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The Ukrainian city of Poltava is located on the main highway connecting the current capital (Kyiv) with the former capital (Kharkiv). It is 130 km (78 miles) west of Kharkiv and 330 km (198 miles) east of Kyiv.
The centre of the old city is a semicircular Neoclassical square with the Tuscan column of cast iron (1805–11), commemorating the centenary of the Battle of Poltava and featuring 18 Swedish cannons captured in that battle. As Peter the Great celebrated his victory in the Saviour church, this 17th-century wooden shrine was carefully preserved to this day. The five-domed city cathedral, dedicated to theExaltation of the Cross , is a superb monument of Cossack Baroque
, built between 1699 and 1709. As a whole, the cathedral presents a unity which even the Neoclassical belltower has failed to mar. Another frothy Baroque church, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, was destroyed in 1934 and rebuilt in the 1990s.
A minor planet 2983 Poltavadiscovered in 1981 by Sovietastronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykhis named after the city.
Although the city’s exact age is in question, archeologists have unearthed Paleolithic dwellings as well as Scythian remains (700-900 BC) within the Poltava city limits. Archeologists exploring the hills along the Vorskla, have put Poltava’s history as far back as 1100 BC.
No matter which street you choose to enter the city, most likely you’ll eventually find yourself in the city center. The city’s significant commercial streets all intersect in the city center at Corpusny park, a large, circular roundabout. The most significant of these streets, for sightseeing purposes, is Zhovtneva/Oktoberskaya street, which intersects Corpusny park in a north/south direction. On the southeast side of the park, you will find most of Poltava’s
significant sightseeing attractions.
This central area of Poltava used to be the location of the city fortress. In 1840, it was turned into memorial park gardens are covered in glorious flowers from spring through fall. After Poltava passed to the Russian Empire in the 19th century, the fortress in the city center was destroyed and replaced with the current architecture. The influence of Tsar Peter the First (Peter the Great) is evident in the surrounding architecture.
It was Peter I’s intention to make Poltava into a “little St. Petersburg”, so taken was he by Russia’s stunning victory in the Battle of Poltava. If you have had the chance to visit St. Petersburg, reputedly one of the most beautiful
cities in the world, you may notice Poltava’s resemblance to St. Petersburg’s Palace Square.
It has been said that the radial design of the city center was also an advantage for the defense of the city. The white-columned buildings surrounding the city center were built in the style of Russian Classicism of the XIXth century.
The Poltavaska region is particularly rich in Ukrainian culture. Taras Shevchenko lived here from 1843 to 1846. Nikolai Gogol, who is usually considered to be one of the great Russian writers, was born Mykola Hohol (1809-52) in the village of Velyki Sorochyntsi in the Myrhorod district of the Poltava Oblast. Gogol was an ethnic Ukrainian who wrote on Ukrainian themes and subjects but worked in the Russian language in order to be published and recognized.
Poltava is a city with numerous beautiful parks and fountains. Its most significant and largest park is Victory Park (Park Peremoho), located on the southeast side of the City Center area).
Located on the banks of the Vorksla River you will find gardens, an amusement park, an outdoor amphitheater, a large beautiful fountain, a skateboard park, a skating rink, hiking trails, cafes and restaurants. Adjacent to the park is the Korolenko Homestead Museum, a museum housing Kotlarevsky’s
works, and the Air and Space Museum.
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