Kropyvnytsky. "History Silhouettes"
Most recently, I was brought to the expanses of the Kirovohrad region to the Tulip Ball. But how to be at the ball and not see the capital of the region. I could not allow this in any way and went to get acquainted with the city. The acquaintance turned out to be very pleasant, Kropyvnytsky impressed me with the cleanliness of the streets, unbroken sidewalks, repaired roads and surprised me with the variety of historical sights.
Old janitors sweeping the yards:
The history of the emergence of the city is not diverse, and echoes the history of the emergence of our city. For Kropyvnytskyi, like Kherson, was conceived as a defensive fortress against the raids of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire. At that time, it was just a flat hill on the banks of the Ingul River, from which the whole area was clearly visible, and one could see the enemy even on the outskirts of the border, which was only four kilometers away. Empress Elizabeth, ruling at that time, instructs the Ukrainian hetman Kirill Razumovsky to build a fortress on the lands where the winter quarters of the Cossacks from the Zaporozhian Sich were located. The construction of defense for the Russian state fell to the lot of the Serbs.
The fact is that Serbia at that time, just like Russia, suffered hardships from the Turks. Part of the Serbs fled to Austria, but they were not satisfied with the Catholic religion and they turned their eyes to Orthodox Russia, turning to Elizaveta Petrovna for help. And she, without thinking twice, graciously agreed to accept them and sent them to the construction of fortifications. So, in 1754, the fortress of St. Elizabeth appeared, which the Empress supposedly named after the saint, but I think she was a little cunning, of course, she longed to perpetuate her name . The fortress was built in the form of a 6-pointed star with three types of fortifications. Outside - ravelins, then bastions, and in the middle was Cathedral Square with Trinity Church. Now, of all of the above, only a cannon remains, lonesomely stuck in the shade of trees. . .
. . . and only a wooden cross remained from the church.
That's why I called my story "Silhouettes of History", because indeed, from that story, we only have silhouettes left. Although, they say that the bastions and all other fortifications are perfectly visible from a bird's eye view.
And at that time, in the territory of the fortress, given the close location of the borders, even a customs office was established. The military surgical school also opens its doors, as well as the school of canonists (a kind of prototype of a music school), since the army needed an orchestra that would perform all military marches in order to cheer up the soldiers. His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin is also building a palace with luxurious decoration in 40 rooms here. But, as I said, none of the above has survived to this day.
Now, on the site of the fortress, there is a beautiful Park of Glory with a memorial.
At the end of construction in the fortress of St. Elizabeth were transferred three thousand Cossacks from the Zaporizhzhya Sich. They did not favor the Serbs, for obvious reasons, so skirmishes and disagreements arose between them all the time. Elizaveta Petrovna, on the contrary, was very fond of the Serbs, and did not like the Cossacks. But, one way or another, in 1768 the Turks came close to the fortress, and it was under siege for a long time. But, thanks to the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, the fortress survived. A little later, already Catherine II abolished the fortress, as having lost its purpose, and transferred it to the city department. And the city ordered to call it Elisavetgrad, which it was until 1924. It should be noted that this unfortunate city had many names, it was renamed all the time, in general, “thanks to” the socio-political system, it could not find a permanent name for itself.
In 1924, the people allegedly wrote to Moscow with a letter saying that there is no God, and what does Saint Elizabeth have to do with it? We demand that the city be named after the hero of the revolution, Comrade Zinoviev. So, with the light hand of the party, the city is called Zinovievskiy. And then it suddenly turns out that Zinoviev is not a hero at all, but an enemy of the people. And again the people's appeal to the government: "We want to bear the name of the hero of the revolution Comrade Kirov. " And with a stroke of the pen, the city is renamed Kirovo. Yes, bad luck, confusion arises, since Kirovo already exists. Well, then, let there be Kirovograd, and that's it. It stayed that way until 2016. But here again a coup, now decommunization, and the city gets the name Kropyvnytskyi, in honor of the Ukrainian theatrical figure Mark Lukich Kropyvnytskyy, who became famous as the brightest connoisseur and exponent of the life of the Ukrainian people.
His name is associated with the history of the creation of the first Ukrainian theater, known at that time as the Winter Theater. At the end of the 19th century, in Tsarist Russia, Mark Kropyvnytsky, together with the famous writer and playwright Karim Karpenko, decided to assemble a theater troupe of Ukrainian actors. There were very few performances at that time, and for the most part they were all boring and monotonous. Ukrainian actors were distinguished by their beautiful singing voices, and the performances themselves turned out to be colorful and elegant with cheerful dances and songs. Even the emperor, having arrived in the city and watched a theatrical play, said: "We have not had such a theater yet. " The fame of the Ukrainian theater of Kropyvnytsky spread far beyond the borders of the state, so it was decided to name the city after Mark Kropyvnytsky for the great merits in the development of Ukrainian culture.
The Winter Theater was built in the image and likeness of the famous Milanese La Scala. But under the USSR, it was rebuilt inside, the boxes and balustrades were removed, replacing them with simple chairs, the acoustics disappeared somewhere and all the charm disappeared. People fell out of love with the theater, and for a long time it eked out a miserable existence. And only relatively recently it was returned to its former decoration and atmosphere. Now on the stage of the Ukrainian Academic Music and Drama Theater. M. L. Kropivnitsky famous national and foreign groups perform, and numerous performances delight the grateful audience.
I didn’t manage to see the interior decoration, because there was a performance, and they simply didn’t let me in there. But I had a chance to enjoy the performance of his actors more than once. We have an annual international festival "Melpomene of Tavria" in Kherson, where many famous theater groups come with their performances.
In front of the building there is a sculptural composition "Natalka-Poltavka" (in the image of the heroine Maria Zankovetska):
City Philharmonic - the famous Franz Liszt gave his concerts here:
The city even has its own Podil. Here, on Bolshaya Perspektivnaya Street, in 1812 the Greek Church was built, now the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, where Iosif Petrov, then a simple orphan boy, and later a famous operatic boy, sang in the choirs. bass that won the hearts of millions of viewers. Naturally, he was immediately transferred to St. Petersburg, and to this day he is considered the grandfather of Russian opera.
The pride of the city was the Junker Cavalry School. The fact is that at the beginning of the 19th century, Elisavetgrad became a military center in the south of the Russian Empire, and Emperor Nicholas I had to launch large-scale construction military complex. The school was very important. In the second half of the 19th century, royal people frequented here - parades, maneuvers on the Alexander parade ground, along which cadets marched in snow-white uniforms and white gloves.
Therefore, a Palace complex is being built nearby, which allegedly belonged to the military, but when emperors or their entourage came to the city, the building was accordingly furnished and turned into a palace for royal persons.
At the moment, an active military unit is located here and tourists are not allowed inside. With the light hand of the emperor, the street on which the military complex is located began to be called Palace.
On Dvortsovaya Street, all the buildings are, without exaggeration, unique and distinctive. The first and oldest house of the merchant Sokolov-Borodkin, marshal of the county nobility.
There is another old mansion opposite:
It should be noted that the overall safety of the city blocks of the pre-revolutionary era is quite high.
The Art Nouveau building (now the city administration of the SBU):
A very popular attraction of Kropyvnytskyi is The House of the Merchant Barsky. This comrade got rich in the flour trade. But he was unlucky, as they say, "the greed of the fraer ruined", because he became a victim of the then racket in the person of anarchists, Bolsheviks and other leftists. Barsky "meant" all these brethren, for which he was killed by one of the bandits of Mishka Yaponchik. So he didn’t even have a chance to live in such a luxurious mansion, because the house had not yet been completed at that time. Now it houses the Kropyvnytsky Museum of Local Lore.
Barsky also owned the luxurious Southern Hotel(now the city treasury):
Without exaggeration, each house here is unique. You can wander endlessly through these streets and enjoy the masterpieces of architecture. Especially rich in historical monuments Dvortsovaya and Bolshaya Perspektivnaya streets.
Former building of the Petrograd International Bank or Harlab House (named after the first owner):
Former Maruschak's mansion(now a youth library):
Zemskaya Pharmacy:
Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
The temple was built relatively recently, there is a very beautiful area around the cathedral.
The interior of the cathedral is also pleasing to the eye:
The central square of the city is Heroes of Maidan Square.
The building of the National Bank(it is planned to place an arsenal here):
Near the city hall, the townspeople immortalized their mayor Alexander Pashutin, who was mayor for 27 years. Pashutin was highly respected by the residents of the city for his active participation in charity and the work of the Red Cross. During his reign, Elisavetgrad experienced its heyday, under him a water supply system was launched, the first theater was opened, and even a city tram was launched.
A magnificent example of the Moorish style -Goldenberg hydropathic. The hospital, built at the end of the 19th century at the expense of a neurologist, Dr. Goldenberg, received his name. The building is beautifully decorated with decorative tiles and carved plaster. Now there is a city hospital.
In general, even with a cursory acquaintance with the regional center, I want to note that Kropyvnytskyi deserves the title of the most interesting city in Central Ukraine in terms of history and architecture. I think he even misses the tourists.
For a meal, I recommend a good cafe near the monument "Dragonfly Bird of Happiness".
I thank the city of Kropyvnytskyi and its inhabitants for Ball, for the beauty , for the pleasure of walking along clean, washed streets and for hospitality!
From the Amazing Ukraine series
