The authors of the project are sculptor Volodymyr Bilous, artist Viktor Baturin.

A huge Cossack cross with the laconic inscription "To Ukrainian fallen Cossacks" is placed on a massive granite base. At the foot of the symbolic mound - two bunchuks.

The "Monument to Colonel Kelin and the Valiant Defenders of Poltava" was erected in 1909 on the site of the Masurian Gate of the Poltava Fortress in memory of the city's defense on the eve of the Battle of Poltava in 1709.

For 3 months, the fortress withstood the siege of the Swedish army of Charles XII before the approach of the main forces of the Russian Peter I. The defense was led by the commandant of the Poltava fortress, Colonel Oleksiy Kelin, who received the rank of major general for this.

The monument to the defenders of Poltava by the sculptor-animalist Artemiy Ober was erected for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. The monument is a granite obelisk on a pedestal on which a bronze figure of a lion is located. Previously, the obelisk was crowned with an imperial double-headed eagle.

A monument to Hetman of Ukraine Ivan Mazepa was erected in Poltava in 2016 in front of the Assumption Cathedral, built at his expense.

This is the first full-length monument to Mazepa (busts were previously installed in Mazepintsy and Chernihiv). The 3.2-meter-high bronze sculpture was made by the sculptor Mykola Bilyk back in 2009, but the opening of the monument was preceded by a long public debate about its expediency, since Russian and Soviet propaganda for a long time formed a negative image of the hetman, who sought to remove Ukraine from the political influence of Muscovy.

A key episode of the Northern War of 1709 is connected with Poltava, when the troops of the Moscow Tsar Peter I defeated the army of the Swedish King Charles XII and his ally Ivan Mazepa. This event is immortalized by many monuments in the city, but almost all of them are dedicated to Russians and Swedes.

Funds for the installation of a monument to the Ukrainian hetman were collected by the public.

The memorial sign to the Poltava halushka, installed next to the observation deck on Ivanova Hill, is considered one of the symbols of modern Poltava.

The authors of the monument are the artist Anatoliy Chornoshchokov and the sculptor Mykola Tsys. The opening of the monument in 2006 was dedicated to the birthday of the writer Mykola Hohol, who praised halushka in his works.

Initially, the monument was erected near the Dormition Cathedral, but at the request of believers, it was later moved closer to the Lileya restaurant.

This place is popular with newlyweds and guests of the city. Every year in the first decade of June, the Poltava Halushka Festival is held near the monument.

The monument "To Swedes from Swedes" near Poltava was erected in 1909 near the Poltava battlefield.

The 6 m high monolithic granite monument was delivered from Sweden. According to the legend, the Russian authorities put forward a demand - there should be no bas-reliefs, sculptures or any other decorations on the monument. The Swedes fulfilled the condition, but every year on the day of the Battle of Poltava early in the morning, when the first rays of the rising sun fall on the granite, the silhouette of a grieving woman appears on it.

On two sides of the monument there are inscriptions in Swedish and Russian: "In memory of the Swedes who died here in 1709, it was built by compatriots in 1909."

The Museum of Boiled Borscht and the Museum of Living Bread were opened in Opishnia on the basis of the green tourism estate "Lyalyna svitlytsya" during the ethno-festival "Living Bread" in 2020.

The owner of the estate, Olena Shcherban, prepares daily borscht for guests according to a new recipe, of which she knows at least 365. Among them are wedding, funeral, winter, summer, white, brown and many others.

In one of the houses of the ethnic estate there is a collection of pots from different regions, stags, as well as a traditional oven in which dishes are prepared. Ingredients added to borscht in different regions of Ukraine are also presented.

The Museum of Heavy Bomber Aviation was established on the territory of Poltava Military Airfield, where the 13th Guards Dnipropetrovsk-Budapest Order of Suvorov Heavy Bomber Aviation Division was based in Soviet times.

It consisted of 18 long-range supersonic Tu-22M3 bombers (Backfire), 6 long-range jet missiles Tu-16 (Badger) and other equipment. After the collapse of the USSR, the division was disbanded. According to the Ukrainian-American Agreement on the Elimination of Strategic Nuclear Weapons, in February 2006 the last TU-22M3 bomber was cut down at the Poltava military airfield.

2 planes were saved for the museum exposition, some more were brought from other cities. In particular, the exposition of the open parking lot of aircraft presents the world's largest strategic bomber TU-160 "White Swan" (according to NATO classification - "Blackjack"). And also the only Tu-95MS aircraft in Ukraine (according to NATO classification - "Bear"). Other exhibits: Tu-22M3, Tu-22, Tu-16, Tu-134UBL, Su-15, An-2 and helicopters: Mi-8 and Mi-2.

In addition, 13 halls in the exhibition hall tell about the history and global significance of heavy bomber aircraft.

The monument to the writer Mykola Hohol in Poltava was erected in 1934, although it was created before the revolution.

In 1913, the city public of Poltava began to collect funds for a monument to their outstanding compatriot, and 2 years later, the sculptor Leonid Posen handed over the sculpture made by him to the city. The sculptor depicted Hohol sitting in thought with a book in his hand.

The monument was planned to be erected on the square in front of the drama theater, but the First World War stood in the way of these plans. Under the Bolsheviks, they initially did not want to erect a monument for ideological reasons, since Hohol came from a noble family. Only in 1934, the monument took its current place on the boulevard part of Mykoly Hoholya Street.

The National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery was founded in Opishnia in 1986.

This ancient village has long been famous as the largest center of pottery, the pottery capital of Ukraine. The open-air exhibition presents exclusive works by Opishnian potters, including Taras Shevchenko Prize winners, as well as masters from other regions who take part in the annual festivals of monumental ceramic sculpture.

The exhibition hall presents especially valuable exhibits, a large collection of books on pottery.

All visitors receive a fistula as a gift. By prior arrangement, it is possible to meet with a master who will demonstrate the art of working on a potter's wheel. There is a souvenir shop on site.

The memorial museum-house of the world-famous potter Oleksandra Selyuchenko in Opishnia tells about the life and creative path of the honored master of folk art of Ukraine, one of the most outstanding masters of traditional clay zoo- and anthropomorphic sculpture of small forms.

She was born in 1921 in a family of simple potters and lived all her life in Opishnia, only once leaving her native village for a while. Oleksandra Selyuchenko is considered an unsurpassed master of traditional Ukrainian clay toys.

In the museum, you can familiarize yourself with her works and the technology of making clay products at home.

An old potter's kiln used by a ceramist has been preserved in the courtyard of the manor.

The Opishnia hydroelectric power station on the Vorskla River was built in 1958 in the village of Miski Mlyny, Opishnia settlement.

Operating hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 225 kilowatts.

A good place for fishing and recreation.