Khortytsia (, ) is the largest island on the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, and is long and up to wide. The island forms part of the Khortytsia National Reserve. This historic site is located within the city limits of

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The island has played an important role in the history of

, especially in the history of the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...

. The island has unique flora and fauna, including oak groves, spruce woods, meadows, and

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

. The northern part of the island is very rocky and high (rising above the river bed) in comparison to the southern part, which is low, and often flooded by the waters of the Dnieper.

Geography and location

(direct translation is "beyond the rapids") takes its name from a geographic area downstream of the Dnieper river past the ninth rapid (see Dnieper rapids). In the 1930s, when the

Dnieper Hydroelectric Station The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station (), also known as the Dnipro Dam, is a hydroelectric power station in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Operated by Ukrhydroenergo, it is the fifth and largest station in the Dnieper reservoir cascade, a s ...

was built, these rapids were flooded. Only

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

cliffs, rising to the height of , testify to the original rocky terrain of the region. To the south of Khortytsia is the Great Meadow, which was flooded from 1950s until 2023 by the

Kakhovka Reservoir The Kakhovka Reservoir () was a water reservoir on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. It was created in 1956 by construction of the Kakhovka Dam at Nova Kakhovka. It was one of several reservoirs in the Dnieper reservoir cascade. The dam was breac ...

. On Khortytsia at Savutyn summit, near a ravine of the same name, are three electrical transmission towers, called

Zaporizhzhia Pylon Triple The Zaporizhzhia Pylon Triple is a set of two triples of tall electricity pylons extending over the Dnieper river standing on a 27m rock in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. They are used for the transport of electricity generated at the Dnieper Hydroele ...

, which are part of a 150 kV powerline crossing the Dnieper river.

History

There are a number of theories concerning the origin of the name Khortytsia, one of the more likely one is that the island was named in honour of the ancient

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

god

Khors Khors is a Slavic god of uncertain functions mentioned since the 12th century. Generally interpreted as a sun god, sometimes as a moon god. The meaning of the theonym is also unknown: most often his name has been combined with the Iranian wor ...

.Kostenko L., Yukhymovych L.
Хортиця: Фотобуклет (Khortitsa: Photobooklet)
'. Mystetsvo, Kyiv. 1979 Khortytsia has been continuously inhabited during the last five millennia. Other islands in the immediate vicinity also contain indications of intensive occupation during the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

and

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

periods. The island of Small Khortytsia is known for its Scythian remains and a derelict Cossack fortress. The islet of Sredeny Stih (to the northeast of Khortytsia), excavated during construction of the hydroelectric station in 1927, gave its name to the

Sredny Stog culture The Sredny Stog culture (, ) or Serednii Stih culture is a pre- Kurgan archaeological culture from the mid. 5th – mid. 4th millennia BC. It is named after the Dnieper river islet of today's Serednii Stih (; ), Ukraine, where it was first lo ...

. In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, Khortytsia was a key centre for the

trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a medieval trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Eastern Roman Empire. The route allowed merchants along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade with the Empire ...

. In his treatise , Emperor

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

mentions the island of ''St. George'' immediately downstream from the rapids. He reports that, while passing through the rapids, the Rus' would be easy prey for the nomadic

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...

. The

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

prince

Sviatoslav I Sviatoslav or Svyatoslav I Igorevich (; Old Norse: ''Sveinald''; – 972) was Prince of Kiev from 945 until his death in 972. He is known for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers ...

was attacked and killed during his attempt to cross the rapids in 972. The earliest record about a stronghold known as a ''

sich A sich (), was an administrative and military centre of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The word ''sich'' derives from the Ukrainian verb , "to chop" – with the implication of clearing a forest for an encampment or of building a fortification with t ...

'' refers to the one was located on the island of Small Khortytsia (Mala Khortytsia Island) and was established by the Volhynian prince

Dmytro Vyshnevetsky Dmytro Ivanovych Vyshnevetsky (; ; ) was a Ruthenian magnate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He established the Zaporozhian Cossack stronghold on the Small Khortytsia Island. He was also known as ''Baida'' () in Ukrainian folk song ...

. The Small Khortytsia Island is 20 times smaller than Khortytsia itself. The first Khortytsia Sich existed six years (1552–1558). There are a few other locations downstream past the rapids (Zaporozhia area) where the Zaporizhian Sich was located. There are eight of them: Bazavluk (1593–1630), Mykytyn (1628–1652), Chortomlyk (1652–1709), Kamin (1709–1711), Oleshkiv (1711–1734), Pidpilna (1734–1775). All these places were at river crossings. The uprising led by

Bohdan Khmelnytsky Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...

was started at the Mykytyn Sich in 1648. Legends state that Cossacks wrote the notorious Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire on Khortytsia. In 1775, the Sich was destroyed by the Russian general Tekhely on the order of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

, resulting in the displacement of Zaporozhian Cossacks, many of whom eventually settled on the

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

river in the Caucasus area. These Cossacks became known as

Kuban cossack Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...

s. A part of the Zaporozhian Cossacks escaped to beyond the Danube to become vassals of the Ottoman Sultan. They dwelt at the mouth of the Danube river. In 1830, many of these Cossacks moved and established a new sich on the Azov sea shore (between

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

and

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk (, ; , ) is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The c ...

). The last Koshevoy Ataman (leader) of Zaporozhian Sich,

Petro Kalnyshevsky Petro Ivanovych Kalnyshevsky (; 20 June 1690 – 31 October 1803) was a Ukrainian Cossack leader who served as the final Kish otaman of the Zaporozhian Sich, holding the office from 1765 to 1775. He had previously briefly served as kish otama ...

, was imprisoned at Solovetsky Island Monastery aged 85. After 25 years in prison he was released and died almost blind at the monastery, aged 113. In 1789,

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

from the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

port city of

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

(Danzig) were invited by the tsar to form settlements on the vast steppes of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. One of these settlements was located on the island of Khortytsia. They farmed on the rich island soil. Some of their profitable business was trade in lumber from the Khortytsia groves and woods. In 1916 the Mennonite colonists sold Khortytsia Island to the Alexandrovsk city council (see

Chortitza Colony Chortitza Colony was a ''volost'', a subdivision of Yekaterinoslav uezd within Yekaterinoslav Governorate in the Russian Empire, now in Ukraine. During the reign of Catherine the Great, the area was annexed by Russia after the liquidation of t ...

). In 1965, Khortytsia Island was "proclaimed a historical and cultural reserve". The Dnieper Rapids state historical and cultural reserve was established in 1974; this included both Khortytsia Island, adjacent islands and rocks, and part of the right bank of the Dnieper. The total area of the reserve is . The reserve was given national status in 1993.

National Reserve

The major part of the reserve (historic park) covers the Zaporizhian Cossack Museum that includes the Cossack horse show. The museum building is modern, nestling low in the landscape with dramatic views of the

to the north. The museum was opened in October 1983, as the Museum of Zaporizhzhia History. The museum project was approved by the Ministry of Culture and Derzhbud of Ukraine in December 1970. The expo area of the museum was , and portrayed the following themes: Khortytsia in ancient times, the history of the Zaporizhian Cossacks, and the history of Zaporizhzhia at times of construction of socialism. There were four

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

s: "Battle of Sviatoslav at rapids" (author M. Oviechkin), "Uprising of the impoverished cossacks at Zaporizhian Sich in 1768" (M. Oviechkin), "Construction of Dnieper HES" (V. Trotsenko), "Night storm of Zaporizhzhia city in October 1943" (M. Oviechkin). Part of the museum became the Zaporizhzhian Oak located at the Upper Khortytsia. In 1992 the exposition of the museum was redesigned. The museum contains exhibits dating from the Stone Age through the

period () down to the 20th century.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

*
Official website of Khortytsia National ReserveOfficial website of Historic Cultural Complex Zaporizhian Sichwebsite of Lapidarium
{{Authority control Neighborhoods of Zaporizhzhia Voznesenskyi District, Zaporizhzhia River islands of Ukraine Open-air museums in Ukraine Zaporozhian Sich historic sites Viking Age populated places Former populated places in Ukraine Historic sites in Ukraine Protected areas of Ukraine Protected areas established in 1983 Museums in Zaporizhzhia Oblast History of Zaporizhzhia Forts in Ukraine Former German settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast Islands of the Dnieper Archaeological sites in Ukraine