In August, our Saturday chatroom discussions will be developed around historical and ethnographic areas of Ukraine. This time, we will talk about Polissya. The most picturesque territory with mild, moderately humid climate, magnificent nature and milleniums-old culture. Polissya is a perfect place for tourists seeking to learn about Slavonic culture and Christianity, and a beautiful place to visit if you like the freshness of moderate continental nature. The cities Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Khmelnitskiy, Zhytomir, Rivne and Lutsk will amaze you with richness of history and authentic beauty of ancient church architecture. Polissya is definitely a place to go, once you are traveling about Eastern Europe. Polissya welcomes visitors in cities and in rural areas, especially in summer time, which becomes a perfect season for numerous cultural events, arts fairs and music festivals.
Traditionally, all the territory of Ukraine is divided on separate historical and etnographical zones. Each devision has been established for centuries and is distinguished by cultural growth and the way of life. Through history, Polissya's natural conditions and resources were very important for settling and life of local population.
Polissya occupies the northern and central area of Ukraine. It is the area by thick forests where there are a lot of gigantic trees and beautiful lakes, populated by numerous number of the birds and the animals. There are over 60 known species of mammals (from among 100 species distributed in Ukraine), 276 species of birds (from among 350), over 30 species of fish. No doubt, it has a profound influence upon economical activity of the population.
Polissya's vegetation is rich in numerous plants and the whole territory is agricultural. There are approximately 100 species of medical herbs, 90 species of edible, nutritious plants, over 90 species of plants used as dyestuff.
There is no defined border between ethnographical zones, and the name Polissya itself is a traditional way to identify this part of Ukraine, its lifestyle and a little difference in language which is typical of Polissya citizens. Ukrainian Polissya occupies the territory of Volyn and Rivne oblasts, the northern part of Zhytomir oblast, as well as Chernigivska, Kyivska, Sumska and Khmelnytska oblasts. Some of Ukraine’s most ancient towns and villages stood between these mixed forests. The very first Slavic settlements started on the area of Polissya and during 7th and 8th centuries came under the rule of Kiev’s jurisdiction.
Some interesting facts about Polissya:
The most ancient churches and pre Christian Fortress are located in Chernihiv- The motherland of the legendary Cossack Bohdan Khmelnytsky – is Khmelnytsky
- Zhytomir is the cradle of Soviet austronautics, the motherland for Sergey Korolev, an aircraft designer, and Vladimir Korolenko, the writer who strongly criticized the Tsar’s time and later - the Soviet regime.
- The romantic period of life of the French classical writer Onore De Balzak is connected with Zhytomir
- Sumy is a twin town of Zell in Germany and is one of the ecologically cleanest cities in Ukraine.
- The first love of Marcel Proust and a relative of John F.Kennedy are connected with a town of Olyky, Volhyn region.
- Volhyn is one of the most rural areas in Ukraine, where for many centuries still preserved everyday traditions and crafts, which have been forgotten elsewhere in Ukraine
You are welcome to join us in the chatroom this Saturday, and we'll discuss the most interesting facts about Polissya cities and lifestyle of Central Ukraine.
