Kherson- city and nature in one.

Cherson is a city in southern Ukraine, located on the Dnieper River. Kherson is relatively young, having been founded only in 1778 by Gregory Potemkin, under the orders of Russian Empress Catherine II, who sought to fortify the southern border of the Empire. It was to serve as a fortress and shipbuilding center for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Soon after the decision was made to build the city, a fortress, a shipyard, and then a settlement were established. 

Cherson is the Ukrainian heat pole. In early March, the daytime temperature is around 20 degrees. In the summer, on the other hand, you have to set yourself up for more than 30 degrees of heat. 

Nearly to the city is Askania Nova, an experimental reserve created in 1883 by German settler Friedrich von Falz-Fein. Covering an area of 33,300 hectares, the site is unique not only for its acclimatization zoo with rare, endangered animal species and dendrological garden, but also for the fact that it is probably one of the last - if not the last - place in the world where you can see real, unspoiled steppe. The beauty of the reserve has been recognized by UNESCO and inscribed on the list of protected areas. 

Other than Askania Nova, there is another natural attraction in the Kherson area - the Aleshkivsky Sands, the area of the largest desert in Europe, called the Sahara of southern Ukraine.  46 thousand hectares of space is extremely impressive. Located only thirty kilometers from the capital of Kherson region, this "attraction" was created relatively recently and almost accidentally, in the 19th century, when a sheep herd belonging to Friedrich von Falz-Fein - the aforementioned creator of the Askania Nova reserve - completely devastated the grass while grazing, exposing the sand. According to other sources, the area was drained as a result of a change in the Dnieper riverbed. The area is a semi-desert, whose sand heats up to 75 degrees in summer. There are sandstorms and frequent fires, which not infrequently expose the remains of a firing range that existed there until 2004.  So it is certainly a place worth seeing for its visual uniqueness, unparalleled in Europe. 

The monuments and attractions of Kherson are mixed with the industrial face of the city - factories and industrial plants. Until recently, a statue of Lenin greeted passersby from the city's main square. It was toppled in 2014 in the wake of the events at Euromaidan and in the southeastern part of the country. In addition to the monument, many Soviet-era sites remain untouched by the hand of history. 

One of the most popular sites in Kherson is its historic center, which has retained the typical look of a 19th century city.

The city's main thoroughfare is Ushakova Avenue, from which smaller streets diverge to the east and west. Walking along the avenue towards the port, it is worth turning left, where in the city park are the remains of a fortress. Its part is a powder magazine, now serving as a restaurant. On the opposite side of the street there is an arsenal with a monumental colonnade. This is one of the first buildings of the Kherson fortress.

The fortress in the mouth of the Dnieper River was founded next to an earlier fortification of Alexander Shantz. Parts of it that are still standing - the bastion, the arsenal building, two arched gates built back in the late 18th century. Ochakiv (western gate) and Moskva (northern) with their neighboring bastions - are definitely worth seeing. However, the most interesting preserved part of the fortress is the beautiful St. Catherine Cathedral by the arsenal. It was built in the 18th century in the style of early classicism with motifs of medieval Balkan architecture. There lies the body of the city's founder, Potemkin.

In Kherson, the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Sophia is worth a visit. It is the oldest surviving temple in the city. It was built by Greeks who settled in the city in the 18th century. Inside you can see preserved wall paintings, beautiful carved iconostasis and wooden sculptures. The building of the former synagogue also testifies to the multiculturalism of the city.  

In addition to Lenin in the form of a now defunct monument, John Howard found his place in the urban space. He is an English prison reformer, whose life falls during the construction of Kherson. After he was imprisoned in one of the French prisons, he began his struggle to improve the conditions of prisoners in France and Great Britain. In 1789 he came to Crimea, where he wanted to describe the bad conditions in the hospitals of the Russian army. He did not complete his mission. He died in 1790 in Kherson. The city authorities still in the time of Alexander I honored the Englishman with a monument, which is also an 11-meter sundial. Forbes magazine placed it in the top five unusual street clocks of Ukraine. 

The bus stop is locatedat the Bus Station, 1 Polkovnyka Kedrovskiy Street.

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