Mena is a town on the banks of the river of the same name in the center of the Chernihiv region, and the center of the Mena hromada in the Koriukivka district. This small town has a long history and an unusual decoration for a district center: a zoo of national importance, which people visit from all over Ukraine.
A Town of Many Eras
The name was most likely given by the Mena River; it is associated with an ancient Baltic word meaning "shallow, weak." People lived here as early as the Paleolithic, and archaeologists have found traces of Bronze Age settlements, the Yukhnovtsi culture, early Slavs, and Kievan Rus. Among seven barrows, the archaeologist Dmytro Samokvasov partially excavated Yurkova Mohyla from the 11th–12th centuries. The first definite written mention of Mena dates to August 4, 1408.
In early 1654, the Mena Centuria of the Nizhyn Regiment was established in Mena, which included Babychi, Dubravna, Diahove, Kukovychi, Makoshyn, Ushnia, and Maksaky. In 1966, Mena received town status.
Mena Zoo
The 9-hectare zoo was opened in 1975 by local nature lovers. The initiator was the head of the city council, Volodymyr Bilyi: he read in the regional newspaper about Sergeant Hennadii Polosmak, who sheltered many wild animals and birds on his homestead, and decided to support this cause. In 1983, the zoo received the status of national importance—it is the only such zoo in a district center.
In the early 1990s, the zoo was almost closed, but it survived. It houses about 560 animals of 120 species, 17 of which are listed in the International Red Data Book: primates, tiger, lion, brown bears, bisons, nilgai antelopes, a camel, crocodiles, pythons, and parrots. Every year, the zoo is visited by about 30,000 people. In 2022, it survived the occupation.
What Else to See
Mena has the Viktor Pokotylo Local Lore Museum and an art gallery. Natural landmarks include an age-old oak on Chernihivskyi Shliakh Street and the Mena Linden Tree. Among local legends, the most famous is about the Mena centuria commander Hnat Sakhnovskyi, who in 1708, when the Swedes crossed the border of the Hetmanate, tried to save the town.
Coat of Arms and Flag
Mena approved its coat of arms and flag in 2012, recreating symbols from the seal of the Mena Centuria of 1750: a crossed saber and arrow, with a cross above them. The flag is divided diagonally into purple and green fields.
How to Get There
Mena lies between Chernihiv and Sosnytsia and has a railway station. Nearby is Koriukivka.
