Cities like people have their own biographies and dates of birth. Chernigov is a very old city and it was first mentioned in 907, in the agreement between Rus and Bysantine when Oleg, the prince of Kiev, proving his victory over the Greeks boun them to pay contribution to Russian cities, firstly to Kiev then to Chernigov, Polotsk, Lyubech and to other cities where grand princes subordinated to prince Oleg ruled. In this agreement Chernigov is recorded the second after Kiev what makes it evident that even at that time Chernigov was the second town of Rus after Kiev in dimensions and importance. How and when did the City appear? Archaeologists have found no less than four, the oldest settlements on the city's territory. They were not large tribal fortresses separated from each other by deep moats of Boldin Hill. Academician B.A. Ryabakov the famous Russian historian who carried out the archaeological researches in Chernigov in 1946 considered that Kiev and other Old Rus towns came into being at one time just in the similar way as Chernigov did.

The archaeological materials of these settlements dates as far back as 7th century. This fact gave rise to celebrate the 1400 th birth anniversary of Chernigov in 2002.

But there are evidences of more ancient city's biography, and first of all it is the "Handbook by Geography" by the competent ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy who lived in the 2-d century A.D. In this book the coordinates of more than 8 thousand points of the world of that time are indicated. Among them is the town of Sirim which is located at the very place where nowadays Chernigov stands.

Maybe that's why not occasional are the finds of the coins of the Roman Emperors Trojan, Andrain, Anthhony Pius, Mark Aurelius who were Ptolemy's contemporaries on the territory of Chernigov and on the Val in particular.

The mystery of the city's name is lost in the same distant centuries. Perhaps never the same of Sirim mentioned by Ptolemy will be Chernic in the Arabic-Persian sources at the turn of the 9-10 th centuries.A little bit later Constantine the Crimsonborn, an emperor of Rome and a writer called it Dzernigoga. In the Old Russian chronicles we find two variants of the city's name - Shernigov and Chernigov.

There is no unity of views concerning the interpretation of the city's name. The legend exists about a certain prince Chyorny and his daughter, a beauty, who lived in the 8th century. There is a version about the first settler Cherniga by name. They say about "Chyory" (thick) forests which surrounded the town in the olden days. Some people associate the name of Chernigov with the tribe of melankhlens who wore black cloaks and were recorded by Herodotus in his famous "History" (he lived as far back as the 5th century B.C.).

The Boldin Hills Ancient Barrows

The necropolis on the Boldin Hill is more than thousand years old. Its man-made barrows that survived are the unique monuments of the before Christianity period of Chernigov history. The burial mound, which tower over the Boldin Hills are part and parcel of the city panorama like the pyramids in Egypt.

The Chornaya Mogila is the most majestic of them. It is situated close to the walls of Eletsky monastery and is associated with the burial of the legendary founder of Chernigov, prince Chorny. As far as back as hundred years ago the barrow was 10 meters high and 170 meters in circumference. In 1872-1873 it was researched by the well-known archaeologist, Novgorod-Severksy born, Dmitry Samokvasov.

The finds excavated witness that here are noble person had been buried. The ritual of burying followed the pagan traditions described in detail by the Arabic traveler Ibn-Fadlan in the 10th century.

There exists the opinion that the Chyornaya Mogila is the grave of the prominent vyvoda Pretich who saved Kiev and the whole of the dynasty of the Ryurikoviches from Pechenegs' army which besieged Kiev when its prince Svyatoslav was away on his march to the Danube. One more majestic barrow, called the Gulbishche is near the Grave of Unknown Soldier.

The talismans of Cossack Glory.

Everybody who approaches Chernigov from the side of the Desna River along the highway is enchanted by the white, well-proportioned walls and golden cupolas of the temple that as if blies up to the sky from the high hill. This is St. Catherine's Church, the unique memorial of Cossack Glory. It was built in honor of heroism of the Cossacks of the Chernigov Regiment headed by Yakov Lizobub displayed by them at the assault of the Turkish fortress of Azov in 1696.

The Cossack epoch in the history of Chernigov began in 1648 when the war for liberation of the Ukrainian people under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky started. In that period of time the city was turned into a regiment centre and preserved this status up to 1782. The Chernigov Regiment became famous for many battles and marches and, first of all, during the war for liberation when it was lead by Martin Nebada B. Khmeilnitsky's close companion - in arms. He died like a hero in the summer of 1651 in the battle against the Polish-Lithuanian aggressors who invaded Chernigov land.

In 1679 the Trinity Cathedral was started to erect.
Not only temples were constructed. In 1700 Mazepa donated the building of Chernigov Collegium, the first educational institution of higher level in the Left Bank Ukraine. Chernigov Collegium played a significant role in the spiritual life of the territory.

Museums and Muses

The biography of Chernigov and of the whole of Chernigov Region is widely represented in the halls of the Historical Museum, one of the oldest and richest in Ukraine. It was created at the turn of the XIX-XXth centuries on the base of the exhibits belonging to the Province Archives Committee and the unique collection of Ukrainian antiquities by Vasily Tarnovsky, the famous collector and patron of art and literature whose name the museum bears.

The museum contains more than 150 thousand exhibits of material and spiritual culture. Among its collections are the archaeological collection, the collection of Cossack Arms and equipment, the numismatic collection, the collection of old printed books. The latter includes a lot of books published at the print shop which was transferred from Novgorod-Seversky to Chernigov by a well- known Church and political figure and writer Lazar Baranovich in 1679. But the first book in Chernigov was printed by Kiril Stavrovetsky in 1646. It was entitled "Perlo Mnogotsennoye" and it is on show at the museum now.

Side by side with the Historical Museum there is the Art Museum where 5 thousand pieces of painting, sculpture and decorative and applied art are harbored. The collection of West-European paintings of the 17-18th centuries is rather considerable. The collection of Russian and Ukrainian artists-academicians's pieces includes the canvases of Kapiton Pavlov, Ivan Sokolov, Mikhail Klodt, Nikolai Geg, Ivan Rashevsky. Modern Ukrainian Art is represented by the pictures of Tatyana Yablonskaya, Sergi Shishko, Emmanuil Misko and by the paintings of Chernigov artists.

Art expositions are also displayed in the premises of Chernigov Collegium which is a part of the National Architectural-Historical Museum "Old Chernigov".

Mikhail Kotsyubinsky Literary-Memorial Museum - Preserve is by right called the temple of Muses. Here, in a small house in quite former Severyanskaya Street (now Kotsyubinsky Street) the writer had resided for fifteen years, there Kotsyubinsky was visited by guests. Among them were outstanding Ukrainian compesers.

A separate exposition of museum tells the visitors about the literary traditions of Chernigov land starting with Kievan Rus up to our days. Here there are the materials representing the creative activities of the contemporary men of letters of Chernigov among them are Stanislav Repyakh, Dmitry Ivanov, Pyotr Kutsenko.

The creative meetings with the men of art and literature, concerts, art shows, presentations of the local authors' books are held at the Museum.

Chernigov has rich theater traditions. The company of the Chernigov Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre named after Taras Shevchenko keeps up and enhance these traditions. Both in Chernigov, in the whole of Ukraine and abroad known is the of the Chamber Choir named after Dmitry Bortnyansky headed by Honored Art Worker of Ukraine Lyubomir Bodnaruk, as well as the art of kobza-and lyreplayer Vasily Nechepa, composer Nikolai Zbaratsky.