Neighbour of the European Union
The Ukrainian Polissia is divided into three territorial areas: the left bank area (Chernihiv area), the central area (north of Kyiv oblast), and the western area (northern regions of Volyn oblast). The last one is, actually, the subject of this narration. The Volyn area that spans a territory to the south of the Prypiat in northwestern part of Ukraine and stretches to the headstreams of the Western Bug is a very beautiful region. Most explorers claim that the name of this historical and geographical region originated from the name of the ancient Chervensk town of Volyn (Velyn) that was located in the proximity to the town of Volodymyr Volynskyi. In the early medieval peiod the Volynians were a powerful tribe and had 70 castle-type towns. This is the sole region that has preserved its name since the times of dukes. Considering the modern borders, the oblast having Lutsk as its center has established on December 4,1939.
Outstanding recreation and environmental potential makes Volyn a true decoration of Ukraine. The area of 20,200 sq. km (3.3% of the entire territory of Ukraine), which borders directly upon the European Union, is occupied by one million people.
Tourists are attracted by 837 monuments of history, archeology, city planning, architecture and the originally preserved nature of the Shatsk National Park, 16 reserved areas of national significance, 690.000 ha of forests (a third of the oblast territory), 1,500 ha of hunting grounds, rare species of flora and fauna, numerous therapeutic peat mud deposits, and sources of mineral waters. Natural water resources number 220 lakes, 130 small and middle rivers, water and marshlands of international s'gnificance, the Shatsk Lakes, backwaters of the Prypiat and the Stokhid rivers. Having a 190-km-long border area with the republic of Poland, the ecotourism passage "Zberezhe-Adamchuky" in the area of the Shatsk National Park is becoming increasingly preferred in Volyn.
Here is a Heady Scent of Europe
Luchesk. Louchesk, Lutsk are the sweet-sounding words that return us back to hoary antiquity to the island where a picturesque and powerful town was born. The town of Lutsk has situated at the equal distance (400 km) from Kyiv and Warsaw. Located on the border of residence of Ukrainian, Polish, and Bilorus peoples, Lutsk united in itself the culture elements of all of these peoples and this fact contributed to the uniqueness of the town. The town is ancient and at the same time modern, having an air of European sophistication and Ukrainian sincerity and hospitability. What makes Lutsk especially charming is the fairytale area of the old town and the nearby modern living blocks bubbling with life. The town, which has been more than once an arena of significant and historical events throughout its centuries-old history, derives its name from either an arch-like bend of the Styr River or a leader of the eastern Slavic tribe of the Dulibs - the Luks. The town appeared on the European maps in 1429 after the convention of the most powerful monarchs of Europe was hold there.
The local architecture will help to comprehend which things are eternal and which ones are passing in this world. The major historical landmark and pride of the town, the Upper Castle (VerkhniyZamok) or Liubart Castle, has been calmly observing from the height of its three towers the Cossack wars and rebellions, the coming of the great Lithuanian princes Vitovt. Yahailo and Svydryhailo. Polonization and the Swedish conquests. Three towers are as three sisters, had eternally embraced by the walls: Vladych Tower, Liubart Tower, and Styr (Svydryhailo) Tower. The Vladych Tower houses an arsenal and a unique collection of bells, an operating belfry. The Liubart Tower is a venue for exhibiting building ceramics.
The things that have unceasingly interested those who like experiencing pungent feelings are the underground labyrinths next to the Cathedral Kostiol (Mulish and/or Homan Catholic Church). According to legends, the underground passages linked Lutsk to the surroun ding villages of Shepel. Zhydychev. and Olyka. Under the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral Kostiol there was discovered a prison complex with a one-man cell as small as circa 50 sq. cm.
In the tolerant Lutsk, tourists may take time in examining temples of different types and confessions: the complex of renaissance St. Peter and Paul Cathedral Kostiol. the refined Lutheran Kirche, the Pokrovska Church dating back to the 15th century and the Trinity Cathedral. The former monastery of brygidkas houses a musical school; the medieval fortified synagogue houses a gym; the Dominican monastery founded as long ago as 1390 is the house of creative work now.
Moreover, the modern Lutsk is among the five cities of Ukraine in terms of the Quantity of public catering establishments per person.
UNESCO Reserve
In Shatsk region, which boasts the greatest potential of recreation resources of the oblast the woods and meadows alternate with swamps and lakes like everywhere else in Polissia. Unique lakes, the deepest and the second-largest water reservoir of our country the Svitiaz Lake, various landscapes and rich biological diversity were a primary basis for creating in December 1983 of the Shatsk National Nature Reserve, the second object in Ukraine falling under the category. These are 22 unique lakes of karst origin, the biggest ones being the lakes of Svitiaz, Pulemetske, Liutsymer and Krymne. The international community recognized environmen tal significance of the complex of forests, marshlands, ond lakes and by re solution of the 17th Session of the Bureau of UNESCO MAB Coordinating Committee in March 2002, the Shatsk National Nature Reserve granted the status of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. About thirty lakes with an overall stretch of 70 square kilometers lie hidden in the thickets of the forests, its big clusters located in the proximity to the village of Shatsk. Those who were once lucky to come to these lakes will long remember the wide smooth water surface of the lakes of Svitiaz and Pulemetske with their lazy waves, long and sloping ones like those in the sea space, the narrow mirror-like surfaces of the fakes of Klymovske and Chorne Male and the Pishchansk Lakes hidden in the forest wilderness... The Shatsk Lakes are growing shallow and today their depths, with several exceptions, do not exceed ten meters. Overgrown with rush and sedge, its shores covered with duckweeds and water lilies, they carefully watch over their mirror-like quiet that happens to be disturbed only by the cries of feathered fowl or sploshing fish. Picturesque landscapes are enhanced by the therapeutic air filled with coniferous scent and the presence of lovely sand beaches. The region is most attractive in summer when wild strawberries, cranberries, red bilberries, whortleberries and blackberries, which appear sometimes between late summer and autumn, are becoming fully ripe.
Kysil from the Land of Brusylov
The town of Novovolynsk, which is situated near the source of the Studianka river at the highway Kovel-Lviv, stands on the age-old land of the villages of Nyzkynychi, Dorogynychi, Budiatychi and Rusovychi. the family estates of the Kyiv voyevoda (principal commander of a military force) Adam Kysil. The very names of the villages with common endings "-ychi" are considered by contemporary historians to be the oldest in Ukraine. The owner of the lands, a Ukrainian magnate, Polish senator and diplomat during his lifetime, built three monasteries with churches, thus, contributing to the Ukrainian culture and spirituality more than certain "patriots". He returned to the Nyzkynychi monastery from Kyiv 350 years later in side a restored sarcophagus. The temple in Nyzkynychi had damaged more than once, and the Bolsheviks even tried to destroy the sculptural bust clothed in knight armour that had placed over the tomb of Adam Kysil. A blow caused the sculpture break into two pieces, but fortunately, the Lviv restorers managed to restore its nearly original form. On the wall of the Temple of the Assumption under the sculptural bust there had carved out in Latin a short list of merits of the representative of the famous Ukrainian Orthodox noble clan. "The passer-bv! Stop and read. This marble tells about the renowned descendant of Sviatold family, the glory and support of the country, Adam Kysil from Brusylov."
The Black Field of Bereslechko
In the summer of 1651 In tne field in the vicinity of Berestechko located on the left bank of the Styr River there was a battle that had a great impact on the course of the liberation struggle of Ukrainians. No European country in the 17th century saw a battle that would be more expansive and would have a bigger death toll of both parties. There were collected heaps of human bones in Berestechko field, but no one can tell to whom they belong, to Poles or Ukrainians. The dumb witnesses of the struggle of Ukrainians for liberty and independence in the middle of the 17th century, the Cossack tombs hide in their depths over 30,000 people. The of the Cossack ally, the Crimean Khan Islam-Girey the Third, the capture of Bogdan Hmelnitskyi and unsuccessful negotiations did not raise the competitive spirit of the Cossacks and the Poles themselves had to confess. "Surprisingly, no one begged for mercy."
A legend tells about an enclosed area of the Cossacks who resisted the attack of the entire Polish troop oo the island of Zhuravlyha and when proposed to surrender they were "taking out of their pockets and wide leather belts money and tossing it into the water", in such a way showing their disregard for life and the riches in the eyes of the Polish gentry; then they continued putting up reststeroe, Tfte last Qossafik, having found a fisherman's boat on the swampy lake, jumped into it and surrounded by stakes from all sides he was defending himself during three hours by shooting from his musket, and then when he run out of gun powder he took up a fighting scythe. Fourteen shots wounded him, out he continued fighting back. The king was very impressed Dy the courage or tne person and ordered to shout to him that he gave the Cossack life if he surrendered, but the the latter proudly spurned the offer retorting that he wanted to die a death of a true warrior.
The official public prayers at the Cossack tombs near the village of Pliashev (now it is Radyvyliv region of Rivne oblast) in 1908 marked the beginning of commemorating the heroes of Berestechko. At the same time it was resolved to erect a memorial temple and in 1914 a 855-pood toll weighing nearly 14 tons had delivered to Zhuravlyha. In the 20ies of the 20th century there started functioning the Saint George Hermitage at the Cossack Tombs as it was officially called at that time. The Church of Saint George, its greatest and most important part with the height of 28 m, had built in the style of Ukrainian baroque of the 17th - 18th centuries. The church amazes with its wonderful acoustics, which had enhanced by the cartridge cases of artillery shells that are stuck into the walls and the ceiling in different places. In the 20 - 30ies of the 20th century the "Cossack Tombs" became a symbol of the struggle fur national liberation, but the Polish government banned visiting the place. Since the time Ukraine had proclaimed independent, we have come to the National pantheon "Cossack Tombs" every year to commemorate the victory of the national spirit and will. In 1991, half a million people made a pili-grimage to the "Cossack Tombs" carrying blue and yellow flags. It was here that Bogdan Hmelnytskyi laid the first and the heaviest brick in the foundation of the Ukrainian state and creation of the Ukrainian nation. Whoever perished here, in Volynian land, became a grain that grew into our persistent memory of history and willpower to struggle and this spirit soared above the descendants.
Sviatogirskyi Assumption Monastery in Zymne
According to a legend, the Prince Volodymyr founded it by erecting a prince residence with temples in the village of Zymne in 1001. On the mountain top there was built the temple honouring the assumption of Mary and at me foot of the mountain there was constructed the Holy Trinity temple. At the place of the ancient Church of Assumption the Prince Fedir Mykhailovych Chartoryiskyi built the grand Holy Assumption Cathedral (Sviato-Uspenskyi Sobor) in 1495. Next to the temple there is a preserved a stone building with 7 cells, which is called "Chamber of Saint Volo-dymyr". Not far away from the Holy Trinity Church, an entrance to the caves that runs beneath the Holy Assumption Cathedral and resemble those of Kyiv Pechersk. The main relic of the monastery is considered the Wonder-Working Icon of Zymne Lord's Mother with which the Constantinople patriarch Mykotai the Second Hryzoverg blessed the marriage of the Great Prince Volodymyr Sviatoslavovych with the Greek Tsarina Anna. To the east of the Zymne monastery, on the left bank of the Luga River, there is a quadrangular cross cut out from grey stone. Danylo Halytskyi erected it at the tomb of his druzhinnik (a menibei uf a dealclieinenluf select Iro-ops in personal service of prince) Klym Khryslsynych In 1213.
In the Open Air of Rokyn
Ten kilometers to the north of Lutsk there is a small village of Rokyni, which is known far beyond the oblast borders for the events that are held on this territory: the All-Ukrainian Festival of School Press, International Contest of Young Artists "Lutsk", Festival of Children's Creative Work "The Little Grain of Gold". There is also the National University of Rural Communities Leaders and a village museum. Still, the most interesting place is the Rokyny Museum of History of Volynian Agriculture in Volyn.
Wonderful Olyka
At the intersection of roads running from Rivne. Dubna and Lutsk is situated a Volynian town of Olyka, which is extraordinary in its history and the ability to respect traditions. The first place where the Olyka dwellers bring tourists is the magnate castle-palace and two kostiols, St. Peter Kostiol being the oldest one in Volyn and Holy Trinity Kostiol being the most beautiful one. According to one of versions, the town derives its name from the "lyko", the bark from which Volynian women used to wicker their lyko shoes. It is said that there was the biggest shoe market here and the wicker goods were brought from everywhere. Another version associates the word "olyka" with the alder tree, while the third version alleges that this is a toponym of the Turk word "yar" and the fourth one alleges that the name is related to the name of the river flowing nearby. Many centuries ago the town was one of the richest in Volyn. It was here that a transcontinental road ran from Asia to Europe and in 1638 here was the Holy Trinity Collegiate, a branch of the Academy in Zamosl. The entrance to Olyka is still guarded by Lutsk brama adorned with brick ornaments, the only preserved fragment of the formerly powerful fortifications of the town.
Places Worthy of a Visit
When you make up a tourist route across Volyn, do not forget to visit alongside the museums the Lutsk History and Culture Reserve, the Upper Castle, the Jesuit Monastery and the Trinitarian Monastery, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Pokrovskyi and Khrestovozdvizhenskyi Churches, the Assumption Cathedral and Vasylkiv Church in the town of Volo-dymyr-Volynskyi, the Church of Saint George in the town of Liubomyl, the Museum and Reserve "Cossack Tombs" in the environs of Berestechko, Lesia Ukra-yinka Museum (Kovel region, village of Kolodiazhne). Kortelisy History Museum (Ratniv region, village of Kortelisy), Lopa-ten Museum of Partisan Glory (Kyvertsi region, village of Lopaten), Museum of Volyn Icon in the town of Lutsk, the Museum "Old Farmsetad" in the town of Us-tylug. the open-air museum in the village of Rokyny and museums of local lore in regional centers. |
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| The Church of Saint George | |
