Ukraine travel: січня 2013

Baturyn is located about 170 km to the north form Kyiv. Baturyn is a historic town that struggled a lot many centuries ago for the independence of Ukraine and ended up paying a horrible price. It is located in Chernihiv Oblast, on the south bank of the Seim River, in northern Ukraine. Baturyn is around 180 kilometers away from the city of Kiev. It’s a must-see village for tourists, because it unfolds many historic events that took place a few hundred years ago.

In XVII century, when the hetmans headed Ukraine, Baturyn was their residence. The four famous hetmans of Left-Bank Ukraine were: Demyan Mnogogrishniv, Ivan Samoylovych, Ivan Mazepa (1669-1708) and the last Ukrainian hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky (1750-1764).

Ivan Mazepa commissioned many churches and constructed the large, seven-domed brick Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1692, Saint Nicholas’s Church in 1696-1698 and 4 wooden churches in Baturyn. The city thrived under his rule. It increased in size as well as population and boasted around 20,000 residents. It had 40 churches and chapels, 2 monasteries as well as a college.

In October 1708, Mazepa and his troops sided with the Swedish King Charles XII and supported the war against Russia. He turned against the Russian Emperor Peter I even though he had a good relationship with the King. On October 29, 1708, field marshal Alexander Menshikov was ordered to annihilate the hetman capital. On November 1, the Russian army came to the fortress. On November 2, a traitor, Col. Ivan Nis, led the invaders thorough a secret passageway into the fortress and this is when Baturyn fell. The Russian army slaughtered men, women and children without showing any mercy at all. Around 7000 soldiers, who were defending the town, were brutally killed. Almost an equal number of residents were killed as well. The town was robbed and totally ruined. According to historians, between 11000 and 14000 people were killed that day. It was undoubtedly the saddest day in the history of Baturyn and Ukraine.

There are many historic places in Baturyn and Rozumovsky Palace is one of them. The last hetman, Kyrylo Rozumovsky, rebuilt the town and hired an architect to build him a palace. It was originally designed by Andrey Kvasov in the Baroque style and later it was rebuilt by the Scottish architect Charles Cameron in the neoclassical style in 1799-1803.

A monument was built in 2004 in remembrance of the victims of the 1708 massacre. You will also see Baturyn Fortress, the Resurrection Church, the Kochubei residence that has the General Court Hall Museum and many other great historical places.

Baturyn has several beautiful landscapes along with all those amazing sites. When you visit the town, it will take you several hours to see the entire city. You will certainly have a great time when you explore this amazing city.