the town of vinnytsa is called a pearl of podill'a and it is really so. situated on the legendary banks of the southern buh it impresses everybody by the organic link between town civilization and picturesque nature.

the town is over six hundred years old. its history has known its ups and downs. it was overwhelmed by the tatar hordes. when the tatars retreated, the poles moved into the vacuum. the hard times of the tatar yoke were followed by the rule of poland, lithuania , and turkish raids and, finally , the russian imperial rule.

modern vinnytsa is an important industrial, economic and cultural centre of independent ukraine. the peculiarities of the town development, the outstanding historical events have found their reflection in its architecture.

studing the historic monuments which have survived, their restoration, the appearance of new buildings in the traditional historical environment contributes to the preservation of the inique character of the town architecture.

respect and care of the past and the rebirth of the national traditions of the town have become very typical of late. they have proved conducive to the revival of the town's spiritual life. today all the churches that were built in the past, namely: the holy virgin maria anheska temple, svyato-preobrazhensky cathedral, chist resurrection church and others are open. besides the new churches of different religious confessions are being built now.

all the town museums are opened to visitors, too. a unique nykolai church where the embalmed body of the world-known surgeon. n. pyrogov lies is situated near the estate museum of n. i. pyrogov. the regional museum of local lore and the art gallery - a real treasury - contain masterpieces of art, sculpture, articles of decorative art, the collection of masterpieces of polish nobility, archeological and ethnographic discoveries.

the theatrical life of vinnytsa is flourishing now. m. sadovsky ukrainian drama theatre, the puppet theatre, the regional philarmonic society are always opened to their spectators.

the town has recently been decorated not only with the monumental sculpture compositions, but also with small air sandstone sculptures. as time goes on more and more buildings of modern european design are being built.