Oster is a river in the north of Ukraine. Photo, description, legends and ecology of the river

Oster - the river, which is mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years". It is associated with a huge number of legends, fables and fantastic stories. Where does the river begin? Where does it go? And what is the modern ecological state of the river?

Oster River (Chernihiv region): general information

The length of the river is almost 200 kilometers, and the total area of the water basin is about 3000 square kilometers. Oster is a tributary of the Dnieper of the second order. On its way, it takes in at least 60 tributaries and streams.

Oster - the river, completely flowing in the Chernigov region of Ukraine. On its shores there are dozens of settlements, the largest and most famous of which is the city of Nizhyn.

Where does the river originate and where does the river Oster flow? Its source is near the village of Kalchinovka, Bakhmach district. Further, the river flows in a western direction, crossing the Dnieper lowland. The mouth of the watercourse is located within the same city of Oster, where it flows into the Desna.

Oster is a river with mostly snowy food. In the mouth area, the water discharge is quite considerable and is 3.2 cubic meters. M / sec. The canal freezes around the beginning of December, but is opened by the middle of March.

Oster River: photos and interesting facts from the history

The beautiful River Oster flows through a territory that has been inhabited by man since ancient times. Scientists are still arguing about the origin of this oikonym. It is interesting that the root "p" is quite often found in the geographical names of the region of Eastern Europe. One has only to remember such rivers as the Dniester, Stryi, Styr, and others. Researcher VP Petrov suggests that they all come from one ancient Sanskrit word sravati, which can be translated as "flow" or "flow".

A lot of legends are connected with this river. According to one of them, somewhere on the bottom of Ostra is still a Roman vessel with untold treasures in the holds. This legend arose after the local boys found ancient foreign coins on the river banks.

"Was Oster navigable?" - this issue has long haunted local historians and local historians. According to surviving memories of travelers, in the 18th century Oster was as deep as the Dnieper, and ships sailed freely on it. Even in the upper reaches of the river, the researchers found the remains of old wooden ships, which only confirms this theory.

Thus, earlier Oster, most likely, was navigable. But the active intervention of man in the life of the river has substantially altered it. As a result of the massive construction of dams and mills, Oster became shallow, and its banks began to swam.

Oster and ecology

Ecology in the river Oster today remains very unfavorable. In July 2016, its waters were contaminated with hazardous chemicals dumped in the riverbed within the Nezhinsky district. The poisonous runoff entailed a massive sea of fish. The river water darkened, and near the coasts there was a pungent and unpleasant smell.

In connection with the current situation, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources announced a ban on bathing and fishing in the Oster River. The special commission took samples of water and conducted their chemical analysis. The results were disappointing: the content of phosphate, ammonium and iron in water exceeded the norm by 3-10 times.

Large-scale cleansing of the Ostra channel was carried out for the last hundred years three times: in the 1930s, after the end of the Second World War and at the beginning of this century.

Treasures of Ostra

At the bottom of the river and on its banks, silver dinars were often found - ancient Roman coins. It is these findings that lead Romantics to the idea that somewhere on the bottom of Ostra lies a huge ship filled with jewels. The last such coin was found here in 1957, during a large-scale cleaning of the river bed.

No less valuable and interesting finds were found in the basin of Ostra. So, in the surroundings of Nezhin found coins of Kievan Rus even pre-Mongol times. This fact was even written by foreign publications. In 1873 near Pashkovka village was found the so-called Pashkov treasure, consisting of many Roman coins. This find once again confirmed the theory of close trade and economic ties of the region with the Roman Empire.

The city of Nezhin and its bridges

Today, within the limits of Nizhyn on the River Oster, 15 bridges of different sizes have been built. A hundred years ago, there were only four, and at the beginning of the XIX century - and none at all.

Castle, Moscow, Lyceum, Magersky, Chervony - all these are names of different bridges in the territory of the ancient city of Nezhin. And they were given to these structures not by accident. The castle bridge, located near the Intercession Church, was also called Kerosinov, as there was a shop with this valuable commodity near it. But the Lyceum Bridge was named so in honor of the city lyceum, founded by Prince Alexander Bezborodko in 1807. By the way, it was in this institution that the great writer Nikolai Gogol studied.

Of all the Nezhinsky bridges, Lyceumsky is the most interesting and oldest. It was built in 1832, on the site of the liquidated city dam. Young Gogol probably crossed the Oster River many times over it. Near the bridge there is also a monument to the writer.

Finally

Oster is a river that flows through the territory of the Chernigov region of Ukraine and flows into the Desna. A lot of interesting stories, legends and real historical facts are connected with this hydronym. In the summer of 2016, the river was heavily polluted by chemicals. Until today, on some of its sites are not recommended to swim and fish.