“Our city is 1100 years old. Let’s celebrate it together!”

– The oldest official name of Pereyasliv-Khmelnytskyi is Pereyaslavl-Ruskyi. The first chronicle mention about it was found in the agreement which was concluded with Byzantium in 907 after the successful campaign of the prince Oleg on Constantinople. Since then our city have played a significant role in creation of history of native land. Great glory was got by Pereyasliv principality which occupied the left-bank part of the Middle Naddnipryanshchyna, and during the Cossacks times – and also the famous Pereyasliv regiment, and majestic deeds of Bogdan Khmelnytskyi (in September, 1943 the city was named Pereyasliv-Khmelnytskyi in his honour).

In early spring of 1702, after the solicitation of the hetman Ivan Mazepa the primary religious school was opened in Pereyasliv. According to the decree of the bishop Arseniy Berla from October of 1738 the Pereyasliv college began its work in Voznesenskyi monastery. Its educational apartments were completed in 1753, and they have been saved until now (presently the memorial museum of Grygoriy Skovoroda is situated there). The whole spiritual life of the modern city is sanctified by the name of glorious philosopher. It is also indissolubly connected with creative work of another great son of Ukrainian people – Taras Shevchenko who wrote exactly on Pereyasliv lands his immortal “Testament”. The museum devoted to the genius poet is peculiar, or even unique, as well as the whole complex of the National historical and ethnographic preserve “Pereyaslav”.

In its composition there are 26 thematic museums, 371 sights of history and architecture, over 170 thousand items of general fund, among which there are ancient published books that belong to  ХVІІ – beginning of ХVІІІ centuries, Cossack equipment and weapon, memorial ethnographic and artistic collections, that without exaggeration have become a national pride of Ukraine. All these – beginning with materials of Trypillya culture and Scythian times and to pysankas and towels – need careful saving, permanent study, and finally life-giving warmth of human hands.

Ivan YAKYMENKO