Chyhyryn and Subotiv: a journey through Bohdan Khmelnytsky's hetman capital

In the 17th century, little Chyhyryn was the heart of the Cossack state: it was the residence of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and his successors. A few kilometres away, in Subotiv, lay the hetman’s family estate. Today both places belong to the Chyhyryn National Historical and Cultural Reserve, and together they make one of the most interesting history trips in the Cherkasy region.

Castle (Bohdan’s) Hill

This is the place to start. The steep hill, wrapped on its southern side by the Tiasmyn River, was once a natural fortress. Only remnants of the Chyhyryn castle’s fortifications survive, but Doroshenko’s Bastion has been reconstructed at the top, and a monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky was erected in 1967. From here you can see both the town and the Tiasmyn valley, the perfect spot to imagine what the hetman capital looked like.

Chyhyryn’s museums

The Chyhyryn reserve was created in 1989 and became a national reserve in 1995. The town has the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Museum, the recreated Hetman’s Residence and the Museum of Archaeology of the Middle Dnipro Region. The finds span millennia, from the earliest settlements to the Cossack era.

Taras Shevchenko visited Chyhyryn many times and dedicated several works to it. This is one more thread linking the town to Kaniv and Kholodny Yar, which are easy to combine into one route.

Subotiv and the Church of St Elijah

The village of Subotiv lies about 11 kilometres by road from Chyhyryn. Here, in 1653, construction of the Church of St Elijah (Illinska Church) began on Bohdan Khmelnytsky’s orders and at his expense. It was both a church and a stronghold: its walls, up to two metres thick, have loopholes for cannons and muskets. According to the chronicles, the hetman was buried here in 1657.

Old stone crosses stand near the church, the very ones Shevchenko drew, and his 1845 watercolours of Subotiv are the best record of how the village looked at the time. Today the church houses the Bohdan Khmelnytsky memorial museum.

The Three Wells and traces of the residence

In a valley near the centre of Subotiv you can still see the Three Wells. Legend says the hetman first had two wells dug and, when water ran short, ordered a third to water the horses. Today it is a protected hydrological monument. On the hill above the village stood Khmelnytsky’s palace-fortress with two rows of ramparts and wooden towers; only traces remain, studied by archaeologists.

How to get there

Chyhyryn is about 63 kilometres from Cherkasy. The regional road Kaniv–Chyhyryn–Kremenchuk runs through the town, and intercity buses go to Cherkasy and Kyiv. The nearest railway station is Fundukliivka, 45 kilometres away.

Tip: combine Chyhyryn, Subotiv and Kholodny Yar into a two-day trip to see both the hetman capital and the forests where the haidamaky once hid.