The capital city of Cherkassy oblast.
Cherkassy (also spelled Cherkasy) is a city and administrative center of Cherkassy oblast of Ukraine. The city lies on the high right bank of Dnepr River, along the reservoir created by Kremenchug hydroelectric station.
Cherkassy has railway station, river port and airport. It is an important cultural and educational center of the region.
Cherkassy population is about 285,000 (2012).
The phone code is +380 472; the postal code - 18000.
The territory occupied by present day Cherkassy was inhabited over 4,000 years ago; a lot of archaeological monuments prove this fact. First records of the town in chronicles refer to the events of 1395 as well as in letters of the Crimean khan Mengly I Girey.
From the 14th century, it was a part of the Great Lithuanian Principality, and in 1532 was besieged by the Crimean khan’s troops. In 1536, there was a revolt against Lithuanian power and in 1569 it was passed to Poland. From the 14th to the 17th centuries, the town faced several attacks of Horde and Crimean troops. In 1793, according to the first partition of Poland, Cherkassy was included into the Russian Empire.
Originally the town was located along the river Dnepr, in the lowland. At Lithuanian merchants’ expenses a bridge was organized on which merchants coming to the town had to pay taxes (called “myto”) to trade with local merchants. Wood-sewing mills were also located there and inhabitants of the town lived there. At present this district of the Cherkassy is called Mytnitsa.
Gradually Cherkassy town grew and stone buildings came into being. The town started developing and by the early 20th century a lot of industrial plants were located in Mytnitsa. When electricity reached Cherkassy and general plan of the town was created it became possible to construct plants not only on the river Dnepr but also in other parts of the town which were formed later and located on the hills.
As railway and steam-ship transportation developed the industry in Cherkassy town started developing too. Most of the plants were located along the Dnepr River, for the sake of convenient transportation of raw materials and goods.
At the end of 19th - early 20th centuries Cherkassy city grew rapidly because Moscow-Odessa railway crossed the Dnepr river there. The architecture of the city developed intensely with various forms and styles complimenting each other.
Soviet power was established in Cherkassy city in 1918. From 1932, Cherkassy was the district center in Kievskaya oblast. In 1954, Cherkassy became the center of Cherkassy oblast.
In 1995, Bohdan Khmelnitsky statue was erected on the main street of Cherkassy - to the 400th anniversary of the hetman who was born in Cherkassy region.
Present day Cherkassy developed rapidly in 1960s, when a chemical industry supplemented the older machine, food-processing, light and metal-processing industries.
There are about 50 enterprises in Cherkassy, among them quite a lot of chemical ones, which produce various reagents and chemical products for construction.
Cherkassy Plumber Monument
Cherkassy city view
Cherkassy former hotel “Slavyanskaya”
Scherbina House (Wedding Palace). It was the most luxurious mansion of prerevolutionary Cherkassy. In Soviet times it was known as the “Palace of Happiness” because it was city’s registry office. The house was built by entrepreneur A. Scherbina in 1892. From 1970 to the present day the building is used as the Wedding Palace. Address: Cherkassy, Lenin Str., 3.
The building of former hotel “Slavyanskaya”. It was constructed in the late 19th century by means of an entrepreneur Skoryna in a modernist style with elements of pseudo. In Soviet times it was a hotel “Dnepr”. Today the building belongs to “Ukrsotsbank”. Address: Cherkassy, Dashkevich Str., 20.
Tsybulsky House (Museum of Kobzar). This historic building locate in the center of Cherkassy was built in the middle of the 19th century. In Soviet times museum of one book - “Kobzar” by Shevchenko - was opened there. Address: Cherkassy, Khreshchatyk Str., 217. Opening hours: 9:00-17:00. Days off - Monday, Friday.
Castle Hill (Hill of Glory). The memorial complex with a monument “Motherland” is located at the top of the former Castle Hill. At this point, ancient Russian fort, remains of Cherkassy fortress and Holy Trinity Church were situated.
In 1977, all architectural and archaeological sites were completely destroyed during construction of the monument. From the top of the hill you can see beautiful panorama of the Kremenchug water reservoir. Address: Cherkassy, Slavy (Glory) Str.
Local History Museum. Cherkassy regional museum is housed in a modern building, built in 1985 in the historic center of the city near the Hill of Glory (Castle Hill). Thirty halls of the museum offer sections about nature of the region, archaeology, ethnography, history of the region in the 14th - early 20th century, modern history from 1917 to the present. In total there are about 12 thousand exhibits. Address: Cherkassy, Slavy (Glory) Str., 1. Opening hours: 10:00-17:00. Days off - Monday, Friday.
Puppet Theater. Cherkassy Regional Academic Puppet Theater is located in the central part of the city, in a building that is an architectural monument of the 19th century. The building is decorated with mosaics with the heroes of fairy tales. Address: Cherkassy, Lenin Str., 4.
School of Music. The building of Cherkassy Music School of S. Gulak-Artemovsky was built in 1903 as a men’s gymnasium. The author of the project was great Kiev architect of Polish origin V. Gorodetsky. In the second half of the 20th century, after the construction of a modern extension, the building became the home of a music school. Address: Cherkassy, Zamkoviy (Castle) descent, 6.
Monument to the Dumpling (Varenik). It was the first monument in Ukraine honoring traditional Ukrainian dumpling (“varenik” in Russian). The monument appeared near the hotel “Rosava” in 2006. The sculpture is a Cossack Mamai eating the dumplings. Behind his back there is huge crescent-shaped dumpling. The height of the monument, made of ceramic, is 2.5 m. Address: Cherkassy, Frunze Str., 29.
Monument to the Plumber. The monument was erected at the entrance to Cherkassy “Vodokanal” (water utility) in honor of its 90th anniversary. In Cherkassy it is the only professional occupation monument. Nearby there’s a fire hydrant of Russian Empire times. Address: Cherkassy, Vatutin Str., 12.
Park of the 50th anniversary of October. This park is a monument of landscape architecture, the best park of Cherkassy founded in 1967. It is located on the banks of the Dnepr River on the territory of 49 hectares. There’s a system of ponds, from which water cascades and waterfalls down to the Dnepr.
The central element of the composition is a pond with a statue of a mermaid. In the park there are over 70 species of exotic trees. You can see the scenic views of the Dnepr from the “Bridge of Love” constructed over the ravine. Address: Cherkassy, Palekha Str., 2.
Light and music fountain. The fountain located in the park near the regional administration was opened in 2008 after ten years of inactivity. It was reconstructed at the initiative of Cherkassy city government at the expense of sponsors. Address: Cherkassy, Shevchenko Blvd., 185.
Face wall (The wall of Cherkassy persons). It is a 35-meter wall decorated with photographs of more than four thousand residents of the city, as well as portraits of famous people of the region: T. Shevchenko, B. Khmelnitsky, V. Symonenko, the former mayors of Cherkassy , champions of Ukraine, Europe in various sports.
The wall is set in an urban recreation area “Valley of the Roses” in 2011. If you move away from “Face wall” a few meters, then the smiles of citizens form the phrase “Mi - Cherkassy!” (“We - Cherkassy!”). For the winter time, the authors of the project move “Face wall” to one of the city’s museums to protect it from frost. Address: Cherkassy, Gagarin Str.
Museum of Art. The exposition is formed from the former private collections of Count Bobrinsky, Princes Lopukhins, Belokopytovy. Cherkassy historical-pedagogical museum of T. Shevchenko received the collections in 1918.
The department of arts and crafts introduces the folk art of the middle Dnepr people. The second section has the icons of the 17th-19th centuries, portraiture of the 18th - the beginning of the 20th centuries. Address: Cherkassy, Khreshchatyk Str., 259. Opening hours: 10:00-17:00. Day off - Monday.
Cherkassy Regional Philharmonic. The building of Cherkassy Oblast Philharmonic was built in the central part of Cherkassy in 1955, in place of pre-revolutionary hotel. By the quality of the acoustics Cherkassy Philharmonic Hall is in third place in Ukraine. In 1957, famous Ukrainian Cherkassy People’s Chorus was organized there. Address: Cherkassy, Khreshchatyk Str., 196.
Cherkassy Zoo. The zoo is located in south-western district of Cherkassy. On an area of 4 hectares a lot of rare species of plants are growing. Cherkassy zoo has over 200 species of animals. The total number of animals living there is about 500 (including birds and reptiles). Address: Cherkassy, Smelyanskaya Str., 132. Opening hours: 9:00-19:00 (winter: 10:00-17:00).
St. Michael’s Cathedral. The cathedral is the largest church in Ukraine (up to 72 m in height). It was built in 8 years on the project of the Archbishop of Cherkassy and Kanev Sophroniy in the Byzantine style. The cathedral can seat up to 12 thousand people simultaneously. Also there is a plan of constructing the bell tower taller than 100 meters. Address: Cherkassy, Ilyin Str., 212.
Trinity Cathedral. In 1991, the cathedral was restored near Zamkovy (Castle) Hill where the main Orthodox church of the city had been standing in the past. Wooden Cossack Trinity church was built in 1671 and was reconstructed several times. The stone church was built in 1863 on the territory of former castle of Cherkassy. In 1961, the church was demolished because of the construction of the memorial complex “Hill of Glory”. Address: Cherkassy, Slavy (Glory) Square, 10.
White Lotus Temple. Europe’s largest Buddhist temple “White Lotus” was founded in Cherkassy in 1988 and built in 1990. Its prototype is a famous Buddhist temple in Laos. According to local legend, during the laying of the foundation ancient stone was found. It was the Buddha wearing a mask of a warrior. The tours are conducted on Sundays at 12:00. Address: Cherkassy, I. Franko descent, 4.
There is a unique architectural monument in Cherkassy - one of the first hyperbolic constructions in the world - a beautiful open-work water-tower made of steel. Hyperbolic water-tower was designed by the great engineer and scientist Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov. The tower is located on the territory of “Vodokanal” (water utility).
During its whole history Cherkassy was destroyed and rebuilt again a lot of times. Only few buildings of the 19th century survived. The system of streets and squares location in the old part of the city is one of the few remaining monuments of city-building art of the 19th century in Ukraine.
Cherkassy administration building
Cherkassy jet fighter
Cherkassy Bohdan Khmelnitsky monument
Hotel “Ukraina”. The hotel complex is located near the central part of Cherkassy in a pinewood close to the Dnepr River. Main services: two restaurants (European cuisine), bar, bowling, sauna, free Wi-Fi, billiards, gym, parking. Address: Cherkassy, Lesnaya Str., 1. Contact phones: +380 472 32 10 52, +380 472 32 10 53, +380 472 32 10 54.
Hotel “Dnepr”. The hotel was completely renovated in 2000. Main services: restaurant, bar, billiards, sauna, fitness center, laundry, Wi-Fi, beauty salon. Address: Cherkassy, Frunze Str., 13. Contact phones: +380 472 36 01 99, +380 472 36 01 96.
Hotel “Apelsin”. Modern and comfortable hotel-restaurant complex “Apelsin” (“Orange”) is located in the center of Cherkassy. Main services: restaurant, fireplace, billiards, Wi-Fi, laundry, parking. Address: Cherkassy, Frunze Str., 145. Contact phones: +380 472 37 74 61, +380 472 37 97 78.
Hotel “Rosava”. The hotel is located in the center of the city. There is a monument to Ukrainian varenik (dumpling) nearby. Main services: restaurant, billiards, sauna, parking. Address: Cherkassy, Frunze Str., 29. Contact phone: +380 472 45 03 21.
Motel “Beloye Ozero” (“White Lake”). This country motel is located on the outskirts of Cherkassy, at the entrance to the city from Smila. Main services: restaurant (Ukrainian and European cuisine), sauna, massage, billiards, tennis courts, parking, gas station. Address: Cherkassy, 14th km of Smila Highway. Contact phones: +380 472 38 63 95, +380 472 15 53 36.
Cherkassy Trinity Cathedral
Cherkassy St. Michael's Cathedral
Cherkassy church
Cherkassy Shukhov water tower
Cherkassy Buddhist temple
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