Khortitsa Island is the most big island Ukraine and is located in the middle of the city of Zaporozhye. Since ancient times, Khortitsa was a natural fortress and reliably protected the tribes who settled on it. There are plenty of traces of ancient settlers on the island: these are mounds and stone sculptures from Scythian times, which are represented by the “Scythian Camp” complex. There is also a pagan sanctuary on the island.
In the 16th century, the Zaporozhye Sich was founded on the island of Khortitsa, which was a fortified camp of the Ukrainian Cossacks, and later became the center of the Cossack state.
In 1965, a State and later a National Historical and Cultural Reserve was created here. Today it has become the largest museum complex. Khortitsa Island will impress anyone with its picturesque rocks and granite shores. It is simply dotted with various lakes and ravines. Khortytsia is surrounded by a large number of large and small islands and rocks, which are included in the territory of the reserve.
In 2011, an ancient Russian sword of the Carolingian type was discovered on the Dnieper near the island of Khortitsa, which approximately dates back to the mid-10th century. Much earlier, when the Dnieper hydroelectric power station was being built at the beginning of the 20th century, similar finds were made in the form of 5 ancient Russian swords of the Carolingian type, but during the war they all disappeared.
The island was visited quite often by prominent people. On one of the slopes of the island there is the Shevchenko trail; it acquired its name after the poet visited it. In 1878, the famous composer N.V. Lysenko was there. In the spring of 1880, I.E. Repin visited the island, at that time he was working on sketches that were later used in the film “Cossacks”. Maxim Gorky also visited here.
On at the moment There are many environmental, religious and socio-cultural organizations operating on the island of Khortytsya.
The history of Khortytsia Island began even before the appearance of man on our planet. The island of Khortitsa consists entirely of granites, which form it as the most ancient rock. That’s why the Khortytsia rocks open up the island to us from a completely new side.
The bed of the old Dnieper River settled millions of years ago, but then Khortytsia was not even an island, but was a full-fledged mainland, which over time broke off and became a separate part of the land. So it became an island, dividing the river into two channels. The granites of Khortitsa, according to all the experiments and studies carried out, are the oldest rocks on our planet.
Khortytsia Island in Zaporozhye - details
national reserve Khortytsia is a natural and state heritage, and not just an island. This is not only a natural, but also a historical complex. The uniqueness of this place was recognized back in 2007, because at that time Khortytsia was named the Seventh Wonder of Ukraine.
The nature of this place cannot but amaze with its beauty and naturalness. This is where we gathered rare species flora and fauna of Ukraine. On Khortytsia there are not only steppes, but also meadows, as well as coniferous and oak forests. In general, the microclimate of this island’s flora differs significantly from that of the mainland.
But most of all, Khortytsia attracts interest for its historical value. Legends of the past still hover around this ancient island.
The most striking events for Khortitsa are considered to be the period of the Cossacks in Ukraine, because it was then that the entire island was considered the residence and place where the Cossacks resolved all state issues.
The historical and cultural complex Zaporozhye Sich is very popular among tourists because it fully conveys the atmosphere and spirit of that time.
By visiting the Zaporozhye Sich, you will touch your soul and body to the glorious Cossack past, which will give you unforgettable experience thanks to the Cossack spirit.
The highlight of my trip to Zaporozhye historical region was a visit to Zaporozhye as a city. Even before my arrival, I heard that the beauty of Zaporozhye is very underestimated, but I did not expect it to be so much.
It took me a day and a half to explore the city, and I didn’t manage to do everything. The story about Zaporozhye will consist of three parts: the island of Khortytsia, Sotsgorod and Old town. And we will start, of course, from the island of Khortytsia - one of the most beautiful places in Eastern Ukraine.
Khortytsia is the most big island on the Dnieper. Its length is 12 kilometers, width 2-4 kilometers. The shores of the island are high and rocky, and the approaches to it from above were blocked by a threshold - the last of the nine great Dnieper rapids, the “cascade” of which began near present-day Dnepropetrovsk (hence the name Zaporozhye). To the left and below of Khortitsa there were impassable floodplains, and the narrow and fast Old Dnieper on the right was well covered by fire. Thus, Khortitsa was a natural fortress, and as such it was used by many peoples.
Nowadays, the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, a legend of Soviet industrialization, stands on the threshold. They say that the residents of the villages on the rapids are not happy about its construction, not only because of the flooding, but also because for centuries the most profitable profession here was pilotage.
But the rocks of Khortitsa are still inaccessible. This island entered history primarily thanks to the Zaporozhye Sich - the “capital” of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. The first fortifications here were laid by the Cherkasy and Kanev prince Vishnevetsky (Buyda) in 1553. Initially, the fortifications were located on the small island of Malaya Khortytsia, but then they were moved to the “main” island.
The “golden age” of the Ukrainian Cossacks, which ended in 1775 with the defeat of the Zaporozhye Sich, was associated with Khortytsia.
Modern Khortytsia is very beautiful place. Unusual nature, seemingly virgin (and in the protected floodplains it is), amazing views of Zaporozhye with its factories, a wild combination of industry and nature and numerous extremely spectacular “reconstructions” form a unique picture here.
We entered the island via the north bridge and headed south along the coast. Almost everything interesting in Khortytsia is located off the banks of the Dnieper; the interior areas are occupied by forests of amazing fantasy appearance. And from the banks, in addition, very interesting views open up.
DneproGES is one of the most striking elements of the landscape of Khortytsia. Once in its place there was a threshold the entire width of the Dnieper, reliably protecting the island from the north. In 1932, the threshold was blocked by a hydroelectric power station - it was the first hydroelectric power station of this scale in the USSR, and in some way, all three great Soviet cascades - the Dnieper, the Volga-Kama and the Angaro-Yenisei - are its “descendants”.
The length of the DneproGES is more than 700 meters, the height is more than 60 meters, and the water drop is approximately the same. Its smooth curve is very beautiful... During the war, the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station was blown up during the retreat, and after the war it was rebuilt.
In front of the dam there are characteristic rocks, on which many ships must have crashed over the course of 1500 years...
The highest part of Khortytsia, the so-called Black Rock, faces the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station. According to legend, it was at this place that Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, the father of Vladimir the Red Sun and one of the greatest Russian rulers of the pagan period, who was feared by the Byzantines and Bulgarians, died in 972 in a battle with the Pechenegs.
According to legend (possibly modern), this menhir stands in the same place:
The water from here is 50-70 meters away, which means an excellent overview. The Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station and the center of Zaporozhye, hidden by greenery, are in full view, behind which the giant chimneys of the industrial zone rise.
The industrial zone is a real landmark of Zaporozhye. I came across the statement that this is the largest industrial zone of the former USSR in terms of area - approximately 5x5 kilometers. But I’ll talk about the industrial zone another time, in the part dedicated to the Social City, which is visible at its foot.
The last frames were taken not even from the Black Rock itself, but from this either a hill or a mound.
The title frame was also taken from it - the recreated Zaporozhye Sich is clearly visible. At the foot of the mound is the grave of Peter Kalnishevsky. At least this is what is written on the memorial stone:
However, again, I have doubts about the reliability. Pyotr Kalnishevsky is the last chieftain of the Cossacks. He was born in 1691, became a chieftain only in 1765, successfully fought against the Turks, and after the defeat of the Zaporozhye Sich he was exiled to Solovki, where he spent 15 years in prison, going out into the air only 3 times a year. Kalnishevsky was released by order of Alexander the First, but he was no longer able to leave Solovki and died there at the age of 112. In general, it’s hard to believe in this: to be born before the accession of Peter the Great, and to die during the era of Napoleon... And it is even more incomprehensible how the grave of the last chieftain can be here when he died not far from the Arctic Circle.
In general, Khortytsia is a special place. There are a lot of reconstructions here, but the reconstructions are so convincing that you want to believe in legends, but checking information and presenting facts in a boring way is not very good... Khortytsia is an island of legends, not history.
And here is another view of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station from the very banks of the Dnieper:
At night, the DneproGES is illuminated very beautifully - but I no longer had the strength to wait for darkness. However, Zaporozhye at night is a separate topic, and it’s worth returning here for some sights that are impossible during the day. But more on that separately
A couple more views across the Dnieper. For example, the Soviet Palace of Pioneers:
Or a residential complex, nicknamed the Drunken House due to its shape.
And we come to the Zaporozhye Sich, or rather, its reconstruction.
Here we need to say a little about the Zaporozhye Cossacks. The ancestors of the Cossacks were “free people”, who for centuries fled from under state oppression to the Wild Field: runaway peasants, rebels, criminals... In Russian chronicles, the first mention of the Cossacks dates back to 1444, in Polish chronicles - to 1493, when the governor Bogdan Glinsky nicknamed Mamai, captured the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. At that time, when the Ottoman Empire was in its heyday, this was an unheard-of feat. Cossack Mamai is considered the “starting point” of the Cossacks.
In the 16th century, almost simultaneously, the first Cossack “troops” were formed on the Dnieper, Don and Yaik. In essence, these “troops” were military states. The possessions of the Cossacks (aka Ponizovtsy) were called “kosh” (that is, “nomadic camp”), and the cities were called “sech”, that is, the most correct translation, “prison”. The Zaporozhye Sich was one of several sections in the Cossack kosh.
In general, the historical structure of the Zaporozhye Army is a very interesting topic, and it cannot be crammed into one post. It would be easier to provide a link to Wikipedia.
In 1775, the Zaporozhye Sich was destroyed by Potemkin. There were many reasons for this: the fact that, finding themselves in the rear after the fall of Crimea, the Cossacks began to quickly turn into robbers, and the personal ambitions of Potemkin, who strived for undivided power over Novorossiya... One way or another, in 1775, the Zaporozhye Cossacks were expelled across the Danube , where they founded the Transdanubian Sich, and in 1792 the Cossacks returned to Russia, and are still known as the Kuban Cossacks.
The current Sich is a reconstruction built several years ago. I don’t know how reliable it is - but extremely convincing! As already mentioned, Khortytsia is an island of legends, and I don’t want to think about the fact that all this is not real.
Extremely atmospheric!
Even the Intercession Cathedral has been recreated - the first church of the Zaporozhye Sich, built in 1576 and standing for 200 years. The Cossacks were exceptionally religious and did not allow any people of other faiths into the Sich. And although their cathedral was burned in 1775, and in 1792, when Golovaty founded the first Kuban village, a new church was also built there - also Pokrovskaya.
The reconstruction of the Zaporozhye Sich seems to me the most successful example of the reconstruction of a wooden fortress that I have ever seen. Someone thought of avoiding even the most common mistake - calibrated logs! And it was necessary to recreate something similar.
Three masts - supports for power lines across the Dnieper. Their size is prohibitive - compare with the trees at the foot!
We often went down into the forest, which here has a very beautiful, completely fantasy appearance:
Somewhere in this forest there is a reconstruction of a temple, but we came across, almost by accident, a recreated Bronze Age sanctuary in a secret clearing - reminiscent of the Karelian “Babylons”:
Then we went down to the bank of the Dnieper, and there I rested and soaked my feet in the water: after all, before arriving in Zaporozhye, I managed to get around Dneprodzerzhinsk and Petrikovka. The nature here, despite all the pollution, is very rich in life - we constantly saw some kind of toads, snakes, birds in the water and on the coastal rocks.
From here it’s not far to the Preobrazhensky Bridge:
Two bridges across the branches of the Dnieper were built by engineer Preobrazhensky in the 1950s, and are distinguished by their unique design and architecture. These bridges are considered the highest in Ukraine - 53 meters above the water, and also two-tiered. According to them, auto- and railway cross Khortitsa from west to east.
Over this bridge, already at dusk, we went to the city.
The second time I stopped by Khortitsa in the evening of the second day, taking a taxi. Indeed, in addition to the northern, rocky part, there is also a southern, flatter part, with fields and floodplains. It also has several reconstructions - the Scythian camp, the Equestrian Theater (arena of folklore performances), the museum of Cossack ships... The latter were very far away, we didn’t have time to get there, and it’s not close to the Scythian camp - 4 kilometers, and not everyone knows the road taxi driver (although it’s easy to find by following the signs).
This is not a monument to the Ivano-Frankivsk “egg throwers” at all, but to a Ukrainian pysanka, that is, an Easter egg. A little further there is a checkpoint and a toll entrance.
The Scythian camp is only a partial reconstruction: once upon a time there was a large Scythian settlement on Khortitsa, and some of the mounds and megaliths here are genuine. The other part is reconstructions, and distinguishing one from the other is not so easy.
On the edge of the Scythian camp there was a Lapidarium, that is, a museum of megaliths:
In addition to Scythian women, old millstones and troughs, Cossack crosses from the 16th and 17th centuries are also interesting here, for which the director of Khortitsa at one time almost ended up in court, as he took them out of the cemeteries of the Zaporozhye region without permission. And behind the lapidarium, a secluded path leads to Polovchanka - a very charming “stone woman” of an unusual appearance.
A strange design and a charming smile distinguish this Polovtsian woman from other “stone women”. Polovchanka seemed to me nothing less than the soul of Zaporozhye.
In the far part of the Scythian camp there was a vezha - that is, a Cossack watchtower.
The only way to climb it is along a vertical ladder, and this is quite scary, since there are no safety features at all. However, as they told me, in the end it helps - drunk people are afraid to climb these stairs, but sober people climb there only if they know how.
From the tower you can clearly see the Scythian camp:
Khortytsia is truly an island of legends. Its landscape is too surreal, its reconstructions are too spectacular. The words “reliability”, “authenticity”, “and historical value” sound strange here. But Khortytsia cannot be called “Disneyland”. Something unlike anything else, a place of immersion not even in History, but in Legend.
Beyond the Dnieper is Zaporozhye itself, an industrial giant with a population of 800 thousand people, but at the same time a very beautiful and unusual city.
Directly about Zaporozhye, I will have two parts dedicated to its two historical centers.
Khortytsia (former name - Bolshaya Khortytsya) is the largest island on the river, located in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.
There are several versions of the origin of the name of the island. The main hypothesis is that the island was named after the Khortitsa River. This word, in turn, means “fast, fast”, which in relation to the river can be interpreted as “bystritsa”, or “fast water”.
Khortytsia Island is a part of the Ukrainian crystalline shield protruding onto the surface of the plain, formed in the Archean era. It is composed of hard crystalline rocks (granite, gneiss and migmatite), whose age is 2.6 billion years. For the purpose of protection unique place Khortytsia and the adjacent islands have been declared the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve.
The same rocks are used to make up the high cliffs on the northern and northwestern parts of the island. Southern part the islands are flooded. Between the rocks and the flooded area there are beams, each of them has its own name, history and is overgrown with legends, firmly entrenched in local folklore.
The appearance of the first people on the island of Khortitsa dates back to the Paleolithic and Mesolithic era. The remains of settlements from the Bronze Age (III-II millennium BC) have been preserved. The Scythians inhabited these places from the 7th to the 3rd centuries. BC e., almost all of the 129 mounds found on the island belong to the Scythian civilization. Near the Sovutina beam in the V-III centuries BC. e. there was a fortification, on the site of which you can now see a protective rampart, a ditch and residential buildings.
The island served as a good defense against attack, but the rapids hindered the development of shipping. Here was the longest land section of the waterway from the Varangians to the Greeks, where it was necessary to drag heavy boats over a distance of several tens of kilometers.
Where the Dnieper Hydroelectric Dam is located today, there was the narrowest place in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and the most convenient crossing was located. At the same time, it was the most robber's place: ambushes were set up on merchant caravans here.
The first reliable written mention of the island of Khortitsa is known from the times of Kievan Rus: the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (905-959) mentioned the “island of St. George”, which is below the Dnieper rapids.
In the X-XIV centuries. there was a Russian fortress on Khortitsa, known from chronicles under the name Protolche. In 1103, Prince Svyato-polk Izyaslavovich (1050-1113) with his army stopped at Khortitsa, as reported in the Ipatiev Chronicle. In 1223, Russian princes gathered on Khortitsa before the battle with the Mongol-Tatars on the Kalka River.
Throughout the existence of the Zaporozhye Sich until 1775, Khortytsia remained an outpost covering the approaches to the Sich from the north. Russian troops began building shipyards here, which were later abandoned due to the plague epidemic.
After the Russian-Turkish wars and the defeat of the Zaporozhye Sich, Khortitsa was given to Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky (1739-1791) as a gift from Empress Catherine II (1729-1796). The prince did not know what to do with the royal gift, and in 1789 he returned it to the Russian state treasury. In order to develop the island, the treasury settled on it a colony of German Mennonites from near Danzig. They stayed on the island until 1916 and sold it to the city government.
During the Soviet period, construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station began near the island in 1927, and subsequently bridges: before that, ferries had been used for centuries.
Since 1974, the island has been part of the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve, and since 2005 - the Khortitsa national reserve.
Khortitsa Island is located in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, below the rapids. The island divides the Dnieper channel into two branches - the New Dnieper and the Old Dnieper. The river itself in the area of the island is a short preserved section of the rapids part of the river that existed before the construction of the DneproGES dam upstream. Small islands from the rapids have been preserved. The island's relief is inclined: rocks in the north, flooded part in the south.
Khortytsia Island is the site of the All-Ukrainian Cossack festival “Pokrova na Khortytsia”, where in the old days the Zaporizhian Sich was located, and now the Museum of the Zaporizhian Cossacks is located.
Features of the relief and hydraulic regime of the river determined the diversity natural areas within a relatively small island: forb-feather grass steppes, oak and coniferous forests, floodplain meadows. For the same reason, the island flora is significantly different from the coastal flora.
In total, about 960 species of plants were counted on Khortytsia, of which 560 are representatives of wild flora and 20 endemics (Dnieper groundsel, Savran onion, sleep grass, iris, Dnieper cornflower). Rarely, relict plants are found: water fern and chilim. Along the gullies there are preserved sections of bayrak forest (“bayrak” - ancient name beams) with a predominance of Tatarian maple, oak, elm, black and silver poplar, and pear. But most of the island is characterized by young secondary and planted pine-maple forest. The specially created Khortytsia forestry takes care of the local flora.
The fauna of the island is no less diverse than the flora: over 30 species of animals, 120 species of birds, ten species of reptiles, and five species of amphibians live in the bayraks and in the floodplain forest in the south of the island. The bird is mainly waterfowl, nesting in coastal thickets (redhead, teal, coot) and remaining here for the winter: the water here is fast and does not freeze even in severe frosts. Other common species include herring gull, heron, yellow heron, and black tern. There are also predators here: kestrel, black kite. The pheasant was artificially bred and took root.
The largest mammals are roe deer and boar, inhabited sandbanks and marshy lake shores, where moose sometimes swim. There are also muskrat, fox, hare, and white marten.
The permanent population is only a couple of thousand people living in nine villages, of which only three are officially recognized by the Zaporozhye administration, and the rest are squatter settlements.
The island was chosen by rock climbers, who train in the northern and northwestern parts of the island on 40-meter cliffs.
The island's big problem is the unimaginable amount of garbage left behind by tourists. It also causes frequent fires that destroy thickets where birds nest and fish spawn. Fires lead to animals and birds leaving Khortytsia.
In order to protect the history and nature of the island, the historical and cultural complex “Zaporizhian Sich” was created. Theatrical performances and all-Ukrainian festivals are regularly held here. The most famous of them are the International Festival of Children and Youth Creativity “Chords of Khortytsia”, the International Festival of Author’s Song “Singing Island”, the All-Ukrainian Cossack Festival “Pokrova on Khortytsia”, the International Festival of Cossack Martial Arts “Spas on Khortytsia”, the Festival of Perun on Khortytsia. In the flooded part of the Khortytsia island there is a folklore and ethnographic equestrian theater “Zaporozhye Cossacks”, whose activities are aimed at preserving and developing Cossack traditions.
The closest city to the island is one of the largest administrative, industrial and cultural centers south of Ukraine, a large river port. It received its name in 1921, taking into account its geographical location as “located beyond the rapids”.
General information
Location: South-Eastern Ukraine.Origin: tectonic.
Nearest cities: Zaporozhye - 766,000 people. (2014).
Languages: Ukrainian, Russian.
Ethnic composition: Ukrainians (majority), Russians.
Religion: Orthodoxy.
Currency: hryvnia.
Major airport: international airport city of Zaporozhye.
Numbers
Area: 23.59 km2.Length: about 12.5 km.
Width: 2.5 km.
Population: 2000 people. (2011).
Population density: 84.78 people/km 2 .
Climate and weather
Moderate continental.Average January temperature: -3°C.
Average temperature in July: +22.5°C.
Average annual precipitation: 500 mm.
Relative humidity: 70%.
Economy
Service sector: tourism.Attractions
■ Natural: national reserve "Khortitsa", coastal cliffs of Sovutina (Three Masts) and Chernaya, geological reserve "Dnieper Rapids", deepening of the Kozatskaya Miska (the Middle Pillar rock), beams (Sovutina, Ganovka, Kostina, Sichovye Vorota, Lipovaya, Oleniy Rog (Shirokaya) ), Generalka, Velikaya, Naumova), Three Pillars (islands of Divan, or Catherine’s Chair (Catherine the Khreshchennik), Sredny Stolb and Pohyly), islands (Kornetovsky, Rastebina, Malaya Khortitsa, Dubovy, Bad Rock, Skoptsev and Pereyma lavas), Zmieva cave, lakes Bolshaya and Malaya Domakha.■ Historical: settlement of people of the Sredny Stog culture (Middle Pillar, end of the 4th millennium BC), Scythian burial mounds and a settlement with a protective rampart (Sovutin beam, 5th-3rd centuries BC), earthen fortifications from the times of the Russian-Turkish wars (XVIII century).
■ Cultural: Museum of the History of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, the Scythian Stan complex (Zorova’s grave), recreational centers of large factories in Zaporozhye, Institute of Livestock Mechanization, monument to Dmitry Vishnevetsky - Baida, Tarasova Trail, monument in memory of the defeat of the Poles in 1649.
■ Zaporozhye city: Malaya Khortytsia island, Zemstvo government building (1913-1915), Preobrazhensky bridges, Sotsgorod (1929-1937), Avenue named after. Lenin (length - 10.8 km), Holy Intercession Cathedral (UOC MP), cathedral Andrew the First-Called (UOC-MP), pro-cathedral of God the Merciful Father (2004), River port, equestrian theater "Zaporozhye Cossacks", Regional Museum of Local Lore, Museum of the History of Weapons, central park culture and recreation "Oak Grove", Zaporozhye botanical garden, Fountain of Life (Mayakovsky Square).
■ Engineering: DneproGES, Preobrazhensky bridges.
Curious facts
■ Khortytsia did not always remain an island before the construction of the hydroelectric power station. When the left branch of the Dnieper dried up during a particularly hot summer, the island could be reached on foot.■ The Shevchenko (Tarasov) trail stretches along the slopes of the island of Khortitsa: the Ukrainian poet visited here in August 1843.
■ Catherine's Divan Island is connected by local legends with the name of the Russian Empress Catherine II, who allegedly stayed here during her trip to Crimea in 1787. The resemblance of the rock to furniture is obvious, but the Empress never stayed here.
■ In 2007, the island of Khortytsia was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine. Seven Wonders of Ukraine - historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine, selected during an all-Ukrainian competition: the Kamenets Nature Reserve (Kamenets-Podolsky, Khmelnitsky region), Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (Kiev), Sofievka Park (Uman, Cherkasy region), Sophia of Kiev (Kyiv ), Khersones (Sevastopol), Khortitsa, Khotyn Fortress (Khotyn, Chernivtsi region).
■ In Slavic poetry, sleep-herb, characteristic of the island of Khortitsa, is most often mentioned as a sleeping pill because of its name, or is a harbinger of spring and the awakening of nature.
■ One of the floodplain islands off the coast of Khortitsa is called Soviny: for some reason, this hundred-meter-long island is chosen exclusively by owls.
■ On the island of Sredny Stolb there is a hole with a diameter of 2 m and a depth of up to 1.4 m, called the Cossack Bowl. This is a natural depression, partially processed by man. Legends say that the Cossacks cooked dumplings in this “bowl”.
■ Bad Rock Island got its name because it was chosen by the Cossacks as a place where they punished the guilty. Violators of the Cossack code were sent here barefoot: in the summer the rock warmed up so much that standing on it barefoot was a real torture. There is another version. In the 18th century there was a plague infirmary on the Bad Rock, and the Cossacks called all infectious diseases bad.
■ Kornetovsky Island received its name from the German word “kornelecht” - this is what the Mennonite Germans called the place where they crushed grain.
■ There is a hypothesis that it was on Khortitsa that Prince Svyatoslav, who was returning with his squad from the Bulgarian campaign in the spring of 972, died in a battle with the Pechenegs.
■ During the time of Prince Potemkin, a garden was founded on Khortitsa, guarded by a retired corporal. Since then, the area has been named Kapralovo, and the mounds at the highest point of Khortitsa are called Potemkin.
■ Khortytsia Island is in third place in Ukraine in terms of tourist attendance. In 2010, over 250 thousand people visited the reserve’s tourist sites.
■ Until the second half of the 19th century That is, on the island of Khortitsa there grew a historical giant centuries-old oak tree, which, according to legend, served as a rallying point for the Zaporozhye army. Military councils were held under the oak tree.
By 1888, the oak had dried up, leaving a stump six meters in girth. There is a hypothesis that it was under this oak tree that the Cossacks wrote their famous letter to the Turkish Sultan. The artist Ilya Repin, working on the painting “Cossacks,” came to the island of Khortytsia. To this day, in the village of Verkhnyaya Khortitsa, a drying coeval of this oak has been preserved: crown diameter - 63 m, trunk circumference - 6.32 m, height - 36 m.
■ Preobrazhensky Bridges - two two-tier concrete bridges across the Dnieper, connecting the right and left banks of Zaporozhye across the island of Khortytsia. The author of the bridge project is engineer B.N. Preobrazhensky, the bridges were opened in 1952. The height of the bridges (about 54 m) is considered the highest in Ukraine. Preobrazhensky Bridge (together with stone women) is depicted on the coin “National Reserve “Khortitsa” from the series “12 Wonders of Ukraine”.
Now the whole world is open to the traveler. Using an airplane or even a train, you can go to any point on the map of the world or country. Anyone who wants to get to know the culture of the Ukrainian people better should visit the sights of Zaporozhye. You should start your journey in this city with the Zaporozhye Regional Museum of Local Lore. Here you will be told about the difficult history of Zaporozhye from the time of its foundation to the present day. Important documents and pacts, exhibits of antiquity, stories, stories and tales of the Ukrainian people and the best examples of Trypillian culture are collected here.
Arriving in the city of Zaporozhye, every tourist must visit the most ancient inhabitant of this city - the Zaporozhye oak. It is very difficult to say how many years the plant has been decorating the city, but all that is known is that it is at least 700 years old. In 1996, the oak tree was struck by lightning, which almost completely destroyed the tree, leaving only one healthy branch. In 2002, “rescue” procedures were carried out by experienced botanists and foresters, who were able to partially restore the plant. The oak is a symbol of Ukraine, and this symbol originates from the Zaporozhye oak.
Of course, Slavic countries are rich in a variety of cathedrals and churches, and the city of Zaporozhye is no exception. We are talking about the Intercession Cathedral, which was erected in 1778 and became a real symbol of Orthodoxy in the city and Ukraine. Unfortunately, only the foundation remains of the original cathedral, since at the beginning of the twentieth century it was completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks. In 2007, the Intercession Cathedral was completely restored, without any changes to the facade.
Without a doubt, when you are in Zaporozhye, you cannot pass by the Museum of Antique Automotive and Military Equipment. Everything that was created in the USSR for movement and combat, starting from the very foundation of the Union, is collected in this museum. If you arrange all the exhibits on the area, it will take up more than 300 square meters, which is really a lot. In the Museum of Antique Automotive and Military Equipment you can find the ZiS-5 car, which was produced only here since the beginning of 1939. Also worthy of special attention is the Katyusha artillery mount, which made a very big contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. In addition, here you can find exhibits of Soviet cars that were never put into mass production.
These are not all the attractions of Zaporozhye. Among other things, it is also worth a trip to the picturesque DniproGES, the Museum of the History of Weapons, the Preobrazhensky Bridges, and Lake Sivash. And, of course, everyone goes to Zaporozhye for one simple reason - to get to the island of Khortytsia, where the Cossacks originated. How did it all happen? What can history tell us? What can surprise the island of Khortitsa? We will talk about all this further.
Khortytsia
Khortytsia is the largest island in Ukraine. It has very picturesque landscapes. There's a lot to see here. The history of Khortytsia Island is very rich. It was here that the Zaporozhye Sich was founded in the 16th century, which became a real fortress for the Cossacks.
Sich Gate
The powerful rocky massif of the island cuts the Dnieper into two channels. Only in this place was it possible to get to Khortitsa, which provided maximum protection for the Cossacks from unwanted guests. Before the construction of the DneproGES, the Dnieper had a very strong current, which was impossible to compete with, and therefore Khortytsia protected from the enemy on all sides, and only through the Sich Gate could one get into the Sich. This gave a very big advantage in defense, if, of course, someone could find Khortitsa.
Connected to this gate interesting story, which concerns initiation into this “elite of free warriors.” A thick log was thrown between the edges of the Sich Gate gorge, which was carefully coated with melted lard. After which the recruit was blindfolded and asked to go through the log to the Sich, if the task was completed successfully - “Welcome to the Cossacks”, otherwise the person was caught downstream and offered to try his luck the next year. It is not known how true this is, but since then this small rocky massif with a gorge has been called the Sichovy Gate.
Descending into the Sichovye Vorota gorge, you find yourself in a completely different world - a world that is deeply stuck in the centuries. It is very quiet and cool here, the slopes of the rocks are decorated with rare plants, and in some places you can even find trees that grow from cracks in the rocks. The landscape is indescribable, and you don’t really want to leave here. There is also a rumor that at the bottom of the gorge the Cossacks performed various rituals, especially for the kharakterniki, who drew their strength from the land of Khortitsa.
Cossack festival "Pokrova" on the island of Khortytsia
Every year a festival called “Pokrova” is held on the island of Khortitsa. Not only people from all over Ukraine come to this event, but also citizens of Belarus and Russia, which indicates the great popularity of such a celebration. “Pokrova” is held to raise the national spirit, and also as a tribute great history Ukrainian Cossacks, who in their short century have never once lowered their blade to the enemy. The event itself includes performances by famous Ukrainian musical groups and dance ensembles, but this is not the main thing. Main feature festival on the island of Khortytsya is a competition that does not stop on any day of “Pokrovy”. Participants compete in shooting, running, and swimming over various distances. And, of course, how can we do without strength exercises? This is lifting a barbell, logs, weights, and so on. Also at the festival, those who do not particularly want to participate in competitions and competitions will be able to relax. Here you can try porridge cooked over a fire and seasoned with lard, Cossack soup or fish soup. After sunset, visitors will find plenty of entertaining bars and cafes where they can relax with their families or friends. The Cossack festival in Khortytsia is something that is so missing in the everyday bustle of the city.
Picturesque nature of Khortytsia
The nature of the island of Khortitsa is picturesque, and the air is intoxicating and clean. The island is located in the bed of the Dnieper River, dividing it into 2 parts: the old and new Dnieper. Khortytsia stands on granite and magnetic rocks, the total age of which is approximately 2.5 billion years. Such rocks and boulders protect the island from erosion and erosion by strong water flows. In the north there are rocks up to 50 meters high, but closer to the south their height is much lower, which suggests that the formation of the island of Khortytsia itself began from the northern part. Often, during dry seasons (summer), the old riverbed almost completely dried up, which could not be observed before the construction of the DneproGES. Mild climate, dry air, generous sun and fresh water made an island on the Dnieper in abundance great place for a variety of plants that can only be found here.
Plants on the island of Khortitsa
Endemics are a type of vegetation that is characteristic only of a certain area or latitude and does not grow anywhere else. Among the endemic plants on the island you can find dream grass, irises, Savran onion, Dnieper cross and cornflower. These plants are found only here and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. In addition to them, there are 960 more types of vegetation on Khortytsia, more than half of which are wild herbs. Among other things, there are also relics on the island. These are plants that have been an integral part of Khortytsia for several millennia. During this period they only slightly changed their appearance, adapting to a variety of weather conditions.
But the homeland of the Ukrainian Cossacks is not only a steppe with grasses and weeds, trees such as oaks, cedars, elms, maples and poplars also sprout here. It is possible to find many more coniferous species here. You can also find small forests here. These are small plantings that remain from dense forests. The forests on Khortitsa are represented by pears, apple trees, as well as cherries, which are becoming less and less every year. If you believe the Ukrainian specialist, historian and archaeologist Dmitry Ivanovich Yavornitsky, then an oak tree of enormous size sprouted on the island, which simply captured and bewitched with its grandeur and size. Of course most of The Cossacks spent time on the island, which means there was something to eat here. They hunted a lot. Khortytsia has a very rich fauna.
Animals on the island of Khortitsa
Despite the small size of the island, it is home to many species of animals. Here you can find about 120 species of birds and 30 species of land animals, this does not take into account the fish that live in the old and new riverbeds of the Dnieper. If we talk about birds, then on Khortitsa there are most of all gray herons, gulls and ducks; the latter even stay on the island for the winter, enduring severe frosts. This allowed the Cossacks to hunt game even in the cold season. Also, from time to time, you can meet a yellow heron here, which flies here from southern countries. In addition to the above bird species, it is also possible to meet quacks and a large number of owls that hunt small rodents on Khortytsia. Also recently, kites and kestrels can be found here, which feel great due to the abundance of small animals on the island.
Here one could even meet white-tailed eagles, which nested on a single tree that fell in the spring of 1977. After this, the eagles moved downstream to one of the banks of the Dnieper, but they still fly to Khortitsa to hunt. It is not worth dwelling on chordates in detail, since the small territory of Khortitsa Island does not allow large animals to live here, but only small rodents. They say that during the Cossack times, both cattle and pigs were raised here, but now not a trace of this remains.
Cossacks. Origins
It seems that over the past few thousand years Khortitsa (Zaporozhye) has remained the same primeval land, where life still rages, untouched by man. The island also remembers Askold, Dir, Oleg, Igor and, of course, Princess Olga. Some came to power, others lost it, but the Sich still stood on Khortytsia, still just as powerful and unshakable. Initially, in the 16th century, Dimitry Vishnivetsky organized a prototype of the Sich on Malaya Khortytsia, as evidenced by the Drevo-Zemlyansky castle. After several raids on Tatar and Turkish settlements in the cities of Ochakov and Islam-Kermen, the Cossacks began to be replenished with more and more new fighters, and Malaya Khortytsia became crowded for the Cossacks, after which the Sich was organized in Khortytsia, which accepted more and more runaway slaves, apostates, were hiding from justice. Awareness of the injustice reigning around, the desire to take revenge for the broken lives of the entire society - incentives that helped make ruthless and invincible warriors out of such people, just like the Ukrainian Cossacks were.
national reserve
Since 1993, the Khortitsa Island has become a national reserve. This was done in order to protect a number of religious buildings that were erected during the existence of the Sich. In addition, the active influence of humans on the island can lead to the disappearance of endemic species, which cannot be allowed.
Now we can say with 100% confidence that even Emperor Constantine VII visited Khortitsa, who in his memoirs calls it the island of St. George. Nikolai Gogol and Taras Shevchesko often talk about the Zaporozhye Sich in their works. Shevchenko spoke about the Sich as the source of human courage and unbreakable spirit of will, but Gogol spoke more about amazing people, character Cossacks who did what ordinary people could not do.
Population
Be that as it may, the island of Khortitsa is not isolated from the outside world. About 2,000 people live here, divided into 9 villages. The interesting thing is that only 3 of them are on the city’s balance sheet, while the rest provide for themselves. We can say that these people are hermits who decided to settle closer to nature. In addition, the residents of Khortitsa monitor its cleanliness and improvement, without which this island has turned into a resort center with a lot of tourists, plastic bottles, cigarette butts and other garbage.
Famous people
In addition to Shevchenko and Gogol, a large number of people visited the island famous people. And we are talking not only about Ukrainian luminaries. In 1878, the great composer and musician Nikolai Vitalievich Lysenko visited the island and was captivated by the beauty of the island. Ilya Efimovich Repin also visited Khortitsa, who was inspired by the picturesque landscapes. In 1891, Maxim Gorky came here, who was confident that the picturesque island of Khortytsia would give him inspiration. In the same year, Ivan Bunin, a writer and poet, Nobel Prize laureate, also visited the picturesque area.
This is it real island Khortytsia, a real Cossack fortress, which, unfortunately, lasted much longer than the Cossacks themselves. You can come here for fun, for solitude with nature, for a quiet holiday with friends and family. Picturesque Ukraine is always happy to welcome guests. Khortytsia Island is a symbol of the strength, will and spirit of the Ukrainian people. To absorb this spirit, you only need to visit the island.
