Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.pkm.poltava.ua
;
vul Konstityutsii 2; admission 5uah; 10am-5pm Mon, 9am-5pm Tue-Sun)
Located on the southeast edge of Zhovtnevy Park, the museum exhibits random archae-
ological and cultural artefacts, its collection almost overshadowed by its gorgeous Art
Nouveau building (1903), adorned with the ceramic crests of each district capital in the
Poltava oblast. Outside stands an impressive cubist Shevchenko monument, which has
the national poet emerging from angular blocks of grey concrete.
Maydan Soborny
SQUARE
(Cathedral Sq)
Vul Zhovtneva terminates on a bluff at Cathedral Sq, the prettiest little spot
in Poltava, with sweeping views of Khrestovozdvyzhensky Monastery across the valley
to the northeast. The square is dominated by the rebuilt
Uspenska Church
. A footpath
leads to the dramatic neoclassical
Friendship Rotunda
on the edge of the bluff, a great
place for photographs. On the way to the rotunda look out for the
halushky
monument on
the left, which pays due homage to the tasty local dumplings.
Kotlyarevsky Museum
MUSEUM
(admission 8uah; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun)
Just behind Uspenska Church, surrounded by a
lovely flower garden, this is the lovingly restored former home of Ivan Kotlyarevsky
(1739-1838), one of the fathers of Ukrainian literature. The museum provides a glimpse
into traditional Ukrainian life in the early 19th century.
Spaska Church
CHURCH
A block northwest of maydan Soborny up vul Parizskoyi Komuny is the quaint Spaska
Church (1705), with its rebuilt bell tower. It's faced by an odd monument to Tsar Peter I
(Peter the Great) across the street on vul Parizskoyi Komuny. Further up vul Parizskoyi
Komuny is another monument, this time to fallen Cossacks - it's topped with a typical
chubby cross often found on Cossack graves.
Khrestovozdvyzhensky Monastery
MONASTERY
About 3km east of Korpusny Park is the early 18th-century Khrestovozdvyzhensky
Monastery (Elevation of the Cross). The main cathedral is one of only two in the country
with seven cupolas, rather than five (the other is St Michael's Monastery in Kyiv). The
complex is a long (30-minute), straight walk east on vul Radyanska (Sovetskaya) from
Korpusny Park.
Tours
