Khmelnytskyi. The Heart of Podillia.

©PANORAMA
Text and photos
by Iryna Pustynnikova
http://www.castles.com.ua/

Do you know how nice it is in the Khmelnytskyi region at the beginning of summer? Blooming gardens turn the villages into milk-white lakes on soft green hills; forests and fields are covered with a multicoloured carpet. Here you will see another Ukraine: the residents of Podillia took the best from each region, and the result is a dazzling combination!

Podillia is on the border, and so a tolerant area. The best example of this is the Khmelnytskyi region, a model of peaceful coexistence between different nations. Ukrainians and Poles, Jews and Tatars, Russians and Germans have lived here together for ages. Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches as well as synagogues and Protestant churches make peaceful neighbors.

Still, fortresses guard this tranquil idyll. This land here was too tempting to foreigners, so grey giants guards were scattered throughout the land with castles in Sataniv, Zhvanets’, Starokostiantyniv, Letychiv, Medzhybizh, Iziaslav. However the crown, without question, belongs to the Old Fortress in Kamyanets-Podilskyi.

Finally, the mild climate and deep rivers of Podillia also attract nature enthusiasts. So welcome to almost - paradise!

The City Named After Hetman

If you climb the hill where the television tower overlooks all of Khmelnytskyi, the capital of this region, you can see everything perfectly. Blocks of high-rise buildings are neighbors to one-storey buildings, bridges connect the banks of the Western Buh River, and small lakes sparkle like topaz.

Surprisingly, the Hetman (governor) Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, who gave his name to the city, never actually visited there! In spite of this fact, residents have built two monuments to him. Near the Philharmonic (7, Haharina Str.), Khmelnytskyi prances on a muscular horse, while by the railway station (92 Proskurivska str.) he greets guests of the city with a mace!

The village of Proskuriv as the centre of the Khmelnytskiy region was first mentioned in chronicles dated 1493. Due to its advantageous location at the intersection of trade routes, it became the centre of the region in 1946.

It took Khmelnytskyi a long time to prove that it deserved region status. The market known in Ukraine and abroad helped accomplish this. The city of Khmelnytskyi, with neither architectural monuments nor a developed industry, decided to stake on trade and won! It is hard to find another region that has flourished so much within the last decade. Hotels, cafes and restaurants for any taste are here. In addition, there is the Theatre of Music and Drama (60 Soborna Str.), the Puppet Theatre (46, Proskurivska Str.) and the Museum of Local Lore, History and Economy (68 Hrushevskogo Str.).

It is a pity, but the majority of the city’s old monuments were destroyed by fire in 1822. Khmelnytskyi’s oldest remaining building is a church built in 1837. But in the suburban village of Ruzhychanka, archaeologists have found a Trypillian culture settlement, and in a suburb of Lezneve (microdistrict of Khmelnytskyi), household goods from the mid-13^th century.

Old Capital of Podillia

The main destination point for many guests of the Khmelnytskyi region is Kamyanets-Podilskyi, the old capital. The town of Kamyanets-Podilskyi is ranked third in Ukraine for the number of architectural places of interest (after Kyiv and Lviv). There are more than one hundred here! But it is the XIVth century Old Fortress that has become the symbol of the town. The whole city used to be a fortress. The Armenian bastion and the town gates near the Turkish bridge (one of the oldest in Eastern Europe), along with Riznytska and Kravetska towers form a partial list of Kamyanets’ fortresses.

Another of the town’s unique buildings is Petropavlivska Cathedral. It is a Renaissance church with the statue of the Madonna on top of a Turkish minaret. What a paradoxical combination of incongruent things! From 1672-1699, the town was governed by Turks, who turned Christian sanctuaries into mosques. Then Polish authorities left Eastern architectural trends, but installed the statue of the Blessed Virgin on top.

The most valuable art treasure in Kamyanets, a headstone of 21 year-old Laura is stored in the Petropavlivska cathedral. From 1874 to 1876 the talented sculptor, Viktor Brodskyi, made his masterpiece from a block of white Carrara marble. In that time, the Hermitage fought for this statue, but the town saved Laura.

Kamyanets’ most photogenic church is the wooden Exaltation of the Cross church. The most remarkable is St. George’s Church: its blue domes easily seen from all sides of the Old Bridge. The large synagogue near Honcharna Tower stands since the times when 40 percent of the population was Jewish.

On the first floor of the renovated Town Hall in the centre of the Old City there is the Museum of the Magdeburg Right and Money. And on the premises of the Armenian trade house there is an interesting archaeological exhibition and an authentic restaurant “Old Fortress” (tel.: +38 03849 253 66).

Pearls of Khmelnytskyi Region

The grandeur of fortresses and the history of Kamyanets hide other treasures which are not so well-known, but also deserve attention.

In Starokostiantyniv there are many interesting sightseeing places even for experienced tourists. We should mention Oboronna (Defense) Tower (16^th-17^th centuries). In Soviet times its first tier was occupied by policemen who opened a shooting range here. On the bank of the Sluch River is the highlight of the town, the castle of the Ostrozki princes (1561-1571). At Town Beach, near the walls of the castle, one can swim and enjoy the picturesque view of the fortress on the opposite bank.

Tourists go to Bakot village in the Kamyanets-Podilskyi region in order to see the thousand year-old St. Michael’s Cave Monastery and imagine how monks lived in these caves-cells on the 120 metre-high White Rock, and also to see the picturesque Dnister River cliffs, natural mineral water springs and manicured beaches, and to swim in the clear warm water of the Dnister. It is a real paradise for travelers with tents!

And a beautiful 18^th century landscaped park still remains in the village of Maliivka in the Dunaievetskyi region. Here there is a palace built in 1788 in the style of Louis XVI for the Orlovski magnates. Maliivka Park is also the part of “Podilski Tovtry” National Wildlife Preserve.

You can listen to tales of the history and architectural monuments of this region for a long time, but it is better to just start with an adventurous trip to the wonderful Khmelnytskyi Region with a backpack and friends!

KHMELNYTSKYI REGION
USEFUL INFORMATION

Regional tours are organized by

ViD agency: Kamyanets-Podilskyi, tel.: +38 03849 221 27;
“Danilov&Cо” tourism agency: Kamyanets-Podilskyi, tel.: +38 03849 254 50, e-mail: danko@kp.km.ua

Places to Stay and Relax

“Eneida”
A large three-star hotel in the centre of the city with rooms from UAH150 to UAH330. The hotel offers a restaurant, cafe, beauty shop, conference halls and a car-park.
Address: 8, Teatralna Str., Khmelnytskyi. Tel.: +38 0382 795 932.

“Hetman” Hotel and Tourist Complex
Located in a historical building (1735 р.) in the centre of the city, this hotel has a car-park and a swimming-pool. Rooms cost from UAH385 to UAH550.
Address: 8, Polskyi Rynok, Kamyanets-Podilskyi. Tel.: +38 067 588 22 15.

“Gala” Hotel
A smaller, 14-room hotel with the average price per room at UAH200. The hotel offers cafes, wellness centre with mineral water, and billiards.
Address: 84 Lesi Ukrainki Str., Kamyanets-Podilskyi. Tel.: +38 03849 28 106.

“Cleopatra” Hotel
A four-star hotel in the new centre of the city, it offers a restaurant, solarium, billiards, swimming-pool and exercise room. Rooms cost from UAH300 to UAH650.
Address: 39 Ohienka Str., Kamyanets-Podilskyi. Tel.: +38 03849 65 681.

“Ksenia” Hotel

A private hotel with 55 rooms, running from UAH60 to UAH550. It offers a sauna, two swimming pools, billiards and a hairdresser.
Address: 3 Zhvanetske High Road, Kamyanets-Podilskyi. Tel.: + 38 03849 20 379, e-mail: hotel@xenia.org.ua

“SN” Hotel
A private hotel with a sauna, swimming pool and a covered car-park. Rooms cost from UAH200 to UAH350.
Address: 2/2, 9 Bereznia Lane. Tel.: +38 03854 33 553.

Getting There

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