Attractions of Shpola

The location with geographic coordinates of 49*01"39" north latitude and 31*28"58" east longitude was officially approved as the geographic center of Ukraine in 2005 by the decision of the State Committee of Natural Resources according to the results of research by the Research Institute of Geodesy and Cartography.

Before that, it was believed that the geographical center of Ukraine is located next to the urban-type village of Dobrovelichkivka, Kirovohrad Region, where a memorial sign was installed back in 1989. The point in Dobrovelychkivka was awarded another honorary title - the geometric center of Ukraine.

According to updated data, the center of Ukraine is located in the middle of a field to the east of Shpola, next to the village of Maryanivka. The location is 3 kilometers from the highway N-16 "Cherkasy - Uman", behind the railway tracks - a small memorial sign has been installed at this place.

Directly opposite the turn from the highway to Maryanivka, in 2012, the construction of the historical and tourist complex "Geographical Center of Ukraine" began. Previously, at the entrance to Shpola from the Smila side, a granite monument was installed with the outline of the territory of Ukraine, markings of Kyiv, Shpola and Maryanivka, and the inscription "Shpolyanshchyna - the geographical center of Ukraine".

A two-story palace in the style of classicism was built in the middle of the 19th century on the outskirts of Shpola, which is called Verkhnya Dariivka, by the famous financier and statesman Oleksandr Abaza, who bought the Shpola estate from Count Orlov.

The main facade with white columns looks very simple and austere, but on the garden side there is an open terrace with a cast-iron colonnade with ornaments on plant motifs and monograms with the letter "A".

An outhouse from the beginning of the 20th century with wooden carvings has also been preserved.

In a small park with an artificial pond, local species of trees are presented, as well as several exotic ones: pyramidal oak, ironwood and others.

In the 19th century, the estate passed as a dowry to the daughter of Oleksandr Abaza Pelaheya, who married the diplomat Lev Urusov. In 1917, the Urusovs were forced to leave the estate and emigrate abroad, and a shelter for orphans and children of the repressed was placed in the palace. Now it is a specialized boarding school.