Kachanivka — National Historical and Cultural Reserve in the urban-type settlement of Kachanivka, Pryluky Raion, on the banks of the Smosh River. It is a palace and park ensemble of a noble estate founded in the 1770s, and one of the few Ukrainian estates preserved intact. The reserve was established in 1981, and in 2001 the park received national status.
From Rumyantsev to Tarnowski
The estate was founded in the 1770s when the property belonged to Field Marshal Petro Rumyantsev. The palace’s authorship is attributed to the architect Karl Blank. In 1808, Rumyantsev sold the estate to the landowners Pocheki, and later it passed to the Tarnowski family. Under the Tarnowskis, the palace underwent five construction phases and changed from a one-story to a two-story building, but preserved the unified design of the ensemble.
Vasyl Tarnowski the Younger collected here a famous collection of Ukrainian antiquities and Shevchenko memorabilia, which later became the basis of the Chernihiv Historical Museum named after him.
The Palace and the Park
On the upper plateau stands the palace complex: a two-story palace in the classicism style with a decorative dome, wings forming a ceremonial courtyard, a loggia with a portico. The halls preserve fireplaces, mirrors on marble pedestals, tiled stoves, and a painted ceiling of the knights’ hall. Below stretches a landscape park covering 560 hectares — one of the largest in Ukraine — with 12 ponds, pavilions, sculptures, bridges, artificial “ruins,” and an amphitheater. Over 50 species of trees grow in the park.
Guests of Kachanivka
Taras Shevchenko, Mykola Kostomarov, Mykhailo Maksymovych, Mykola Hohol, Marko Vovchok, Dmytro Yavornytsky, Ilya Repin, Mykola He, and Mykhailo Shchepkin visited Kachanivka. The album of honorary guests contains 608 autographs. In the summer of 1838, composer Mykhailo Hlinka worked here: according to legend, he composed the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila in a gazebo on the hilltop. Shevchenko came here in May 1843 during his first trip to Ukraine; in the park, there is a glade where under an old oak the poet talked with peasants and serf musicians.
How to Get There
Kachanivka is located in Pryluky area, in the south of Chernihiv Oblast. A ready-made route is “A Walk through the Park of the Kachanivka Estate.” In Chernihiv, it is worth seeing Tarnowski’s collection at the Historical Museum.
