Attractions of Novhorod-Siverskyi district

The oriental-style palace with Gothic elements was built in Vyshenky in the 18th century by the famous commander, field marshal, and president of the Little Russian College, Count Petro Rumyantsev-Zadunayskyi.

Located on a hill above a pond, the building, vaguely reminiscent of medieval castles, is successfully integrated into the landscape. It is believed that the author of the project could be the architect Dzhakomo Kvarenhi or the Russian architect Vasyl Bazhenov.

The retired field marshal created a whole complex of palaces and entertainment facilities on the territory of his estates. Here he received Catherine II during her trip to the Crimea.

Part of the palace was dismantled in the 19th century by order of the landowner Suddiyenko, who settled here. During Soviet times, a pioneer camp was placed on the territory of the manor. Today it is a children's health camp "Suzirya". Restoration is planned.

A large settlement of ancient people of the Late Paleolithic era was discovered near the village of Mezyn by Fedir Vovk, a Ukrainian scientist and associate professor of the St. Petersburg University in 1908.

Archaeologists have excavated dwellings made of mammoth bones covered with bison hides. The Mezyn settlement lot gained worldwide fame thanks to unique finds, among which were rare examples of ancient art: figures of bird women made of mammoth tusk and decorated with carved ornaments, as well as iconic bracelets. Later, the oldest musical instruments and the lunar calendar were found.

Part of the archaeological materials is stored in the Mezyn Archaeological Museum, created in 1965 on the initiative of the local historian Vasyl Kurylenko.

The museum is located on the site of an archaeological excavation in a wooden house of the 18th century.

The Ascension Church was built in Korop in 1764 at the expense of the Cossack chieftain Petro Yurkevych, who commanded the artillery unit stationed in the city, the General Armata.

The temple has a tower-like shape with an octagonal drum. Samples of easel oil painting of the end of the 18th century have been preserved inside.

The Assumption Cathedral is the oldest of the buildings of Novhorod-Siversky that have been preserved in their original form.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built approximately in 1671 on the site where, according to legend, in ancient times there was a pagan temple with Slavic idols. The temple is five-domed, cross-shaped in plan. Made in the classic Ukrainian baroque style.

In 1701 reconstruction was carried out, in 1820 the baths were replaced and the bell tower was added.

Today, the Assumption Cathedral is an active temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The complex of trade and commercial buildings on Bazaar Square was built in the center of Novhorod-Siverskyi throughout the 19th century.

The oldest building - Shopping Rows with warehouses, which, despite their status as an architectural monument, are still used for their intended purpose.

On the corner of Hubernska Street is the historic two-story building of the Central Hotel (1898), which has also retained its functionality.

On the square there is an original equestrian monument to Ihor Svyatoslavovych, the hero of "The Tale of Ihor's Campaign" (the bullet above the rider's head symbolizes the solar eclipse, which foreshadowed the prince's defeat in the battle with the Polovtsy).

Castle Hill is a hill above the Desna River, on which an ancient Rus fortress was built in the 10th century, which later became the capital of the Novhorod-Siverskyi principality.

From the 12th century, the wooden fortress with earthen ramparts was the residence of the Olhovychi dynasty, defending the eastern borders of Kyivan Rus. The entrance was made through one gate, inside was the princely court and the stone cathedral of Arch-strategist Michael. On three sides, the baby was surrounded by the surrounding city, where the Saint Nicholas Church was built (now in its place is a wooden church of the same name from 1762).

In the second half of the 14th century, the fortress passed into the hands of Lithuanian princes, in 1503 it went to Muscovy, then to Poland, until it was recaptured by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. In 1708, the fortress was occupied by Peter I, fortified, but soon lost its importance and was destroyed.

A monument to the legendary Boyan, the author of "The Tale of Ihor's Campaign", as well as a commemorative stone, was erected at the place of the prince's baby.

A very picturesque abandoned chalk quarry is located east of the village of Putyvsk.

The relief of the walls was formed as a result of erosion of the rock by rains and meltwater. Particularly impressive views are from the bottom of the quarry.

From the top of the nearby mountain, the quarry can be seen in its full scale, and an amazing view of the Desna River opens up.

The original brick building of the Female Gymnasium was built according to the project of the architect Feinberg in 1912.

The gymnasium itself was opened in Novhorod-Siverskyi back in 1875. Female graduates had the right to teach in Zemstvo schools.

In 1920, a single labor school was created on the basis of the gymnasium, which was later reorganized into secondary school No. 1. The status of a gymnasium was returned to it in 1999. In 2023, the gymnasium was renamed Novhorod-Siverskyi Lyceum No. 1.

The powerful defensive Savior Transfiguration monastery on the high bank of the Desna is one of the oldest in Ukraine.

Founded in 1033 by Prince Mstislav Tmutarakansky, the princes of the Novhorod-Siverskyi principality were blessed here. The monastery also served as the prince's residence (the foundation of the prince's chambers was excavated).

In the XII century on the territory surrounded by a fortress wall with towers, a stone Savior Cathedral was built. From him went on a campaign to Polovtsian lands, Prince Ihor Svyatoslavich - the protagonist of "The Tale of Ihor's Campaign."

The name of this historical work is the historical and cultural reserve created on the basis of the monastery complex, the museum exposition of which is located in a two-storey building of the Abbot's House.

Most of the buildings of the monastery revived after the Mongol destruction date back to the XVII-XVIII centuries. The monastery is surrounded by a strong wall with corner towers, a bridge over the defensive moat to the Holy Gate with a bell tower, reinforced by flank towers.

The territory is dominated by the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral (1786-1787), built in the style of classicism on the site of an ancient Rus church. Also preserved are the Peter and Paul (XVII century) and Saint Illya (1787) churches, the building of the bursa (1657-1667). The Savior Transfiguration Monastery is active, completely restored in 2003.

In addition to the museum and temples, towers, galleries and dungeons are also open to the public.

The Dormition Church in Vyshenky is an outstanding example of temple architecture of the second half of the 19th century.

It was built in 1782-1787 at the expense of Field Marshal Petro Rumyantsev-Zadunayskyi in the form of classicism with baroque elements.

A very expressive temple, which impresses with the simplicity of the plan, exquisite proportions, the elegance of the facades, and the elegant silhouette of the building. The architecture shows the influence of Catholic and Muslim temple architecture.

The Dormition Temple is part of the palace and park complex of Rumyantsev-Zadunayskyi. Restoration is underway.

The Korop Regional Historical and Archaeological Museum is located in the building of the former Theodosius Church, which was built in the 1880s in the pseudo-Rus style.

Under Soviet rule, the baths were removed from the temple and housed first a cinema and then a museum.

Archaeological, geological and ethnographic collections are of considerable value. In the exposition you can see finds from the Mezyn Paleolithic site, a diorama of the Radychiv settlement from the times of Kyivan Rus, samples of traditional clothes and towels.

The museum also widely presents samples of ceramic pottery and tiles of Korop region, which was known as one of the leading centers of pottery.

The architecture of the region is represented by models of all 9 churches that existed in Korop in the early XX century.

The male gymnasium building appeared in the center of Novohorod-Siverskyi at the end of the 19th century, although the educational institution itself was founded in 1804 on the basis of an even older public school.

For a long time, the gymnasium was the center of education of the entire Chernihiv province. Among the graduates are the historian, the first rector of Kyiv University Mykhaylo Maksymovych, the Ukrainian writer Panteleymon Kulish, the revolutionary-populist Mykola Kybalchych, as well as the famous teacher Kostyantyn Ushynsky.

The state gymnasium, which currently occupies the premises, is named after the latter.

On the night of May 12, 2022, in the course of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian aviation dropped missiles on the center of Novhorod-Siverskyi. As a result of the Russian airstrike, the entire complex of buildings of the male gymnasium was damaged - the windows were broken, the roof and part of the facade of the building were completely destroyed.

Mezyn National Nature Park, also known as "Mezyn Switzerland", was created in 2006 on the basis of several landscape reserves along the right bank of the Desna River.

The area of the park is 31 thousand hectares. It stretches from Mezyn in the north to Horodyshche in the south and from Ponornytsia in the west to Rozlyoti in the east. In the floodplain of the Desna, many old houses and lakes have been preserved, the largest of which is Lake Khatyn (50 hectares). The park is home to 149 species of vertebrates: 25 species of fish, 9 species of amphibians, 3 species of reptiles, 93 species of birds and 19 species of mammals. Of these, 24 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Among the monuments of archeology is the Mezyn Paleolithic site, the age of which is estimated at 20 thousand years.

The Mezyn National Nature Park Visitor Center is located in Desnyansk. A nature museum has been created here, where collections of insects, mosses and geological materials are exhibited. Also presented is a panorama of the Mezyn parking lot, a small ethnographic exposition, the museum room of Vasyl Kurylenko, the founder and permanent director of the Mezyn Archaeological Research Museum.

The Museum of Local Lore of the Novhorod-Siverskyi historical and cultural reserve introduces the history of the city, archeology and nature of the Siverskyi region.

The history department presents a diorama of the late Paleolithic Pushkarivska site, as well as a diorama of the liberation of the city from the German-fascist invaders.

The exposition of the nature department with the diorama "Polissya" introduces the flora and fauna of the region.

The exhibition "Ukrainian life, clothing and embroidery" has been opened in the ethnology department.

Museum employees conduct tours of the city.

The memorial museum of the revolutionary-populist and inventor Mykola Kybalchych was opened in Korop in the house of the priest in which he was born in 1853.

Even in his youth, Kybalchych, who was fond of chemistry, became an underground revolutionary, working in the so-called "hell laboratories" where explosives were made. At the same time, he developed a diagram of the world's first jet aircraft, the drawing of which was scratched on the wall of a prison cell. In 1881, he was executed for an attempt to assassinate the Russian Tsar Oleksandr II.

A family of local artists - Olena Lukash and Mykola Hara-Zhuk - stood near the sources of the creation of the Kybalchych Museum in Korop. In particular, the museum exposition presents a model of the Kybalchych rocket.