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.

Luckily, the festival won’t be disrupted. Traditionally, the Mazepa-fest lineup featured famous Ukrainian bands, as well as the up-and-coming artists and total beginners trying to make their breakthrough on the festival stage.

This year’s lineup has 25 names, among them some very well-known musicians, including Mariyka Burmaka, Sestry Telnyuk, Motor’rolla, Rosava and NeDilya as well as Horhisheli and O.Torvald.

The young bands had to pass a selection round in Poltava, but only four of the participants are from this city.

Others come from Sumy, Kharkiv, Vinnytsya, Lutsk, Zaporizhya, Rivne, Mykolayiv and Lviv.

On the eve of the meeting a large triumphal arch was built there. The monument was designed by a local architect M.Amvrosimov and some changes were put to the rough sketch by famous Russian architect (of French origin) Thomas de Thomon. About 135,000 rubles were collected throughout the country for this project.Governor-General Count Alexey Kurakin laid a foundation stone on June 27th 1804. The square granite pedestal of the monument has a shape of the fortress and is fenced in with many cast-iron ground-directed swords symbolize peace. Eighteen guns that were in use during the battle were mounted into its foundation. The monument’s high cast-iron column was manufactured in Lugansk (Eastern Ukraine) and crowned with gilded bronze eagle holding arrows in his claws and fastening his eyes towards the battlefield. Tsar Alexander I personally donated an eagle and bronze decorations moulding created in St.Petersburg by master of art casting P.Ekimov. An official opening ceremony took place on June 27th 1811.

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In 1802 Poltava was named as an administrative center of a newly established government. All buildings around the central square were designed in a classic style by famous Russian architect A.Zakharov and completed during the first decade of XVIII century. In 1840 a military school named after Peter I was opened close to the monument. A square around the monument was used as a drill square until 1852 when a park was created around the Glory Monument by the order of Tsar Nikolay I. The monument’s fate has been fortunate, as it was not looted during the nearly two centuries that have passed since the opening ceremony. In 1974, 2004 and 2009 it was completely renovated.

During the German occupation of Poltava in 1941-1943 the White Arbor was destroyed because an artillery observation post was located on it’s site. In 1954 the Rotunda of Peoples Friendship designed by architect Vaingort was opened here to mark three-hundredth anniversary of Pereyaslav Treaty signed between Russia and Ukraine.

In 2004 the monument was reconstructed and the following line, written by famous Ukrainian writer Ivan Kotlyarevsky was cut into the top of the arbor:”Only there each and all live in peace, quit and chime could be a blessed land and a happy people.” Near the White Arbor there is an observation area that attracts many tourists with marvelous view of the suburbs, Vorskla river and Holy Cross Exaltation Monastery. In 1974 a memorial stone was opened here in commemoration of the first mention of the city of Poltava in Ipatievskaya chronicle that dates back to 1174.

The Poltava battle Museum was founded due to efforts of historian Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Pavlovsky, who at that time served as teacher of history in Poltava cadet school. He also was the first director of this Museum. The initial exposition of one-room museum was not very large. It included old Russian and Swedish firearms and coldsteel, regimental colours and uniforms as well as portraits of Swedish and Russian commanders. The Poltava battle Museum was opened on June 26th 1909.

After the rebellion of 1917, the Poltava battle Museum as well as many others became unattended. It was broken into and stolen from many times in the 1920s. In 1921 all the remaining exhibits were transferred to the city Museum of Local Lore and the Poltava battle Museum was closed. After World War II the question concerning the renewing of the museum was raised. In 1949 the Council of Ministers of the USSR resolved to recreate the Poltava battle Museum.
It was inaugurated in 1950 in the former hospital building that was built in the end of the nineteenth century for the disabled veterans of Russian-Turkish war. Many famous historical and art museums of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Kharkov, and Lvov shared their exhibits with the new museum. In 1981the Poltava battle field was declared a State Historical and Cultural Reserve. Since late 1990s many valuable gifts were delivered to the museum by Swedish Society of Military History (SMB). This museum without doubt is a most important sight of the Poltava battle field that attracts thousand of tourists that come to Poltava each year to learn more about a decisive battle of the Great Northern War.

After a council of war the decision to engage in the battle was made. To do this the Russian army had to cross Vorskla river. The main body of Peter’s I army forded the river by three fords 12km. north of Poltava on June 16th 1709 and encamped near the village Semenovka (now Krotenki). The rest of the army crossed Vorskla river at night June 20th. To be protected against an enemy’s surprise attack the Russians strengthened this camp with earthworks. To commemorate this event a concrete obelisk crowned with double-headed bronze eagle (dismantled soon after 1917) was unveiled in 1909 on top of the hill situated on the right bank of Vorskla river close to the village Semenovka. In 1959 it was replaced with a new granite obelisk created by the design of architects I.Shmulson and V.Pasechny. There is sign on the monument: “The place where Russian Army forded Vorskla river by three fords on June 20th 1709”.

The streets-rays go away in different directions at the Round Square. October street passes through all important areas of the city: Lenin, Theater, Round, Hay, Zygin. If you walk along October street, you can see the great number of sights of our city: White Altanka,The Cathedral of Assumption, the church of the Savior, the Local Lore museum, the Petrovskiy and the Sunny parks, the theater named by N. Gogol, the monument of Glory and others.
October street is beautiful at every season. Shady linden-trees are planted on both sides of the street and it creates a pleasant coolness by summer. In winter naked branches are interlaced in a curlicue and give up delicate shades on the walls of the city buildings. This four-kilometer street, brightly lighted up in the evening is a favorite place for walks of Poltavites and guests of the city.

The street dead ends at Uspenska Church. The bell tower is from the Seventeenth century but the actual church is new. Behind the church is a peculiar monument to halushky, a local dish consisting of boiled pieces of dough. Next to the halushky monument is the home turned museum of Ukrainian writer Kotlyarevsky. Across the street se is, Ivana Hora which locals will tell you is the most expensive restaurant in city but is actually relatively affordable.
The street finally dead ends at eight white columns in a horse shoe shape known as the Friendship Rotunda. This point is an overlook where you can see the lower section of Poltava which is best seen at night.

The monument to the commandant of the fortress of Poltava Colonel Kelin and its defenders was erected on the spot of one of the bastions of the fortress of Poltava by the project of general of cavalry, Baron Alexander Alexandrovich Bilderling. Baron Bilderling was well known not only for his fundamental works on military history but also for numerous monuments designed by him. He created monuments to the famous geographer and traveler Prszevalsky in St. Petersburg, to admiral Nahimov in Sevastopol and to Swedish warriors killed in the battle of Poltava.

An official opening ceremony of the monument to commandant Kelin took place on June, 27, 1909 in presence the Emperor Nikolai II. Made of granite, it was originally crowned by a double-headed bronze eagle which was dismantled soon after the revolution of 1917. There is a reclining bronze lion on the pedestal and inscription cut out under it: “To the valorous commandant of Poltava Colonel Kelin and glorious defenders of the city in 1709”. On the reverse side of the monument is an inscription, telling about the events related to the siege of the fortress of Poltava by the Swedish army of Charles XII in April-June 1709. During German occupation of Poltava in 1941-1943 the bronze details of monument were dismantled and taken to Germany. After WWII a monument was reconstructed in its original view except for a bronze eagle.

In his article published in 1902 he made an appeal to the public for donations. His idea to erect a monument on the last resting place of Charles’ XII soldiers welcomed by HM King Oscar II initiated soon a fierce discussion in the press. While one author considered this idea a shameful, another appealed for Christian mercy contending that fallen soldiers deserve a cross to be installed upon their last resting place. By this time a famous Swedish sculptor professor Theodor Lundberg had completed a model of the monument and submitted it to the public. This monument represented Swedish mother covering her fallen son still holding a broken sword with Swedish flag. There was a sign on the monument’s foundation: “To fallen sons from motherland”. Lundberg’s project was not approved by high ranked authorities to be erected on the battlefield. Instead of this it was unveiled in front of Swedish Army Museum on November 6th in HM king Oscar’s II presence.

Soon after that 5000 Swedish crown were collected over the country to order a big granite stone (6m. height, 20 ton weight) in Vonevik quarry in Smoland. A following inscription in Russian and Swedish languages was cut out on its front and reverse side: “This stone was erected to the Swedes perished in 1709 by their compatriots in 1909″.

Swedish businessman Emmanuel Nobel, who had been exploring oilfields in Baku, Azerbaidzhan at that time, assumed financial responsibility for delivery and installation of the monument.

The house is the building of the XVIII century. In the court before the building there is the bust of the writer by the work of the sculptor Kalchenko given as a present. The project of the reconstruction is made by the sculptor V. Tertychny. Ivan Kotlyarevsky and his creation are national pride of the Ukrainian people.The glory lights up this place. And not only Poltavites come to worship our genius writer.

One of the numerous myths common among first Russian and then Soviet historians is that of a “heroic defence of the fortress in April–May 1709”. In Poltava there is a monument to the commandant Kelin and “brave defenders of the fortress of Poltava”, which was unveiled in 1909 in the presence of Tsar Nikolay II. But, in reality, there were no attempts to take the fortress, because the Swedes had besieged it for the sole purpose of forcing Peter I to engage in a decisive battle. A lieutenant of the Dalecarlia Regiment, Robert Petre, who during the siege was in command of a platoon deployed in approach trenches near the eastern sector of the fortress, left a diary, which has been published in Sweden. The most interesting entries in it concern a dialogue between Charles XII and the commander of the siege artillery, Col. von Binau, overheard by the lieutenant. The colonel wanted the king to give his two batteries just six hours to raze the fortress to the ground, but the king turned him down politely although there was enough ammunition. It is hard to believe that the experienced Swedish army was unable to conquer this primitive defensive installation that had no stone wall and only a few guns.

The fortress of Poltava was repaired for the last time in the late 1720s. After the signing of the Russian-Turkish peace treaty of 1774, the border of the Russian Empire was moved further south and Poltava fortress started to lose its significance. At that time the name for Ukraine introduced by Moscow was “Little Russia”. In the nineteenth century, when Poltava became a central city of Malorossiyskaya (Little Russia) government, new streets in many places breached the fortress’ earthworks. On the eve of Tsar Alexander I’s visit to Poltava in 1817 all the remains of the fortress were razed to the ground.