Kyiv - Ukraine - page 134

Some 80km south of Kyiv, the drowsy town of Bila Tserkva is an easy and rewarding
day trip out of the capital, especially for those who appreciate a little faded aristocratic
splendour and a chance to picnic.
Founded by Yaroslav the Wise in 1032 as Yuriev, the town's main claim to historical
fame is that Cossack Hetman (Leader) Bohdan Khmelnytsky signed the Treaty of Bila
Tserkva with the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth here in 1651 after defeat in the battle
of Bila Tserkva. In the 18th century the estate was owned by the influential Polish Bran-
icki family who created most of the town's places of interest.
Marshrutky from Kyiv deposit arrivals a beeswax candle's throw from the Spaso-
Preobrazhensky Cathedral (vul Gagarina) , which has a much more atmospheric interior
than the rather plain 1830s exterior might suggest. The complex is surrounded by attract-
ive gardens and there's a kids' playground in one corner.
A five-minute walk north from the cathedral lies the town's former epicentre, Torgova
pl , where you can wander the now semi-deserted early-19th-century covered market
(Torgovy Ryad). Lenin stands nearby, his back turned to this erstwhile snake's nest of
capitalism.
Having wandered the rather focus-less centre, you may be wondering why you came -
well, board trolleybus 1 or 4 to the Oleksandriya stop to find out. Bila Tserkva's wonder-
ful Dendropark Oleksandriya (entrance on bul Peremohy; admission 10uah; 8am-10pm) is
Ukraine's largest landscaped park and almost gives Uman's Sofiyivka a run for its
money. However, it's a much less trumpeted attraction with far fewer visitors (most
people in Kyiv have never heard of the place). The park derives its name from
Aleksandra von Engelhardt, Potemkin's niece and wife of Poland's Crown Hetman (head
of the Polish army) Ksawery Branicki, who in the mid-18th century commissioned
French garden architects to create the 200-hectare chunk of greenery and fill it with fol-
lies, bridges, glades and pieces of sculpture.
Today the park's quietly overgrown woods, wandering sandy pathways and scattered
bits of crumbly architecture provide ample opportunity for getting lost and picnicking
with the locals. Where Polish silk dresses once rustled and aristocratic canes crunched on
gravel paths, now headscarved babushkas march entrusted grandchildren on health walks
and couples smooch on park benches, but the style and romantic megalomania of the
Polish nobility still shines through in faded lustre.
Kartografiya maps of Bila Tserkva (10uah) are available from all news kiosks and in-
clude a map of the Dendropark Oleksandriya.
Reaching Bila Tserkva is simple enou gh - marshrutky (25uah, 1¼ hours) line up near
Lybidska metro station (to the left of Ocean Plaza facing the building). Some also leave
less often from outside Kyiv train station. Heading back, there's a special station dedic-