Paliieva Hora is the highest hill of the Oleksandria Dendrological Park in Bila Tserkva. A steep rocky slope rises 27 meters above the left bank of the Ros River, and granites emerge from under the ground at the bottom. At the beginning of the 18th century, a detachment of Cossack Colonel Semen Palii camped here, and the remains of earthen fortifications are still visible on the hill. The summit offers one of the best views of the Ros River.
Semen Palii's Camp
Fastiv Colonel Semen Palii was one of the leaders of the Cossack revival on the Right Bank in the late 17th century. In 1702, during the uprising against Polish rule, his Cossacks captured Bila Tserkva, and in 1702–1704, one of Palii's detachments camped on this hill. That is how the hill came to be known as Paliieva Hora.
In 1980, to commemorate those events, a monument was erected on the hill: a stone tower with a bas-relief of Cossack heads and scenes from Cossack combat life. A cast-iron cannon with cannonballs stands near the tower. According to legend, there are ramified underground passages beneath the hill, one of which once led to the Ros River.
Steppe on a Rocky Slope
Paliieva Hora was declared a botanical natural monument in 1983, and later it became part of the Oleksandria Park. On the southern slope with a steepness of up to 45 degrees, a meadow-steppe patch of almost half a hectare has survived. Spring pheasant's eye, meadow pasque flower, low sedge, hair-like feather grass, crested wheatgrass, and steppe cherry bushes grow here.
Botanists who have studied the slope for over 75 years have noticed that rare plants are becoming fewer, and some, such as the Bessarabian aster and cross gentian, have disappeared. The main reason is trampling and picking flowers for bouquets.
How to Get There
The hill is located in the southwestern part of the Oleksandria Park, on the left bank of the Ros River. The entrance is through the park, from the Skvyra Highway on the northwestern outskirts of Bila Tserkva. From the main entrance to the hill is about 2–3 km along the alleys.
Tip
Do not stray from the paths on the steppe slope and do not pick flowers: pheasant's eye and pasque flower are listed in the Red Data Book. The view of the Ros River is best admired in the evening when the sun sets behind the river.
