Khortytsia (former name - Bolshaya Khortytsya) is the largest island on the river, located in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.
There are several versions of the origin of the name of the island. The main hypothesis is that the island was named after the Khortitsa River. This word, in turn, means “fast, fast”, which in relation to the river can be interpreted as “bystritsa”, or “fast water”.
Khortytsia Island is a part of the Ukrainian crystalline shield protruding onto the surface of the plain, formed in the Archean era. It is composed of hard crystalline rocks (granite, gneiss and migmatite), whose age is 2.6 billion years. In order to protect the unique place, Khortytsia and the adjacent islands were declared the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve.
The same rocks are used to make up the high cliffs on the northern and northwestern parts of the island. The southern part of the island is flooded. Between the rocks and the flooded area there are beams, each of them has its own name, history and is overgrown with legends, firmly entrenched in local folklore.
The appearance of the first people on the island of Khortitsa dates back to the Paleolithic and Mesolithic era. The remains of settlements from the Bronze Age (III-II millennium BC) have been preserved. The Scythians inhabited these places from the 7th to the 3rd centuries. BC e., almost all of the 129 mounds found on the island belong to the Scythian civilization. Near the Sovutina beam in the V-III centuries BC. e. there was a fortification, on the site of which you can now see a protective rampart, a ditch and residential buildings.
The island served as a good defense against attack, but the rapids hindered the development of shipping. Here was the longest land section of the waterway from the Varangians to the Greeks, where it was necessary to drag heavy boats over a distance of several tens of kilometers.
Where the Dnieper Hydroelectric Dam is located today, there was the narrowest place in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and the most convenient crossing was located. At the same time, it was the most robber's place: ambushes were set up on merchant caravans here.
The first reliable written mention of the island of Khortitsa is known from the times of Kievan Rus: the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (905-959) mentioned the “island of St. George”, which is below the Dnieper rapids.
In the X-XIV centuries. there was a Russian fortress on Khortitsa, known from chronicles under the name Protolche. In 1103, Prince Svyato-polk Izyaslavovich (1050-1113) with his army stopped at Khortitsa, as reported in the Ipatiev Chronicle. In 1223, Russian princes gathered on Khortitsa before the battle with the Mongol-Tatars on the Kalka River.
Throughout the existence of the Zaporozhye Sich until 1775, Khortytsia remained an outpost covering the approaches to the Sich from the north. Russian troops began building shipyards here, which were later abandoned due to the plague epidemic.
After the Russian-Turkish wars and the defeat of the Zaporozhye Sich, Khortitsa was given to Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky (1739-1791) as a gift from Empress Catherine II (1729-1796). The prince did not know what to do with the royal gift, and in 1789 he returned it to the Russian state treasury. In order to develop the island, the treasury settled on it a colony of German Mennonites from near Danzig. They stayed on the island until 1916 and sold it to the city government.
During the Soviet period, construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station began near the island in 1927, and subsequently bridges: before that, ferries had been used for centuries.
Since 1974, the island has been part of the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve, and since 2005 - the Khortitsa national reserve.
Khortitsa Island is located in the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, below the rapids. The island divides the Dnieper channel into two branches - the New Dnieper and the Old Dnieper. The river itself in the area of ​​the island is a short preserved section of the rapids part of the river that existed before the construction of the DneproGES dam upstream. Small islands from the rapids have been preserved. The island's relief is inclined: rocks in the north, flooded part in the south.
Khortytsia Island is the site of the All-Ukrainian Cossack festival “Pokrova na Khortytsia”, where in the old days the Zaporizhian Sich was located, and now the Museum of the Zaporizhian Cossacks is located.
The peculiarities of the relief and hydraulic regime of the river determined the diversity of natural zones within the relatively small island: forb-feather grass steppes, oak and coniferous forests, floodplain meadows. For the same reason, the island flora is significantly different from the coastal flora.
In total, about 960 species of plants were counted on Khortytsia, of which 560 are representatives of wild flora and 20 endemics (Dnieper groundsel, Savran onion, sleep grass, iris, Dnieper cornflower). Rarely, relict plants are found: water fern and chilim. Along the ravines there are preserved areas of bayrak forest (“bayrak” is the ancient name of the ravine) with a predominance of Tatar maple, oak, elm, black and silver poplar, and pear. But most of the island is characterized by young secondary and planted pine-maple forest. The specially created Khortytsia forestry takes care of the local flora.
The fauna of the island is no less diverse than the flora: over 30 species of animals, 120 species of birds, ten species of reptiles, and five species of amphibians live in the bayraks and in the floodplain forest in the south of the island. The bird is mainly waterfowl, nesting in coastal thickets (redhead, teal, coot) and remaining here for the winter: the water here is fast and does not freeze even in severe frosts. Other common species include herring gull, heron, yellow heron, and black tern. There are also predators here: kestrel, black kite. The pheasant was artificially bred and took root.
The largest mammals are roe deer and boar, inhabited sandbanks and marshy lake shores, where moose sometimes swim. There are also muskrat, fox, hare, and white marten.
The permanent population is only a couple of thousand people living in nine villages, of which only three are officially recognized by the Zaporozhye administration, and the rest are squatter settlements.
The island was chosen by rock climbers, who train in the northern and northwestern parts of the island on 40-meter cliffs.
The island's big problem is the unimaginable amount of garbage left behind by tourists. It also causes frequent fires that destroy thickets where birds nest and fish spawn. Fires lead to animals and birds leaving Khortytsia.
In order to protect the history and nature of the island, the historical and cultural complex “Zaporizhian Sich” was created. Theatrical performances and all-Ukrainian festivals are regularly held here. The most famous of them are the International Festival of Children and Youth Creativity “Chords of Khortytsia”, the International Festival of Author’s Song “Singing Island”, the All-Ukrainian Cossack Festival “Pokrova on Khortytsia”, the International Festival of Cossack Martial Arts “Spas on Khortytsia”, the Festival of Perun on Khortytsia. In the flooded part of the Khortytsia island there is a folklore and ethnographic equestrian theater “Zaporozhye Cossacks”, whose activities are aimed at preserving and developing Cossack traditions.
The city closest to the island is one of the largest administrative, industrial and cultural centers in the south of Ukraine, a large river port. It received its name in 1921, taking into account its geographical location as “located beyond the rapids”.

general information

Location: South-Eastern Ukraine.

Origin: tectonic.

Nearest cities: Zaporozhye - 766,000 people. (2014).

Languages: Ukrainian, Russian.

Ethnic composition: Ukrainians (majority), Russians.

Religion: Orthodoxy.

Currency unit: hryvnia.

Major airport: international airport in Zaporozhye.

Numbers

Area: 23.59 km2.

Length: about 12.5 km.

Width: 2.5 km.

Population: 2000 people. (2011).
Population density: 84.78 people/km 2 .

Climate and weather

Moderate continental.

Average January temperature: -3°С.
Average temperature in July: +22.5°C.
Average annual precipitation: 500 mm.

Relative humidity: 70%.

Economy

Service sector: tourism.

Attractions

■ Natural: national reserve "Khortitsa", coastal cliffs of Sovutina (Three Masts) and Chernaya, geological reserve "Dnieper Rapids", deepening of the Kozatskaya Miska (the Middle Pillar rock), beams (Sovutina, Ganovka, Kostina, Sichovye Vorota, Lipovaya, Oleniy Rog (Shirokaya) ), Generalka, Velikaya, Naumova), Three Pillars (islands of Divan, or Catherine’s Chair (Catherine the Khreshchennik), Sredny Stolb and Pohyly), islands (Kornetovsky, Rastebina, Malaya Khortitsa, Dubovy, Bad Rock, Skoptsev and Pereyma lavas), Zmieva cave, lakes Bolshaya and Malaya Domakha.
■ Historical: settlement of people of the Sredny Stog culture (Middle Pillar, end of the 4th millennium BC), Scythian burial mounds and a settlement with a protective rampart (Sovutin beam, 5th-3rd centuries BC), earthen fortifications from the times of the Russian-Turkish wars (XVIII century).
■ Cultural: Museum of the History of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, the Scythian Stan complex (Zorova’s grave), recreational centers of large factories in Zaporozhye, Institute of Livestock Mechanization, monument to Dmitry Vishnevetsky - Baida, Tarasova Trail, monument in memory of the defeat of the Poles in 1649.
■ Zaporozhye city: Malaya Khortytsia island, Zemstvo government building (1913-1915), Preobrazhensky bridges, Sotsgorod (1929-1937), Avenue named after. Lenin (length - 10.8 km), Holy Intercession Cathedral (UOC-MP), Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called (UOC-MP), Pro-Cathedral of God the Merciful Father (2004), River Port, equestrian theater "Zaporozhye Cossacks", Regional local history museum, Museum of the History of Weapons, central park of culture and recreation "Oak Grove", Zaporozhye Botanical Garden, Fountain of Life (Mayakovsky Square).
■ Engineering: DneproGES, Preobrazhensky bridges.

Curious facts

■ Khortytsia did not always remain an island before the construction of the hydroelectric power station. When the left branch of the Dnieper dried up during a particularly hot summer, the island could be reached on foot.
■ The Shevchenko (Tarasov) trail stretches along the slopes of the island of Khortitsa: the Ukrainian poet visited here in August 1843.
■ Catherine's Divan Island is connected by local legends with the name of the Russian Empress Catherine II, who allegedly stayed here during her trip to Crimea in 1787. The resemblance of the rock to furniture is obvious, but the Empress never stayed here.
■ In 2007, the island of Khortytsia was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine. Seven Wonders of Ukraine - historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine, selected during an all-Ukrainian competition: the Kamenets Nature Reserve (Kamenets-Podolsky, Khmelnitsky region), Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (Kiev), Sofievka Park (Uman, Cherkasy region), Sophia of Kiev (Kiev ), Khersones (Sevastopol), Khortitsa, Khotyn Fortress (Khotyn, Chernivtsi region).
■ In Slavic poetry, sleep-herb, characteristic of the island of Khortitsa, is most often mentioned as a sleeping pill because of its name, or is a harbinger of spring and the awakening of nature.
■ One of the floodplain islands off the coast of Khortitsa is called Soviny: for some reason, this hundred-meter-long island is chosen exclusively by owls.
■ On the island of Sredny Stolb there is a hole with a diameter of 2 m and a depth of up to 1.4 m, called the Cossack Bowl. This is a natural depression, partially processed by man. Legends say that the Cossacks cooked dumplings in this “bowl”.
■ Bad Rock Island got its name because it was chosen by the Cossacks as a place where they punished the guilty. Violators of the Cossack code were sent here barefoot: in the summer the rock warmed up so much that standing on it barefoot was a real torture. There is another version. In the 18th century there was a plague infirmary on the Bad Rock, and the Cossacks called all infectious diseases bad.
■ Kornetovsky Island received its name from the German word “kornelecht” - this is what the Mennonite Germans called the place where they crushed grain.
■ There is a hypothesis that it was on Khortitsa that Prince Svyatoslav, who was returning with his squad from the Bulgarian campaign in the spring of 972, died in a battle with the Pechenegs.
■ During the time of Prince Potemkin, a garden was founded on Khortitsa, guarded by a retired corporal. Since then, the area has been named Kapralovo, and the mounds at the highest point of Khortitsa are called Potemkin.
■ Khortytsia Island is in third place in Ukraine in terms of tourist attendance. In 2010, over 250 thousand people visited the reserve’s tourist sites.
■ Until the second half of the 19th century, a historical giant centuries-old oak tree grew on the island of Khortitsa, which, according to legend, served as a rallying point for the Zaporozhye army. Military councils were held under the oak tree.
By 1888, the oak had dried up, leaving a stump six meters in girth. There is a hypothesis that it was under this oak tree that the Cossacks wrote their famous letter to the Turkish Sultan. The artist Ilya Repin, working on the painting “Cossacks,” came to the island of Khortytsia. To this day, in the village of Verkhnyaya Khortitsa, a drying coeval of this oak has been preserved: crown diameter - 63 m, trunk circumference - 6.32 m, height - 36 m.
■ Preobrazhensky Bridges - two two-tier concrete bridges across the Dnieper, connecting the right and left banks of Zaporozhye across the island of Khortytsia. The author of the bridge project is engineer B.N. Preobrazhensky, the bridges were opened in 1952. The height of the bridges (about 54 m) is considered the highest in Ukraine. The Preobrazhensky Bridge (together with stone women) is depicted on the coin “National Reserve “Khortitsa” from the series “12 Wonders of Ukraine”.

As if surrounded by a great river, the island invariably impresses everyone who visits here. Khortytsia attracts with the glory and heroism of bygone days, arousing the interest of travelers from all over the world, seeking not just to explore it, but to literally merge with the unique beauty of these places. Human civilization, of course, managed to “inherit” here, its impact on Khortytsia can be seen all the time. However, it is impossible to completely ruin this place by definition, because nature itself has made sure that neither time nor the work of human hands has power over the unique microclimate that exists here.

Story

Khortytsia Island is one of the most significant historical monuments of the country, which became the cradle of the Ukrainian Cossacks and its symbol. This place also became a symbol of freedom and the struggle to achieve it, a powerful unifying factor for the Ukrainian national idea.

There is an opinion that its name is a derivative of “Horse,” the name of an ancient deity who personified the sun, who was once worshiped by the pagan Eastern Slavs. According to another version, which many scientists adhere to, “Khortitsa” comes from the Turkic-Polovtsian word “orta”, literally translated as “located in the middle”, which is quite fair, since the island located in the center seems to divide the Dnieper into two separate channels. There is also a version of the origin of the name from the neighboring river Khortitsa, which means “fast” or “fast”, forming the hydronym “bystritsa”.

Being the largest island in the river, it has been known since the Paleolithic and Mesolithic times. Its history is richly illustrated by numerous archaeological finds demonstrating the peculiarities of life of the peoples who inhabited it - from the Scythians and Pechenegs to the Cossacks, who founded their republic in the 16th century. The first settlements on Khortytsia, traces of which were discovered by archaeological expeditions, belong to the Bronze Age and are represented by numerous settlements, religious buildings and burials. Evidence of the presence of the Scythians, who settled on the island in the 7th century BC. e., found on Sovutina Rock.

The first written mention of it dates back to 952 AD and belongs to the pen of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, who described the features of this piece of land in his well-known treatise “On the Administration of the Empire.” The most glorious and heroic pages of the history of the famous Khortytsia were written by the Zaporozhye Cossacks. Their first fortification - a tree-earthen castle, erected under the leadership of Dmitry Vishnevetsky on neighboring Malaya Khortytsia, appeared already in the middle of the 16th century. Vishnevetsky himself was a major Orthodox magnate from Volyn, owned vast lands, and held the position of headman of Cherkasy and Kanevsky in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that existed at that time. The island of Khortytsia was the possession of the Zaporozhye Sich until its liquidation. And the Khortytsia Sich itself, which existed in 1555-1557, became the prototype of the Zaporozhye Sich and was destroyed as a result of the siege by the troops of the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. But it is forever inscribed in the tablets of history as the place from where Bogdan Khmelnytsky and Ivan Sirko, Taras Tryasilo and Sulima carried out their campaigns.

From time immemorial, the various nationalities that inhabited the island saw it as their spiritual center, performing religious rites, sacraments and ceremonies here. Special properties are attributed to the Black Stone located in the northern part, which weighs more than half a ton. According to some assumptions, this artifact ended up on the territory of Khortitsa back in the Ice Age, according to others, it was transported a little later by ancient settlers from another area. Until now, the lines on the stone, which have no doubt been drawn by humans, remain a phenomenon that has not been deciphered by researchers.

Without exaggeration, a significant event for the island of Khortitsa was the historical event that took place in 1927 - the beginning of the construction of the Dnieper hydroelectric power station. To become direct participants in the great construction project and witness a new stage in the development of these unique places, a huge number of people came here from all over the Soviet Union. This landmark construction for the young state is illustrated in several expositions of the museum complex created here, very popular among tourists, which we will talk about later.

On Khortytsia you can walk through Shevchenko’s places. Yes, yes, don’t be surprised, they are here too. The Great Kobzar was on the island of Khortitsa in August 1843. In memory of Taras Grigorievich’s stay, one of the trails on the slopes was named Shevchenkovskaya. Three decades later, the outstanding Russian artist and painter Ilya Efimovich Repin set foot on this blessed land, who, by the way, was accompanied by his student, the very young Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov. Repin worked here on sketches, which he later used in the film “Cossacks”. In 1891, writer and playwright Maxim Gorky visited the island. A few years later, another famous writer, the first Russian Nobel laureate in literature, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, admired the beauty of Khortitsa.

Attractions

Khortytsia impresses, first of all, with the uniqueness of its relief, namely massive rock formations located mainly in the northern and northwestern parts of the island. The age of granite rocks – just imagine! – is over 2.5 billion years old. Our solar system, which is 4.6 billion years old, is not much older by cosmic standards, and this circumstance allows us to consider the Khortytsia rocks, the basis of which is the Ukrainian crystalline shield, as the oldest on the planet. They are so ancient that there are no traces of any life on them - even the most primitive forms. And not because they were not preserved. They were not there initially, since these rocks were formed at a time when there was no oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.

There are quite a lot of rocks on the island of Khortitsa, but only the most significant ones have their own names. Among them are the Upper Head, Black Rock, Middle Head, Lazne, Ushviva, Lower Head, Naumova Rock, Sovutina, Kopychevataya (all located on the left bank of the Dnieper). Names were also assigned to some of the right-bank rocks: Kantserovskaya, Otara, Rogozy. Many of them are steep, so it is impossible to go down them without special equipment. But there are also quite easily passable ones, and moving along such rocks leaves unforgettable emotions and impressions - akin to an exciting adventure.

On the northern outskirts of Khortytsia, islands rise, forming a group under the general name Three Pillars. Each of them has its own name. The first is Catherine’s Divan or Catherine the Khreshchennik: folk legend connects it with the personality of the Russian Empress Catherine II, who, according to him, made a stop here when making her journey to Kherson and Crimea. The second island is Sredny Stolb, and the third is Pohyly (translated from Ukrainian as “sloping”). The passages formed between them are called Gates.

To the left of the named island group you can see huge stone blocks that have a certain resemblance to straw stacks, which is why they received the name Two Stacks. In common parlance they are called Two Brothers or Twins. Thanks to its shape, another surrounding island got its name – Turtle, which stretches north of Khortitsa. It is also called Oak, Middle and Poplar. But the name of the island of Baida, which stretches opposite the Gromushkina Rock directly in the bed of the Old Dnieper, is directly related to the already mentioned Prince Vishnevetsky, since he is sung under this name in folklore.

In the central part of Khortitsa there is Kostina Balka, named after one of the Zaporozhye Cossacks who loved fishing. Its bed is so long that it reaches from the river to the highway itself. The road is forced to go around the steep mouth of the gully, taking on the appearance of a horseshoe at this point. The name of another famous Cossack fisherman, Rastoba, formed the basis for the name of Rastobin Island, which is clearly visible from Kostina Balka. The Mother-in-law's tongue beam is almost as long, which is why it received such an apt name. Not far away there is another one, the Linden Beam, once planted with these trees. Previously large in size, it was densely overgrown with willows and sedge, which gave rise to calling it Verbka.

Flora and fauna of the reserve

The features of the southern part of the island of Khortytsia, called the Great Meadow, have long been conducive to the development of hunting, fishing, and cattle breeding. The local flora is represented by more than a thousand species of plants, twenty of which are considered endemic, that is, growing in limited areas. These are dream grass, Dnieper ragwort, iris or iris, Dnieper cornflower, Savran onion. Here are presented several species of relict plants that were found on our planet long before humans appeared on it.

Several different natural zones are surprisingly combined on the island. Forb-feather grass steppes coexist with oak and coniferous forests, steppes and two lakes with distinctive names - Bolshaya and Malaya Domakha. According to the testimony of the Ukrainian historian, archaeologist and ethnographer Dmitry Yavornitsky, a centuries-old oak tree grew on Khortytsia, very branchy and gigantic in thickness. Popular legend says that the Zaporozhye Cossacks gathered near the tree for their rada (council, veche). It is possible that it was under his crown that they wrote their famous letter to the Turkish Sultan.

The island fauna includes about thirty species of animals and more than a hundred species of birds, a dozen species of reptiles and half as many amphibians. In the floodplain lakes of the Old Dnieper, which are not covered with ice even during severe frosts, ducks nest and remain for the winter. The island of Khortitsa abounds in gulls, among which herring predominates, and herons. The latter are even represented by the yellow heron, whose main habitat is the swampy lowlands of the Mediterranean, as well as the Caucasus, southern regions of Asia, Ethiopia and Morocco.

The memories of the old residents of Khortytsia, captured in memoirs and scientific research, will help you imagine what animals inhabited the island in times gone by. They are marked by herds of horses grazing on lush grass, wild boars prowling in the forests, wolves and foxes hunting, saiga antelope and goats escaping from danger, otters and beans diving in the water. The channels and lakes, according to evidence, abounded in countless quantities of fish. An animal such as the dormouse is also often found on the island. This cute animal resembles both a mouse and a squirrel, but does not lose its individuality.

Khortitsa Island today

If you thought that Khortytsia, being in the status of a state-protected national reserve, is uninhabited, then you were mistaken. There are nine villages on the island, their total population is about two thousand people. Only three of them are on the balance sheet of the Zaporozhye city council, the remaining six do not legally belong to anyone. Many areas are occupied by illegal buildings. The northern and northwestern parts of the island are chosen by climbers, which is not surprising: some of the local rocks reach 40 meters in height, which makes them convenient for extreme sports enthusiasts. However, unfortunately, the expansion of homo sapiens did not bring anything good. Khortytsia is littered with rubbish and there are fires here. Household waste is often left in areas where inland lakes with white water lilies are located, as well as where birds nest and fish spawn. Representatives of the local fauna can no longer withstand the proximity to humans and leave the island. Some species are endangered.

Meanwhile, the authorities are trying to counteract such destructive trends. In 2009, the government of Ukraine launched a program for recycling solid household waste on the territory of the reserve. The state also pays great attention to the preservation of the Museum of the History of the Zaporizhian Cossacks located on the island, which was on re-exposition some time ago. Then it was reported that a significant part of the most interesting exhibits would be involved in new exhibitions in the historical and cultural complex “Zaporozhye Sich”.

And indeed: for travelers on Khortytsia today there are fascinating excursions with a tour of the Cossack kurens, both residential and military, the square where important historical and political decisions were made, the church where all the Cossacks held services, giving great importance to the Orthodox holiday of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God. On the territory of the museum complex there are pottery and blacksmith workshops, where each guest can try his hand at this craft and receive a horseshoe for good luck and a good memory.

There is also a folklore and ethnographic equestrian theater on the island with the eloquent name “Zaporozhye Cossacks”. Its founders see their main goal as the preservation, development and popularization of Cossack traditions in modern society. Theater participants demonstrate an interesting, educational performance to guests. The theatrical performance, which consists of horse riding, saber fighting, Cossack wrestling, and hopak performance, attracts a wide audience of spectators, including adults and children. At the end of the performance, the hospitable Cossacks treat the tourists to a kulesh with lard to get acquainted with their way of life and culture.

Video: Martial art of Zaporozhye Cossacks

Opening hours, how to get there

The Khortitsa National Nature Reserve is located in the city of Zaporozhye (Ukraine), on the island of Khortitsa. Official website: www.ostrov-hortica.org.ua.

The historical and cultural complex “Zaporizhian Sich” and the Museum of Zaporizhian Cossacks are open from 9:30 to 17:00 in March-November, and from 9:30 to 16:00 in December-February. The ticket office is open until 16:00 and 15:00 respectively. Day off is Monday.

You can get to Khortitsa via the Preobrazhensky Bridge or through the Arched Bridge.

There is public transport on the island: buses and trains. Departure occurs from the bus station, railway stations Zaporozhye-1 and Zaporozhye-2, Lenin and Metallurgov avenues, Kremlevskaya street, Khortytsky and Zavodsky districts, as well as the Borodinsky, Yuzhny, Kosmichesky, Shevchenkovsky, Osipenkovsky microdistricts.

Khortitsa Island on the map

Complex "Zaporizhian Sich" on Khortytsia

Complex "Zaporizhian Sich" on Khortytsia Bridge named after Preobrazhensky across Khortitsa Idols of Khortitsa Island

Khortitsa, island

Khortytsia is the largest island on the Dnieper, located near the city of Zaporozhye below the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, a unique natural and historical complex. Stretched from northwest to southeast, length 12.5 km, width on average 2.5 km. In 2007 it was named one of the “Seven Wonders of Ukraine”. Khortytsia is a historical and cultural reserve, part of the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve.

There is an opinion that the name Khortytsia comes from the name of the ancient deity of the Eastern Slavs, Khors, who personified the sun. Some researchers derive the name of the island from the Turkic-Polovtsian word “orta”, which means middle (in this case, located between the two channels of the Dnieper). People associate the name Khortitsa with the Ukrainian word “hort” (greyhound dog): in the outlines of the island you can see the silhouette of a greyhound. Local historians also say “Big Khortytsia”, meaning that next to this island is Malaya Khortytsya (otherwise known as Baida Island).

The island cuts the waters of the Dnieper into two branches - the New and Old Dnieper. The Dnieper valley in the Khortitsa region is the only remaining section of the rapids part of the river. Khortytsia and the adjacent islands have been declared the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve.

Khortytsia was not always an island. Often, especially in the hot summer, spits approached the island from the eastern side of the island. They could be used to get to the island by land. The relatively small territory of the island contains examples of almost all types of landscapes characteristic of the south of Ukraine.

There are various natural zones on the island: forb-feather grass steppes, oak and coniferous forests, floodplain meadows. In total, about 960 plant species grow on Khortytsia. Remains of forest (bayraki) grow in the ravines, dominated by Tatar maple, oak, elm, black and silver poplar, and pear. Most of the island is covered with young artificial forest of pine and maple. In total, the reserve has approximately 10 centuries-old trees and several dozen oaks that are a hundred years old or a little over (the oldest of them are 300 years old), and there is also a hundred-year-old wild pear. The famous Zaporozhye oak (located outside the island of Khortitsa), according to historians and biologists, is a little over five hundred years old.

The bairaks in the south of the island are home to over 30 species of animals, 120 species of birds, ten species of reptiles, and five species of amphibians. The most numerous among birds are waterfowl (wings, teals, lyskis). And one of the floodplain islands can rightfully be called Owl. Muskrats, foxes, hares, martens have found shelter on the island, and sometimes moose swim in.

Khortytsia is surrounded by numerous large and small islands and rocks, which are part of the protected area, and the island itself is dotted with ravines and lakes.

Story

According to archaeological research, this island has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. In particular, there are also early Slavic monuments: the remains of settlements, burial grounds of tribes of the Chernyakhov culture and Ants. The island was visited by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. On the island, Herodotus wrote down a legend about the ancestor of the Scythians, the son of Hercules and Tabiti, the snake goddess.

In 1223, Khortitsa was a gathering place for Russian princes before the battle with the Tatar-Mongols on the Kalka River. And at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries, this island - a reliable shelter for those fleeing feudal and national oppression - became one of the centers of formation of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, and then a springboard for the Sich in defending the southern borders from Turkish-Tatar aggression. In 1648, the Cossack army set out from here to fight the liberation war of the Ukrainian people.

After the defeat of the Sich by tsarist troops on June 5, 1775, Khortytsia went to Prince Potemkin as a gift from Catherine II. In 1789, Potemkin transferred the island to the treasury, and a year later new owners, the Mennonite Germans, took possession of Khortitsa.

By colonizing the Sich places, the queen hoped to eradicate the freedom-loving spirit of Zaporozhye. Her calculations were justified: the colonists barbarously destroyed centuries-old oak forests, linden groves, and thickets of wild pears. Timber trade was one of the most profitable sources of income. In December 1916, the Germans who lived on Khortitsa sold the island to the Alexander City Council for 772 thousand 350 rubles.

Khortytsia was often visited by prominent people. On its slopes there is a path of the great Kobzar, who visited here in August 1843. In 1878, composer N.V. came here. Lysenko, in 1880 - I.E. Repin with young Valentin Serov. In 1891, Maxim Gorky visited Khortitsa, and a little later - Ivan Bunin...

But ancient Khortytsia has never known such a pilgrimage as began in 1927. People came here from all over the country to witness and participate in a great historical event: right opposite the northern cliffs of the island, the construction of the Dnieper hydroelectric station began... A new history of Khortytsia began... All these and subsequent events will be reflected in the exhibitions of the museum complex being built on Khortytsia .

Khortytsia is closely connected with the history of the Zaporizhian Cossacks. This is the largest river island not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe. Man has settled here since time immemorial: the first traces of his presence date back to the 3rd millennium BC.

Today, every Ukrainian schoolchild knows where Khortytsia is located. The Dnieper is the largest and most significant waterway in Ukraine. It is the main shipping canal and is home to a cascade of six hydroelectric power stations. But still, the most important local attraction is the stronghold of the Ukrainian Cossacks. To this day, Khortytsia has preserved traditions and architectural monuments that can take us back several hundred years and demonstrate how the registry lived.

Northern Khortytsia

The oldest of the six hydroelectric power plants, the Zaporizhzhya DneproHPP, was built in 1932 and launched at full capacity in 1939. From the northern slopes of Khortitsa Island there is a stunning view of the dam. Here the landscape is mostly steep: granite rocks in some places rise 40-50 meters above the water.

In this part of the island there are many grottoes, caves, large and small boulders, through which it is difficult to get down to the water. In the northern part there is the Museum of Zaporozhye Cossacks, the exhibition “Zaporozhye Sich”, which opened in 2009, Sanctuaries, “Tarasova Stitch” and the tourist trail “Above the Rapids”.

South Khortytsia

In the south, the area is swampy, floodplain, created by the thousands of years of work of the Dnieper flow. Here the coast is indented with numerous coves and backwaters. The fertile soils deposited by the river have become a real paradise for a variety of flora and fauna. Previously, thickets of bushes, trees, reeds and grass stretched from the island of Khortytsia to Kherson and were called the Great Zaporozhye Meadow.

In these places there was the famous Protolchy Ford, along which it was possible to move from bank to bank on horseback without getting your feet wet, or waist-deep in water. All this splendor turned out to be buried at the bottom of the Kakhovka reservoir during the construction of another joint effort that produces only 8% of the country's electricity and is a source of constant environmental threat.

Reserve

Today, the southern edge of Khortytsia Island is of great importance in preserving the wildlife of the Dnieper. Five ancient lakes and one and a half to two dozen small ponds and bays serve as a reliable refuge for many types of plants: lilies, water lilies, water chestnuts, irises, reeds, etc. The world's smallest fern, floating salvinia, is found here.

In the hospitable waters of southern Khortytsia, more than 50 species of fish spawn, more than 120 species of birds nest (despite the fact that there are just over 300 of them in all of Ukraine), and about 30 species of small mammals thrive.

Khortitsa Island received the status of a state reserve back in 1965. Before that, it was considered a monument of local (since 1958) and republican (since 1963) significance. After gaining independence, the Ukrainian government granted the island the status of a national park (1993).

From the point of view of its environmental function, the reserve is of great importance: more than 560 species of wild plants grow here. For the limited space of the island, this quantity is huge.

Zaporizhian Cossacks

The history of the island of Khortytsia, associated mainly with the Zaporozhye Cossacks, is of great interest. Prince Vishnevetsky, glorified in folklore under the name Baida, in the 16th century united disparate Cossack detachments and built a fortress on an island nearby (Malaya Khortytsia) designed to protect the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian state. It is considered to be the prototype of the Zaporozhye Sich, which appeared only in 1593. In 1557, the fortress fell - Khan Devlet-Girey, who approached its walls in January, failed: the 24-day siege did not bring victory. Then he appeared in the fall with reinforcements and completely destroyed the fortress.

Before the liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich, the island of Khortytsia belonged to its possessions. Taras Tryasilo, Ivan Sirko, Sulima, and Bogdan Khmelnitsky began their campaigns from here.

Dnieper flotilla

The military formation on the outskirts of the empire was not very popular with the central authorities. When part of the elders supported Hetman Mazepa in his anti-Russian speech on the side of the Swedes, in 1709 the entire Zaporozhye Sich was declared a nest of traitors and destroyed, which did not prevent the Cossacks from acting on the side of the Russian crown in the war with the Turks.

In 1737, a decision was made to build a new shipyard: the war was in full swing, and Russian ships could not overcome the Dnieper rapids. By 1739, a Russian military fleet numbering about four hundred ships was already stationed near the island of Khortitsa.

In 1998, the body of a Cossack seagull was found near the shore, which was removed from the Dnieper a year later. In 2007, a brigantine found there was brought to the surface. Two ancient ships became the basis for the organization of an informal museum of the Dnieper flotilla, located in the southern part of the island.

Museum of the History of Zaporizhian Cossacks

The museum opened in 1983 on the island of Khortytsia is mainly dedicated to the history of the Zaporizhian Cossacks. The room, which occupies about 1,600 square meters, is decorated rather gloomily. Granite-lined walls create the effect of being in an underground cave. Various relics of ancient times are hung along them. The general lighting is not bright; only tables with exhibits are illuminated, most of which were found on the island itself and in the immediate vicinity.

The remains of ancient stone tools, ceramics, fragments of ancient ships, icons, household and interior items are collected here. The museum displays a trunk that has lain at the bottom of the Dnieper for several thousand years. Of interest are dioramas that reveal the main milestones in the history of the Zaporozhye region: “The Last Battle of Svyatoslav” (according to some sources, the Kiev prince was killed on the island), “Military Council on the Sich”, “Night assault by the Soviet army of Zaporozhye (10/14/1943 .)", "Construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station".

Note for travelers

In the summer, the museum is open from 9-00 to 19-00, in the winter - from 9-00 to 16-00. It is closed on Mondays; this must be kept in mind when planning a trip to Khortitsa Island. The excursions offered by the national reserve are interesting and varied. Today, there are about a dozen themed walking tours around the island, dedicated to different pages of its history.

If you don’t want to follow a guide on foot for 45-90 minutes, you can book a 2.5-hour bus tour to the southern part of the island. The reserve promises a pleasant and educational pastime in the company of highly qualified specialists. The island is also popular with children, for whom special matinees have been developed. During them, the kids not only have fun, but also get acquainted with the history of their native land.

"Zaporozhye Sich"

A prominent place among the island’s attractions is occupied by the historical and cultural complex “Zaporizhian Sich”, which began construction in 2004. Some of the buildings were used during the filming of the feature film “Taras Bulba”. In 2009, the complex opened for tourist visits.

The center of the exhibition is the small wooden Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is crowned with three domes. There are a total of twenty-three buildings in the complex, introducing visitors to the interiors of Cossack housing, official and educational institutions, a traditional tavern, and an armory. The entire exhibition is divided into an internal area and a suburb, which, unfortunately, turned out to be plundered by modern vandals. The village is surrounded by a palisade with three watchtowers, a moat and an earthen rampart.

The local Equestrian Theater (located in the southern part of the island of Khortytsia) also sacredly preserves Cossack customs. There is a blacksmith shop here, souvenirs are sold, and interesting theatrical performances regularly take place: dancing, stylized saber fights, and talented riders demonstrating their skills. The theater gives regular performances at the Zaporizhzhya Sich ICC.

Not the Cossacks alone

It should be separately noted that the Cossacks do not exhaust the historical wealth of these places - the island of Khortytsia, whose attractions are very numerous, was inhabited by people in earlier times.

In 1976-1980, archaeological excavations were carried out on the island, during which a military settlement of the 10th-14th centuries was discovered in the southern part. Individual finds - weapons, ceramics - suggest that the settlement is even more ancient. Today, a memorial and tourist complex “Protovche Settlement” has been opened at the excavation site.

Scythian burial mounds

The Scythians also left their mark on the island. At the beginning of the 20th century there were 129 mounds here. The oldest of them dates back to (III millennium BC). The mounds are located along the so-called Scythian route, which once ran along the elevated part of the island of Khortitsa. Today, eleven mounds have been reconstructed, decorated with stone women and bronze steles. One of them is located right next to the Museum of Cossack History.

The memorial and tourist complex “Zorova Mogila” (“Scythian Camp”), dedicated to the Scythian page of history, occupies about five hectares of area and includes another interesting exhibition that is attractive to the island of Khortitsa - the Museum of Stone Statues. Here you can see creations of human hands that are more than a thousand years old. So to speak, to touch the hubbub of centuries embodied in stone.

Taras Shevchenko

In the summer of 1843, 29-year-old Taras Shevchenko visited Khortitsa. With the help of local historians, the route of his walk was determined and marked with seven granite boulders, on which lines from the works of the Great Kobzar are carved, in which the island of Khortytsia and the Great Zaporozhye Meadow are mentioned. Those interested can follow in the poet’s footsteps and admire the surroundings from the “Above the Rapids” ecological trail.

Today Khortytsia is an island where holidays are popular not only among local residents. It is very beautiful here, quiet, even peaceful. From the north-eastern banks you can see the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, and nearby is the exhibition “Zaporizhian Sich”, imitating a typical Cossack fortress of the 16th-18th centuries. There is an almost mystical feeling that you are on the border between the past and the future.

Legends and myths of the island of Khortitsa

Almost every rock or cave on the island has its own legend. It would take a lot of time to talk about each of them. The story of the Serpent Cave, which Herodotus describes, is interesting. They say that in the magical land of Heleia (historians are inclined to believe that this is the Great Zaporozhye Meadow) Hercules met the beautiful Snake-Maiden. They fell in love in that very cave, the narrow entrance to which can be seen in photos of Khortytsia Island taken by extreme sports enthusiasts. Getting to it is quite difficult.

Only one of the three children of the Greek hero from a local beauty managed to bend his father’s heroic bow, and his name was Scythian. Interestingly, images of the Snake Maiden are actually found on the stone boulders of the island, and their origin is rather vague.

Later, the people settled the Serpent Gorynych in the famous cave - he, throwing stones at the heroes who did not want to leave him alone, created many Dnieper islands and even the famous rapids.

Magical mysteries of the island

There is also an object on Khortytsia that is of interest to supporters of esotericism - a huge stone weighing five to six centners, either brought by a glacier, or brought from somewhere by people. In any case, this breed is not typical for this area: the nearest region where it is found is the Donetsk region. The boulder is dotted with carved lines, clearly made by human hand. What these letters mean and whether they have meaning, no one knows for sure. It is generally accepted that the stone with the design represents a fish (carp) and served the ancient people as a cult object. Human rumor has already endowed the stone with magical powers capable of “pulling” illnesses out of a person.

Thus, the island of Khortitsa is very interesting, rich in sights and legends. Today, its popularity is far from deserved. I want to believe that time will fix this. If you have the opportunity, be sure to visit this place. Good luck!

23.59 km² Khortytsia at Wikimedia Commons

There are several versions of the origin of the name “Khortitsa”. It is believed that the island (chronicle Khartich Island) got its name from the neighboring river Khortitsa, where the noun starting with “-itsa” from khort-< хъртъ, то есть «быстрый, скорый». Таким образом, «хортица» - это «быстрица», быстрая вода (гидроним «быстрица» не раз встречается в бассейнах Днепра , Днестра и др. рек Украины) .

Nature

Geology

Khortytsia Island is part of the Ukrainian crystalline shield, formed during the Archean era. The age of the granites, gneisses and migmatites that make up the Khortytsia rocks is 2.6 billion years (also called 2.85 billion years).

Khortytsia cuts the Dnieper bed into two branches - the New and Old Dnieper. The Dnieper water area in the area of ​​the island is a small, preserved section of the rapids part of the river that existed before the construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station dam upstream. Before Fr. The Khortytsia rapids ended. The remaining small islands remind of the extremely difficult conditions of navigation on the Dnieper.

Khortytsia was not always an island. Often in hot summers, spits were found on the eastern side of the island along which one could cross to the island. There were low water periods, for example: 1575, 1708 and 1921, when the bed of the left branch of the Dnieper was almost dry.

Rocks in the north of the island

On the northern and northwestern parts of the island, 40-50 meter cliffs rise. To the southeast, the height of the island gradually decreases, turning into a flooded part of the river. Between the rocky and flooded parts, the surface of the island is indented with a large number of picturesque beams.

Khortytsia and the adjacent islands have been declared the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve.

Vegetable world

There are various natural zones on the island: forb-feather grass steppes, oak and coniferous forests, floodplain meadows. Thanks to the special microclimatic conditions that arose due to the abundance of sun, fresh water and dry air, the flora of the island is significantly different from the mainland.

Dream-grass.

In total, about 960 plant species grow on Khortytsia, 560 of them are representatives of wild flora, 20 are endemic. Endemics are Dnieper groundsel, Savransky onion, dream grass, irises, Dnieper cornflower. In addition to endemics, there are also relict plants - water fern and chilim.

There are very few virgin lands where grasses grow on Khortytsia. These are the slopes of the beams Shantseva, Bashmachka, Lipova, Gromushina, Naumova, Shiroka, Kostina, Kornetovskaya, Muzychnaya, Sovutina, Molodnyaga and others. The remnants of forests (bairak forests) grow in the ravines, where Tatarian maple, oak, elm, black and silver poplar, and pear predominate. Most of the island is covered with young artificial forest of pine and maple, planted by the Khortytsia forestry. Once upon a time, oak forests grew like a “solid wall” on the island of Khortitsa. Novitsky By the beginning of the 21st century, the reserve had approximately 10 centuries-old trees and several dozen oaks aged a hundred or more years (the oldest of them are 300 years old), and there is also a hundred-year-old wild pear. Mostly such trees grow in ravines and the floodplain part of the island.

Beams, lakes, rocks and adjacent islands of Khortytsia

Khortytsia is dotted with ravines and lakes, it is surrounded by numerous large and small islands and rocks, which are part of the protected area.

Islands

Three Pillars. Near the northern part of the island of Khortytsia, the following islands rise: Divan or Chair of Catherine (Ekaterinin Khreshchennik), Sredny Pillar and Pohyly, forming the Three Pillars island group.

A folk legend associates the island of Divan Catherine with the name of the Russian Empress Catherine II, who allegedly stayed here during her trip to Crimea in 1787. The rock really looks like a sofa, but the empress never stopped on it.

The “Cossack Bowl” recess on the Sredny Stolb rock.

On the Middle Pillar there is a deep hole (diameter 2 m, depth up to 1.4 m), which is called the “Cossack bowl”. The depression is a natural formation, only partially processed by people. According to folk legends, “on sunny, hot days, the Cossacks cooked dumplings in this bowl and fed each other with one and a half meter spoons through the bowl.” In 1927-1929 On the Middle Pillar, archaeologists discovered a human settlement of the late 4th millennium BC. e. - Sredny Stog culture (the name was mistakenly given from the neighboring Stogov rocks).

The name of the third Pillar is Pohyly ( rus. inclined), formed from the shape of the rock.

The Polish writer G. Podberezovsky, traveling along the Dnieper in 1860, called the Three Pillars “Pillars of Hercules”, connecting them with Herodotus’ legend about the meeting of Hercules with the snake-legged goddess and the origin of the Scythians. Until the middle of the 19th century. Three Pillars were connected to Khortytsia by a sand spit overgrown with trees and bushes, which was washed away by a flood.

Two Haystacks. On the left side of the Pillars there are stones - Two Stacks, which look a little like stacks of straw. Now other names are more often used - Two Brothers or Twins.

Oak. On the northern side of Khortytsia in front of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station lies Dubovy Island, which is often called Sredny, Poplar or Turtle (based on its shape).

Rocks Bad And Average(Sagaidachny rock) protrude between the Sagaidachny tract, located on the left bank of the Dnieper opposite Khortytsia and Khortytsia. According to folk legends, Cossacks were punished on the Bad Rock. In the summer it got very hot and was so hot that it was impossible to stand on it barefoot. The guilty Cossack was brought to the rock at the hottest time, where he served his punishment. According to the pilots, this name was given to her because she “sat in the middle of the Dnieper inappropriately, in a stupid way.” Other legends say that on the Badnaya rock the army of Peter I executed the Zaporozhye Cossacks for collaborating with Mazepa and Charles XII (1709) - that’s why the rock is nicknamed the Treasury or Durna. According to the plan of retrenchments of the 18th century, there was a plague infirmary on the Bad Rock. The Cossacks called all infectious diseases “bad”, that is, those that cannot be foreseen, unlike injuries and wounds. Therefore, this name was probably assigned to the rock.

On Average on the rock in the 30s of the 19th century one could see the original stone called “Lyulka” ( rus. smoking pipe), similar to a real pipe with a stem and a pierce. “Lizhko” was also located there ( rus. bed) or “Sagaidak’s chair” - probably a processed stone with a hollowed-out recess for a person to recline. In 1883, the stone was blown up by two residents of Aleksandrovsk (the name of Zaporozhye until 1921). On Srednaya Skala, archaeologists found a Neolithic site with remains of pottery shards, retouched flint, fish and animal bones. The Durnaya and Srednyaya rocks were significantly damaged during the construction of the Dnieper hydroelectric power station and the sluice.

Kornetovsky Island. In the bed of the Old Dnieper near the southern part of the island you can see the sandy island of Kornetovsky - a permanent refuge for fishermen. On Khortytsia there is the Kornetovshchina tract (Kornelekht among the Mennonite Germans, a probable place where grain was crushed). The tract includes the Kornetovskaya and Korneychikha gullies.

Rocks Gavunivskaya and Karakaika, located behind the Generalka gully next to the long sandy coast, are named after the Cossacks of Karakay and Gavun, who were engaged in fishing here. There is a tourist beach next to these rocks.

Beams

More than two dozen large and small gullies cut the banks of Khortytsia on the eastern and western sides. Almost all beams have their own names.

Beam Sich Gate on the island of Khortytsia.

From the Sovutina beam located on the northern tip of the island, the following beams go south along the bed of the Old Dnieper: Chavunova (Sich Gate), Muzychina, Naumova, Gromushina, Karakaika, Generalka, Shirokaya (Olenya), Korneychikha, Kornetovskaya.

On the eastern side, along the bed of the New Dnieper follow the following ravines: Velikaya Molodnyaga, Ushvyvaya, Gannovka, Shantsevaya, Bashmachka, Kostina, Lipovaya, Kapralka (Korneeva).

Balki are unique natural reservations of the island. Their slopes are covered with steppe herbs, and in the depressions you can find the remains of ravine-gully forests.

In the Gromushin gully there is a spring with the purest water.

Story

First settlements on the island

Man appeared on the island back in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic era, but the first significant explored settlements date back to the Bronze Age (III-II millennium BC), from which numerous burials, settlements and religious buildings remain. From the 7th to the 3rd centuries BC. The island was inhabited by Scythians. Most of the mounds found on the island, 129 of them, belong to the Scythian civilization. Basically they are tombs. Near the Slavutina beam in the V-III centuries BC. e. there was a whole settlement. In its place a protective rampart, a ditch and residential structures were found.

Below the island along the Dnieper after the rapids there was a waterway from the Varangians to the Greeks.

To get around the rapids, in some places it was necessary to pull boats along the river bank. The empty section of the river from present-day Dnepropetrovsk to Zaporozhye stretched for almost 75 km, the water level difference in this section was ~50 m. After a grueling “portage”, travelers (merchants, warriors) rested on the island. The place where the DneproGES dam is now located was the narrowest (~175 m) in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, so it was known in Taurida (from the ancient Greek Ταῦρος - the old name of the steppe region of the Dnieper-Molochan interfluve within the modern Zaporozhye and Kherson regions The Taurian steppes through the Sivash isthmus pass into the steppes of Taurida (Crimean Peninsula) crossing the Dnieper - Kichkas, through which one of the branches of the Muravsky Way passed - the path of attack of the Crimean Tatars on the Right Bank Ukraine and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In addition to the crossing, this place was convenient for ambushes, since people sailing from the Black Sea were forced to go ashore before the rapids.The Scythians, Pechenegs, Polovtsians, and subsequently the Crimean Tatars, Turks, and Slavs hunted here.

The first mention of the island of Khortytsia is known from the times of Kievan Rus. Thus, the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions the “island of St. George” below the Dnieper rapids.

Khortytsia during the period of Kievan Rus

The island remembers the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir, Oleg, Igor and Princess Olga. There is an opinion according to which it was on Khortitsa that Prince Svyatoslav, who was returning with his squad from the Bulgarian campaign, died in a battle with the Pechenegs. This happened in the spring of 972, near the Black Rock. During the construction of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, ancient Russian swords of the 10th century were found on this territory, which is a significant fact in support of this version.

In 1103, Prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavovich stayed on the island with his army. There is a record of this in the Ipatiev Chronicle:

And she rode on horses and boats, and rode below the threshold and stasha in Protolchekh and on Khortychi Island...”

In 1223, Khortitsa was a gathering place for Russian princes, before the tragic battle with the Mongol-Tatars on the river. Kalke. The gathering place was not chosen by chance. At that time, in the coastal part of the island (on the shore of Osokorov Island) there was a military outpost of the Russian wanderers, who controlled the movement through Protolchy Ford. Archaeological research gives reason to believe that this outpost arose almost in the 5th-7th centuries AD. The Brodnik settlement disappeared during the annexation of the lands to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Zaporizhzhya Sich

I. E. Repin. "Cossacks".

Later this place was controlled by the Cossacks of the Zaporozhye Sich.

Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739

On Khortytsia, several lines of earthen fortifications from the Russian-Turkish wars of the 18th century, built by troops under the leadership of Field Marshal Minich, have been preserved. The camps of the Russian troops stood in the northwestern part of the Island, in the ravines of Gromushin, Muzykalnaya and U Perevoz, see on the interactive map of the island.

In 1736, the Zaporozhye shipyard and fortress were founded on the island of Baida, in which 2 officers', 8 soldiers' dugouts and 31 Cossack kurens were built. A large number of ships that were built in Bryansk in 1736 received significant damage or sank when crossing the Dnieper rapids. Therefore, the command of the Russian army decided to build a ship base beyond the rapids. According to archival reports, at the shipyard in the period 1738-1739. About 400 ships of various types were based. At this time, Khortitsa was visited by the famous naval commander Vice Admiral N.A. Senyavin.

In Potemkin's possession

After the defeat of the Sich by tsarist troops on June 5, 1775, Khortitsa, as a gift from Catherine II, went to Prince Potemkin. By order of G. A. Potemkin, a garden was founded on the island. An old corporal who lived nearby in a dugout was assigned to guard him. Since then, the area (tract) has been named Kapralovo, and the mounds, which were located at the highest point of Khortitsa, are called Potemkin.

By order of Potemkin, a road was built from north to south from Vysokaya Mogila to the crossing near Naumova Balka and it was called a postal road. They even said that Potemkin decided to connect his palace with bridges across the Dnieper. This is evidenced not only by archival materials, but also by the travel diaries of academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, nature researcher Vasily Fedorovich Zuev, as well as a photocopy of the plan of the famous local historian V. G. Fomenko. The full title is “Plan of the garden on the Khortytsky Island of His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin from testimony on one of different buildings,” which shows on an area rugged with beams a house, a carriage house and stables, a Turkish house, a Chinese temple, a victory temple and even an Egyptian pyramid.

In 1789, Potemkin transferred Khortitsa to the state treasury.

Mennonites

Timber trade was one of the most profitable sources of income, which is what the colonists did. The colonists used the forest deliberately - only for immediate economic needs. From the reports of a former member of the forestry council, Ivan Peters (b. 1796, d. 1881), submitted to the Trusteeship, we learn about the presence of forest on the island of Khortitsa in 1857. According to his calculations, there were 49,000 age-old trees: oak 49,000, birch bark 4,000, linden 1,000, pears 4,500, of which on the elevated surface of the island 2,000, mixed with other species 2,500. From this we can conclude that Peters in approximate figures lists more valuable forest species, without touching the poplars, willows and willows that grow here in abundance.

In 1876-77, massive poaching deforestation began by the population of Aleksandrovsk and Voznesenka. The guards posted by the provincial government along the banks of the river could not stop them. During these years, forests were cut down along the eastern and western shores of the island. 1883-84 another surge in poaching, when another 35 acres of forest were cut down in 3-4 weeks. Unable to protect the forest, in 1884 the Mennonites decided to sell the island forest. In December 1916, the Germans who lived on Khortitsa sold the island to the Alexander City Council for 772 thousand 350 rubles.

Cemeteries

At the end of the 19th century, there were “four cemeteries on the island: one along the Savutina beam on the south-eastern side, the second on the north-western end of the island, along the steep slopes of the gray Dnieper, and the remaining two, the largest, on the western side near the Kutsai beam and perevoz through the old Dnieper"

Famous people in Khortytsia

Khortytsia was often visited by prominent people. On the slopes of the island there is the Shevchenko trail (the poet visited here in August 1843). In 1878, composer N.V. Lysenko came to Khortitsa. In the spring of 1880, I. E. Repin visited the island, working on sketches that were used in the film “Cossacks”. On this creative expedition, I. Repin was accompanied by his student, young Valentin Serov. In 1891, Khortitsa was visited by Maxim Gorky, and a little later by the future Nobel laureate Ivan Bunin. As a child, he often visited the island when he lived in Zaporozhye in 1981-86. writer Vyacheslav Bondarenko.

In 1927-1928, technical structures were built on Khortitsa: a water supply system, a water pumping station, and a ferry crossing was organized across the New Dnieper.

In February 1928, construction of bridges began. The main architect of the project was M. Streletsky. Material for masonry of bridges and granite for their cladding were supplied from quarries equipped on the island of Khortitsa. The bridges were put into operation on September 5, 1931.

Pioneer camp "Chaika" on the island of Khortitsa, 1985.

In 1958, the first title was added to the name of the island - a natural monument of local significance. Since August 1963, by order of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, Khortytsia has been declared a natural monument of republican significance, and since September 1965, also a state historical and cultural reserve.

Khortytsia is part of the Dnieper Rapids geological reserve, founded in October 1974.

On November 9, 2005, by decision No. 5 of the 24th session of the Zaporizhzhya city council, the entire land of Khortytsia and the islands of Baida, Dubovoy, Rozstebny, Three Stacks, the Srednyaya and Bliznetsy rocks, as well as the Vyrva Tract (total 2359.34 hectares) was transferred for permanent use to the National Nature Reserve "Khortitsa"

Present tense

There are nine villages on the island, home to almost two thousand people. Of these, only three villages are on the balance sheet of the city - the rest do not legally belong to anyone, dozens of hectares of the island are occupied by illegal developments.

Climbers train in the northern and northwestern parts of the island. Here some rocks reach 40 meter heights.

The island is very littered, and fires often occur here due to the fault of people. Tourists often leave garbage in places where recreation is prohibited: in the coastal zone or in the floodplain, where birds nest, fish spawn, and there are beautiful inland lakes with white water lilies.

Environmentalists are sounding the alarm: a large amount of waste and fire causes serious harm to the ecology of the island. For example, animals and birds leave Khortytsia, and some species disappear altogether. In burnt soil, flora recovers very slowly

99% of the garbage is left by the so-called “savage vacationers”. Since 2009, a project for the disposal of solid household waste has been implemented in the Khortitsa National Nature Reserve. By the end of 2012, it is planned to create an infrastructure for separate waste collection on the island.

A large number of environmental, sociocultural, and religious public organizations operate on the island of Khortytsia. Among them, “Spas”, “Russian Orthodox Circle”, “Obereg” should be highlighted.

Historical and cultural complex "Zaporizhian Sich"

Construction work on the construction of the historical and cultural complex “Zaporizhian Sich” began in November 2004 (laying the groundbreaking took place on October 14, 2004). The general sponsor of its construction in 2005 was the Zaporizhstal plant. The cost of the complex was about 13 million hryvnia, while the state did not participate in financing the construction of the Sich. On December 30, 2010, the first stage of the complex was put into operation. Theatrical performances and even all-Ukrainian festivals are held on the territory of the complex; residents of Zaporozhye and guests of the city are invited to excursions. In the near future, the complex will feature exhibition objects “House of the Kosh Ataman”, “Military Chancellery”, “Kuren” and “Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, where the interior and objects that were characteristic of the times of the Cossacks will be recreated. Khortytsia is in third place in Ukraine in terms of tourist attendance. In 2010, over 250 thousand people visited the reserve's tourist sites.

Literature

• Novitsky Ya. P. Khortytsia Island on the Dnieper, its nature, history, antiquities // Novitsky Yakov. Create in 5 volumes / director Boyko A.. - Zaporizhzhya: Tandem-U, 2007. - T. 1. - 508 p. - ISBN 978-966-488-001-2
• Vilinov Yu. An island in the filigree of eras and paths. Khortytsia collage. - Zaporozhye: “Polygraph”, 2003. - 206 p.
• Suprunenko V. P. Khortytsya Island. The mystery of geographical names: toponymy, nature, attractions. - Zaporizhzhya: “Prosvita”, 2006. - 48 p. - ISBN 966-653-180-1
• Reserved Khortytsia: Collection of the national reserve. Issue 1. - Zaporizhzhya: Dike Pole, 2006. - 304 p.

see also

Gallery

Notes

1. I. M. Zheleznyak, A. P. Korepanova, L. T. Masenko, O. S. Strizhak. Etymological dictionary of chronicle geographical names of Pivdennaia Russia. - Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian RSR. Institute of Brain Science im. O.O.Potebni. - Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 1985. - P. 172. - 256 p.
2. V. A. Glebovitski 2.2 The Ukrainian shield, fig. 2.28 // The early Precambrian of Russia. - CRC Press, 1997. - T. 2. - P. 82. - 261 p. - ISBN 9789057020117