Many people know about the area called Kholodny Yar not from history, but from literature. After all, it was he who was sung by Taras Shevchenko in his works on the struggle of Ukrainians with the invaders. But in the historical life of the country, he played a very important role. Today people come here to be inspired by courage and selflessness, to remember the past, to touch the mystery and energize. After all, Kholodny Yar is a mysterious place of power that attracts people like a magnet.
Some general information
Kholodny Yar, the photo of which is presented in our article, is a unique place. This tract, located in the Cherkasy region, is a hilly terrain with an abundance of beams with steep slopes, densely covered with relict forest. Its area is about seven thousand hectares. Almost every beam, jar and brook have their own names, which display not only the features of the area, but also historical events.
Kholodny Yar, whose history resembles a fairy tale, more than once or twice became the center of the liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people. People have lived here since time immemorial. Archaeologists have found in the tract a lot of ancient settlements and sites, and, notably, they belong to all the peoples who once lived in Ukraine. Koliivschina began in the Cold Yar - the famous uprising of peasants against Polish oppression, from these places - Bogdan Khmelnitsky, the Haidamak movement developed here, about which Kobzar inspiredly wrote. And in 1918-1923, the Kholodnoi Republic was proclaimed in the tract, which waged a struggle for independence with both the Reds and the Whites, and was led by the Chuchupaki brothers. About fifteen thousand people fought in partisan detachments of the unrecognized and forgotten republic, and only 25 villages were part of it.
Unrecognized republic
Kholodny Yar is the place where the spirit of Cossack glory still lives, a restless rebel who dreams of freedom. He forced people to rise in rebellion and beat enemies. Three years existed in the twentieth century, the republic, which was a place free from Soviet power. During the Civil War, it was wiped off the face of the earth, and the board and the inhabitants of this unrecognized state were destroyed, calling them bandits posthumously. The winners anathematized them, forbidding even to recall the existence of the dissatisfied. But they remained in the memory of the people, perhaps thanks to a book that describes those distant events.
In his book, Yuri Gorlis-Gorsky (Yuri Gorodianin-Lisovsky), a direct participant in that war, talks about the Cold Republic. His small work covers history from different angles, objectively and truthfully, not in the way people used to read in Soviet textbooks. The book was written by him in exile and contains many interesting facts and memories. The author was probably killed by agents of the NKVD in 1946, and his family is engaged in the distribution of memoirs. Kholodny Yar is a sad book filled with patriotism and deep sorrow that Ukrainians cannot (or do not want) to unite to fight. If this happened, then no one could violate the freedom of his homeland.
Unique place
In the tract unique nature. Ufologists discovered in the Cold Yar numerous prodigal places and geomagnetic anomalies. Meteorologists draw attention to the fact that in the area the temperature is 3-6 degrees lower than in the rest of the area around (hence the name of the yar). All possible landscapes of forest-steppe Ukraine are concentrated here, rare and valuable species of flora are found here, trees grow, whose age has been measured for centuries. And there are more than enough sights here, and each is worthy of being examined. And in the Cold Yar it is very beautiful. No wonder more than forty thousand tourists come here every year.
sights
It is here, in the tract, the glorious city of Chigirin is located. Kholodny Yar was a neighbor of the hetman capital in 1648-1660. It seems that the souls of Baida Vishnevetsky, Krishtof Kosinsky, Bohdan Khmelnitsky, Severin Nalivayk, Taras Shake, Maxim Zaliznyak and other brave leaders of the Ukrainian people still roam the quiet streets of the city. Castle Hill rises above Chigirin, where you can still see the remains of fortifications. Not far from the city is with. Subotov, the fatherland and the last refuge of hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky. And in the village of Melniki there is a monastery, the impregnable walls of which were not destroyed even by the Mongols.
What is worth seeing yet?
- Oak of Maxim Zalizniak, whose age exceeds a thousand years.
- Holy Trinity Matroninsky Nunnery.
- Scythian settlement and Scythian rampart.
- Gaidamatskiy pond.
- The estate of Kreselsky forestry with a monument to Taras Shevchenko.
- Monument to the cold-partisan partisans.
- Caves and underground passages are almost 30 km long.
- Skljk is a gathering place for Haidamaks and Cossacks.
- Dugouts and trenches, camps that were used during the war.
- Sources and lakes, in which the healing water.
Instead of a conclusion
Some researchers see in the Cold Yar the mysterious "Island of Rus", Artania, the search for which has not yet been crowned with success. The fact is that before the Irdyn and Tyasmin rivers could be the second channel of the Dnieper, which was navigable, but for some reason dried up. In support of this, they cite findings - mollusks and the remains of large ships.
It doesn’t matter what exactly brought you to the natural boundary: the annual Cossack festival, a passion for history or simple curiosity. Kholodny Yar is a special place that will not leave anyone indifferent!