Khortitsa Island, its history. Sights and photos of the island of Khortytsya

Khortytsya is closely connected with the history of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. It is the largest river island not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe. Man has lived here since time immemorial: the first traces of his stay date back to the 3rd millennium BC.

Today every Ukrainian schoolchild knows on which river the island of Khortitsa is located. The Dnieper is the largest and most significant water artery of Ukraine. This is the main shipping channel, it has a cascade of six hydroelectric power stations. But still the most important local attraction is the bulwark of the Ukrainian Cossacks. Until now, traditions and monuments of architecture have been preserved on Khortitsa, capable of returning us a few hundred years ago and demonstrating how the rosters lived.

Northern Khortytsya

The oldest of the six hydroelectric power stations - Zaporizhzhya DneproGES - was built in 1932, and launched at full capacity in 1939. From the northern slopes of the island of Khortitsa you can see a stunning view of the dam. Here the landscape is mostly precipitous: granite rocks sometimes rise 40-50 meters above the water.

In this part of the island there are many grottoes, caves, large and small boulders, through which you can hardly descend to the water. In the northern part - the Museum of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, the exposition "Zaporozhskaya Sich", which opened in 2009, the Sanctuary, "Tarasov Stitch" and the tourist path "Above the rapids".

Southern Khortytsya

In the south, the area is marshy, flowing, the current of the Dnieper created by the millennial labor. Here the shore is cut with numerous coves and caves. The fertile soils applied by the river have become a real paradise for diverse representatives of flora and fauna. Previously, bushes, trees, reeds and grass stretched from the island of Khortitsa to Kherson and bore the name of the Great Zaporozhye Meadow.

In these places was the famous Prololchy ford, along which it was possible to move from shore to shore on horseback, without soaking up your feet, or waist-deep in the water. All this splendor was buried at the bottom of the Kakhovka water reservoir during the construction of the next hydroelectric power station. Hydroelectric power stations jointly produce only 8% of electricity in the country and are a source of constant environmental threat.

Reserve

Today, the southern edge of the island Khortytsya is of great importance in the preservation of the wildlife of the Dnieper. Five ancient lakes and one and a half to two dozen small ponds and bays serve as a safe haven for many types of plants: lilies, water lilies, water nuts, irises, reeds, etc. There is the smallest fern in the world - floating salvynia.

In the hospitable waters of southern Khortitsa spawn more than 50 species of fish, nest more than 120 species of birds (although there are slightly more than 300 in all of Ukraine), about 30 species of small mammals thrive.

The status of the state reserve Khortitsa Island was received back in 1965. Before that, it was considered a monument of the local (since 1958) and republican (since 1963) values. After gaining independence, the Ukrainian government appropriated the status of the national park to the island (1993).

From the point of view of the nature protection function, the reserve is of great importance: more than 560 species of wild plants grow here. For a limited space of the island, this amount is huge.

Zaporozhye Cossacks

Of great interest is the history of the island of Khortitsa, associated mainly with the Zaporozhye Cossacks. Prince Vishnevetsky, sung in folk folklore under the name of Baida, in the 16th century unified the disunited Cossack detachments and built a fortress on the islet nearby (Malaya Khortitsa), designed to protect the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian state. It is considered to be the prototype of the Zaporozhye Sich, which appeared only in 1593. In 1557, the fortress fell - Khan Devlet-Giray, who came to its walls in January, failed: the 24-day siege did not bring victory. Then he appeared in the fall with reinforcements and completely destroyed the fortress.

Before the liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich, the island of Khortytsia belonged to its possessions. From here Taras Trasilo, Ivan Sirko, Sulima, Bogdan Khmelnitsky started their campaigns.

The Dnieper Flotilla

The military formation on the outskirts of the empire was not very popular with the central authorities. When part of the sergeant-major supported Hetman Mazepa in his anti-Russian speech on the side of the Swedes, in 1709 the entire Zaporizhzhya Sich was declared a nest of traitors and destroyed, which did not prevent the Cossacks from speaking on the side of the Russian crown in the war with the Turks.

In 1737 it was decided to build a new shipyard: the war is in full swing, and Russian ships can not cross the Dnipro rapids. By 1739 near the island of Khortitsa was already a Russian navy, numbering about four hundred ships.

In 1998, near the shore found the body of the Cossack gull, which was removed from the Dnieper in a year. In 2007, the brigantine found there was raised to the surface. Two ancient ships became the basis for the organization of the informal museum of the Dnieper flotilla, located in the southern part of the island.

Museum of History of Zaporozhye Cossacks

The history of Zaporozhye Cossacks is mainly dedicated to the museum opened in 1983 on the island of Khortytsya. The room, occupying about 1600 square meters, is decorated rather gloomily. The walls covered with granite create the effect of being in an underground cave. Along them are hung various relics of ancient times. General lighting is not bright, only tables with exhibits are highlighted, most of which are found on the island itself and in the immediate vicinity.

Here, the remains of stone tools of antiquity, ceramics, fragments of old ships, icons, objects of everyday life and interior are collected. The museum shows a trunk of stained oak, lying on the bottom of the Dnieper for several thousand years. Dioramas that reveal the main landmarks of the history of the Zaporozhye Territory are interesting: "The Last Battle of Svyatoslav" (according to some sources, the prince of Kiev was killed precisely on the island), "Military Council on the Sich", "Night assault by the Soviet Army of Zaporizhzhya (14.10.1943. .) "," Construction of DneproGES ".

To travelers on a note

In the summer, the museum is open from 9-00 to 19-00, in the winter - from 9-00 to 16-00. On Mondays, it does not work, this should be borne in mind when planning a trip to the island of Khortytsya. Excursions offered by the national nature reserve are interesting and varied. To date, there are about a dozen walking themed tours around the island, devoted to different pages of its history.

If there is no desire within 45-90 minutes to step behind the guide on foot, there is a possibility to order a bus excursion for 2.5 hours to the southern part of the island. The reserve promises a pleasant and cognitive pastime in the society of highly qualified specialists. The island is also popular with children, for which special matinees are designed. In the course of them, the toddler is not only entertained, but also gets acquainted with the history of his native land.

Zaporizhzhya Sich

A notable place among the sights of the island is the historical and cultural complex "Zaporizhzhya Sich", which began to be built in 2004. Some of the buildings were used during the filming of the feature film "Taras Bulba". In 2009, the complex was opened for tourist visits.

The center of the exposition is a small wooden church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, crowned by three domes. In total, there are twenty-three buildings in the complex that introduce visitors to the interiors of Cossack housing, official and educational institutions, traditional tavern, weapons. The entire exposition is divided into an inner Kosh and a suburb, which, unfortunately, has been plundered by modern vandals. The village is surrounded by a palisade with three watchtowers, a moat and an earthen rampart.

Holy Cossack customs and the local Equestrian Theater (located in the southern part of the island Khortitsa). There is a forge, souvenirs are sold, interesting theatrical performances regularly take place: dances, stylized battles with sabers, talented riders demonstrate their art. The theater gives regular performances to the IKK "Zaporizhzhya Sich".

Not the Cossacks alone

It should be separately noted that the Cossacks do not exhaust the historical wealth of these places - the island of Khortytsya, whose sights are very numerous, was inhabited by people in earlier times.

In 1976-1980, archaeological excavations were carried out on the island, during which a military settlement of the Х-ХІV centuries in the southern part was discovered. Separate finds - weapons, ceramics - allow one to think that the settlement is even older. Today, on the site of the excavations, the memorial and tourist complex "Protovče Settlement" is opened.

Scythian mounds

Left the mark on the island and the Scythians. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 129 burial mounds. The oldest of these dates back to the Bronze Age (III millennium BC). The mounds are located along the so-called Scythian path, which once ran along the elevated part of the island Khortitsa. Today eleven mounds are reconstructed, decorated with stone women and bronze steles. One of them is right next to the Museum of the History of the Cossacks.

The memorial and tourist complex "Zorova Mogila" ("Scythian camp"), dedicated to the Scythian page of history, occupies about five hectares of the area and includes one more interesting exposition, which attracts the island of Khortytsya, - the Museum of Stone Statues. Here you can see the creations of human hands, which are more than a thousand years old. So to speak, to touch the homon of centuries embodied in stone.

Taras Shevchenko

In the summer of 1843 Taras Shevchenko, 29, visited Khortitsa. With the help of local historians, the route of his walk was defined and marked by seven granite boulders, on which lines from the works of the Great Kobzar, in which the island of Khortytsia and the Great Zaporozhye Meadow are mentioned, are carved. Those who wish can walk along the tracks of the poet and admire the surroundings from the ecological path "Above the rapids".

Today Khortytsya is an island, where recreation is popular not only among local residents. It's very beautiful, quiet, even peaceful. From the north-eastern banks DniproHES is visible, and next to it is an exposition "Zaporizhzhya Sich", imitating a typical Cossack fortress of the XVI-XVIII centuries. There is an almost mystical feeling that you are on the border between the past and the future.

Legends and Myths of Khortytsia Island

Almost every rock or cave of the island has its own legend. To tell about each of them, it would take a lot of time. The story of the Zmiyeva Cave, which Herodotus describes, is interesting. Say, in the magical land of Gelei (historians tend to think that this is the Great Zaporozhye Meadow), Hercules met the beautiful Snake-Maid. They had a love in the same cave, a narrow entrance to which can be seen on the photo of the island of Khortitsa, made by lovers of extreme sports. It is not easy to get to it.

Only one of the three children of the Greek hero from the local beauty managed to bend his father's hero's bow, and his name was Scythian. It is interesting that the images of the Snake Girl really do occur on the stone boulders of the island, and their origin is rather vague.

Later the people settled in the famous cave of Snake Gorynycha - he, throwing stones at the heroes, who did not want to leave him alone, and created many Dnipro islets and even the famous rapids.

Magic mysteries of the island

There is also a subject on Khortytsa, which interests esotericists, a huge stone weighing five or six centners, either brought by a glacier or brought from somewhere by people. In any case, this breed is not typical for this area: the nearest region where it meets is the Donetsk region. The boulder is carved with carved lines, clearly marked with a human hand. What do these letters mean and do they make sense, no one knows for sure. It is generally accepted that a stone with a picture represents a fish (carp) and served the ancient people as a cult object. Human rumor has already endowed a stone with a magical power capable of "pulling" a person out of a disease.

Thus, the island of Khortytsya is very interesting, rich in sights and legends. To date, its popularity is far from deserved. I want to believe that time will fix it. If there is a possibility, be sure to visit this place. Good luck!