AFTER-CONFERENCE EXCURSION

 From September 26 to 27, conference participants will have a possibility to take part in a two days' after-conference excursion to Zhuravka, the native-place of Georgiy Voronoї and his burial-place, and to ancient Chernihiv, Nizhyn, and Pryluky, staying the night in the City Hotel in Nizhyn.

The trip we propose is unique because you will have a possibility to visit  not only the village Zhuravka, the small motherland of Georgiy Voronoi, but  to see several  interesting   places in Kyiv invirons with long  and  interesting history. The main objects are: Chernihiv, Nizhyn, and Pryluky, all  of them  are mentioned in chronicles for about thousand years. In particular,  Chernihiv has many historical places preserved to our days, some of them are from the XI century;  there are two ancient  cave monasteries also  preserved here.

Our trip is the following: the first day: Kyiv – Chernihiv – Nizhyn  and stop for the night in Nizhyn;  the second day:  Nizhyn  - Pryluky  - Zhuravka – Kyiv. We plan to go  by  bus or by  two small busses.  The trip will begin from the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University at 9 o’clock. We expect to return to Kyiv the next day at 21 o’clock.

Our guests from previous conferences took pleasure not only in the historical places, but also in the picturesque nature  and hospitality of the people who helped us  with their sightseeing explanations,  organizing the meals and hotels in Nizhyn.

If there are persons who prefer to go to Zhuravka for only one day, we can change our route in the opposite direction and these persons  can return to Kyiv the same day.

In Zhuravka we shall go to the G.Voronoi’s grave, there will be an office requiem, then we look through a memorial room devoted to G.Voronoi in the local school, after this the local authorities invite us to the friendly lunch with their own original peasant meals.

 In Pryluky, we plan to have a short sightseeing, to call on the Museum on local lore and, may be, to be present on the opening the new memorial plate devoted to G.Voronoi on the building of the gymnasium G.Voronoi graduated from. The local authorities are waiting for the guests from our conference.

 In Nizhyn, we plan to visit the Pedagogical University, it is located in the building of the famous Bezborodko Lyceum, the higher educational school opened by the prince Bezborodko at the beginning of XIX century and is known by its well-recognized graduates, among them a famous writer Mykola Gogol, poets Viktor Zabila and Evhen Grybinka, a painter Apollon Mokrytskyi etc. For some time this Lyceum was named as Physical and Mathematial Lyceum. In this building, there is a large picture gallery preserved from the times of Lyceum, and the University inherited the Library founded by prince Bezborodko in 1820  with the unique collection of  old and rare books.  

Nizhyn is also known as a place where a thriving Greek community was situated in the medieval years.  Some historical buildings are preserved from those days.

G.Voronoi’s father, Feodosii, was a professor of Nizhyn Lyceum in 1868-72, so, probably, he lived here with his family that time. Feodosii was a person of progressive convictions, he had a talent and a calling to enlighten the youth. Feodosii Voronyi left us the work in which he expressed his attitude to teaching and education. In particular, he affirmed that "any success in political and social life is impossible until the people have been enlightened by moral sciences". He emphasized the need to spread historical knowledge among the people. He believed that it "enlightens one's mind, provides one with better understanding of his social status in life and frequently points out the best way to use one's abilities and achieve prosperity for oneself and wellbeing for others." By the way, there are some manuscripts by Feodosii Voronyi in the Pedagogical Library.