The Tsezarivskyi Landscape Reserve lies in the forests near the village of Nezhylovychi in the Makariv hromada of Bucha Raion, 60 km west of Kyiv. Its 475 hectares make up one of the most marshy protected areas in Kyiv region: the system of Zhabyachi bogs with lakes Zubareve, Mokhovate, Hronne, and several smaller ones, surrounded by pine and oak forests. Until the late 1980s, there were secret military facilities in the surrounding forests, so humans hardly managed the land here.
Forests on hills, bogs in hollows
The reserve was established on March 10, 1994, by a decision of the Kyiv Oblast Council; the lands are managed by the Makariv Forestry. Here you can clearly see how the Polissia relief distributes nature: forests grow on elevations, while lowland bogs with rich vegetation lie in waterlogged hollows. Sphagnum bogs formed higher up the folds of the relief, and black alder expanded between the forest and the bog. A semi-ruined dam-road runs through the bogs from north to south, which logging trucks still use.
Pine-oak and oak forests are the most common here, with mixed forests and patches of old overmature forest occurring as well. Bilberries and purple moor-grass grow in the damp pine forests near the bogs, hornbeam and birch in the pine-oak forests, and hazel in the underbrush. Tufted sedge, vesiculated sedge, black sedge, and the Red Book-listed Buxbaum's sedge grow at the edges of the bogs, fibrousroot sedge and inflated sedge in the sphagnum bogs, and marsh cinquefoil in the waterlogged pits. The spiny clubmoss from the Red Data Book of Ukraine can also be found here.
Animals and birds
The most numerous animals in the reserve are wild boars, roe deer, and moose. Researchers suggest that the black stork, a rare and very cautious bird, nests in the local forests.
Nezhylovychi and Serpent's Walls
Two of the oldest lines of Serpent's Walls — earthen fortifications that protected the Kyiv lands from nomads for centuries — pass through Nezhylovychi. A 10th-to-11th-century burial ground with warrior graves was found near the village. The village was first mentioned around 1415 as a possession of the Kyiv Sophia Metropolis that paid tribute in honey. Later, Nezhylovychi belonged to Countess Aleksandra Branicka, and the Branickis' forestry office was located here. Its building has been preserved — today it houses the museum of writer Oleksandr Pidsukha.
How to get there
Nezhylovychi is 12 km from Makariv and 61 km from Kyiv via the Kyiv — Zhytomyr highway (M-06). The nearest railway station is Buian, 8 km away. The reserve begins in the forests near the village, and forest roads lead to the lakes.
Tip
The bogs in the reserve are real and deep, so do not stray from the roads and do not go there alone. The best time is late spring and early autumn, when there are fewer mosquitoes. It is convenient to combine the trip with the von Meck estate in Kopyliv, which is also in the Makariv region. Read more about the region in the article about Kyiv Polissia.
