Zaporozhzhia Sich (Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 09:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

Zaporozhzhia Sich (Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday from 09:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

You haven’t been to Khortytsia if you haven’t been to Zaporozhzhia Sich. Zaporozhzhia Sich is the most visited tourist site and the hallmark of Zaporizhzhia.

Zaporozhzhia Sich was the capital of the Cossacks’ land and its administrative, religious, business, and military center. Numerous historical evidence and folklore reminded us of Khortytsia Sich, one of the first Siches, which appeared in the 16th century during the Cossacks’ development of southern Ukraine. Ostap Dashkevych and Dmytro Vyshnevetsky, the initial leaders of the Cossack movement, were closely associated with Khortytsia.

Modern Khortytsia Sich is a generalized picture of the Cossack defenses, with a detailed arrangement of how all eight Cossack Siches looked in the 16th–18th centuries. It consists of two parts: Malyi Kish (a trade and handicraft suburb) and Velykyi Kish (a Cossack garrison). Fortifications, such as a moat, a shaft with a stockade, and defensive towers, protect the whole town.

The internal space is also equipped according to Cossack traditions. Here, one will find Cossack kurins, a forge, a pottery, a tavern, and a Greek house where the Cossacks formally greeted ambassadors. In the center is a church and a square where the Cossacks gathered councils, elected otamans, and made the most important decisions.

Cossack installations were created as museum expositions based on reliable historical data, original concepts, and items from that time.

They describe how administrative buildings of the Sich worked, such as the house of Kosh Otaman and the Military Chancellery, which had office management, correspondence, intelligence data recording, interrogation of prisoners, etc. A separate exposition is “Pushkarnya”. It was the arsenal of the Sich, used for keeping guns, weapons, cannonballs, and gunpowder stocks. However, sometimes, it served as a prison.

Special expositions reveal the traditional crafts of the Zaporozhzhia Cossacks, mainly fishing and the Cossack way of life. The exhibition “Cossack Mamai with a pipe” is dedicated to the image of the Zaporozhzhia warrior-sorcerer (warlock, mage) with his magic pipe. Most items in the exposition “Cossack Times—Zaporozhzhia Siches” are original (16th–18th centuries) and found at four Zaporozhzhia Siches’ sites.

The central building of the Sich is the current Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, which hosts traditional services, weddings, and christening ceremonies.

Khortytsia Sich has become a popular spot for the all-Ukrainian festivities “Pokrova on Khortytsia” and “Easter on Khortytsia”, attracting hundreds of tourists annually. Original workshops attract tourists through master classes on Easter egg decorating and pottery, as well as concerts, celebrations, and other entertainment events.

“The Sich Cossacks” add to the entourage. The reconstructionists present performances dedicated to the Cossack military art and conduct master classes on using Cossack weapons.

Each visitor will find an action for themselves and will not remain indifferent!

The excursion at the Historical and Cultural Complex “Zaporozhzhia Sich” will allow you to see the recreated image of the capital of the Liberties of the Zaporozhzhia Lowland Army. You will visit the houses and outbuildings of steppe knights, learn about the life and customs of the Cossacks, and feel the spirit of the Cossack era.

For further information or to book a guided tour of the “Zaporozhzhia Sich”, please contact 095-914-77-06 or 096-254-12-09.