On Sobornyi Square in Bila Tserkva, near the Transfiguration Cathedral, stands a bronze bust of Taras Shevchenko. It was installed in 1991, a few months before the declaration of independence, for the 130th anniversary of the poet's death. Interestingly, the bust was originally cast for an entirely different place — the pediment of the Kyiv Opera Theater.
A bust for the opera theater
Shevchenko visited Bila Tserkva several times: in 1846 he stayed at the hotel of the postal station while working for the Archaeological Commission. However, a proper monument to him did not exist in the city for a long time. While preparing for the 950th anniversary of the city in 1982, the administration asked the government for money, but heard the reply: "there is no money."
A few years later, an opportunity arose. The sculptor S. Kovalyov, author of many sculptures of the Kobzar, made a bronze bust for the pediment of the reconstructed Kyiv Opera Theater. However, doubts arose as to whether the ceiling would bear such weight, and a lighter plexiglass bust was cast for the opera. The Ukrainian Cultural Fund offered the bronze bust to Bila Tserkva, and the city bought it for an almost symbolic sum.
Disputes over the location
A discussion flared up around the monument. Some architects believed that the bust should be made for a specific place, and not vice versa; others wanted a full-length sculpture. They proposed Shevchenko Square, the area near the Old Post Office, the entrance to Oleksandria, and the Palace of Culture of Tire Workers. All options had flaws: somewhere nearby stood a monument to Lenin, somewhere there was a lack of space, and from one spot the poet's gaze would rest on a row of far from "white" houses.
Ultimately, a part of Sobornyi Square near the Transfiguration Cathedral was chosen. The pedestal project was developed by the team of the architect V. Shtuchnyi. The monument was placed at the corner of Militsijska and Mlynova Streets — aligned with the colonnade of the cathedral's portico, so that it neither juts out nor recedes relative to the temple.
Today
Festivities for Shevchenko dates and state holidays are held annually near the monument. At one time, the city authorities wanted to build a shopping center with an underground parking lot on this site and move the bust, but the city's civic organizations opposed it, and the monument remained in place.
How to get there
Sobornyi Square is in the center of Bila Tserkva, near the Transfiguration Cathedral. Nearby is Castle Hill with the monument to Yaroslav the Wise.
Tip
After viewing the monument and the cathedral, take a walk to the Old Post Office, where Shevchenko stayed, and to the Oleksandria Park, which he also visited.
