Attractions of Melnyky

The monument to the heroes of Kholodny Yar was erected in 2003 in the center of the village of Melnyky, which was considered the capital of the Kholodny Yar Republic and the center of the liberation struggle of various eras.

Sculptors Valentyn and Maksym Siri made a sandstone monument resembling a felled tree trunk with an oak and images of Kholodny Yar heroes carved on its surface. The stele is crowned with a gilded trident.

Nearby, in 2010, a monument to the officer of the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, writer Yuriy Horlis-Horsky, author of the famous novel "Kholodny Yar" was erected.

The legendary tract of Kholodny Yar is a historical area in the east of Cherkasy region, along one of the tributaries of the Tyasmyn River. It is a whole system of ravines, hills and streams, covered with a relict deciduous forest with an area of 7 thousand hectares.

The common climatic version of the origin of the name is that in the summer it is always cooler in the ravines than in the surrounding areas.

Thanks to the special microclimate of Kholodny Yar, many rare plants can be found here. In particular, the "Bilosnizhny" botanical reserve with an area of 1.5 hectares protects the locality of the island mainland population of the folded snowdrop, the closest place of growth of which is the Crimea. The mass flowering of snowdrops in March attracts thousands of tourists to Kholodny Yar.

On the territory of Kholodny Yar, traces of all archaeological cultures have been found, starting with the Trypillia one. In particular, the ramparts and barrows of the Scythian hillfort (6th century BC) have been preserved, inside which is the ancient Motronynsky Monastery - the informal capital of Kholodny Yar.

At all times, Kholodny Yar served as a refuge for local residents during enemy attacks. At different times, Cossack units, Haydamaks, Ukrainian rebels, and Soviet partisans operated here. Memorable places are "Sklyk" - the gathering place of the Haydamaks, the Haydamatsky pond, where the rebels consecrated their weapons, the grave of the chief ataman of Kholodny Yar, Vasyl Chuchupaka, the monument to the chronicler of Kholodny Yar, Yuriy Horlis-Horsky, etc.

Maksym Zaliznyak's Oak is also an important sacred place of Kholodny Yar, near which in 2015 the wooden church of Saint Peter the Great Suffering (Kalnyshevsky) was built, and the museum-ethnographic complex "Dykyi Khutir" operates.

In 2022, by decree of the President of Ukraine, the National Nature Park "Kholodny Yar" was created, which includes 6,800 hectares of state-owned land for permanent use. The "Kholodniy Yar" branch of the "Chyhyryn" National Historical and Cultural Reserve also operates on the territory of the national park, and the Medvedivka Museum of Local Lore operates.

Highway T-2402 "Chyhyryn - Kamianka" passes through Kholodny Yar, the villages of Medvedivka, Melnyky, and Buda are located along it.

The ancient Orthodox Trinity Motronynsky Monastery in Kholodny Yar is located on the site of an ancient Rus settlement and even more ancient Scythian settlements (Scythian ramparts have been preserved).

According to legend, during the time of Yaroslav the Wise, the fortress of Prince Voivode Myroslav stood here. Returning from a campaign against the Pechenegs in 1036, Myroslav decided to check the defense of the fortress, which he entrusted to his wife Motrona. Attacking the fortress under the guise of enemies, Myroslav was accidentally killed by Motrona herself. After learning about what happened, Motrona accepted monasticism and founded a monastery, which was named after her.

The year 1198 is considered to be the official foundation date of the Motronynsky Monastery, when the Simeoniv Chronicle mentions the Pereyaslav Bishop Pavlo, who founded the Church of John the Baptist in the Motronynsky Monastery. In 1568, the revival of the monastery began after the Mongol-Tatar destruction, it came under the patronage of the Cossacks.

In the 18th century, the Motronynsky monastery became one of the centers of the struggle against the Union, as well as a stronghold of the Haydamak movement. In 1768, 3,000 Haydamaks received a blessing here to fight against the Polish nobility, which was the beginning of Koliivshchyna. These events are described in the poem "Haydamaki" by Taras Shevchenko, who visited the monastery in 1845. During the Ukrainian Revolution in 1919-1922, the Motronynsky Monastery served as a stronghold of the rebel units of the Kholodnoyarska Republic

The Trinity Church, built in 1727 and reconstructed in 1805, has been preserved. The cell building was built in recent years. A memorial cross was installed on the grave of centurion Ivan Kompaniyets.

From the entrance to the monastery, the descent to the miraculous spring of Saint Onuphrius begins. Nearby is the Haydamatsky (Monastyrsky) pond, where the Haydamaks used to consecrate their weapons.

A memorial sign at the place of the last battle of Vasyl Chuchupaka, chief ataman of the Haydamaky regiment of the Kholodny Yar Republic, on the outskirts of Melnyky, was erected in 1995 at the initiative of the Kholodny Yar Historical Club and the public.