Seven Wonders of Ukraine

Ukraine has a great potential for becoming one of Europe's most popular travel destinations for millions of foreign tourists. There are certain problems which must be solved such as those relating to moderate crime rates and the Ukraine's infrastructure. The Ukrainian government has been making some important steps directed on attracting more overseas tourists to the country, including a recent decision to abolish the requirement of the citizens of many European countries to only be able to enter Ukraine with visas and one more recent campaign initiated by deputy of the Parliament of Ukraine, Mykola Tomenko in May 2007 to offically establish the "Seven Wonders of Ukraine."

The ukrainian government commissioned an expert council of culturologists, historians and tourist specialists to choose 21 possible candidates from a list of 1,000 possible candidates for seven of Ukraine's historical and cultural monuments most worthy of such a title, after which the Seven Wonders of Ukraine contest was held in July, 2007 when nearly 80 thousand internet users participated in the event which resulted in the official decision to name Sofiyivsky Park, Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Historical Complex, Khortytsia, Chersonesos, Saint Sophia Cathedral and Khotyn Fortress as the "Seven Wonders of Ukraine."

Sofiyivsky Park

Sofiyivsky Park is a park in Uman, central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia in the Cherkasy Oblast of central Ukraine.Sofiyivsky Park was founded in 1796 and completed in 1802 at the estimated cost of 15 million Polish Zloty. It was originally built by Count Stanislaw Szczesny Potock, a member of the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta and a military commander of the forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, who named the park after his Greek wife Zofia Potocka. Sofiyivsky Park boasts beautiful landscapes, waterfalls, fountains, ponds and a stone garden and is one of the most famous examples of late 17th and early 18th century European landscape garden design that has been preserved to the present time.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a a historic Orthodox Christian monastery and preeminent center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. It was founded in 1015 as the cave monastery in Kiev, Ukraine. The main attraction of the Lavra is the Great Lavra Belltower, which offers an amazing view the Kiev skyline. The Great Lavra Belltower is a 96.5 meters (316 feet) tall Classical style construction with a total of four tiers, surmounted by a gilded dome with a Christian cross. It was designed by Johann Gottfried Schaedel and constructed between the years of 1731-1745. Other churches and cathedrals of the Lavra include the recently reconstructed Dormition Cathedral, (which was destroyed during World War II) the Refectory Church, the Church of All Saints, the Church of the Exaltation of Cross, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the Church of the Conception of St. Anne, and the Church of the Life-Giving Spring.

Another important attraction of the of Kiev Pechersk Lavra complex is the network of tunnels and caves of the medieval cave monastery founded when in 1057 with a total length of 383 meters and 20 meters in depth known as "the Caves of Saint Anthony" and "the Near Caves." The Church of Saint Antony, the Church of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple and the Saint Varlaham Church are located within the tunnel system. Within the caves are also 79 burials including those of Nestor the Chronicler, the icon artists Alipy and Grigory, the doctor Agapit, the prince-ascetic Nikolai Sviatosha, the holy martyr Kuksha as well as the supposed remains of the only epic hero canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, Ilya Muromets.

Part of the Pechersk Lavra fortification, the Church of the Trinity dates back to 1106 was built in as a system of walls, towers and other constructions intended for the protection of the Cave Monastery. The monastery was fortified with a 5 meter high and 2 meter wide stone wall at the end of the 12th century. This wall was destroyed in the Mongol invasion of Rus in 1240 then excavated in 1951. Situated outside the Lavra fortifications, however part of the Lavra complex, the Church of the Saviour at Berestove is estimated by historians to have been constructed between the years of 1113 and 1125.

Kamianets-Podilskyi

Kamianets-Podilskyi a city located on a tributary of the Dniester called the Smotrych River which flows directly through the city. Kamianets-Podilskyi is located in western Ukraine, north-east of Chernivtsi, in the southern portion of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast. The city is located in the western Ukrainian region of Podillia, a historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine thought to have been inhabited since (and possibly even before) the beginning of the Neolithic period. Kamianets-Podilskyi speculated to have been founded by the ancient Dacians. Today Kamianets-Podilskyi is the administrative center of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Raion within the Khmelnytsky Oblast and has an estimated population is around 99,068.

Kamianets-Podilskyi is particularly known as home to the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle and it's "twelve towers." The castle is located on a peninsula surrounded by the winding Smotrych River valley. Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle actually has thirteen towers, but the New Western Tower is labeled as number 6 and the Little Western Tower is labeled as 6a making it officially twelve towers instead of thirteen. The remaining towers are the Pope's Tower, the Kovpak Tower, the Tenchynska Tower, the White Tower, the Day Tower, the Rozhanka Tower, the Commandant's Tower, the Lianskoronska Tower, the New Eastern Tower, the Water Tower and the Black Tower.

Evidence of human existence dates back to the 12th century however major historical events are documented from the mid 14th to mid 15th century and on. Located on a strategic transportation route in the historical Podillya region, Kamianets-Podilskyi was once one of the main frontiers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and an ideal target for foreign invaders. The city had been subjected to several Polish, Cossack, Ottoman and Tatar attacks over the 400 years to follow until, at the beginning of the 18th century, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle had lost its defensive importance and began being primarily used as a prison.

Other attractions of Kamianets-Podilskyi include several other fortifications as well as the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and the city hall building. Located in both Ukraine and Moldova, Podillia boasts many historical and natural attractions. The Medieval fortress in Letychiv, for example, is located approximately 120 km from Kamianets-Podilskyi.

Khortytsia

The Great Khortytsia Island is a large island on the Dnieper river situated within the modern industrial city of Zaporizhia in south-central Ukraine and within the Kakhovka Reservoir (2,155 square kilometers in size), which was created when the largest hydroelectric power station in Ukraine, the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was built in 1956. Today Zaporizhia is the administrative center of the Zaporizhia Oblast. The reservoir is located within the Ukrainian Oblasts of Kherson, Zaporizhia, and the Dnipropetrovsk.

Chersonesos Taurica

Chersonesos Taurica is an ancient Greek colony protected by the state as an archaeological park with a mix of influences from Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture. It is located on the shore of the Black Sea within the suburbs of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. Also known as the "Ukrainian Pompeii" and "Russian Troy," Chersonesos Taurica was a colony established in the 6th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica, an ancient Greek city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor known today as the Turkish city of Karadeniz Eregli.

The city belonged to the Bosporan Kingdom in the 2nd cetury BC and then became part of the Roman Empire in the mid 1st century BC. Chersonesos Taurica remained under roman control until the 370s AD when it was captured by the Huns. During the Early Middle Ages , Chersonesos Taurica became part of the Byzantine Empire and remained under Byzantine control until the 980s, when it is said to have fallen to Kiev under the rule of the grand prince of Kiev, Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great. Vladimir the Great was then baptized in 988 which led to the Baptism of the Kievan Rus. after which he evacuated under the condition that the Greek imperial princess, Anna Porphyrogeneta, would be given him in marriage.

After the Fourth Crusade when the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in April 1204, the Byzantine Empire was seperated into the successor states of the Empire of Nicaea, Despotate of Epirus and, the third successor state, known as the Empire of Trebizond, to which Chersonesos became dependent. In the early 14the century Chersonesos became part of the Genoese Empire after the armies of, the great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan, Nogai Khan nearly left the city in ruins. It remained intact for almost an entire century until it was abandoned when it was destroyed by Edigu, an emir of the White Horde who later founded the Nogai Horde. Chersonesos Taurica remained abandoned for nearly 600 years when the Russian government began excavating the site in 1827 and, later, in 1892 the Byzantine-style St. Vladimir's Cathedral was completed in order to commemorate the site of Vladimir's baptism.

The remains of Chersonesos Taurica include the bell of Chersonesos, a Roman amphitheatre, a Greek temple and several square kilometres of barren farmland known as "Chora" where wine presses and defensive towers still remain.

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev

Saint Sophia Cathedral, located in the center of Kiev near the Dnieper River is one of the city's best known landmarks. The name of the cathedral actually means "Holy Wisdom" and doesn't derive from the name of any particular saint named Sophia. Dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God, Saint Sophia Cathedral was named after the 6th century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople, a mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Construction of the foundation began in 1037, but the cathedral itself took two decades to complete. Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is the first Ukrainian historical landmark to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Cathedral complex is the main component the National Sanctuary "Sophia of Kiev," which is a state museum responsible for maintenance and preservation of some of its most precious historic sites. Created in 1934 the museum also has the authority over the Golden Gate, St. Cyril's Monastery, St Andrew's Church of Kiev in Kiev as well as the Genoese Sudak fortress in Crimea.

Khotyn Fortress

Khotyn Fortress is a fortification complex dating back to the 10th century which is located in western Ukraine. It's positioned south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi on the river banks of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Ukraine, the administrative center of the Khotynskyi Raion within the Chernivtsi Oblast. The fortress originally was a fort called Khotyn Fort and was built in the 10th century by Prince Vladimir Sviatoslavich, also known as "Vladimir I of Kiev" and "Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great." He was the grand prince of Kiev who converted to Christianity in 988 and baptised the whole Kievan Rus, a medieval state based in the city of Kiev, founded by the Scandinavian traders considered to have been the early predecessors of the Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians, which existed from approximately 880 to the mid 13th century.

During the remainder of the millennium, Khotyn Fortress has changed many hands. It has seen many battles, been controlled by many rulers and been damaged by many conquerors, who later rebuilt, expanded and made many modifications to the fortress. From the end of the 11th to mid 13th century it had been passed from the Terebovlia principality to the Halych Principality and was a part of the Halych-Volhynian Kingdom, at which time Prince Danylo of Halych and his son Lev rebuilt the fortress. It was later rebuilt by the Genoese in the 2nd half of the 13th century. During 13th century the Republic of Genoa was allied with the Byzantine Empire of Nicaea and controlled many isles and settlements on the Aegean Sea, important trading interests throughout the Black Sea as well as many settlements on Crimea. Also at this time, the Republic of Genoa also built a fortress located in the historic town of Sudak in Crimea, Ukraine. The Genoese fortress (also definitely worth visiting) in Sudak is the best preserved fortress on the northern shore of the Black Sea today. Khotyn Fortress remained under Genoese control until it was conquered by Prince Dragos of Moldavia and belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Toward the end of the 14th century it became part of the Principality of Moldavia, at which time Khotyn Fortress was reconstructed under the command of Stephen the Great of Moldavia and expanded to the structure that we can see today. Khotyn Fortress remained under Moldavian control during the 14th-16th centuries and served as a residence for Moldavian Princes. Then the Turks expanded and fortified Khotyn Fortress when Moldavia became a principality of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 16th century.

For the next 2 centuries Khotyn Fortress exchanged hands repeatedly between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Ukrainian Cossacks, Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire until the Russians alongside Ukrainians, Georgians, and Moldavians finally defeated the Turks in the Battle of Stavuchan. Khotyn Fortress ceased to be a military entity in the mid 19th Century and remained that way till WWII. Today Khotyn Fortress is a very popular tourist attraction for Ukrainians as well as foreigners and once of the "Seven Wonders of Ukraine. Khotyn Fortress was also the filming location for movies such as Hadyuka, Zakhar Berkut, Ballade about the gallant knight Ayvenho, The Three Musketeers, Black arrow, Old Fortress, and Arrows of Robin Hood.