Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NOVHOROD-SIVERSKY
Life in the sleepy town of Novhorod-Siversky, which hides in the deep forest in
Ukraine's extreme north, may seem uneventful, but back in Kyivan Rus times it was
a happening place. It was from here that Prince Igor set out on his ill-fated expedi-
tion against the Polovtsy, which became immortalised in The Tale of Igor's Cam-
paign,the 12th-century epic later made into an opera by Alexander Borodin.
Dating back to Igor's era (but rebuilt several times since) is the idyllic
Spaso-
Preobrazhensky Monastery
( dawn-dusk)
, a complex of wood-shingled build-
ings and golden-domed churches perched over the leafy banks of the Desna River.
Strolling around the quiet grounds, you'll definitely feel like you're in another era.
A wooden walkway atop the monastery fence provides prime views of the forested
Desna Valley, and it's an easy walk down to the riverbank should you care for a
swim or a picnic.
The town's history can be safely fast-forwarded from Kyivan Rus times to 2004,
when President Kuchma, who hails from a local village, hosted Putin and
Lukashenko at a trilateral summit. This resulted in several significant improve-
ments. One came in the shape of the top-end
Hotel Slovyansky
( 046 583 1801; vul
Lunacharskoho 2; r from 400uah; )
which is a remarkable deal considering what you
get - four-star comfort, albeit without the four-star service. Budget travellers can
still bed down at the
Pasvyrda Hotel
(
046 582 1225; vul Karla Marksa 3; r from 180uah)
in
the town centre.
The other improvement was a railway line with new trains that look space age by
Ukrainian elektrychka(electric train) standards, though it is a Star Trekkind of
space age. Three such trains link Novhorod-Siversky to Shostka (one hour) on the
main line, from where there are numerous trains for Kyiv.
Buses for Chernihiv (40uah, four hours) depart hourly from the nearby bus sta-
tion.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Myrhorod
05355 / POP 42,000
The relaxing spa town of Myrhorod is the place most closely associated with the writer
Gogol and a major halt on the Kyiv-Kharkiv railway line. It makes for an easy-going
base from which to explore the surrounding countryside, immortalised in some of the
works penned by the region's most famous literary son.
