Attractions of Vinnytsia region

The State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Busha" was created in 2000 on the territory of the ancient Podillya village of Busha, located between Yampil and Mohyliv-Podilskyi. The reserve unites a whole complex of natural, archaeological, historical and cultural monuments of Eastern Podillya.

The reserve welcomes its guests with the largest open-air museum of historical sculptures in Europe, where international plein-air exhibitions of stonemason sculptors are held annually. In total, on the territory of the village, you can see about two hundred works of stone and granite on various subjects.

The key object of the reserve is Zamkova hill with the remains of the Busha Castle from Cossack times and underground passages of the 16th-17th centuries, which is a monument of cultural heritage of national importance. Remains of the settlement of the Trypllia culture were also found on the castle - a protective pavilion was built over the excavation, and the archaeological museum operates. On the slope of the mountain above the fortress there is a medieval cemetery where Cossack crosses from the 18th century have been preserved. An archaeological monument of national importance is also a cave temple of the V-XVII centuries with relief images.

The reserve includes the Ethnographic Museum, the Art Museum and the Weaving Museum. An interesting natural location is the "Haidamatsky ravine" with huge sandstone rocks in the forest massif.

The administration of the "Busha" reserve is located opposite the castle. Here you can buy tickets to the museum and order tours of the territory of the reserve. Also, in the premises of the administration, exhibitions are constantly held, master classes on baking ceremonial bread are held.

The border Busha Castle on the south-eastern border of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was built in the second half of the 16th century by crown hetman Jan Zamoyski. But it went down in history as a heroic Cossack fortress.

The castle was located on a promontory formed by the rivers Murafa and Bushanka. 4 corner castle towers were connected by underground passages. Each of the towers had its own powder cellar. Two more stone towers were part of the system of external wooden fortifications.

The castle was often attacked by Tatars. In 1617, Hetman Stanislav Zholkevskyi signed a peace treaty with the Turkish general Iskander Pasha, suspending the Polish-Turkish war for several years. In 1648 Bohdan Khmelnytsky subordinated the city to the Bratslav Regiment, the fortress was occupied by Cossack troops.

In 1654 the castle was besieged by Polish troops. According to legend, the last stage of the defense was led by the widow of Captain Dependent Maryana. When enemies stormed the city, she set fire to gunpowder cellars, destroying the fortress with an explosion along with enemies who captured it.

Only one of the fortress towers has survived, which was rebuilt in 1756 on the bell tower of the nearby Saint Michael's Church (destroyed in Soviet times). The tower has been restored, for the period of reconstruction of the church it is used as a temple.

In 2000, the Busha State Historical and Cultural Reserve was established, and archaeological research is being conducted. The Busha Defense Museum is located on the upper tier of the tower, a pavilion of Trypillya culture was opened on the territory of the castle, and an exhibition of modern sculpture was organized.

On the site of the upper settlement there is a Cossack cemetery of the XVIII-XIX centuries with massive stone crosses of various shapes.

The pre-Christian cave church in Bushа was opened by Professor Antonovych in 1883.

He discovered here a unique rock relief depicting the Peace Tree, a rooster, a deer, and a kneeling man. A mysterious rectangle is carved above these figures, which previously contained the inscription "Azm esm Miroboh priest Olhov" (now the inscription is not visible).

Various researchers date the Bushan relief to different historical periods - from the II to the XII century, and some date it to the XVI century. Perhaps the cave was used as a Christian temple. Medieval inscriptions indicate that Catholic monks lived in the cave.

In 1824, local nobleman Romuald Ovsyanyi found and explored the cave, making an inscription: "In memory of 1524. June 3. R. O." (on this day Busha was destroyed by the Tatars).

Currently, the Cave Church is part of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Busha". To visit, it is necessary to contact the administration of the reserve.

The palace of the estate of Mykola Charnomskyi, the ruler of Countess Sofiya Potoska, was built at the beginning of the 19th century under the direction of the Italian architect Francesco Boffo, who was then the chief architect of Odesa.

The house was built of London white brick, had an elevator even then, and food was brought from the kitchen through underground passages. Flanked on two sides by a double colonnade, the building's appearance and layout closely resemble the White House in Washington, D.C., depicted on the $20 bill: three stories with large windows and a semicircular colonnade. The assembly hall with ceilings over 15 meters high is similar to the Oval Office. According to one version, the architect used drawings of an American mansion.

Currently, the building houses a high school.

The old Cossack cemetery in Bushа is located on a mountain that rises above the Busha castle, on the territory of the State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Busha". In the lower part of the cemetery there are graves from the 19th century, in the upper part there are more ancient ones, probably up to the 17th century.

Here you can see many massive stone Cossack crosses of various shapes. They are made from local sandstone, large deposits of which exist in the surrounding area. Among the tombstones there are Cossack crosses of the Maltese type with a circle in the middle, crosses in the form of “clubs”, even more complex in shape - with additional crossbars on the crossbars.

The best panorama of Busha opens from the Cossack cemetery, which is especially expressive in the light of sunset.

The palace of Count Kostyantyn Ksido, who served as adjutant of General Stessel, was built in Khmilnyk in 1913-1915 according to the project of the architect Ivan Fomin on the basis of a Lithuanian defensive castle of the 16th century.

The octagonal fortress tower (1534), which served as a mosque minaret during the Turkish rule, as well as fragments of fortifications that give the palace a medieval look from the side of the river, from the stone bridge across the Pivdennyi Buh (1915, architect Ivan Fomin). A striking contrast to them is created by the front facade, made in the Renaissance style and decorated with a colonnade.

Until recently, a hotel operated in the premises of the palace, now the building is in a state of disrepair.

In 1976, a local historian-enthusiast opened a historical museum on public grounds in the Turkish Tower.

The palace in the style of early classicism was built in Voronovytsia by the Polish tycoon Frantsysk Ksaveriy Grokholsky.

Construction lasted from 1770 to 1777. Architectural techniques are characteristic of the Italian school of architecture of the Palladio era. Perhaps the project was developed by the royal architect Domenico Merlini.

The main volume of the three-story palace with a portico and a pediment is complemented by side galleries that end in pavilions. The facade is decorated with stucco: wreaths, plant garlands and cow skulls (to ward off the evil eye). There are 43 rooms in the palace. The grand Oval and Round halls on the 2nd floor, where the decor has been preserved, are characterized by the richest decoration.

The palace is surrounded by a French-style park. A round water tower in the Romanesque style has been preserved in the park.

According to one version, in the middle of the 19th century, the estate belonged to Princess Karolina Sayn-Vithenshteyn, who in 1847 was a guest of the Hungarian composer Ferents List for several months, writing the piano cycle "Glanes de Voronovytsia" ("Ears gathered after the harvest in Voronovytsia"). which was based on melodies heard by List in Ukraine (according to another version, Vithenshteyn's estate was in Voronivtsi, Khmelnytskyi region).

In 1869, the manor was bought by captain II rank Mykola Mozhaysky (according to another version, he won at cards). His brother, Rear Admiral Oleksandr Mozhaysky, who lived here from 1869 to 1876, conducted research and experiments in the field of aeronautics. Here he made the first glider model, which was successfully tested in the nearby village of Potush. In 1882, in St. Petersburg, an airplane designed by Mozhaysky with steam engines became the world's first heavier-than-air aircraft to lift off the ground, but was damaged during tests.

In 1971, the Museum of the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics was opened in the premises of the palace, where the school was then located. Documents, photographs, books, personal belongings, drawings of Oleksandr Mozhaysky, a mock-up of an airplane of his design, as well as models of domestically produced airplanes, modern flight equipment form the basis of the exposition.

In one of the premises, a room-museum of the kobzar Volodymyr Perepelyuk has also been opened.

Remains of reinforced concrete structures of Hitler's Headquarters "Werewolf" (Wehrwolf - werewolf, armed wolf) from the Second World War.

The secret complex of the headquarters of the supreme commander of the German armed forces was built in 1941-1942 in a forest grove near the village of Stryzhavka near Vinnytsia. The complex consisted of about 20 wooden houses and 3 underground reinforced concrete bunkers. The main buildings were located in the central area: the Gestapo quarters, a communications center, a dining room for senior management and officers, a tea house, 12 residential buildings for generals and senior staff officers, as well as the house of Hitler, who visited the Headquarters Werewolf in 1942 and 1943 years.

Thousands of prisoners of war from different countries died during the construction of the complex (a monument has been erected near the highway in Stryzhavka). In the spring of 1944, the bunkers were blown up by the retreating Hitler's troops.

Impressive fragments of reinforced concrete several meters thick, scattered by explosions in the forest, as well as a pool (fire tank) have been preserved. According to unconfirmed data, underground rooms could have been preserved (according to legend, up to 7 levels).

In 2011, a historical-memorial complex commemorating the victims of fascism was opened on the territory of "Werewolf", whose employees conduct tours (there are audio guides).

Accessibility for visitors with limited mobility: available ramps, exhibition on the 1st floor.

Nearby, on the territory of the boarding house "Lastivka", there is an exhibition of military equipment and weapons of the Second World War.

The Holy Transfiguration Cathedral was built in the 18th century as the Dominican Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded in 1624 by the head of the Dominican monastery Kalynovskyi.

The defensive temple in the Baroque style was part of the Mury fortification system. In 1832, it was handed over to the Orthodox clergy and consecrated as an Orthodox church.

Until 1990, it was used as an organ music hall. From 1990 to 2018, it was the cathedral of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Since December 2018, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Holy Virgin Mary of Angels Church of the Capuchin Order was built in Vinnytsia in an unusual Tuscan Baroque style during the eldership of Lyudoviku Kalynovskyi.

For the construction, Kalynovskyi allocated the funds he received as a result of a lawsuit with Count Potoski, as well as part of his estate. In the 19th century, the monastery was closed by the Russian authorities and turned into a barracks, but the church remained active as a parish church. The temple was already closed by the Soviet authorities at the beginning of 1931. During the Second World War, it was active and was closed again by the Soviet authorities in 1961, after the death of priest Martseliy Vysokinskyi.

Now the church of the Holy Virgin Mary of Angels is again an active church of the Catholic order of the Friars Minor Capuchins. Excursions to the dungeon of the monastery are conducted.

In 2023, a monument to Saint James was erected near the Holy Virgin Mary of Angels Church, symbolizing the starting point of the Camino Podolico - the Podilya way of Saint James.

The imposing five-story building of the Savoy Hotel appeared on the central street of Vinnytsia at the beginning of the 20th century.

During the Soviet-Ukrainian war of 1917-1920, the Directory of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Symon Petlyura was temporarily located here, then the headquarters of the First Ukrainian Soviet Division of Mykola Shchors.

During the Second World War, the hotel was heavily damaged by artillery fire and air raids. As a result of the fire, the 6th attic floor was destroyed, and only the walls and ceilings remained of the hotel. The building was restored after 9 years - in 1953.

Currently, the Vinnytsia Appeals Administrative Court is temporarily located in the premises of the Hotel Savoy, while the renovation works are ongoing. Reconstruction of the attic floor, which burned down in 1944, is planned. They promise to open a museum on the first floor of the renovated Hotel Savoy.

Botanical reserve "Valley of irises" with an area of ​​13.7 hectares is located northwest of the village of Snitkiv, at the foot of a hill in the valley of the Karaets River.

Here grows the largest population of yellow marsh iris in the Vinnytsia region, listed in the "General list of rare and endangered species of vascular plants and animals of the Vinnytsia region that require protection".

Mass flowering of irises usually occurs at the end of May - beginning of June. Access to the territory of the valley is free.

The Jesuit monastery in Vinnytsia was founded in 1610 by the Bratslav elder Valentiy-Oleksandr Kalynovsky.

By 1617, the construction of a complex of monastic buildings with a Jesuit church was completed. Together with the Dominican monastery, it became part of the Vinnytsia Castle complex, which was named "Mury".

At the same time as the church, a Jesuit collegium was founded, under which a significant part of the monastery building was allocated. The walls of the church are 1.5 meters thick. Small rectangular windows are pierced in them. On the river side, the walls are reinforced with three powerful buttresses.

In 1907, the church building was converted into a gymnasium, then the city archive was placed there.

The estate of the sugar factory Naftan Kohan is located in Vyshcheolchedaiv on the high bank of the Lyadova River, opposite the sugar factory founded by him in the second half of the 19th century.

A two-story house in the style of classicism is surrounded by a small landscape park. The interiors of the 6 halls on the second floor are richly decorated in various styles using Moorish-Jewish and Ukrainian folk motifs.

Until recently, the Kohan Palace housed a kindergarten. The building is currently in a state of disrepair.

Liadova Useknovenskiy Cave Monastery is located on high chalk cliffs with healing springs, from which a stunning panorama of the Dniester valley opens.

According to legend, it was founded in 1013 by Saint Anthony Pechersky, who was returning from Mount Athos to Kyiv at that time. It was the first cave hermitage founded by Anthony Pechersky and the first Christian monastery in this region (the cave church of Anthony Pechersky and his cell, the holy spring have been preserved).

The monastery played an important role in the political life of Ukraine. Thus, in 1649, the abbot of the Liadova monastery, Pavlo, together with the hieromonk Nikifor, became the first ambassadors of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi to the Moscow Tsar Oleksiy Mykhaylovych.

Until 1745, the Basilian monastery was located here. In the 19th century, the cave church of the Beheading of John the Baptist with a bell tower, the church of Saint Paraskeva-Pyatnytsia, and a hotel were built. Some of the buildings were blown up during the Soviet era.

In 1998, the monastery was revived by the monks of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, and many shrines were restored. A steep path leads to the monastery. Visitors must observe traditional formalities in clothing: men in trousers, women in skirts and headscarves.

On October 31, 2022, the Liadova Useknovenskiy Cave Monastery was damaged by a Russian missile attack during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. One novice died.