Attractions of Kaniv

Assumption Cathedral was built in 1144 by Prince Vsevolod Olhovych. The type of architecture is close to the Kyiv churches - Kyrylivska and Bohoroditsa Pyrohoshcha.

From the year of foundation of Assumption Church, it is customary to keep the official chronicle of Kaniv, although the city existed earlier. A classic example of Byzantine architecture.

In 1185, a defense against the Polovtsy was being prepared near the walls of this temple after the unsuccessful campaign of Prince Ihor Svyatoslavych of Novhorod-Siverskyi. In 1587, Cossack leader Ivan Podkova, who was executed in Lviv, was buried here. Destroyed by the Turks in the 17th century, the temple was restored in 1805, and in 1861, a funeral procession with the ashes of the poet Taras Shevchenko, brought from St. Petersburg, left for Chernecha Mountain.

The temple is active, it belongs to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The nearby building of the former Basilian school now houses the Museum of Folk Decorative Art, which previously occupied the premises of the church.

Nearby, there is a monument to Saint Makarius Kanivsky, who was the abbot of the Kaniv monastery in the 17th century and died during the Turkish invasion.

Chernecha Hill in Kaniv is one of the highest Kaniv mountains (244 meters) on the high right bank of the Dnipro, the burial place of the Ukrainian poet-prophet Taras Shevchenko.

According to folk tales, in the 11th and 12th centuries, on the slopes of Chernecha Hill in the Monastyrok tract, there was a cave monastery of Kaniv, where monks (ukr. – chentsi) secluded themselves, which is where the name of the mountain comes from.

During Cossack times, the Holy Intercession Monastery, known since 1702, was located here.

The poet Taras Shevchenko planned to buy a plot of land for his own estate on Chernecha Hill shortly before his death in 1961, after seeing these places during his last visit to Ukraine. Here he was reburied at the request of the public, according to the will. Since then, Chernecha Hill has been called Taras Hill (Tarasova Hora).

Now it is a memorial park, the central element of which is a monument to Taras Shevchenko, erected over his grave in 1939. This bronze monument by the sculptor Matvyi Manizer is considered the highest monument to Shevchenko in Ukraine - 17 meters. There is an observation deck near the monument, which offers a wide panorama of the Dnipro.

From the pier and parking lot at the foot of the mountain, a granite staircase with 392 steps leads to its top, with recreation areas and the "Lilium" fountain (1977, architect Anatoly Moshenskyi).

The landscape park on Chernecha Hill with an area of 45 hectares is a component of the Shevchenko National Reserve "Taras Hill".

The wooden Cossack Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in the Monastyrok tract at the foot of Taras (Chernecha) Hill in Kaniv was restored in 2014 for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko.

The Church of the Intercession existed on this site in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was the spiritual center of the Kaniv Holy Intercession Orthodox Monastery, which gave the name to the tract and Chernecha Hill. The monastery was destroyed by the Poles in 1776, but the Greek Catholics preserved the church and moved it to the Assumption Cathedral, which was destroyed at that time. There he was painted by the outstanding French artist Jean-Henri Muntz. Muntz's drawing became the basis of the project of reconstruction of the Church of the Intercession. It is also called the Tarasov Church.

There is a Cossack memorial in front of the church.

The decision to create a historical museum in Kaniv was made in 1963, but it was actually opened only 28 years later. It is located in an old building in the center of the city.

The first exposition was dedicated to the Trypillia culture, the next - the history of the Kaniv region from the Paleolithic to the Ancient Rus state.

The permanent exhibition "Antiquities of Kaniv" with ethnographic material of the 19th century, several thematic exhibitions have also been opened.

Kaniv HPP is the youngest hydroelectric power station of the Dnipro Cascade, it is its second stage.

The hydroelectric dam forms the Kaniv reservoir with an area of 675 square kilometers. During the creation of the reservoir, many residents of neighboring villages were forcibly relocated, some villages were flooded.

The station was put into operation in 1972, and reached full capacity 4 years later (444 MW). It was also planned to create a hydraulic storage station, but the work was stopped in 1992.

The structures of the hydroelectric hub include: the HPP building, a complex of navigation and lock structures, earthen dams and protective structures on the right bank, and others. Road and railway bridge crossings are laid from above.

From the dam, you can see the supports of the railway bridge over the Dnipro, destroyed during the Second World War.

The Kaniv nature reserve was created in 1923 to protect the reference and unique natural complexes of the forest-steppe, preserve the biodiversity of forests on the Dnipro hills and islands in the Kaniv region.

The flora of the reserve includes 990 species of vascular plants (20% of the flora of Ukraine), of which 5 species are included in the European Red List, 29 - in the Red Book of Ukraine.

There are 26 species of animals included in the European Red List, 83 in the Red Book of Ukraine.

The central estate of the Kaniv nature reserve is located on the territory of the former estate of academician Mykola Bilyashevsky, who discovered the settlement of the chronicled Rodny, the tribal center of the early Slavs, on Knyazha mountain in Kaniv.

The nature museum of the Kaniv Region was opened in the old memorial house of Bilyashevsky.

The Museum of Folk Decorative Art is located in Kaniv in the two-story building of the former Basilian school, founded in 1781 by the Uniate priest Bonifatiy Fizykevych at the expense of Count Stanislav Ponyatovsky, who owned the city at the time.

The school was closed in 1838. In the future, the building was also used for its intended purpose as a school. The second floor was built during Soviet times.

In 1990, the Museum of Folk Decorative Art, which was previously located in the neighboring building of the Assumption Cathedral, moved to this premises.

The museum has more than 5,000 exhibits: a collection of glass from the XIII-XVI centuries, wood products, paintings. There is a collection of samples of traditional Ukrainian clothing and household items of the three central regions - Cherkasy, Kyiv and Poltava. In particular, the primitivist works of the People's Artist of Ukraine Mariya Prymachenko, the unique embroidery of the artist Svitlana Ustymenko, and others are presented.

A life-size model of an armored train was installed in Kaniv to mark the 35th anniversary of the Victory.

Perpetuates the feat of the crew of the armored train BP 56 NKVD troops to protect the railways, which operated in 1941 near the Kaniv crossing. It covered the retreat of Red Army units across the railway bridge, which was later destroyed and not rebuilt (supports can be seen from the hydroelectric dam). The №56 armored train had two armored platforms with four 76-mm guns and sixteen machine guns, an armored locomotive and two cover platforms, one of which was equipped with an anti-tank gun and an anti-aircraft machine gun. The crew was over 100 people. The model was created on the basis of a locomotive of the "Ov" series and two wagons lined with sheet iron.

In 2012, the museum was reconstructed and the exposition was updated.

At the foot of Tarasova (Chernecha) Mountain in Kanev, in 2007, an avenue of 19 sculptures appeared, dedicated to the characters of Taras Shevchenko's works.

Sculptors from different parts of Ukraine worked for more than a month on their creation from blocks of sandstone and limestone. Initially, the monuments were planned to be built from the Dormition Cathedral to Chernechaya Hill - along the route of Kobzar's last journey. However, the sculptures were collected together, where at the foot of Tarasova Mountain they form a kind of sculpture park called "Shevchenko Alley".

Taras Hill (Tarasova Hora) in Kaniv is a national shrine of the Ukrainian people, a place of worship to the memory of the outstanding poet-prophet Taras Shevchenko. The poet's grave and the surrounding natural landscapes are protected by the Shevchenko National Reserve, founded in 1925.

The reserve is located on Chernecha Hill above the Dnipro, on the southeastern outskirts of Kaniv. According to legend, the mountain got its original name back in the 11th-12th centuries, when the Kaniv cave monastery existed on it. Later, the Cossack Intercession Monastery was founded here.

In the middle of the 19th century, after visiting these places, Taras Shevchenko wanted to buy a plot of land here to build a manor, but his plans were not destined to come true. After his death in St. Petersburg, Shevchenko was first buried at the Smolensk cemetery, however, at the request of the public, on May 10, 1861, the coffin with the poet's ashes was brought to Kaniv.

According to the will, he was buried on a high Dnipro cliff, which has since been called Taras Hill. A mound was placed on the grave and a monumental cast-iron cross monument was installed. In 1939, the largest monument to Shevchenko in Ukraine was erected on the grave. There are 342 steps leading to the monument from the foot of the mountain with the Lily fountain.

The first folk museum of the poet "Tarasova svitlytsia" was opened at the end of the 19th century in the former house of the overseer of the Shevchenko grave, Ivan Yadlovsky. After the construction of the new museum complex, "Tarasova Svitlytsa" was restored in its original form at another place, near Yadlovsky's grave.

In 1939, the literary and memorial museum of Taras Shevchenko was opened near Shevchenko's grave, built according to the project of the outstanding architect Vasyl Krychevskyi, who is considered the founder of Ukrainian architectural modernism. After a long restoration in 2003-2010, the museum has a modernized interactive exposition, which presents memorial items and etchings of Shevchenko, rare editions of his works, works of art on Shevchenko themes, etc.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, the historic Cossack Church of Intercession of Holy Virgin has been recreated in the Monastirok tract on the slope of Taras Hill. The pavilion of the "Tarasova Hora" passenger pier, where ships from Kyiv sometimes arrive, was also renovated for the anniversary. There is a cafe on the pier, and there is a souvenir shop nearby. The main parking lot of the reserve for tourist buses is located at the foot of the stairs to Taras Hill. You can go directly to the mountain by car, where there is also a small parking lot.

The Shevchenko National Reserve also includes the Kaniv Historical Museum, the Kaniv Museum of Folk Decorative Art, and the Literary Kaniv Region Museum, which are located in the center of the city.

The Literary Memorial Museum of Taras Shevchenko in Kaniv was opened in 1939. Before that, on Taras Hill, there was a folk museum of the poet "Tarasova Svitlytsia", opened at the end of the 19th century in the former house of the overseer of the Shevchenko grave, Ivan Yadlovskyi.

The new museum was built during 1935-1937 according to the project of the outstanding architect Vasyl Krychevsky, who is considered the founder of Ukrainian architectural modernism. According to the initial plan, the laconic, outwardly classicist building was to be decorated with Ukrainian ornaments in the majolica technique. This idea was never implemented, but the interior decoration was impressive with a folk color: a bright stained glass window in the depth of the lobby, caissons with colored rosettes on the ceiling, ornamental paintings on the walls.

After the reconstruction of 2003-2010, the building acquired a modern minimalist look with elements of constructivism.

Today, the museum collection includes more than 20,000 objects. The main exposition presents individual memorial items of Taras Shevchenko (carved casket, spindle, psalter), originals of some of his drawings and etchings, rare editions of the poet's works, works of art on Shevchenko themes, etc.

In a separate hall, Kobzar's posthumous plaster mask is displayed surrounded by texts from the "Testament" in various languages of the world. The interactive map "The last journey of Taras Shevchenko through Ukraine" shows the route by which the coffin with Kobzar's ashes was taken from St. Petersburg to Kaniv.

The exhibition is equipped with multimedia information kiosks, and various audiovisual programs are available to visitors.

The first Taras Shevchenko National Museum on Chernecha Hill in Kaniv "Tarasova Svitlytsia" appeared long before the creation of the Shevchenko National Reserve.

As early as 1884, at the same time as the arrangement of Shevchenko's grave was completed, a house was built next to it. In one half of it lived the first caretaker of the grave Ivan Yadlovsky, opened the first national museum of the poet with a book of reviews.

The house was dismantled in the 1930s, during the construction of a memorial on Tarasova Hill, but was restored in 1991. The museum exposition presents a copy of a portrait of Shevchenko donated to the museum by artist Illya Repin, a copy of a towel embroidered for the museum by Lesya Ukrayinka, an icon depicting Shevchenko in the image of a saint.

In the second half, the room of the guard of Shevchenko's grave with the original samovar of Ivan Yadlovsky on the table was restored.

The workshop-gallery "Creative Treasury" presents the works of Kaniv artist Halyna Morozova, co-founder of the creative union of the same name, as well as other artists from Kaniv.

Self-taught artist Halyna Morozova works in different styles: realism, impressionism, abstractionism, decorative art. She considers the painting "Bird of Happiness" to be her mascot work.