Ukraine - Chernihiv

I received this wonderful card from Helen in the Slavic countries RR :) It shows the Transfiguration cathedral (which is called "The Saviour Cathedral" on the English Wikipedia. I just wonder, which version is correct?) in Chernihiv, which is on my list of Ukrainian cities that I certainly have to visit :) Actually, this list is very long (perhaps it's limited only by the total number of cities and towns in Ukraine) but Chernihiv has been on top of this list for quite a long time. The problem is that I don't know anyone from Chernihiv and that it's too close to Kyiv :) It may sound strange, but I find it much easier to travel between Ukrainian cities, if the distance is something between 400 and 700 kms. Then it's possible to take a night train and to sleep well on the way to another city :) But I'm sure I'll find a good way to go to Chernihiv, as this city is definitely worth visiting :)



Chernihiv, (Ukrainian: Чернігів), is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast (province). The estimated population of the city is around 299,000 (as of 2006).

Chernihiv was first mentioned in the Rus'-Byzantine Treaty (907) (as Черниговъ), but is considered to have existed at least in the ninth century, as uncovered by archaeological excavations of a settlement which included the artifacts from the Khazar Khaganate. Towards the end of the 10th century, the city probably had its own rulers.

Chernihiv's architectural monuments chronicle two most flourishing periods in the city's history - those of Kievan Rus (11th and 12th centuries) and of the Cossack Hetmanate (late 17th and early 18th centuries.)

The oldest church in the city and in the whole of Ukraine is the 5-domed Saviour Cathedral, commissioned in the early 1030s by Mstislav the Bold and completed several decades later by his brother, Yaroslav the Wise.