Attractions of Okhtyrka district

The "Castle" Hillfort is located on Zamkova Mount above the Vorskla River, near the bridge at the entrance to the village of Kuzemyn, on its southeastern outskirts. It is part of the Kuzemyn fortification of the Bilsk Hillfort, a monument of fortifications of several eras.

The Kuzemyn fortification is located in the north of the Bilsk Hillfort of the 8th-5th centuries BC, its area is about 15 hectares. It is the least studied of the entire system of fortifications of the ancient Scythian Gelon.

In the early Middle Ages, part of the Scythian ramparts was used by the Siverians (bearers of the Romenska culture) to build a fortified settlement. Later, it became part of Kyivan Rus.

Between 1642 and 1648, Prince Jeremi Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (Yarema Vyshnevetsky) built a wooden castle on the site of an old fortification from the Old Rus period and founded the border town of Kuzemyn (Kuzemchyn). During the War of Liberation, a Cossack hundred was formed in Kuzemyn, which was part of the Poltava and later Hadiach regiments. In 1708-1709, the fortifications of the Kuzemyn Castle were used by Swedish troops - the Helsingland regiment was based here.

Today, only earthen ramparts remain from the ancient defensive structures. The expedition of the Historical and Cultural Reserve "Bilsk" regularly conducts archaeological research.

The Annunciation Church is one of the oldest stone buildings in Trostianets.

It was built at the expense of local nobles in 1750, when Trostianets belonged to the Nadarzhynskyi family, descendants of the royal clergyman Timofiy Nadarzhynskyi.

The Church of the Annunciation in Trostianets is made in the style of early classicism with baroque elements. It has a stocky silhouette.

Currently, the temple is active (UPC of the Moscow Patriarchate).

The architecturally original temple of Archangel Michael with ball domes on thin "necks" was built on the outskirts of Okhtyrka in 1884 as a military church.

Relief masonry made of red brick with decorative elements of Byzantine and Rus architecture of the 17th century vaguely resembles the image of military churches of the beginning of the 20th century, found in Right Bank Ukraine.

A feature of the interior decoration of Saint Michael's Church is a belt of deep semi-circular niches with works of easel painting stretched under the lunettes. A conch is covered with thematic oil painting. The interior decoration was done later.

The Church of Archangel Michael in Okhtyrka is distinguished by the originality of the three-dimensional solution and the clarity of the silhouette.

The Art Kuzemyn Residency was founded in the village of Kuzemyn, Sumy Region, in 2021 by the Kharkiv Center for Contemporary Art "YermilovCenter". The main location is located in the center of the village, opposite the bus station.

The territory of the art residence in Kuzemyn presents the works of many contemporary Ukrainian artists and sculptors. The installations "Childhood of Icarus" (Oleh Kalashnyk), "Apple Rescue" (Anna Ivanova), "Shodynnyk" (Tetiana Zorkina), "Reincarnation" (Oksana Solop), "Hosts" (Marharyta Zhurunova) and others attract attention. In 2024, the art space was replenished with sculptures from the "Invincible Sun" project by Oleksii Yaloveha.

The Art Kuzemyn residence hosts various art events, exhibitions and open-air performances.

The Ascension Church in Trostianets was built at the beginning of the 20th century. The richly decorated temple in the tent-dome style is popularly called the "Red Church" because of the characteristic color of the brick walls.

The 40-meter bell tower is distinguished by the highly artistic work of master stonemasons. The floor in the temple is made of Metlakh tiles. A special feature of the building is the location of the sacristy and the deacon's room of the central nave behind the side apses.

Due to its large size and expressive plasticity, the Ascension Church dominates the surrounding buildings of Trostianets and gives the city a well-known silhouette.

The Museum of the History of the Village of Boromlia was established in the 1980s. The museum's exposition includes over 1,000 exhibits, telling the story of the founding and development of the village.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the village of Boromlia was under occupation for over a month. The museum staff managed to save all the most valuable exhibits. The museum premises were damaged by a blast wave, but at the time of the deoccupation of the settlement, it remained the only surviving administrative building in Boromlia and the museum began to function as a humanitarian headquarters.

Currently, the museum in Boromlia collects exhibits about the modern Russian-Ukrainian war. Bread from the occupation, documents of Russian soldiers and fragments from shells are all new exhibits of the museum. The museum also has official documents left behind by Russian soldiers - "travel letters with seals".

The Borys Antonenko-Davydovych Museum in Okhtyrka was opened in 1994 on the initiative of local teacher Natalia Sheyko. The exhibition is located in the historical building of the Okhtyrka Gymnasium, where the future writer studied. Now it is the Borys Antonenko-Davydovych Lyceum.

The exhibition presents many personal belongings and family relics donated to the museum by the writer's relatives. In particular, in the section "What the Photos Tell Us" you can see photo portraits of his parents, daughters and son Yevhen, photos of Antonenko-Davydovych himself with friends, during his stay in exile, with his family after returning from exile, etc. First editions of works by Borys Antonenko-Davydovych are presented. Of particular note is the wooden painting "Prisoner", which belonged to the writer.

Tours of the museum are conducted by lyceum students.

The Forest Museum in Trostianets was opened in 2019 at the Trostianets Forest Farm to the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Sumy Regional Department of Forestry and Hunting.

The exposition presents samples of flora and fauna of Sumy region, tools for forestry management, forest planting and wood harvesting. On the territory of the forest farm, you can take a walk through the mini arboretum and buy seedlings.

The 4.3-km-long ecological trail starts from the museum, which runs through the Neskuchne tract and includes 10 stops, including a black walnut plantation, an oak tree up to 500 years old, Yakubiv Yar, Nymph's Grotto, etc.

During the Russian military aggression in 2022 and the temporary occupation of Trostianets, the building of the Forest Museum suffered significant destruction. The exposure is restored.

The Hetmansky National Nature Park was created in 2009 with the aim of preserving the unique and diverse landscapes of the Left Bank Forest-Steppe - from lowland banks and sphagnum swamps to relict native forests.

The park with an area of ​​over 23,000 hectares is located in the valley of the Vorskla River. The park includes areas of the floodplain, the river itself, in some places the floodplain terraces and the right root bank of the river.

The Hetmansky National Nature Park includes the Khukhryansky", "Bakirovsky", "Klymentivsky", and "Yamniy" hydrological reserves, as well as 6 protected tracts. In particular, the tract "Litovsky Bir" is a unique relict pine forest where trees over 200 years old are found. Two natural attractions of local importance - "Flint Spring" and "Krynychka".

The People`s Museum of the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics at Okhtyrka Secondary School No. 2 was established in 1988.

The museum's exposition has 11 thematic sections - "The Beginning of the Space Era", "Pioneers of Cosmonautics", "Creators of Space Technology. Ukraine" (which, in particular, presents models of the Zenit-38T launch vehicle and materials about rocket and space technology created by the Pivdenne Design Bureau), "Served in the Okhtyrka Regiment", "The First Earthling Cosmonaut", "The First Cosmonaut of Ukraine" (dedicated to Leonid Kadenyuk, "The Feat of Berehovyi", "Cosmonauts' Menu", "Cosmonauts' Space Equipment", "History of Ukrainian Aviation", as well as many other exhibits that tell about the role and place of Ukraine and Ukrainians in the history of the development of aviation and cosmonautics.

The Holy Intercession Cathedral is the main temple of Okhtyrka, a visiting card of the city.

The place where the priest Danylo Polyansky found the miraculous icon of the Okhtyrka Mother of God in 1739 was chosen for its construction.

The project of the Intercession Cathedral in the Ukrainian Baroque style was developed in 1753 by the famous architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Part of the funds was allocated by Empress Elizabeth, who visited the city in 1744. Construction lasted 15 years and was completed in 1768. The famous Russian architect Stepan Dudynskyi took part in the construction. The interior is decorated with pilasters with capitals of the Ionic order, sculpting of plant and rocaille motifs, painting on sails.

The building was damaged during the Second World War, restored in 1970-1972.

The icon of the Okhtyrka Mother of God was stolen in 1903 during restoration in St. Petersburg, the cathedral keeps a list. Other lists are in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Kharkiv and many other cities.

The ensemble of the cathedral also includes the Introduction Church-Bell Tower (1784) and the Nativity of Christ Church (1825).

The three-tiered Introduction Church-Bell Tower is part of the complex of the Holy Intercession Cathedral in Okhtyrka.

It was built according to the project of the Kharkiv architect Petro Yaroslavskyi, a native of the city of Okhtyrka. Made in baroque style with elements of classicism. It has a centric pyramidal composition and consists of three tiers installed on a low plinth. The church is located on the first floor, the two upper ones are intended for bells. The building has good proportions and a clear silhouette.

The Introduction Church-Bell Tower is located near the main entrance to the Intercession Cathedral and is its bell tower.

The former house of the manager of the estates of Leopold Koenig in Trostianets was built in 1911 in the far part of the Neskuchne Park.

The two-story building of an asymmetrical composition with a tower in its eastern part is made in the Art Nouveau style. The head of forestry lived here with his family. During the Soviet rule, an agricultural school was opened in the building, and in 1923, the first forest research station in Ukraine.

Today it is the administrative building of the Krasnotrostyanetska Forest Research Station - a branch of the Institute of Forestry and Agromelioration.

The Manager's House has the status of an architectural monument of national importance.

During the Russian occupation of Trostianets in 2022, the House of the estate manager Leopold Koenig burned down. In particular, the fire destroyed the red oak wooden staircase and the library, which had more than 15,000 books and began to take shape during Koenig's time. The monument needs complete restoration.

A monument to the entrepreneur Leopold Koenig was erected in 2010 in Trostianets, across the street from the Trostianets chocolate factory "Mondelize" (formerly "Kraft Foods", "Ukraine").

At the end of the 19th century, Koenig opened a sugar refinery on the site of this enterprise. Koenig also built a parquet factory, a mill, and a distillery in Trostianets, contributing to the economic development of the city and the region.

Leopold Koenig Manor (Holitsyn Palace) in Trostianets is a neoclassical manor house with Baroque elements, built in 1762 by the Nadarzhynskyi brothers next to the Round Yard Manor.

Prince Vasyl Holitsyn owned it for almost half a century from 1832, and in 1881 the estate became the property of the sugar factory Leopold Koenig, who carried out the reconstruction. Now the palace houses the Trostianets Museum and Exhibition Center.

The building is decorated with rich stucco on the facade and sculptures in the niches. The palace is surrounded by a luxurious park with a lake, a gazebo and park sculptures. The grand oak staircase to the second floor, door portals with volutes, and a dance hall decorated with stucco and sculpture have been preserved in the interior. In the summer of 1864, the composer Petro Tchaikovsky lived and worked in this house while visiting Oleksiy Holitsyn, here he wrote the overture to the drama "The Thunderstorm" – his first symphonic work. During Soviet times, the palace housed a kindergarten, then the building was empty for a long time. Restoration was carried out in 2007-2009.

Currently, the ballroom and other central premises of the palace house a picture gallery and a small exhibition dedicated to Petro Tchaikovsky (a room-museum of Tchaikovsky is planned to be opened on the second floor). The Trostianets Museum of Local Lore operates in the right wing. In 2012, a chocolate museum was opened in the left wing, where the products of the Trostianets chocolate factory "Mondelize" (formerly "Kraft Foods", "Ukraine"), which is now produced mainly under the "Korona" brand, are presented. A coffee room is also open.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, when Trostianets was under Russian occupation for a month, Leopold Koenig's estate was damaged. There was a partially destroyed room with a local history exposition. The museum needs restoration.