Attractions of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district

Medieval Akkerman Fortress on the banks of the Dniester estuary - one of the largest and best preserved in Ukraine.

Built on the site of the ancient city of Thira (archeological excavations are underway). Until the 10th century, there were probably fortifications of Slavic tribes of Tiverts and Ulychi.

The building of the citadel belongs to the Genoese period of XIII-XIV centuries. The main fortifications of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress were built during the Moldavian rule (XV century). The total length of the walls is 2 km. Height of walls and towers from 5 to 15 m. 26 of 34 towers have survived.

In 1484 the fortress came under the rule of Turkey, a mosque was built (the minaret is preserved). In 1789 the town of Akkerman was taken without a fight by the Don Cossacks of Matviy Platov together with the Buz Cossacks sent by Prince Potomkin-Tavriysky.

At present, the Akkerman Fortress architectural complex is managed by the Fortress utility company. An exposition of instruments of torture was opened on the territory, siege weapons were displayed in the yard. Music festivals and historical fencing championships are held.

"European Cheese Dairy" in the village of Shabo is a new, modern cheese factory built according to the European model.

The cheese factory has a closed production cycle - from growing animal feed to processing dairy raw materials and obtaining the final product. The cheese-making process is carefully controlled at each stage. The production uses exclusively Dutch live starter cultures, which give the cheeses a special uniqueness, texture and delicate cheese taste.

The cheese dairy offers tours, during which visitors are introduced to the process and secrets of cheese production. During the tour, you can see the process and learn the intricacies of cheese-making, try exquisite varieties of cheese.

There is a playground on the territory, recreation areas and a corner with live animals, where you can feed them and get comprehensive information about their maintenance. There is also a shop where you can buy your favorite cheese and souvenirs.

On the territory of the "European Cheese Dairy" there is a cheese cafe "Cheeseriya", which prepares delicious cheese-based dishes.

The ruins of the ancient city of Thira were excavated by archaeologists near the walls of the Akkerman fortress.

The ancient city on the shore of the estuary at the mouth of the Tiras (Dniester) river was founded in the 6th century BC by immigrants from Greek Miletus, and in the 3rd century BC it reached its greatest prosperity. The main occupations of the inhabitants of Thira were agriculture, viticulture, handicrafts, fishing, and trade with the indigenous population of Transnistria. The city minted its own silver coin. From the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the city of Thira was part of the Roman Empire.

It was destroyed by the Goths in the second half of the 3rd century. A settlement of the Slavic tribes of Tiberians and Ulychi soon arose on the ruins, then a Genoese fortress.

Archaeological excavations have been carried out since 1900 and are still ongoing.

The estate of the famous European winemaker Andre Anselm was built in the village of Shabo in the middle of the 19th century. The manor house is made in the style of the French Renaissance and resembles a miniature castle.

It was here that Anselm settled and was engaged in breeding new grape varieties, the seedlings of which he successfully sold (including abroad).

During the Soviet regime, Anselm's estate was nationalized and an anti-tuberculosis dispensary was placed in it.

The Armenian Church of the Assumption of the Virgin (Surb Astvatsatsin) has been preserved since the Middle Ages, when a large Armenian community lived in Bilhorod.

The temple has a squat shape, because the Muslim authorities forbade the construction of Christian churches higher than mosques. Over the centuries, the Armenian Church was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. Ancient paintings and medieval marble slabs (khachkars) with carved inscriptions have been preserved on the walls, the earliest of which dates back to the 10th century.

The Armenian Church operated until 1940. Until recently, it was the base of an archaeological expedition. In 2013, the church was returned to the Armenian community.

On the territory there is a Sarmatian crypt of the 3rd century AD, made of stone slabs, found on the eastern outskirts of the city.

The main exposition of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Museum of Local Lore is housed in a one-story building in the Empire style, built in the XIX century for the merchant and mayor Mykhaylo Femilidi.

In several halls visitors can get acquainted with the ancient and medieval history of the Northern Black Sea Coast, the history of the city of the XIX and early XX centuries, the nature of the region.

Presented are finds from the burial complex of the Chernyakhiv culture, original household items and art from Ancient Greece, a numismatic collection, samples of edged weapons, flintlock pistols, authentic handwritten materials of 19th-century Swiss colonists, a unique collection of embroidered towels, etc.

In the next building there is an ethnographic museum, which introduces the traditions of the peoples of the region.

Winery of the Marquise Christophe Lacarin, Chateau Lacarin is located in the middle of vineyards near the famous wine village of Shabo near Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. On this place once was the estate of Swiss winemakers who came in 1822 to revive Bessarabian viticulture and winemaking. Since then, the wine cellars and the utility rooms, which housed the tractor crew under Soviet rule, have been preserved.

Now “Chateau Lacarin” appears as a refuge of peace, far from the worries where nature wins: horses, goats, sheep graze everywhere, dogs run, cats bask in the sun. Marianna Lacarin, Christoph’s wife, prepares wonderful meals using natural products from the farm. And the winemaker himself, like a true Frenchman, enjoys spending time with guests at the table, talking about life, wine and business. And then leads them to his huge wine cellar, where he demonstrates the process of making wine and champagne, carefully making sure that the glasses do not remain empty.

Guests are also offered table d’hote-style lunches, which include a full range of traditional Bessarabian cuisine from local products.

Excursions with tastings are held in the warm season. In the rain and cold season - in a spacious living room with a fireplace decorated with paintings and antiques. Guests can enjoy a variety of wines accompanied by pate, goat cheese and homemade bread.

After the first tasting and communication with the winemaker, guests go to inspect the vineyard by UAZ cabriolet (if the group is small) or in the trailer of the tractor "Belarus". Upon return, guests go down to the wine cellar, where they continue to taste wine directly from the wine tanks. It is here that the Marquis de Lacarin tells and shows how he makes brut nature champagne, using the ancient French technology "Dom Perignon", and guests taste several types of champagne, helping the Marquis in the process of disgorging.

"Chateau Lacarin" is a participant in the project "Wine and Taste Route of Ukrainian Bessarabia".

The Greek Church of Saint John the Baptist in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi stands on the high bank of the Dniester estuary.

The first wooden temple was founded in the XIII-XIV centuries by Greek merchants from Trebizond. In its current form, the church was rebuilt in 1478-1480, during the Moldavian period, during the reign of Stephen III the Great. The funds for the construction were collected by the Greek community of the city.

According to legend, in the 14th century, Saint Ioann Suchavskyi, a great martyr who is considered the protector of Moldova, was buried on the territory of the Greek Church. The burial place is marked by a chapel to the right of the church. Later, the relics of the saint were reburied in Suceava in the present territory of Romania.

Despite its modest size, the Church of John the Baptist looks very massive and is a rare type of religious building in the architectural heritage of Ukraine.

The underground church of Ioann of Suchavskyi was built in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi over a stone well, where, according to legend, the Orthodox saint John of Suchavskyi was killed.

In 1330, the Orthodox merchant John from Turkish Trebizond, who traded in Akkerman, refused to convert to Islam, for which he was tortured by order of the governor of the Golden Horde. A chapel was built on John's grave, and the saint's relics were later moved to Moldavian Suceava (now the territory of Romania). Since that time, he is considered the heavenly patron of merchants.

A spring by the sea, which, according to legend, was often visited by Ioann, was named after him. The water from the Saint Ioann's spring is considered healing, and people come from all over for it.

The Embroidery Museum was created in her house by Nina Hryshchuk, a resident of the village of Nehrove. The museum's exposition is located in five rooms, which present embroidered paintings by famous artists, towels, napkins, sheets, carpets, and colorful pillows.

Nina Hryshchuk began embroidering at the age of 12. Her mother taught her to embroider. She passed on her skills to her daughter Olha and granddaughter Dariya. The craftswoman is happy to conduct master classes and share embroidery techniques with museum visitors.

The Embroidery Museum of the village of Nehrove is a branch of the Nadezhda Local Lore Museum.

The Novoselivka Village People`s Ethnographic Museum "Casa Perintyaske" was created in the village of Novoselivka in 2010 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the village's founding. It is a structural unit of the municipal institution "Novoselivka Village House of Culture".

The museum's exposition recreates the traditional life of a Moldovan village, since Novoselivka is a center where ethnic Moldovans live harmoniously and with dignity. Many documents and photographs are presented that tell about the history of the village and its prominent personalities, traditional household items, tools, antique products, etc.

Master classes are held on weaving national Moldovan carpets and rugs. Anyone can learn to weave carpets from woolen threads in various techniques and rugs from strips cut from fabric in the "nitsurka" technique on looms installed in the "Casa Perintyaske" museum.

The Ethnographic Museum of Bulgarian Culture "Голямата къща" (from Bulgarian - "big room, living room") is located on the second floor of the House of Culture of the village of Kamchyk.

The museum's exposition is located in three spacious halls and is thematically divided into several sections: a reduced copy of the house of Bulgarian settlers with an internal layout of three rooms, "Bulgarian Weaving", "Land Cultivation and Agricultural Tools", "History of the Resettlement to Kamchyk", "Rites and Traditions of Kamchykans", "Volga and Danube Bulgaria", "Silver Ancient Women's Jewelry", "Money of Bessarabia", "Authentic Clothing - Northern (Northern Costume) and Southern Bulgaria (Rhodope Costume)".

During a tour of the museum, visitors are introduced to the traditions and folk rituals of Kamchych people - the intricacies of weddings, family relations between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law, the peculiarities of respectful treatment of men as heads of families, preparation of inheritance for girls, etc.

Organized tourist groups are met with a Hayda (a Bulgarian musical folk instrument), a tasting of traditional Bulgarian cuisine and a master class on the Bulgarian folk dance "Horo".

In addition, in the museum, the collectives of the House of Culture show seasonal Bulgarian folk rituals for guests.

In 2020, the "Голямата къща" museum was included in the Program of Activities within the framework of the implementation of the UNESCO Convention "For the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage".

The Holy Ascension Cathedral is the main Orthodox shrine and the largest temple in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

Construction on the site of the old Turkish cemetery was carried out from 1815 to 1820 with donations from local residents. Initially, the church had the shape of a ship, but in 1830, three porticos with 4 columns were added, and the cathedral took on the shape of a cross, characteristic of Russian classicism. In 1971, the walls and dome of the cathedral were painted by the family of the artist Piskarev with a group of Moscow artists.

A part of the relics of Saint Ioann of Suchavsky is preserved in the Ascension Cathedral.

A 40-meter-high belfry adjoined the cathedral, which collapsed in 2004 (restoration is underway).

A chapel was built on the territory in honor of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ.

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in Tatarbunary in 1877 on the site of a small wooden church founded in 1814.

The one-seat Holy Assumption Church has the shape of a cross. This is one of the few churches in Bessarabiya that was never closed even during the height of Soviet atheism.

The Holy Intercession Church is a business card of the village of Starokozache.

The beautiful red brick building in the center of the village was laid in 1908, but construction was delayed, interrupted first by the First World War, then by the Bolshevik coup and the establishment of Soviet power. Work resumed only in 1929 during the Romanian occupation, and was completely completed in 1937.

The Church of the Intercession is built according to the type of cathedral in the shape of a cross. The bell tower was originally much higher, but after the church was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1962, it was destroyed.

Restoration began in 1989. In particular, the original paintings have been restored.