The Ukrainian city of Uman is located in the Cherkasy region and is the center of the administrative district of the same name. The ancient city with a rich history attracts many tourists. The sights of Uman, the photos of which we posted in this article, belong to different periods in the history of the city, but they are all very dear to local residents.
A bit of history
The city of Uman was founded in the first half of the 17th century. Most likely, it received its name in honor of the Umanka River crossing its territory. In the Middle Ages, the city was mentioned in the documents as a settlement. Throughout its long history, it has experienced pogroms and attacks by invaders, fires.
In the middle of the 18th century, the city was captured by the Haidamaks. They partially burned him. During the defense, many citizens died. Since 1761, Uman is gradually being restored. The city was reconstructed by Count Potocki. At the end of the XVIII century, the population of the city increased significantly.
During the Second World War, there were bloody battles with the troops of Nazi Germany. Uman is the site of the annual pilgrimage of thousands of Hasidim. Today, about a hundred thousand people live in the city. The climate here is temperate continental - with warm summers and mild winters.
Uman: attractions. What to see on your own?
If you prefer to get acquainted with memorable places on your own, we suggest that you start exploring local attractions from the Museum of Local Lore. In 1906, a society of antiquity lovers was organized in Uman. Enthusiasts collected historical documents and material evidence of their hometown and its immediate surroundings.
However, the society received the official status of the museum only in 1918. Today the Museum of Local Lore occupies the premises of the former private hospital. Museum collections currently number more than fifty thousand exhibits presented in three rooms.
Here you can see rare samples of weapons, photo documents, household items of local residents, samples of decorative and applied art. In the historical department, you can see the layout of the fortress that has not been preserved to this day, military armor.
Gymnasium
At the request of the City Council of Uman in 1896, the building of a four-year gymnasium for young men was erected in the city. The project of this rigorous and elegant building was developed by the famous architect from Kiev Vladislav Gorodetsky. This magnificent master is famous for his buildings with chimeras.
Very soon, the gymnasium became a popular and well-known educational institution. Her activities were discontinued in 1920. Like many Uman attractions, the former men's gymnasium changed owners. At first, a Jewish vocational school was opened in its building, then a mechanization college. Since 1995, it began to be called the Agricultural College, which today is a unit of the University of Horticulture.
Basilian monastery
Many tourists are attracted by the cult sights of the city of Uman, which, of course, include the Basilian Monastery - the oldest building in the city, built in 1784. The Greek Catholic monastery, called Vasilian, had a Catholic school, in which some well-known Ukrainian writers were educated.
The monastery was built under the guidance and at the expense of Count F. Potocki. The monastery existed until 1832, after which it was closed and gradually fell into decay and desolation. Today it is one of the most popular sights of Uman: in the dungeons of the ancient monastery there are guided tours where you will learn about the secrets of the ancient monastery. Nowadays, the administration of the Old Uman Nature Reserve is located in the monastery complex.
St. Nicholas Cathedral
If you are coming to these picturesque places for the first time, you can find all the sights of Uman (photos and descriptions) in the city guide. We recommend that you visit St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in honor of the victory over Napoleon in 1812. The construction of the temple was carried out on voluntary donations of citizens and funds that were allocated by the city treasury.
The cathedral was built in the center, on the very spot where in ancient times there was a fortress. This is one of the most striking sights of Uman. For tourists, this unique architectural monument with a very beautiful bell tower is often a symbol of this ancient city.
In the second half of the twentieth century, attempts were repeatedly made to turn the magnificent temple into an atheistic museum. However, the cathedral was preserved and renovated: the iconostasis was installed, the roof was replaced. Unfortunately, it was not possible to restore the wall paintings that were lost. In the winter of 1989, the cathedral received parishioners and restored its work. A year later, he was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas.
Burial of Rabbi Nachman
In autumn, not only tourists who want to see the sights of Uman come to the city. Every year, pilgrims come here to the grave of Rabbi Nachman, the founder of the current of Judaism. Thousands of Hasidim who are followers of his teachings come here to bow to their spiritual master.
According to the will, Nachman was buried in 1810 in the Jewish cemetery of Uman. When the city was occupied by the Nazis, the grave of the righteous was destroyed. After the war, this place was built up with residential buildings. In the nineties, when the Hasidim began a mass pilgrimage to the place of burial of the saint, for which it is a revered shrine, it was decided to build the largest synagogue in the world here.
Park Sofiyivka
There is an attraction in Uman, which is well known outside the city. This luxurious garden and park complex is included in the list of the best objects of landscape art of the world level. A beautiful love story of an elderly Polish magnate S. Potocki and his beautiful wife Sofia, is connected with this park.
The count created the park for six years and in 1802 presented it to his beloved wife. The landscape of the park is filled with romance, it breathes it. Here the mythological plots of the ancient Romans and Greeks were successfully applied. The military engineer from Belgium L. Metzel was developing a unique park. He was able to masterfully enter into it grottoes carved into the rocks, pavilions, arbors and other objects.
The park is decorated with highly artistic sculptural compositions and unique plants. There are over two and a half thousand species of rare exotic trees and shrubs, combined into magnificent compositions and landscapes. The park also has picturesque waterfalls and ponds, grottoes and underground rivers. Amazing Island of Love, as well as figured fountains attract guests with its exquisite beauty.
Uman pit
The memory of the victims of World War II is holy for the inhabitants of Uman. Sights and a description of this tragic page in the life of the city can be seen in many local print media. During the war years, a concentration camp was created in Uman, in which more than seventy thousand captured Soviet officers and soldiers languished. He was placed in a quarry of a brick factory, at a depth of ten meters.
The prisoners were held on bare ground in the open. More than a hundred people died of hunger, disease, and wounds every day. The camp, which existed until 1943, was called the Uman Pit. A monument was erected to all those who died in this terrible place.
Assumption Church
The church was built in the XVIII century on the site that previously occupied the old wooden church. The initiator of its construction was Count S. Potocki. Despite the strict decoration, the church became a real decoration of the city and was very popular among urban Catholics.
During the years of Soviet rule, the building lost two towers with crosses and it began to be used for a variety of purposes. In 1977, the city administration decided to organize an art gallery here. But at the same time, the temple retained the status of a religious object, in which Catholic services are held on Sundays.