Discover Ukraine: Mezhyhirya National Park
Many Ukrainians know the name Mezhyhirya only as the former residence of President Viktor Yanukovych. Now it is the Mezhyhirya National Park. I offer you to see this place with your own eyes, as well as to delve into its history, in this story.
Mezhyhirya is rich in history and has been known since the tenth century. Then the first monastery was founded by monks who came from Greece with St. Michael, who later became the first Metropolitan of Kiev.
The wooden church of the Transfiguration or the Savior arranged by them was located near Vyshhorod. It is rumored that this is where Anna Yaroslavivna's prayer book, the Reims Gospel, was consecrated. The French kings swore on this book.
After the destruction of Vyshhorod and the monastery by Batu, the monks hid for a long time in the surrounding forests and slums, near Vyshhorod and Mezhyhirya, then chose a secluded small valley, surrounded on all sides by mountains that only near the Dnieper streams from the mountains pass to the river.
In this wooded gorge, monks built a small wooden church in the name of St. Nicholas. In 1520, some Little Russian officers asked the Polish government for permission to restore the Mezhyhirya Monastery. And in 1529 King Sigismund I issued a decree to restore the monastery.
After Ukraine's accession to the Russian state, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky accepted the Mezhyhirya Monastery under his patronage.
Since then, the hetmans of the Zaporozhian Sich were called the founders of the monastery, which was considered military, and the Cossacks, as its parishioners, took in their Sich from here hieromonks for Christian purposes. Many of the Cossacks ended their days here in black robes in repentance and prayer. Other rich contributions took care of the enrichment of the monastery, so that the number of estates and wealth, he was second only to the Pechersk Lavra. The monastery owned many towns and villages on both sides of the Dnieper: Vyshgorod, Petrivtsi, Kozarovichi, Yasnogorodka, Glibivka, Lyutizh and others.
At the end of the 18th century, Catherine II was to visit the monastery. She expressed a desire to visit the monastery and even planned the exact date of the trip. The day before the arrival of Catherine II, the monastery suddenly burned down. It is later said that the arson was organized by the monks themselves.
It is believed that the library of Yaroslav the Wise disappeared in the fire, but historians have not found evidence of this.
In 1796 porcelain and earthenware clay was noticed between the layers of the surrounding Mezhyhirya mountains, as a result of which, two years later, an earthenware factory was built there. convenient inconvenient lands. Until 1822, the factory was run by the Kiev magistrate, and then enrolled in the Imperial Cabinet. Since then, the factory has rebuilt ancient monastery buildings and built new ones.
The dishes from here went every year to St. Petersburg, Paris, Kiev and other cities. The most famous images of Peter and Kyiv, as well as the plots of Krylov's fables could be seen on the finished products. And on each finished product there was a trademark "Kyiv".
Because the shapes and designs of the products were very original, today they are incredibly highly valued by collectors and museum workers.
In 1934, after the status of the capital moved from Kharkiv to Kyiv, the monastery buildings were dismantled for building materials, and the area was built up with government cottages and dachas. Local forests have become a favorite hunting ground for leaders. It was then that the history of a completely different Mezhyhirya began - not religious or artistic, but political. Pavlo Postyshev, Nikita Khrushchev and Viktor Yanukovych lived here.
Yanukovych has lived in the residence since 2000. Through all sorts of machinations, tricks and the transfer of land from state to private ownership, the fugitive president expanded his holdings to almost 140 hectares.
At the end of February 2008, V. F.
Yanukovych has confirmed that he lives in a house in Mezhyhirya, which was awarded to him by President Yushchenko's 2006 decree.
The main building in the residence is the so-called "club house", which is also called "Honka object". Speaking to the German public in Berlin in 2010, Viktor Yanukovych said that he preferred "German quality" in his personal life. He said: "It's not a big secret for anyone. "- Finnish company ... ".
The Mezhyhirya complex is surrounded by a five-meter fence along the perimeter.
The complex has a marina, equestrian club, farm, greenhouses, zoo, shooting range, tennis court, golf course, helicopter with helicopter hangar, a huge garage with many cars (however, it is rumored that these are just the remains of the looted), guest Putin's house ...
Putin's house
...and a guest house for other important people. After Yanukovych fled, the wealth and luxury of the Mezhyhirya complex shocked the whole country.
Journalists and politicians called Mezhyhirya a symbol of presidential-scale corruption and a museum of corruption.
I must say that the main house is impressive in size. However, you can visit it only as part of a tour that you can buy at home. The cost of the tour "bites" - 500 hryvnia per person. Somewhere on the Internet I immediately met an excursion to Honka for 250 hryvnias.
from humans, but perhaps this is outdated information.
Landscape park descends from the house to the pier.
And here, in the park, we see the first residence called "Stumps". Remember how Yanukovych told the whole world about his great physical shape, showing reporters how he runs up and down the path of stumps? You can also get to the first residence only with an excursion, which costs 50 hryvnias per person.
It is better to come to Mezhyhirya in the morning. First, there are still few people, and secondly, the cost of a morning ticket from 8.00 to 9.00 - 70 hryvnia.
While a day ticket costs 150 hryvnias. There are, of course, privileged categories. And there is a day - Tuesday, when the ticket costs 70 hryvnias throughout the day. Why am I writing this in such detail now?
Just visiting the park is not really a cheap event.
First you pay the ticket price. It includes only visits to the park and the zoo. Then you need to pay 50 hryvnias separately for visiting the garage.
(
(Even we girls really liked the garage. So I recommend you take a look. )
If you want to see a dog club, then another 50 hryvnia, but a group of at least 4 people. And if also residences, then add to the estimate. If you are not ready to walk 13 km on foot, bicycle and electric scooter rental is available. There are also excursions by electric car (cost UAH 150 per person), and you will be taken "by the wind" to the park in one hour. The park is big, we walked 7 hours. Here is another problem - where to eat.
There is a Georgian restaurant, but the prices will not please you, and there are a lot of kiosks with coffee, but the price of 50 hryvnia per cup is also not budget + no cakes to eat, they do not sell. Only chips, chocolates and croissants in packages. So get ready and take food with you.
We walked through the park and slowly went down to the pier. The weather turned out to be wonderful, warm autumn. It was 9 o'clock in the morning, there were almost no people yet, and hares were jumping right on the central lawn in front of Honka.
In general, the following posters are installed throughout the territory:
People think that animals are malnourished, but you can't say for sure about the appearance of these animals.
Going down to the waterfront, we go to the pier, where the "Galion" is moored.
In 2011, a floating house for receptions was built on the basis of the landing stage for Viktor Yanukovych.
The length of the palace on the water is about 50 meters. The windows are decorated in the form of round windows. It has a private office and a reception hall, which ends with a stage. The "palace" is decorated with precious wood, gold leaf, marble and crystal. But we already know this from Wikipedia, there is no way to look inside, everything is closed by curtains.
A small herd of deer came straight out of the woods: four females and a huge handsome male with huge horns. There are feeders everywhere in the park, and the deer know exactly where they are going. But, noticing two figures moving in the silence of the autumn morning, the male somehow looked at us unkindly and began to move towards us. We decided not to "fight" and quickly passed on the waterfront.
We went to a small beach on the Kiev Sea. The water was almost clear, green is almost gone (not that in summer).
Admiring the vast expanses of the Kiev Sea, we moved on, and here we saw a small church.
There is a separate bell tower.
They could not get inside the church, it was closed.
I must say that streams and rivers flow throughout the residence ...
Putin's Guest House
...the banks of which are fortified, bridges are built over the rivers, and fountains are installed everywhere in the middle of the riverbeds.
Time was approaching 11 o'clock and the fountains were on. Of course, it's good.
Walking along the streams, we came to the garage.
Гараж
The collection just impressed us. Here is Studebaker 1945 ...
...and the 1942 Dodge SUV ...
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...car convertible "Moskvich-401.1950" (never seen such) ...
...Victories ...
...Seagulls ...
...ZIL 41045 (a total of 45 cars were produced, and this belonged to General Secretary Chernenko).
The stunning beauty of the 1963 Chevrolet Impala Coupe in the blue sky (and even the interior and steering wheel) ...
...and next to it a 1950 Bentley. (More photos in the album). This collection is liked by everyone: both adults and children.
From the garage begins the ascent to the helipad.
Yes, yes, the same one with whom Yanukovych left, and we all saw the recording from the surveillance cameras on TV.
From the helipad we go to the golf courses. Even now the grass on them is cut perfectly.
You look at her and want to lie down. Like velvet! Streams that flow into small lakes also flow through golf courses. And here, of course, just a paradise for swans and ducks!
Birds are all tame, walking in the fields and posing for visitors. Well, of course, beg. (Bird food can be bought at any kiosk that sells coffee). Communicating with birds is a lot of fun.
Proud swans have never come to us with the desire to communicate, not to pinch!
Immediately behind the golf courses begins the territory of the bath complex.
Yes, Warsaw's Royal Baths are several times smaller! The territory of the bath complex is large, beautiful, with an artificial waterfall, streams, bridges and fountains.
And, of course, sculptures.
This is the upper terrace of the estate, it offers a view of the Kiev Sea.
A kind of "Balcony of Europe" in Yanukovych's style.
Only in this area there are many photo locations and you will definitely spend at least an hour there!
And we have to visit the zoo. It is small, but still unclear: why all this to one person? Why did he have animals?
Due to them it is difficult to establish. In the zoo we see the same ostriches that he "supported". There are many ostriches, they are all different. The following signs are on the fence:
But our favorites were alpacas (she has such amazing eyes! ) ...
...and "gray Ukrainian cattle".
Cattle are bulls and cows of unusual color: light gray backs, black necks and chests. Their whip is just handsome, apparently weighing a ton! And these huge cows are kind. They approach the net and demand to be guarded.
And when we started walking, they moaned loudly and were indignant that the vigil process was stopped.
Mezhyhirya National Park is definitely worth a visit. You can get from the metro station Heroes of the Dnieper by minibus through Vyshgorod. She is on the road for about half an hour. The cost is 25 hryvnias per person. We preferred to take a taxi from the subway. The cost of the car is 128 hryvnias. 17 minutes on the road.
Looking at the vast area of the park, which is kept clean, well-groomed lawns, planted flowers and working fountains, on well-groomed animals you realize what great efforts and resources are put into maintaining the whole complex.
And all this is being done now for all of us, for the visitors of "Mezhyhirya". It is good that the residence of the former president has become a National Park and has opened its doors to everyone.
П. S. In the greenhouse of the residence you can buy flowers, vegetables and greens grown on organic matter. Prices are average. And on the farm to buy milk directly from the cow.
