Attractions of Okhtyrka district

The Church of the Nativity of Christ, which is part of the ensemble of the Holy Intercession Cathedral in Okhtyrka, is called the "Count's Church" because it was built at the expense of Countess Anna Chernyshova.

According to legend, her mother, Baroness fon Vedel (Veydel), fell fatally ill in Okhtyrka on the way to St. Petersburg. Before her death in the Intercession Church, she had an apparition of the Mother of God, who ordered her to give away her wealth to beggars, and promised to take her two young daughters under her care. Soon after the death of the baroness, her orphaned daughters ended up at court and successfully married, and since then they made large donations to the Intercession Temple. In particular, they financed the construction of the Nativity of Christ Church.

The temple is original in terms of its volume-spatial and decorative solution, and is more like a palace building than a religious one. Indeed, living rooms were provided in the side rooms, in which the pious countess often lived for months, spending time in prayers.

Park-monument of horticultural art "Trostianetsky" is located on the slopes of the hills of the picturesque tract "Neskuchne", where there are three lakes in the middle of a mixed pine-deciduous forest.

The landscape park was established at the beginning of the 19th century, when Trostianets belonged to Oleksandra Nadarzhynska, the granddaughter of the city's founder Timofiy Nadarzhynskyi. Formed on the basis of ancient timber and using the natural landscape, Neskuchne Park occupies an area of 256 hectares (400-year-old oaks have been preserved).

Near the back entrance to the park in 1911, a two-story art nouveau manager's house with a tower was built, which now houses a forest research station.

On the shore of the third lake in the depths of the park is the "Grote Nymph" (1809), built of large flat stones for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. According to legend, the grotto was the entrance to the dungeons located under the city. Under Prince Vasyl Holitsyn, the grotto was used for theatrical performances on the theme of ancient Greek myths, hence the name.

Okhtyrka City Museum of Local Lore is located in a former private mansion of the late nineteenth - early twentieth century, located in the center of Okhtyrka.

The museum was founded in 1920. There are three permanent exhibitions: "Fauna of the native land", "History of Okhtyrka", "Okhtyrka in the occupation period" and an exhibition hall.

The most interesting exhibits of the museum: personal belongings of the writer-countryman Ivan Bahryany, antiques, photographs, books on historical themes, index "Kharkiv Provincial Assembly of 1786-1919", books on the liberation of Ukraine from fascist invaders, theatrical costumes.

Employees of the museum conduct tours of the city of Okhtyrka and its surroundings.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Okhtyrka Local Lore Museum building was damaged by an explosion and is now in need of restoration. Part of the exposition was damaged. But the most valuable exhibits were saved.

The Okhtyrskyi Holy Trinity Monastery was founded in 1654 in a picturesque place on the top of Monastyrska Hill on the forested banks of the Vorskla.

The first builder of the monastery was hegumen Ioannikiy, who came to Okhtyrka with his brothers from the Lebedyn monastery beyond the Dnipro, destroyed by the Poles.

According to legend, the first wooden church was consecrated in the 17th century in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the monastery was originally called Annunciation. Later, a stone refectory church of the same name was built instead of a wooden one at the expense of the Okhtyrka colonel Fedir Osypov.

From 1720, according to the decree of Peter I, the abbot of the Okhtyrskyi monastery became the tsar's confessor Tymofiy Nadarzhynskyi. He died in 1729 and was buried in the Trinity Cathedral built by him. His son Yosyp Nadarzhynskyi built the stone Church of the Transfiguration with a fraternal refectory and bell tower at his own expense, and in 1741 – a hospital with the Church of Peter and Paul. The main shrine of the monastery was the miraculous Okhtyr icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Sorrowful Ones".

In 1917, the Okhtyrskyi monastery was closed, an asylum for orphans was placed in it, then a military unit. During the Second World War, the monastery buildings were badly damaged.

The revival of the Okhtyrskyi Holy Trinity Monastery began in 2002.

The People's Literary Memorial Museum of Ostap Vyshnya was opened in 1982 by his compatriots in the writer's homeland - in the village of Hrun in Sumy region.

The main exposition is dedicated to the life and work of the Ukrainian humorist, classic of satirical prose Ostap Vyshnya.

Several stands cover the history and ethnography of the village of Hrun.

Every autumn, the Vyshnya Smiles festival is held here, which is attended by humorous writers from Sumy and Ukraine, guests from near abroad.

A monument to the composer Petro Tchaikovsky is installed in the central park of Trostianets.

The composer spent three summer months in Trostianets in 1864 at the invitation of his friend and classmate Oleksiy Holitsyn. Here Tchaikovsky wrote his first symphonic work - the overture to the drama "The Thunderstorm".

The monument of sculptor Mykola Sukhodolov is considered the only monument to Tchaikovsky in Ukraine, where the composer is depicted in full height.

Unique in terms of architecture, the manor house "Round Yard" was built in Trostianets  in 1749 by Yosyp Nadarzhynskyi with brothers - sons of the royal clergyman Timofiy Nadarzhynskyi.

The building is made in the form of an oval fortress or castle. Initially, it was planned as a defense to protect against the Tatars. The "Round Yard" is surrounded by a hollow brick wall reinforced with buttresses, with one-story rooms inside the yard and four round three-tiered towers.

In the middle of the 19th century, the estate passed into the possession of Prince Oleksiy Holitsyn, who adapted the fortress "Round Yard" for a summer theater or circus. In the open area of the courtyard, three-tiered boxes for spectators were built, similar to ancient Roman amphitheatres. Artists lived in the towers. In the center was an arena where circus performances and performances by the troupe of the Holitsyn Fortress Theater took place.

During the years of Ukraine's independence, the "Round Yard" was restored, various cultural events are held. Adjacent to it is a park with the Holitsyn Palace (XIX century), an arboretum, lakes and wooden sculptures.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, during the battles for Trostianets, Russian troops caused significant damage to the "Round Yard" building.

The majestic church of Saint George the Victorious in Okhtyrka is also known as Yuriyivska Church.

Its history begins in 1660, when the first Saint George's Church was built in Okhtyrka. Subsequently, it was repeatedly reconstructed by the efforts of the hussar regiment of Denis Davydov, but in 1860 it was decided to build a new one instead of the old church. Construction lasted 45 years. The temple was consecrated only in 1905, and it was active for a short time. In 1920, it was closed and partially looted by the Bolsheviks, for a long time the premises were used as a warehouse.

In 1993, the church was handed over to the community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

In May 2022, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Saint George's Church was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack. Damaged upper, over-door and arched windows, as well as wall structures.

The beautiful Transfiguration Church is located in the center of Okhtyrka.

A small temple in the Byzantine style was built according to the project of the architect Volodymyr Nemkin instead of the wooden Transfiguration Church, founded in the 18th century. The project of the new stone church was approved and adopted in 1904, and a year later the church was consecrated. The construction was carried out on the donation of the burgher Hryhoriy Chykalo.

Previously, a now lost belfry towered above the temple, on the second tier of which there was a bell weighing 5 tons. During the Soviet struggle against religion, the bell tower was dismantled, the church was closed. Until 1994, the premises were used as a gym. Currently, the Savior-Transfiguration Church belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Its dome is gilded, restoration work has been carried out inside, and an iconostasis has been installed.

On March 2, 2022, as a result of Russian shelling during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Church of the Transfiguration suffered significant damage.