Kamianka Territorial Community

History of the Community

Kamianka has a long history and ancient traditions. The town was founded in the early 17th century. This settlement was mentioned for the first time in written documents in 1649. For a short period of time, Kamianka was part of the Ukrainian Cossack State of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. But later, the town and the farmsteads developed in the second half of the 17th century and in the 18th century were ruled by various Polish owners within the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In 1756, the town was granted the Magdeburg rights, as a result of which the settlement became a self-governing centre.

In 1900, an amateur theatre began to work in Kamianka. The twenty-year intensive activity of the theatre that put up various Ukrainian plays contributed to the awakening of the national consciousness of the population. It was in the family of the members of this theatre that Mykhailo Zadniprovskyi was born in 1924 – a People’s Artist of Ukraine and a laureate of the Shevchenko National Prize. The work of the father was continued by his descendants – son Les and grandson Nazar. They are now famous theatre artists and film actors.

The magnificent estate of landowner Volodymyr Rostishevskyi is located in the territory of the Community being one of the few noble residences in the Cherkasy Region that has survived destruction during the revolution. Today it is a historical landmark, which was built 150 years ago by a young landowner for his beloved.

In 1912, the palace was converted into a hospital. The manor rooms became wards where peasants were treated. The hospital survived the imperialist, civil, and German-Soviet wars, was a shelter for the wounded, a shelter for the persecuted, partisans, and Jews.

In early 2001, the inpatient department of the district territorial centre for single disabled elderly people functioned there. Currently, the premises need urgent repair and are an investment offer in the Community.

There is a wooden church in the territory of the Community, which is an architectural landmark of local importance, and was built in 1768. The church was rebuilt several times, was not used as intended in Soviet times and needs repair.

Another local architectural landmark is a wooden church, built with the funds of the parishioners in 1872. It is not used at present and is in need of repair.

The Community has a rotunda church built in 1843. That is why this form of the church is explained by the fact that it was Masonic. The interior of the church is decorated with stucco and monumental painting. All connoisseurs of mysticism and everything related to Freemasons must visit the rotunda church.

The village got its name because of the lake inhabited by many swans at that time. Composer Tchaikovsky visited this site many times, and his outstanding composition “Swan Lake” is associated with this place. The temple has been restored by sponsors and looks like new.

The Sakura Alley planted in 2019 has become a visiting card of Kamianka in the spring. Cherry seedlings of the Kanzan variety were purchased with the funds of the Norwegian company Scatec for felled tree plantations in the territory, which the company used for the installation of solar panels.

The Kamianka State Historical and Cultural Reserve, created in 1995 to preserve the complex of historical, cultural, and natural landmark of the town of Kamianka, functions successfully in the town.

The total area of the Kamianka Reserve is more than ten hectares. It includes three museums. The Green House Memorial Museum was the summer home of the Davydovs, its owners. At present, significant funds are urgently needed to save the building from moisture.

The historical museum will tell its guests and tourists about the history of the Kamianka District through events and famous figures. In particular, the museum staff created an exhibition in memory of the residents of the Kamianka Community who died in the russian-Ukrainian war.

The Reserve also includes a unique landmark of national importance – the water mill built in early 1825, an architectural economic landmark.

The Reserve also includes a magnificent natural landmark – the Tiasmyn Canyon. This is a unique rocky and hilly massif, which runs along both banks of the Tiasmyn River at an altitude of 5 to 10 metres above the water level and is about two kilometres long. In 2018-2019, a grant project from the EU “Development and arrangement of the Tiasmyn Canyon natural landmark” was implemented. Its implementation has made it possible to attract tourists to Kamianka, increase the number of visitors and make the canyon one of the tourist pearls of the entire Cherkasy Region.

Last year, the Community held the public hearings of the project to create two natural landmarks, i.e. “Kingdom of Saffron” and “Steppe on the Bank” in the Tiasmyn Canyon, on the initiative of the Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Centre. They are created to protect rare plant species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine – stipa capillata, crocus reticulatus, pulsatilla pratensis, and astragalus dasyanthus with the purpose of popularizing the Kamianka Community in the field of tourism.

Economy and Welfare

The Kamianka Urban Territorial Community is an agricultural community specializing in the cultivation of agricultural crops (wheat, sunflower, soy and others), electricity generation.

The food industry is represented by the operations of bakery and milk processing enterprises.

The processing industry of the Community is represented by machine-building, wood processing and food industry.

Quality secondary education is an important priority for the Community. The Community’s network of educational and cultural institutions includes twenty-three educational institutions: nine schools, eleven preschool education institutions, three out-of-school education institutions, the Centre for artistic, aesthetic, scientific and technical student youth, and a children’s and youth sports school.

Besides, the Community runs an inclusive resource centre.

The Community pays great attention to the development of sports. The children’s youth sports school is a leader among sports schools in the region. Football, volleyball, basketball, judo, chess, pankration clubs work at the sports school. The Atlant physical culture and wellness complex is a branch of the school with a modern gym, a table tennis hall, and a boxing hall.

Every year, an open judo tournament is held among young men and women in memory of warrior and hero Maksym Bulba killed in the russian-Ukrainian war.

The town has a sports complex “Atlant” with a football field, modern athletics running tracks, a mini-football field and a modern volleyball and basketball court. The stadium also houses a sports training complex.

The adult football team “Olympus” is a permanent contender for prizes in the region.

Kamianka is the centre of development and popularization of classical music. The Community runs twelve culture centres, a children’s music school and a public library. The Kamianka Music Fest, a classical and jazz festival, was held for four years before the full-scale invasion.

The public initiative “Hrusheve Village” has been launched in the Community, where artist Liubov Berezii teaches the Petrykiv painting technique and popularizes the works of local artist Makar Mukha among the local residents, guests and tourists.

Community and War

Since 24 February 2022, the Kamianka Territorial Community has been a shelter for more than 25,000 people who left the war zone. Almost 3,000 internally displaced persons have been registered in the Community, including more than 600 children. The Grounds Centre nongovernmental organization and the Christian Church “Light of the Gospel” have provided great aid to internally displaced persons since the first days of the war.

Since the beginning of the large-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kamianka Community has been constantly working to support the military. As a result of the joint efforts of the executive committee, volunteers, nongovernmental organizations, entrepreneurs, food products, special equipment, generators and vehicles are purchased and delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

 Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the artistic teams of the local culture centres have launched a cultural front “Holding the line with a song” to support the defenders.

Over two years, they have held forty-two charity events raising about 600,000 hryvnias. Auctions have been held to sell paintings by local artists, products of decorative and applied arts masters, prize raffles, and fairs selling homemade baked goods have been organized. More than 20,000 residents and guests of the town have attended these charity events.

The Cherkasy humanitarian hub has handed over a modern electrocardiograph and an ambulance to the Kamianka multidisciplinary hospital.

Since the beginning of the russian-Ukrainian war, the volunteer movement “Big Hearts of Social Media” has been active in the Community. The residents of the Community have joined their efforts to solve the problems of fellow soldiers.

In the spring of 2023, the Grounds Centre non-governmental organization in partnership with the Light of the Gospel church donated an ophthalmology machine for vision testing to the local hospital.

People of the Community

Volodymyr Tiron has been the Head of the Community for two terms in a row. Before the decentralization reform, he was also the Head of the Kamianka Town Council in 2012.

Under the leadership of Volodymyr Tiron, the Square of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred has been arranged in the town of Kamianka.

 In 2019, the Community implemented the grant project “Tiasmyn Canyon” worth more than seven million hryvnias, where paths, observation decks, gazebos, and benches were arranged and installed for recreation of the local residents and tourists of the Community. They also bought boats for water tourist trips.

In 2021, as a result of cooperation of the local authorities and the Member of Parliament of Ukraine, the Kamianka Multidisciplinary Hospital of the Kamianka Town Council could purchase modern medical equipment that makes it possible to perform minimally invasive surgical interventions, thereby shortening the patient’s stay in hospital and a short rehabilitation period.

In 2023, a new digital X-ray machine was purchased for the Kamianka Multidisciplinary Hospital using the funds of the local budget.

In 2023, the Community signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the NGO “Revival and Development Association”, and the representatives of the town council, internally displaced persons and nongovernmental organizations took part in the activities under the project “Cherkasy Region bringing together: self-organization of internally displaced persons for the recovery and development of host communities”.

In 2023, the Head of the Community, Volodymyr Tiron, supported the initiative of the Grounds Centre NGO to reconstruct the children’s playground and helped with equipment to carry out difficult works.

Development Strategy

The Community has drafted its Strategy for the Development of the Kamianka Urban Territorial Community until 2028.

The key areas of the Community development are the stimulation of entrepreneurial activity and the development of tourism, the creation of comfortable living conditions and a safe environment.

In 2023, the Community took part in the joint project “Increasing the sustainability of small and medium-sized businesses of the Tiasmyn communities in the Cherkasy Region”, under which trainings were held for entrepreneurs and those wishing to start their own business, and consultations on writing grant requests were provided. They also signed a Memorandum on joint efforts to develop the economic potential of eight Tiasmyn communities and support the development of peripheral localities.

One of the problems of the Kamianka Community is the state of the Tiasmyn River. The river needs cleaning, and the dam needs major repairs.

Therefore, the strategic vision of the future is the cleaning of the Tiasmyn River and its transformation into a tourist destination of the Community. In addition, the strategy includes the development of a comprehensive plan of the territory of the Kamianka Urban Community, stimulation of the development of micro and small businesses, urban and rural green tourism, energy modernization of social infrastructure facilities and the introduction of energy-saving technologies, etc.

List of Sources

• Development Strategy of the Kamianka Urban Territorial Community until 2028
• Official website of the Kamianka Urban Territorial Community
• Official Facebook page of the Kamianka Town Council
• Official website of the Kamianka State Historical and Cultural Reserve
• kammiskrada.gov.ua/
• facebook.com/kammiskrada
• facebook.com/Kamyanka.Zapovidnuk