Attractions of Okhtyrka district

The Hetmansky National Nature Park was created in 2009 with the aim of preserving the unique and diverse landscapes of the Left Bank Forest-Steppe - from lowland banks and sphagnum swamps to relict native forests.

The park with an area of ​​over 23,000 hectares is located in the valley of the Vorskla River. The park includes areas of the floodplain, the river itself, in some places the floodplain terraces and the right root bank of the river.

The Hetmansky National Nature Park includes the Khukhryansky", "Bakirovsky", "Klymentivsky", and "Yamniy" hydrological reserves, as well as 6 protected tracts. In particular, the tract "Litovsky Bir" is a unique relict pine forest where trees over 200 years old are found. Two natural attractions of local importance - "Flint Spring" and "Krynychka".

The People`s Museum of the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics at Okhtyrka Secondary School No. 2 was established in 1988.

The museum's exposition has 11 thematic sections - "The Beginning of the Space Era", "Pioneers of Cosmonautics", "Creators of Space Technology. Ukraine" (which, in particular, presents models of the Zenit-38T launch vehicle and materials about rocket and space technology created by the Pivdenne Design Bureau), "Served in the Okhtyrka Regiment", "The First Earthling Cosmonaut", "The First Cosmonaut of Ukraine" (dedicated to Leonid Kadenyuk, "The Feat of Berehovyi", "Cosmonauts' Menu", "Cosmonauts' Space Equipment", "History of Ukrainian Aviation", as well as many other exhibits that tell about the role and place of Ukraine and Ukrainians in the history of the development of aviation and cosmonautics.

The three-tiered Introduction Church-Bell Tower is part of the complex of the Holy Intercession Cathedral in Okhtyrka.

It was built according to the project of the Kharkiv architect Petro Yaroslavskyi, a native of the city of Okhtyrka. Made in baroque style with elements of classicism. It has a centric pyramidal composition and consists of three tiers installed on a low plinth. The church is located on the first floor, the two upper ones are intended for bells. The building has good proportions and a clear silhouette.

The Introduction Church-Bell Tower is located near the main entrance to the Intercession Cathedral and is its bell tower.

The Church of the Nativity of Christ, which is part of the ensemble of the Holy Intercession Cathedral in Okhtyrka, is called the "Count's Church" because it was built at the expense of Countess Anna Chernyshova.

According to legend, her mother, Baroness fon Vedel (Veydel), fell fatally ill in Okhtyrka on the way to St. Petersburg. Before her death in the Intercession Church, she had an apparition of the Mother of God, who ordered her to give away her wealth to beggars, and promised to take her two young daughters under her care. Soon after the death of the baroness, her orphaned daughters ended up at court and successfully married, and since then they made large donations to the Intercession Temple. In particular, they financed the construction of the Nativity of Christ Church.

The temple is original in terms of its volume-spatial and decorative solution, and is more like a palace building than a religious one. Indeed, living rooms were provided in the side rooms, in which the pious countess often lived for months, spending time in prayers.

Okhtyrka City Museum of Local Lore is located in a former private mansion of the late nineteenth - early twentieth century, located in the center of Okhtyrka.

The museum was founded in 1920. There are three permanent exhibitions: "Fauna of the native land", "History of Okhtyrka", "Okhtyrka in the occupation period" and an exhibition hall.

The most interesting exhibits of the museum: personal belongings of the writer-countryman Ivan Bahryany, antiques, photographs, books on historical themes, index "Kharkiv Provincial Assembly of 1786-1919", books on the liberation of Ukraine from fascist invaders, theatrical costumes.

Employees of the museum conduct tours of the city of Okhtyrka and its surroundings.

RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

During the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Okhtyrka Local Lore Museum building was damaged by an explosion and is now in need of restoration. Part of the exposition was damaged. But the most valuable exhibits were saved.

The Okhtyrskyi Holy Trinity Monastery was founded in 1654 in a picturesque place on the top of Monastyrska Hill on the forested banks of the Vorskla.

The first builder of the monastery was hegumen Ioannikiy, who came to Okhtyrka with his brothers from the Lebedyn monastery beyond the Dnipro, destroyed by the Poles.

According to legend, the first wooden church was consecrated in the 17th century in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the monastery was originally called Annunciation. Later, a stone refectory church of the same name was built instead of a wooden one at the expense of the Okhtyrka colonel Fedir Osypov.

From 1720, according to the decree of Peter I, the abbot of the Okhtyrskyi monastery became the tsar's confessor Tymofiy Nadarzhynskyi. He died in 1729 and was buried in the Trinity Cathedral built by him. His son Yosyp Nadarzhynskyi built the stone Church of the Transfiguration with a fraternal refectory and bell tower at his own expense, and in 1741 – a hospital with the Church of Peter and Paul. The main shrine of the monastery was the miraculous Okhtyr icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Sorrowful Ones".

In 1917, the Okhtyrskyi monastery was closed, an asylum for orphans was placed in it, then a military unit. During the Second World War, the monastery buildings were badly damaged.

The revival of the Okhtyrskyi Holy Trinity Monastery began in 2002.

The People's Literary Memorial Museum of Ostap Vyshnya was opened in 1982 by his compatriots in the writer's homeland - in the village of Hrun in Sumy region.

The main exposition is dedicated to the life and work of the Ukrainian humorist, classic of satirical prose Ostap Vyshnya.

Several stands cover the history and ethnography of the village of Hrun.

Every autumn, the Vyshnya Smiles festival is held here, which is attended by humorous writers from Sumy and Ukraine, guests from near abroad.

A monument to the composer Petro Tchaikovsky is installed in the central park of Trostianets.

The composer spent three summer months in Trostianets in 1864 at the invitation of his friend and classmate Oleksiy Holitsyn. Here Tchaikovsky wrote his first symphonic work - the overture to the drama "The Thunderstorm".

The monument of sculptor Mykola Sukhodolov is considered the only monument to Tchaikovsky in Ukraine, where the composer is depicted in full height.

The majestic church of Saint George the Victorious in Okhtyrka is also known as Yuriyivska Church.

Its history begins in 1660, when the first Saint George's Church was built in Okhtyrka. Subsequently, it was repeatedly reconstructed by the efforts of the hussar regiment of Denis Davydov, but in 1860 it was decided to build a new one instead of the old church. Construction lasted 45 years. The temple was consecrated only in 1905, and it was active for a short time. In 1920, it was closed and partially looted by the Bolsheviks, for a long time the premises were used as a warehouse.

In 1993, the church was handed over to the community of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

In May 2022, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Saint George's Church was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack. Damaged upper, over-door and arched windows, as well as wall structures.