The Space Zhytomyr

One is often more familiar with foreign cities and points of interest than with the outstanding sites of his or her own homeland. To some extent, the same is true of Ukrainians. So let UkrainePlaces fill in the blanks about Ukraine for our readers and disclose all of the country’s riches. Now, let’s take a closer look at Zhytomyr and Zhytomyr Oblast

Many interesting discoveries await the tourist who comes to see the prominent sites in Zhytomyr and the surrounding region, such as a unique world-class art gallery, one of the richest cosmonautics museums in the CIS and the Catholic church where Balzac was married.

A host of legends and myths surround Zhytomyr, which celebrated the 1,120^th anniversary of its founding in 2004. One of these claims that the city was named after a brave warrior who served in the squadron of the famous historical heroes of the ancient state of the Kyivevan Rus, brothers Ascold and Dir. Refusing to serve Prince Oleg, Zhytomyr left Kyiv and founded the settlement that became the city bearing his name. But this a legend is for romantics. Researchers postulate that the two most important words for a Ukrainian, zhyto (rye) and myr (peace) were combined to form the name of the city.

Architecture and Art in Zhytomyr

We recommend that sightseeing in the ancient city begin in one of its largest squares, Zamkovy Maidan (Castle Square), named for the castle that once stood here. Numerous catacombs, which remain to the present day, led to it. Currently, the Catholic St Sophia Cathedral (1737-1751) is the main architectural landmark of Zamkovy Maidan. The dome with its almost 30-metre-tall bell tower hosts the Main Episcopal Throne of the Ukrainian Roman Catholic Church.

The “Hermitage a la Zhytomyr” - a colloquial name for the art gallery of the City Local Lore Museum located in Zamkovy Maidan - will also attract tourists. Coincidentally, a unique collection of pictures by Italian artists of the late Renaissance was gathered here. Works of art that could beautify such world-famous galleries as the Prado or Uffizi were expropriated from landowners in Volyn Province after the revolution. By a miracle, the collection remained in Zhytomyr after the Second World War: the Nazis removed the paintings from the city in 1941, but later they were safely returned. In addition to Italian artists, one can see works by prominent Dutch and Flemish painters, as well as Polish (Jozef Brandt), French (Claude Le Febvre) and Russian (Ivan Kramskoi and Grigory Miasoyedov) painters.

Address: 1 Zamkovy Maidan, Tel.: (+380 412) 37-95-87

Literature in Zhytomyr

Few people know that it was in Zhytomyr that Alexandr Kuprin wrote his famous short novel Olesya on which the famous film The Blonde Witch (La Sorcière) starring Marina Vlady was based. In addition, Vladimir Korolenko, a prose writer of genius, was born here in 1853. At the time, Zhytomyr was the centre of Volyn Province. Vladimir Korolenko wrote, “Life has taken me far from the city of my birth, but the memory of my native town has remained with me, undimmed in beauty … There you can feel in your heart and understand with your mind that our people … are the best-natured people in the world … ” Visit the exhibition at the Korolenko Literature and Memorial Museum in the house where he was born. It features manuscripts, drawings, personal items and a diorama based on his foremost short novel Children of the Underground, which the labyrinths of the Zhytomyr castle caves inspired him to write. The museum is open daily (except Mondays) from 10am to 6pm.

Address: 1 Korolenka St.

Cosmonautics in Zhytomyr

Surprisingly, Zhytomyr is home to a museum housing one of the CIS’s richest collections of cosmonautics articles. Among the more than 7,000 exhibits, one can see the Lunokhod (Moon research vehicle) that transmitted more than 20,000 shots of 200 Moon landscapes to Earth over the course of 11 months and 9 milligrams of soil from the Moon. By the way, 1 gram of Moon dust will fetch triple the price of 1 carat of diamonds.

The original landing module from the Soyuz-27 spaceship is also of considerable interest. In addition, the museum has the autographs of V. Dzhanibekov and O. Makarov, the cosmonauts who landed in the module on January 11, 1978. One more space hero, Georgi Grechko, donated a tracksuit, a suit with special devices to allow securing the feet to the floor to simulate gravity. Wearing such gear, cosmonauts would run seven kilometres a day on a racetrack to keep their muscles from atrophying during their missions.

The Cosmonautic Museum was not placed in Zhytomyr by chance, since the city was the birthplace of the person who sent Yuri Gagarin into space. Prominent spacecraft designer Sergey Koroliov was born here in 1906. Family albums, books, personal things and even a lock of hair from his childhood are on display in the Koroliov Memorial Museum.

The museum is open daily (except for Mondays) from 10am to 5pm. Tours require advance booking.

Address: 5 Dmytriyivska St., Tel.: (0412) 37-2030

Rocky Zhytomyr

The natural location of Zhytomyr is quite literally unique. This is the only place where one can see the huge picturesque canyon carved by the Teteriv River from granite. This natural splendour that enchants mountaineers ends right after the city limits.

The suspension footbridge located over the 40-metre gulch not far from the Y. Gagarin Central City Park offers the best view of Zhytomyr’s canyon.

The cliff, which the locals call “Chatsky’s Head” for some reason, is one of the most remarkable natural sites in Zhytomyr. It is a national geological monument. The stone resembles a human profile with a Roman nose. A multitude of legends exist about this cliff. One of them has it that a Polish nobleman, in an effort to escape from the Cossacks who were pursuing him, rode up the rock and tried to jump to the opposite side but instead fell into the abyss. From then on, the stone assumed the shape of his head.

Jewels of Zhytomyr Oblast

These include, first of all, Berdychiv. The history of this city located 44 km south of Zhytomyr is closely connected with the struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom. In summer 1648, near Berdychiv, detachments of rebels headed by Maxym Kryvonis, Bogdan Khmelnytsky’s companion-in-arms, defeated Polish troops and took over the city.

Internationally famous writer Honoré de Balzac married his beloved, the Countess Evelyna Ganska, in Berdychiv’s St Barbara Catholic Cathedral (1826) on March 14, 1860. Each letter that Balzac sent from Paris to his fiancée bore the address, “Verkhivnya, near Berdychiv”. Today, those who visit this village in the Ruzhin District of Zhytomyr Oblast can see the Ganskys’ family palace (11^th-18^th centuries) where Balzac and his wife lived from 1847 to 1850. The Balzac Museum, opened in 1959, is housed in the palace where he worked on his drama The Stepmother and finished his multivolume The Human Comedy. The landscaped park that surrounds the palace is also of interest.

In addition, visitors can see the ruins of an ancient Cossack fortress in Novograd-Volynsky, located 87 km from Zhytomyr on the rocky bank of the Sluch River. However, Novograd-Volynsky is better known as the city of Lesya Ukrainka. People can see the house where the great Ukrainian poetess was born and visit the Ukrainka Literature and Memorial Museum.

Getting there

The best way to get from Kyiv to Zhytomyr (135 km) is by rental car.

kiev flights Ukraine International Airlines offers convenient, daily flights to Kyiv from almost each capital of Western Europe.

For more information on flights schedules and ticket reservations, please contact the UIA office in Kyiv at (+380 44) 581-5050, or visit the UIA website: www.flyUIA.com

Places to Stay

PROLISOK TOURIST COMPLEX
Situated in the park that forms part of a huge forest at the entry to the Zhytomyr highway, Prolisok has 300 rooms with all conveniences (from UAH 100 to UAH 150 a day), a sauna, billiards and a VIP cottage (UAH 750 a day). Three restaurants offer a wide variety of Ukrainian and European cuisine. A fishpond near the Karas Hut is the source of the fresh fish for the restaurants.
Address: 139 Peremogy Ave.; Tel.: (+380 44) 451-9049, 451-8076

SMEREKOVA KHATA RECREATION COMPLEX
This wooden restaurant with plenty of national spirit is located in a picturesque spot near a small lake. Guests can warm themselves near the fireplace in winter and, in warm weather, they can have lunch on the summer spot or in the arbour overlooking the water. The menu includes Ukrainian and Uzbek cuisine. In addition to the restaurant, the complex comprises a sauna, a pool and billiards.
Address: 35^th km, Zhytomyrske Shausse; Tel.: (+380 44) 451-6272

FILVAROK MOTEL AND RESTAURANT
Located by the Zhytomyr highway 120 km from Kyiv, between Korostyshiv and Zhytomyr, this bi-level restaurant has a sauna with a mini pool and two-storey wooden cottages (UAH 300 a day).
Address: Kmytiv, Korostyshiv Region, Zhytomyr Highway; Tel.: (+380 4130) 35-754

ZHYTOMYR HOTEL
The city’s major hotel is located in the very centre. It has a bar and restaurant, rooms with all the necesary conveniences, junior and deluxe suites, modern remodelling, large bathrooms with tubs or showers and tableware. A double room is UAH 123, a junior suite is UAH 205, and a deluxe suite is UAH 265 per day.
Address: 6 Peremogy Sqare; Tel.: (+380 412) 22-86-93, 22-67-72