The oldest manor-arena house in northeastern Ukraine. A unique architectural monument of the mid-18th century, which has no analogues in the country.
By the spring of 2022, everyone who visited Trostianets had the opportunity to travel into the past and feel the atmosphere of a knight tournament: to hear the clang of crossed swords, see the glow of chain mail, and feel the emotional tension watching the duel. Every year the horse-stead ‘Round yard’ would turn into the site for historical reconstructions and would host events like festivals, concerts, and fairs. The complex itself has no analogues in the architectural heritage of Ukraine in the XVIII century and is the oldest public building in northeastern Ukraine.
It was built in 1749 by the Nadarzynski brothers, whose family owned the town of Trostianets at that time. The horse-stead combines Neo-Gothic and Ukrainian Baroque. The round courtyard is a kind of a fortress with four three-tiered towers resembling rotundas, an oval courtyard and a spacious arched gate. Towers and thick two-tiered walls are decorated with slots and arrow-shaped niches.
The horse-stead resembles an ancient amphitheatre by its appearance and sound quality. During prince Vasily Golitsyn’s governance, it was upgraded and served as a circus and theatre arena, where acrobatic, equestrian, and theatrical performances took place. Due to this, three-tiered lodges for spectators were built under the walls, and four towers became homes for serf ballet dancers and circus artists. In the 1870s, the complex became the property of the local sugar plant owner Leopold Koenig.
Under Soviet rule, the Round Yard was used as a warehouse. However, it wasn’t repaired for a while due to the lack of funds. The first restorations began only at the time of the independence of Ukraine. The Round Yard was not only recognized as a monument of local architecture, but it also became one of the hundreds of most amazing objects in Ukraine and a centre of rich cultural life.
After the beginning of the full-scale Russian military attack on Ukraine, on March 1, the Russian shelling damaged windows and facades of its walls. Russian occupants installed the artillery near the broken gates. The Round Yard used to be a famous arena of European medieval battle reconstructions, but recently it suffered from the fire of a new ruthless war, which has no excuse.
Whatever stored the memories may now become a memory itself.
An ancient centre of spiritual education at the Sumy region, which history dates back to 19th century.
Center of cultural and educational life of the city of Okhtyrka from the beginning of XX century.
One of the buildings of the Leopold Koenig estate, a monument of architectural art of national significance located in Trostianets, Sumy region.
The 127-year-old building of the Okhtyrka railway station was completely destroyed.