Mazepa-fest will take place at Poltava’s Spivoche Pole on July 17-18.
Named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa, who greatly contributed to the economic and cultural development of Ukraine, this year’s festival was under threat of being cancelled by the Poltava authorities because of the organizers’ initiative to set up a monument to Mazepa in the city.
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The Glory Monument is a primary sight of central Poltava where eight streets converge radially. It was unveiled on the exact site where a meeting between the Russian Army headed by Tsar Peter I and Poltava fortress’ garrison headed by Colonel Kelin took place soon after the Battle of Poltava.
The White Arbor was opened for celebration a bicentenial of the battle of Poltava on June 27th 1909. This monument was erected on the spot of Podolsky watchtower and bastion of the former fortress of Poltava. The fortress was not protected by stonewalls but only by earthworks, palisades and the steep slopes of the hill where it was built.
Among the great number of a holiday events there was an opening ceremony of the Museum on the battlefield in Tsar’s Nikolai II’s presence. Initially it was planned to place the Museum in the annex of St. Sampsony church situated near the Common grave of Russian warriors but afterwards a separate small single-storey building for the Museum was built not far from the church.
After successful completion of negotiations Tsar Peter I arrived to his headquarters deployed in the hamlet Krytoi Bereg on the left bank of Vorskla river.
October street is the central street of the city. It takes beginning at the Soborny maydan. The street appeared in the second half of the 18 century. At that time the general layouts of building were developed for many towns of provinces by the decree of Katherine II. And although the original plan was not put in life, a few new streets were created, including, connecting the Soborny maydan and the central area of Poltava – Round Square.
In April-June 1709 its garrison led by Col. Kelin succeeded in holding the fortress when the Swedish army of Charles XII laid siege to it. In 1710 he was promoted to major-general for battle merits.
The monument to Swedish warriors erected by their compatriot a monument in commemoration of fallen Swedish warriors on the battlefield for the first time was raised in Sweden in 1890 by then major Claus Grill. Being in exchange service in Russian Army he had often been to Poltava and the battlefield.
The house of the Ukrainian writer Ivan Kotlyarevsky was bought in 1751 by deacon of the Cathedral of Assumption (grandfather of Kotlyarevsky) Ivan. The writer has lived almost all his life in Poltava. He was buried there in 1838.
In the middle of the XVIIth century the fortress became the seat of the Poltava Cossack Regiment and played a strategic role in the system of Ukrainian defensive installations that were erected to protect this region from the invasion of Baty-Khan. In 1658, soon after the signing of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, the fortress was partially reconstructed under the supervision of the Muscovite voevode Chirkov. On the eve of the decisive battle of the Great Northern War, the fortress was surrounded by ravines, protected by palisades, and had many bastions and five gates, which were protected by special towers to secure the approach roads to the fortress. But if one compares it with some other European fortresses of that time, its imperfection becomes clear.
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