Attractions of Poltava

The most beautiful building in Poltava, which currently houses the regional office of the SBU, was built at the beginning of the 20th century for the Peasant and Noble Land Bank, which issued long-term loans to peasants for the purchase of noble lands.

Architect Oleksandr Kobelev designed the building, which is now considered one of the best examples of Ukrainian modernism. And the decorations are widely used details of Rus architecture. Multicolored mosaics give a special picturesqueness. The central entrance at the truncated corner of the building is decorated with a decorative mosaic panel with firebirds and siren sculptures.

The Building of Noble and Peasant Bank was damaged during the Second World War, restored in 1948.

The central square of the Poltava is a Round, in the center of which is the Corps Garden with the Glory Monument in honor of the 100th anniversary of the victory over the Swedes near Poltava (1806-1811, architect Zhan-Fransua Toma de Tomon, sculptor Feodosiy Shchedrin). According to legend, Petro I met the defenders of the city at this place.

Administrative buildings were built around the square in 1809-1811: The present places (now - the City Council), the Noble Assembly (now - the Ivan Kotlyarevsky cinema), the House of the Governor-General (now - the Council of Trade Unions), the Malorosiyskyi Post Office (now - the Poltava School of Arts) , Petrivsky Cadet Corps (until recently (Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile School) and others. A modern shopping complex was built in the underground part.

The Round Square in Poltava is a popular place for city dwellers to walk.

The monument of Cossack glory in Poltava was opened in 1994. Dedicated to the Ukrainian Cossacks who died during the Battle of Poltava.

The authors of the project are sculptor Volodymyr Bilous, artist Viktor Baturin.

A huge Cossack cross with the laconic inscription "To Ukrainian fallen Cossacks" is placed on a massive granite base. At the foot of the symbolic mound - two bunchuks.

The Museum of Heavy Bomber Aviation was established on the territory of Poltava Military Airfield, where the 13th Guards Dnipropetrovsk-Budapest Order of Suvorov Heavy Bomber Aviation Division was based in Soviet times.

It consisted of 18 long-range supersonic Tu-22M3 bombers (Backfire), 6 long-range jet missiles Tu-16 (Badger) and other equipment. After the collapse of the USSR, the division was disbanded. According to the Ukrainian-American Agreement on the Elimination of Strategic Nuclear Weapons, in February 2006 the last TU-22M3 bomber was cut down at the Poltava military airfield.

2 planes were saved for the museum exposition, some more were brought from other cities. In particular, the exposition of the open parking lot of aircraft presents the world's largest strategic bomber TU-160 "White Swan" (according to NATO classification - "Blackjack"). And also the only Tu-95MS aircraft in Ukraine (according to NATO classification - "Bear"). Other exhibits: Tu-22M3, Tu-22, Tu-16, Tu-134UBL, Su-15, An-2 and helicopters: Mi-8 and Mi-2.

In addition, 13 halls in the exhibition hall tell about the history and global significance of heavy bomber aircraft.

The Holy Assumption Cathedral on the Ivanova Mountain is the first stone spore in Poltava.

Promoted in 1751-1770 by the initiatives of Colonel Andriy Horlenok at the wooden church, which, since 1695, stood on Vichevy Maidan of Poltava Fortress.

The temple in the style of the Byzantine basilica was designed by the architect Stefan Stabansky. In 1780, two more domes were added to three domes. In 1900, the cathedral underwent one reconstruction, and as a result, it became spacious and bright. On a door with a height of 44 meters, the wall of the door "Kizi-Kermen" is visible from Turkish garmats, for example, of the XVIII century (now at the Local Lore Museum).

In 1934, the Cathedral was demolished by the Bolsheviks, but the door was miraculously preserved. In 1999-2007, at the initiative of the President of Ukraine, the cathedral was reconstructed and turned into the bulk of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Literary and Memorial Museum of Ivan Kotlyarevsky was created in Poltava in 1969 based on the estate of the outstanding writer, recreated according to a drawing by Taras Shevchenko, made from nature in 1845. There is a house, a barn and a well-crane, which are immersed in the green garden.

Kotlyarevsky lived in Poltava most of his life. He studied at the Poltava Theological Seminary, later was the director of the Poltava Theater, and was even a member of the Poltava Masonic Lodge.

In his Poltava house, the classic of Ukrainian literature created most of his works, including the famous "Aeneid".

Details of the old building have been installed in the house restored to the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth. Inside, the atmosphere of the XIX century is very authentically recreated. Here are stored personal belongings of the writer, awards, manuscript pages of his works, the first editions of books.

A monument to Hetman of Ukraine Ivan Mazepa was erected in Poltava in 2016 in front of the Assumption Cathedral, built at his expense.

This is the first full-length monument to Mazepa (busts were previously installed in Mazepintsy and Chernihiv). The 3.2-meter-high bronze sculpture was made by the sculptor Mykola Bilyk back in 2009, but the opening of the monument was preceded by a long public debate about its expediency, since Russian and Soviet propaganda for a long time formed a negative image of the hetman, who sought to remove Ukraine from the political influence of Muscovy.

A key episode of the Northern War of 1709 is connected with Poltava, when the troops of the Moscow Tsar Peter I defeated the army of the Swedish King Charles XII and his ally Ivan Mazepa. This event is immortalized by many monuments in the city, but almost all of them are dedicated to Russians and Swedes.

Funds for the installation of a monument to the Ukrainian hetman were collected by the public.

Ivanova Hill (Ivanova Hora) is the historical core of Poltava, the best scenic spot in the city. More than 11 centuries ago, the historic city of Ltava stood here on a high hill above the Vorskla River.

Later, an earthen Poltava fortress was built, which in the 18th century held back the advance of the Swedes for three months, until the army of Petro I approached. The wooden Podil tower (one of 15) was reconstructed, next to which it is planned to restore the Sentinel bastion of the Poltava fortress.

The panorama of the Vorskla Valley with the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery on the nearby hill opens from the White Arbor.

In 2006, a monument to the Poltava halushka, celebrated by writers, was erected near the Ivan Kotlyarevskyi museum and the Lileya restaurant.

The monument to the writer Mykola Hohol in Poltava was erected in 1934, although it was created before the Bolshevik coup of 1917.

In 1913, the city public of Poltava began to collect funds for a monument to their outstanding compatriot, and 2 years later, the sculptor Leonid Posen handed over the sculpture made by him to the city. The sculptor depicted Hohol sitting in thought with a book in his hand.

The monument was planned to be erected on the square in front of the drama theater, but the First World War stood in the way of these plans. Under the Bolsheviks, they initially did not want to erect a monument for ideological reasons, since Hohol came from a noble family. Only in 1934, the monument took its current place on the boulevard part of Mykoly Hoholya Street.

The Poltava Literary and Memorial Museum of Panas Myrny is located on the outskirts of Poltava, at the end of the former Tretya Kobyshchanska Street.

It was here in 1903 that the writer bought a small one-story house, where he lived for the last 17 years of his life. He was visited by Lesya Ukrayinka and Olena Pchilka, Mykhaylo Kotsyubynsky and Vasyl Stefanyk, Mariya Zankovetska and Mykola Lysenko.

In 1940, a museum was opened in the estate. More than 150 manuscripts of Panas Myrny and his brother Ivan Bilyk, about 1,000 personal belongings of the writer's family, books, documents and photographs are collected in seven rooms. The writer's son Mykhaylo Rudchenko managed the museum for over 20 years.

In 1951, a monument to Panas Myrny was erected in the yard of the manor - a bronze bust of the writer on a labradorite pedestal.

In 1989, a literary exposition was opened in the new premises.

Poltava Museum of Local Lore after Vasyl Krychevsky is located in the former building of the present places of the provincial zemstvo.

The building of the provincial zemstvo was built by the architect Vasyl Krychevsky in the Art Nouveau style with elements of the Ukrainian folk style (this fact caused dissatisfaction of Emperor Mykola II). The interior painting was made by prominent artists Serhiy Vasylkivsky and Mykola Samokysh. The facade is decorated with coats of arms of county towns of the province.

The foundation of the exposition of the local history museum in Poltava was laid in 1891 by the scientist Viktor Dokuchayev. Today there are more than 300,000 exhibits in 40 museum halls and vaults. Among the rarities - the ancient Egyptian collection, works of ancient and oriental art, Cossack relics.

The Poltava Local Lore Museum after Vasyl Krychevsky is temporarily closed for restoration.

The Savior Church (Spaska Church) is one of the oldest churches in Poltava, an example of traditional Ukrainian architecture.

The exact date of foundation is unknown. The first mentions of the Savior chapel of the Transfiguration Church are found in the 17th century. The official date of construction is considered to be 1705, when Savior chapel was rebuilt at the expense of Colonel Ivan Iskra as an independent wooden temple on the site of the burned-down Transfiguration Church.

According to legend, after the victory over the Swedes on the field of the Battle of Poltava, Peter I, who was resting in the house of Colonel Kelin next to the temple, offered a prayer of thanks for saving the city here.

In 1845, a stone tent was built over the church, and two years later a small stone belfry was erected. In 1849, a monument to the resting place of Peter I was erected nearby.

The Poltava Educational House named after Mykola Hohol was built in 1901 according to the project of academician Oleksiy Trambytskyi, the St. Petersburg architect of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters.

The theater building is made in the Neo-Renaissance style. Rectangular in plan, the audience hall for 1,100 seats with balconies and boxes, an orchestra pit and a compact stage box resembled in miniature the stage of the famous Milanese theater La Scala.

During the Second World War, the theater was destroyed, in the post-war years it was restored to its original architectural form and adapted to the "Wizoria Kolos" cinema (now a 3D cinema).

The Poltava Art Museum is located in the new building of the Art Gallery (built in 1999; architect Yuriy Oliynyk).

The first art gallery in Poltava was started in 1919 by the Ukrainian archaeologist-scientist Mykhaylo Rudynskyi based on the collection of the itinerant artist Mykola Yaroshenko, which was presented to him. Among the 100 paintings were the works of Ivan Shishkin, Vasyl Polenov, Volodymyr Makovsky, Illya Repin, Vasyl Maksimov and others. The collection included artistic values from the nationalized estates of the Kochubeys (Dykanka), the Galagans (Sokyryntsi), the Kapnists (Obuhivka), and the Repnins (Yahotyn).

The collection of Western European paintings includes unique works by Giovanni Tiepolo, Peter Paul Rubens, Melchior de Hondecuter, Adrian van Ostade, Elizabeth Viget-Lebrun, Carl Peters and others.

For a long time, the Poltava Art Museum was located in the former mansion of the landowner Bolyubash (1912), but due to the state of emergency of the premises in 2000, it was forced to move to the current location.

The Poltava Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Hohol is the main and oldest theater stage of the region.

The year of his birth is considered to be 1808, when the "Poltava Free Theater" was opened in the city, which was managed by Ivan Kotlyarevsky from 1818. In 1901, a new building was built for the Poltava theater - the Educational House.

After the Second World War, the damaged building was converted into a Kolos cinema, and in 1958, a new pompous building was built for the Hohol Drama Theater, designed by the architects Oleksiy Krylov and Oleh Malyshenko.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Hohol Theater was considered one of the best in Ukraine. His production of "Natalka Poltavka" with the participation of People's Artist of the USSR Ivan Kozlovsky was successfully staged in Moscow.

In 2006, a monument to the legendary Marusa Churai, nicknamed the monument to Ukrainian song, was erected in the square next to the theater.