Cherkasy

Cherkasy is a city located in the central part of Ukraine, the administrative center of Cherkasy Oblast, an important industrial, cultural and educational center. This city played a significant role in the formation of the Ukrainian Cossacks.

The city of Cherkasy, located in central Ukraine, is the capital of the Cherkasy Province and the administrative center of the district of the same name. Thought to have been founded in the thirteenth century, Cherkasy is first mentioned in the Ukrainian Gustynskiy Chronicle. Cherkasy early became a Cossack center, and its residents took part in the seventeenth century Khmelnychchyna Uprising against Ukraine's Polish rulers.

In the mid-fourteenth century Cherkasy, along with the rest of the Ukraine, came under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The city played an important role by becoming one of several fortified cities that formed the Duchy's southern defensive line against agressors such as the Crimean Tatars and the Turks.

The 1569 Union of Lublin led to Cherkasy becoming a Polish city. It was disenchantment with Polish rule and a desire to be an independent state that led to the Khmelnytsky revolt. In 1791 Cherkasy was given some degree of self-rule under the Magdeburg Rights. But independence was not to be; Ukraine, and Cherkasy, remained under Polish rule until The Second Partition of Poland in 1793, when Poland was dismembered and its territory distributed among Russia, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary. Cherkasy then became a subject of the Russians and was incorporated within the Pale of Settlement.

The Pale was established by Catherine the Great in 1791 to insulate the Russian populace from the corrosive influence of the Jews, who lived in the newly acquired territory. The Second Partition, in particular, resulted in a significant increase in the number of Jews who came under Tsarist authority. Jews were, in general, not permitted to live outside the Pale. Even within the Pale Jews were excluded from specified cities, such as Kiev, and were required to live in small towns (i.e., shtetls). Life in the Pale of Settlement was difficult, with poverty widespread. Social welfare programs developed to care for less fortunate Jews by providing clothes, food, medical care, and education for needy Jews. To learn more about life in the Pale, see Wikipedia and Jewish encyclopedia.

Jews settled in Cherkasy in the sixteenth century and by 1765 the Jewish community consisted of one-hundred seventy-one people. The Haidamak uprising against Polish nobility destroyed the community, which eventually re-established itself. By the end of the nineteenth century the Jewish community had nearly attained eleven-thousand Jews, primarily Hasidim. Two of the community's rabbis were Nahum Zalman Schneersohn and R. Twersky.

The Jewish citizens of Cherkasy played an active role in the life of the town. Many Jews were involved in the food industry. And Jews were represented on Cherkasy's municipal council. A Zionist society was created in the early twentieth century.

The October revolution of 1917 resulted in the Bolsheviks gaining control of Cherkasy. But this did not last long. Control of the city changed hands several times as the civil war raged between the "Reds", the "Whites", and the Ukrainians. In the end– 1920 – the Soviets were the "last men standing".

In mid-May 1919, White Army soldiers, under the command of Anton Deniken, massacred 700 Jews; three months later, in August 1919, Petlyura and his minions destroyed Jewish homes and property.

In 1924 a number of Jewish families, under the auspices of the Soviets, established a collective farm. Twelve months later, a Jewish law court and a police force were set up. A high school and a vocational school were founded; both were taught in Yiddish.

However, life under the Soviets deteriorated. The Ukraine, including Cherkasy, became victims of famine (1932-33) because of Stalin's attempt to force the kulaks onto Collective Farms. Then there was Stalin's Great Purge (1936-8) of the political, military, and intellectual elite. The loss of the military leadership, in particular, would come to cause much difficulty in due course.

And then there were the malignant Germans. June 1941 saw the invasion of the Ukraine by the Nazis and the subsequent annihilation of the Jews. On the twenty-second of June, Cherkasy was bombed by the Germans airforce. It took two months for the Nazis to conquer the city; they entered Cherkasy on 22 August 1941. The Germans created a ghetto the following November; before the end of the month 900 Jews were murdered. Most of the rest of the Jewish community was liquidated in 1942. Twenty-five children were saved by a Ukrainian woman.

Main Attractions of Cherkasy

Scherbina’s Mansion (The Wedding Palace) - one of the symbols of Cherkasy, the most luxurious mansion of the 19th century that has survived to our times. It was built in the neo-renaissance style for Afanasy Nikitich Shcherbina, an engineer, entrepreneur and member of the city council, in 1892. Thanks to the modern lighting system, this building looks especially picturesque in the evening. Nebesnoi Sotni Street, 3.

The Blue Palace (the former hotel “Slovyanskyy”) - an incredibly beautiful historical building constructed in the post-romantic Gothic style using elements of Art Nouveau, Classicism and medieval oriental architecture. This architectural monument was built in the early 20th century. At night, when the building is illuminated, it really looks like a fairytale palace. Khreshchatyk Street, 229/20.

Shukhov’s Hyperboloid Water Tower - a unique 34 meters high monument of architecture and urban planning, built in 1913-1914, one of the first hyperboloid structures of the famous Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov. In total, only about 20 similar structures have been preserved in the world (6 in Ukraine) out of the original more than 200.

During the Second World War, the Germans destroyed the tower. After the war, it was restored. The tower is located on the closed territory of the local water utility enterprise (Cherkasyvodokanal), so most likely you won’t be able to get close to it. However, this will not prevent you from taking photos against its background. Hetmana Sahaidachnoho Street, 12.

The Hill of Glory - a memorial complex built in memory of the residents of Cherkasy who died during the Second World War. It includes a mass grave and a majestic monument to the Motherland. An excellent view of the Kremenchug reservoir (the Dnieper River) opens from the top of this artificial hill. At the foot of the hill there is a small picturesque park called “The Valley of Roses”, where city events and festivals are usually held.

Cherkasy Regional Museum of Local Lore. This museum, located in the immediate vicinity of the Hill of Glory, has one of the most extensive and largest collections of materials on the history, culture and life of the Cherkasy region. The exposition is devoted to the nature of the region, archeology, ethnography, the history of the region of the 14th - early 20th centuries and after 1917. Among the unique exhibits, the leading place is occupied by a collection of things (weapons, flags, personal belongings) from the Cossack times. You can also see a mammoth skeleton here. Slavy Street, 1.

Cherkasy Regional Arts Museum. Decorative and applied art is represented by magnificent examples of Ukrainian traditional embroidery and ceramics. The art section presents icon painting of the 16th - 19th centuries and portrait painting of the 18th - early 20th centuries. The works were created by famous portrait painters from both Ukraine and other countries. Numerous landscape paintings are exhibited here too. Khreshchatyk Street, 259.

St. Michael’s Cathedral - the largest church in Ukraine (72 meters high) located on the territory of one of the biggest parks in Cherkasy (Sobornyy Park). Built in the Byzantine style in 1994-2002, this Orthodox cathedral can accommodate up to 12 thousand people. The highest bell tower in Ukraine (134 meters) in the shape of a dove is also being constructed here. Nadpilna Street, 212.

The Buddhist Temple “White Lotus” - a unique place for Ukraine, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Europe. Built in the 1990s, it looks similar to Buddhist temples in Laos. Here you can attend a tea ceremony, master classes in yoga, kung fu, meditation, and calligraphy. Guided tours take place every Sunday. Franka Descent, 4.

Cherkasy Zoo - one of the best zoos in Ukraine with over 250 species of animals. It is located in the southwestern part of Cherkasy on an area of 4 hectares. Here you can see such animals as llama, bison, lion, bear, bactrian camel, wolf, lynx, and a lot of others. Smilyanska Street, 132.

Park “Sosnovy Bor” (“Pine Forest”) - the largest park in Cherkasy with ponds, streams, lawns, alleys, and exotic plant species. A monument of gardening art of Ukraine of national importance, it is located in the northwestern part of the city on the bank of the Kremenchug reservoir on an area of 39.2 hectares. You can feed squirrels here. The central entrance is at the intersection of Shevchenko Boulevard and Mozhaiskoho Street.