Attractions of Kherson region

Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve is the oldest reserve complex in Ukraine. Founded at the end of the 19th century by Fridrikh Falts-Feyn as a private "Chapli" reserve on 500 acres of land.

Here, a large area of pristine Kovylo-Typchak steppe has been preserved in its original form - Velikiy Chapelsky pod, where herds of wild animals are freely kept. In conditions close to natural, you can see 250 species of mammals and birds from all continents. In particular, Przhevalsky's horse was saved from disappearance here. The pride of the reserve is the African kanna antelope, which was tamed. The steppe is especially beautiful during the flowering of the nightshade at the end of spring.

The complex includes a zoo (1886) with sections of hummingbirds, ostriches and ungulates, as well as a dendrological park with artificial lakes (1885), for the aric irrigation system of which Falz-Fein received a gold medal at an exhibition in Paris. 14 Polovtsian stone statues (XI-XII centuries) are collected on the territory.

The manor of Falts-Feyn has been restored.

Photo-safari excursions to the Veliky Chapelsky paddocks on minibuses or horse-drawn carriages are organized upon prior reservation (from May to September, only in dry weather).

Byriuchyi Island is the extended southeastern edge of the Fedotova Spit, from which it was separated by a small strait until 1929, which is why it is called an island.

Now Byriuchyi Island is connected to the mainland by a dry isthmus. The dimensions are approximately 20 by 5 kilometers.

According to legend, Byriuchyi Island was built by order of Peter I. The name can be interpreted as "Wolf Island" (biryuk - lone wolf). Perhaps once wolves really lived on the island, but now the main inhabitants are deer, brought in 1928 from Askania-Nova. There are also steppe saiga antelopes, hares and foxes, raccoon-like Ussuri dogs and pheasants.

The Azov-Syvaskyi National Nature Park was created on the territory of Byriuchyi Island. Research work on acclimatization of new plants and animals is being carried out. A special permit from the reserve administration is required for an excursion visit.

The protected island of Dzharylhach, which is washed by the waters of the Black Sea, is located opposite the city of Skadovsk.

It is separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, which is periodically filled with sand, turning Dzharylhach into a peninsula.

The name is translated from Turkic as "burnt trees". In Greek sources it is mentioned as the Achilles' Bank.

The fauna and flora of Dzharylhach Island are so valuable that most species are listed in the Red Book. Here you can meet deer, mouflons, raccoon dogs, hares, etc.

In 1902, at the extreme eastern end of the island, a 24-meter lighthouse was installed at the expense of Serhiy Skadovsky, made in Paris according to the design of one of Gustave Eiffel's students.

The South Bank is a local resort area, in the summer there is a permanent settlement of Ocheretyane town.

In the high season, a regular boat goes to the island from the pier. At other times, it is necessary to arrange a transfer with private carriers or fishermen.

During the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022, Dzharylhach Island was in the zone of Russian occupation. Russian occupying forces connected the island of Dzharylhach with the mainland of the Kherson region. In order to more intensively use the protected territory of the national park for military purposes, the Russian army covered the crossing to the island with sand and turned the island into a training ground.

In August 2023, a fire broke out on the Russian-occupied island of Dzharylhach, which lasted for almost a week. The fire destroyed the entire protected area of the natural park - the fire destroyed most of the unique ecosystem, the populations of all rare plants and animals, including ungulates, were affected. It takes an average of 4-5 to 8-12 years to restore steppe, meadow, and salt marsh areas. Tamarix thickets can recover only in 15-30 years.

The reservoir on the northern shore of Sivash near Hryhorivka is called the Lemurian lake or simply "salt pit".

According to local legend, the salt lake is a submerged sinkhole at the site of a bomber that crashed in the 1960s. According to another legend, these are the remains of the legendary Lemurian Sea, which allegedly existed millions of years ago.

The water in the lake has an unusual pink color and is rapa - a saturated salt solution. Rapa is considered medicinal because it contains minerals, salts of magnesium and potassium chloride, sodium iodide, and magnesium bromide. Sivas mud is also used for treatment.

The shore of Lemurian Lake is equipped with showers with fresh water, gazebos for relaxation, and a children's playground.

The Kyzy-Kermen fortress (Kazy-Kermen) was built by the Turks at the end of the 15th century on the banks of the Dnipro, on the site of the Lithuanian "Vitovt Customs" they captured.

It served as an outpost for raids on Ukrainian lands, as well as for countering the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks, who from time to time made expeditions on seagulls down the Dnipro. During the Crimean campaign of 1689, the Russian-Ukrainian army of Prince Vasyl Holitsyn besieged the fortress, but it was only managed to take it in 1695 by the Cossacks of Ivan Mazepa.

Fragments of the fortress with traces of later modifications have been preserved on the river bank.

The "Hot spring" Hydropathic in Henicheska Hirka operates on the basis of a source of natural thermal water from a well 1,600 meters deep, discovered in the 1960s.

The water is slightly alkaline, iodine-bromine, chloride-sodium, with a temperature of 40-42 degrees. It is used for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, the musculoskeletal system, and the muscles, as well as for the recovery of patients for preventive purposes. There are two "flowing pools", bathtubs, an "underwater lift" pool, and massage services for vacationers.

The balneo-hospital operates on an outpatient basis from May to October, it does not provide housing and food.

Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Kulish was founded in 1830 on the initiative of the nobility of Kherson province.

The theater building was built in 1884. The architect Vladyslav Dombrovsky took one of the best theaters in Europe - the Odesa Opera House - as the basis of the project.

In 1944, this architectural monument was badly damaged. The current building of the Kherson Regional Theater appeared only in 1962, but it was not restored in its original form.

Since 1998, the Melpomene of Tavria International Theater Festival has been held in the Mykola Kulish Theater in mid-June.

One of the earliest stone buildings in the city. It was built at the end of the 18th century for the captain of the Kherson port, Vice-Admiral Senyavin, who lived in Kherson for 3 years.

The house with a spherical dome is built in the style of Russian classicism, the main facade is decorated with a six-column portico. It is located somewhat in the depth of the block and is limited along the red line of the street by a stone fence with pillars and metal bars.

Currently in very poor condition.

The monumental building of the Admiralty Arsenal is the largest structure of the Kherson Fortress that has survived to this day.

It was founded in 1784 according to the project of the architect Vikentiy Vanrezant. It was the largest arsenal in the south of the Russian Empire, where cannons, muskets, melee weapons and ammunition were stored for the army stationed in the Novorossiysk region. The facade of the building with two four-column porticos faced the Palace Square, creating a joint ensemble with the Catherine Cathedral.

After the earthquake of 1802, the arsenal was rebuilt. When the Kherson fortress was abolished, the arsenal buildings were converted into a prison, where the Intercession Church was opened. Since then, the arsenal has not changed its profile. Currently, it houses pre-trial detention center No. 28, as well as regional television.

The Adziogol lighthouse near the village of Rybalche is a unique hyperboloid structure created in 1911 by the engineer and scientist Volodymyr Shukhov, the author of the Shabolovka TV tower in Moscow.

The lighthouse is located on an artificial island near Cape Adziogol in the Dnipro estuary. It is a vertical mesh metal structure 70 meters high, made in the form of a single-cavity hyperboloid of rotation.

It is the tallest lighthouse of traditional construction in Ukraine and the 16th tallest in the world.

You can climb a spiral staircase inside a metal pipe to the observation deck of the Adziogol lighthouse, which offers a large panorama of the estuary (official tours are not conducted).

Another smaller Shukhov lighthouse is located nearby.

On July 22, 2022, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops destroyed the Adziogol lighthouse, which is an architectural and tourist attraction, with three missiles. Two Russian missiles hit the base of the lighthouse and one hit the structure.

The compositional center of the Kherson Necropolis is the Church of All Saints, built in the style of classicism in 1804-1808 and expanded in the 70s of the 19th century.

This is the only Orthodox church in Kherson that was never closed for religious services during the era of "militant atheism".

A wonderful wooden carved iconostasis has been preserved in the interior of the church. Some of his images were made by Yaroslavl icon painters at the beginning of the 18th century. In addition, the church has several interesting icons of the XVII-XVIII centuries.

The Literary Memorial Museum of the Ukrainian poet Anatoliy Bakhuta was opened in 1992 in the house where he lived since childhood in Nova Kakhovka.

The exposition includes 640 of more than 3,000 exhibits, including 1,765 manuscripts.

Graphic portraits of the poet's parents, friendly cartoons and self-portraits, drawn by him in pencil in 1970-1980, are kept here.

Arabat Spit (or Arabat Arrow) is the largest sand spit in Ukraine, which separates the Black Sea Bay of Sivash from the Sea of Azov.

It was formed as a result of sand washing 850 years ago. Length - about 115 kilometers, width - from 270 meters to 8 kilometers. On the continental side, it starts from the port city of Henichesk, near the base on the Crimean side - the ruins of the Turkish Arabat fortress (1651), taken by Russian troops in 1771.

Arabat Spit is a popular and inexpensive resort area, with about 100 health resorts. The entire eastern part of the spit is a continuous sandy beach, the western part is the Sivash Bay with unique healing mud and salts.

In the area of the village of Shchaslyvtseve there is a thermal spring of healing mineral water.

The concrete highway from Henichesk only reaches the village of Strilkove, further traffic on the dirt road, nicknamed the "washing board", is very difficult.

The stone three-arch bridge over the Burhunka Balka was built in the 1780s to facilitate the visit of Catherine II to the Crimea in 1787.

The arched bridge is made in the style of Roman viaducts. It is located directly opposite the turn to the village of Burhunka from the Kherson-Beryslav highway.

Beryslav Historical Museum was created in 1958 on public grounds. In 1967, it received the status of a national museum. Since 1981, it has been a department of the Kherson Regional Museum of Local Lore.

It is located in the building where in 1920 the headquarters of the commander of the 51st Rifle Division of the Red Army, Blucher, was located.

The funds of the Beryslav Historical Museum include more than 7,500 exhibits. Among them are interesting archaeological finds (tools, jewelry, household items), items of clothing of the 18th-20th centuries, a numismatic collection, a selection of posters and photos from the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, documents.

During the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Beryslav Historical Museum suffered significant destruction as a result of shelling of Beryslav by the Russian army on March 23, 2023.