Cherkasy-the city of Taras Shevchenko

Czerkasy- is a city in central Ukraine, the capital of the Cherkasy region. It lies on the banks of the Dnieper River and on the banks of the Krzemenchuk Water Reservoir. This is an artificial reservoir on the Dnieper River, which was filled in 1959-1961, and more than 200 villages were displaced to create it. The area of the reservoir is 2252 km² (it is the largest in Ukraine). The length of the reservoir is 149 km, and the maximum width is 28 km.

The Cherkassy region is a historical region, and some buildings remember the 17th-century wars and Cossack uprisings, the figures of Bohdan Khmelnytsky or Bayda-Vyshnikovsky. This history, shrouded in romance, for Poles is close mainly through Sienkiewicz's novel "With Fire and Sword." Cherkassy Oblast is the birthplace of Ukraine's most important poet Taras Shevchenko. For Ukrainians, Taras Shevchenko is as important as Adam Mickiewicz is for Poles. Eugenia Levicka, a Polish physician, physiotherapist and one of the pioneers of sports medicine in Poland, was also born here.

The village of Cherkasy was founded in the 13th century on the territory of Kyiv Rus. From the 14th century it was within the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and in 1569 it was annexed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. After the Second Partition of Poland, it became part of the Kyiv Governorate of the Russian Empire.

Most of the city's architectural monuments are concentrated on a wide street named Khreshchatyk, parallel to the city's main thoroughfare - the more than 6 kilometers long and wide Taras Shevchenko Boulevard. On Khreshchatyk you will see the city's architectural landmark - the so-called "blue palace," or the astonishing, "fairy-tale" building of the former Slavyansk hotel, now the headquarters of one of Ukraine's banks. In Cherkasy there is a tenement designed by Wladyslaw Horodecki - an outstanding architect called the Polish Gaudi, the creator of the House with Chimeras. Above the town rises the Hill of Fame-a barrow-like memorial to the victims of World War II. The hill is crowned by a monumental statue of a female Mother-Owner. The Hill of Fame is located in the historic part of the city, the so-called Castle Hill, where a castle-fortress built in the 16th century to protect the city from Tartar invasions used to rise.

There is no shortage of museums, churches and parks in Cherkasy. Worth visiting, for example, is the Museum of Local History located in the historic center of the city near Glory Mountain. The museum's exposition is available in 30 halls, which offer sections on the region's nature, archaeology, ethnography, history of the region in the 14th - early 20th centuries, modern history from 1917 to the present. In total there are about 12,000 exhibits. Another important facility is the Taras Shevchenko Museum, located in the so-called Tsybulsky House, the first owner of the building, or rather manor house. It was built in 1852 and at the time housed an office and a loan bank. Other museums in Cherkasy include the Art Museum, the Vasyl Symonenka Memorial Literary Museum - a unique book museum, or the Ukrainian Towel Museum.

The city also has no shortage of churches such as St. Michael's Cathedral, built in Byzantine style (it's the largest church in Ukraine and can hold up to 12,000 people), the Babtist Church and the White Lotus Buddhist Temple. It is the only Buddhist temple in Eastern Europe. It was built in the 1990s. It is a prototype of the famous Buddhist temple in Laos. Inside it you can, among other things, see figures of warriors brought from Tibet, view the Dharma hall, waterfalls, sacred tree, sacred pillar, bell and stupa.

Cherkasy also has a beautiful philharmonic hall, Puppet Theater, "Feysvol" - 35-meter wall, decorated with paintings of the townsfolk. You can also take a boat cruise on the Dnieper River, and for those who prefer a stronger experience, Cossack boat tours are organized.

You can also go for a walk in the "Valley of Roses" or "Pine Forest" - two city parks located on the banks of the Dnieper and enjoy the magnificent views of the river.

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