Last updated on March 16, 2023
Before the war in Ukraine, Mykolayiv was a thriving industrial and commercial center, known for its shipbuilding industry, as well as its agriculture, food processing, and manufacturing sectors.
Despite its industrial focus, Mykolayiv is also home to several notable cultural and historical sites, including the Mykolayiv Regional Museum of Local Lore, which features exhibits on the city's history and culture, and the Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet, which highlights the city's maritime heritage.
Overall, Mykolayiv was a vibrant and diverse city with a strong economy and a rich cultural heritage before the war in Ukraine.
In this article, you can see what Nikolaev looked like until February 24, 2022. Now some buildings are destroyed, architectural monuments are covered with sandbags, and anti-tank fortifications are in the city. After the war, the people of Mykolaiv will return to everything as it was. Some of our users stayed in Mykolaiv, some moved to other cities in Western Ukraine, and some temporarily left for Poland, Germany, France, and other countries.
Mykolaiv territory is a perfect place for shipbuilding which was noticed by duke Potiomkin in 1789. He desired to create a powerful fleet and brought lots of shipbuilders here. The place was so strategically good that a whole city was founded to support the shipyard. Attempting to make the men stay in the city the duke ordered bringing hundreds of the most beautiful women from nearby villages.
There is an airport in Mykolaiv with regular flights from/to Kyiv. Thus, from the capital, you can comfortably get to Nikolaev. You can also get by train or by arriving first at the Odessa airport, and order a taxi or come by bus. There are 4 districts in Mykolaiv: Central, Zavodskoy, Ingulskiy, Korabelnyi. The central district is considered to be the most tourist one.
More than 200 years have passed since the formation of the city of Mykolaiv. Since then, there have been more women than men in the city.
According to one version, the first pairs formed in a rather interesting way. All the Ukrainian single girls were lined up and then the grooms would come up in a line to the ladies standing in front of them. According to another version, the process of choosing a life partner was a game of catch-up: a man chased a woman and led her to the chapel. But if no one managed to catch up with a woman, then she had the right to choose a life partner herself.
Today the city has about 500 thousand people. In the rating of the largest cities of Ukraine in terms of the number of inhabitants, Nikolaev proudly takes 9th place. Each visitor finds something here: someone is crazy about the contemplation of aquatic species, someone likes ancient architecture (yes, there are buildings from the 18th-19th century), And someone also likes the zoo, where you can walk for days! By the way, the city is also called “the cradle of educated people”, and residents will tell you that the first gymnasiums with a high level of educational services were working here more than 100 years ago!
In former times there were 4 functioning shipbuilding plants in Mykolaiv. They gave workplaces for more than half of the citizens. After the shipbuilding in the region was stopped, most men simply left. According to statistics the number of single ladies in Mykolaiv nowadays is 10 times higher than the number of men. That is why women use dating sites to search for men abroad. But the main reason is socio-economic. The disorder of life hits men more painfully. Ukrainian society traditionally assigns them the role of those who must provide for the family, but not everyone can do it. Low incomes, low socioeconomic status, and the quality of life generally fall, which they try to compensate for with such things as alcohol and tobacco dependence. Or they leave to work and stay abroad. The government's figures are disappointing: since 2010, 4 million citizens have emigrated from Ukraine, and most of them are men.
According to the Institute of Demography, the average age of marriage in Ukraine for the first time for men is up to 28 years, and for women — up to 25.
The tendency among Ukrainians to marry at 20 is a thing of the past. Both men and women are increasingly choosing to build a career and ensure financial stability.
Previously (in the Soviet Union) it was different. If a girl had not married by the end of the university, then she was considered hopeless. After all, she will not be able to get married until someone divorces, because at the age of 30 all men have already been married. It was even inconvenient not to get married by the age of 30. The fact that a woman herself may want to do something else was considered a perversion.
Ladies from Mykolaiv have distinctively calm and mild characters. They love romance and don’t like everyday dramas. They search for reliable and honest men ready to create a family. Charming Ukrainian women love being treated like ladies. If you come for a date with flowers, you will show yourself as a real gentleman. Flowers in Ukraine are not an expensive gift, you may find something to please your companion.
Mykolaiv Ukrainian ladies want to find love and genuine relationship. She wants to create a family, for having a caring gentleman beside her. The primary desire of a Ukrainian girl is to take care of the house and children. Ukraine woman respects themselves and their life partner very much. This is a modern girl with a life view and family values similar to your mother’s.
It was the Mykolaiv (Nikolaev) Zoo that was destined to glorify the city at the international level. This zoo will delight even the most demanding tourists!
The Mykolaiv Zoo is worth visiting for everyone: both children and adults. Created in 1901 by a native of the Kropyvnytskyi region — the mayor of Nikolaev Nikolai Leontovich as a private collection, the zoo has grown into one of the most famous and large-scale within the whole of Europe!
Now the collection of the zoo has more than 5500 animals representing 500 species! By the way, such animals live here that you cannot meet in one of the other zoos in Ukraine. Among them — almost a hundred species are listed in the International Red Book.
Nikolaev Yacht Club is one of the oldest yacht clubs in our country. It was founded back in 1889! It is not only yachts and the opportunity to use them that attract you here: on the banks of the Southern Bug, you will see a unique building in the style of the Italian Renaissance, which is the embodiment of the yacht club itself. The building looks like a majestic palace, and in combination with the views around, where, like wings, sails unfold over the water, it resembles a fairytale house ...
And next to the yacht club, there is a unique attraction — the Turkish fountain (or the Spassky spring). It remains from the once-mighty complex of the Potemkin Palace, built-in Moldova, and transported to Nikolaev by ship in 1790. By the way, no one knows exactly what happened to the palace and where it disappeared.
The legend says that the Spassky spring is a guarantee of the prosperity of the navigation industry in Mykolaiv, and if it dries up, ships will no longer be launched here. This is probably why residents are very attentive to the preservation and restoration of the memorial.
Once on Sadovaya Street, guests will be able to cover the most interesting sights, so that later, without interruption, go to an overview of several religious buildings in Mykolaiv. Sadovaya is about 3 km long. The street has become a haven for the Council of Europe square, which is reliably patrolled by lion sculptures. Now Sadovaya is a platform for placing a monument in memory of the Heavenly Hundred and a spectacular sign "United Europe", a cross in honor of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ, a monument to police officers, the hotel "Nikolaev" and the shopping and entertainment center "City Center". The street accumulates in itself all the energy of the city, and it is here that it becomes clear that Nikolaev loves to reveal his secrets gradually, but sincerely.
The building of this cathedral is one of the most attractive in the city. In Mykolaiv, Orthodox Christians still believe that it was the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God that became salvation during the Crimean War (1853-1856). The temple was founded in 1904, although the decision to build it was announced back in 1855. However, even after that, the cathedral did not appear — it was consecrated only in 1908, and then it was completed for a long time. Mykolaiv was then a small town, and the residents did not have enough money for such a majestic temple, so they collected it for a very long time.
The walls of the building are built of limestone, which now has a special charm. The history of the cathedral has many tragic pages - it suffered from looting in 1922, and the chic bells were melted down in favor of the general "industrialization" later — in 1930. I had a chance to be a temple and a "club" at a shipyard during the Soviet occupation. Now the cathedral belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Nikolaev Admiralty is a building that appeared in 1951 on the site of the present Admiralty, from which, unfortunately, only the foundation remained. Sadovaya Street ends with the Admiralty. Now it houses the administrative building of the 61st shipyard. Nearby is a neat, eye-catching square.
From Admiralskaya we go to the Embankment and Flotsky Boulevard. Having been here, you will feel the freshness and incredible uplift for a long time.
Flotsky Boulevard is a resting place, that in the 19th century arose on the site of a landfill. Now Flotsky Boulevard is a great place to relax. From here you can look at the incredible views of Ingul.
Be sure to climb the branchy stairs up — there is a real sculptural miracle, such a "glamorous" place for photoshoots called "Mad Cabbage". It is absolutely different from the entire architectural ensemble of the boulevard but very spectacular and romantic. However, you must see this "cabbage" with your own eyes!
The Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet is unique in Ukraine and presents a historical and technical exposition on the topic of shipbuilding. It is located in a building, which is also a historical monument — at one time the chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet lived here. This house is an architectural monument of the 18th century, erected in the style of early classicism. The museum's exposition unfolds in 9 exhibition rooms, and in the open area, there is an exhibition of ship weapons in natural form, as well as a collection of anchors from various historical eras.
If you are a supporter of non-standard architectural monuments, you should pay attention to the building of the oldest observatory in Ukraine, which was founded back in 1821! The structure is an architectural monument of national importance, and recently (since 2007) has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you are lucky enough to arrive at the observatory on weekdays, you can take the opportunity and listen to a lecture on the history and modernity of astronomical research, which is constantly conducted here for both children and adults.
Not everyone knows that in the VI century the Mykolaiv region became the place where the ancient Greeks arrived. They founded one of their colonies here and named it "Olvia", which means "happy". Over the thousand years of its existence, a small settlement has grown into a developed city. And for almost 90 years now, the territory of Olbia has been recognized as the National Historical and Archaeological Reserve. It is located near Ochakov in the village of Parutino. Archaeologists from many countries are excavating here, during which they discover many useful things for science. Here you can visit the local museum in the building of the old lighthouse, which contains the findings of the excavations. And also, together with a guide, visit directly the most ancient city, find out how the ancient Greeks lived several centuries ago.
For nature lovers, the village of Trikraty is associated with the extraordinary and exceptional Aktovsky canyon. This is truly an amazing place. The canyon itself occupies more than 250 hectares and is divided into two halves by the Arbuzinka River. Nearby, between the villages of Aktovo and Trikraty, at the confluence of the Arbuzinka River with the Dead Water, there is another canyon — Arbuzinsky. He is no less amazing. The rich flora and fauna of both canyons, picturesque landscapes, and landscape, complex terrain have always attracted connoisseur tourists from all over Europe. By the way, both canyons are included in the regional landscape park "Granite-steppe Pobuzhie".
An amazing forest was artificially planted in 1819 by the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, nobleman Viktor Skarzhinsky. The forest is located not far from the small village of Trikraty and the Mertvovod River in the Mykolaiv region.
The Trikrat forest includes several reserved tracts: Skarzhinsky Summer Farm, Vasilevsky apiary, and the Labyrinth. The forest contains one 300-year-old oak tree and dozens of 250-year-old oak trees.
There are not many territories left in the South of Ukraine, where pristine nature would be preserved. But they still exist, and Kinburn Spit can rightly be attributed to them. It is unique in its location, climate, flora, and fauna are talking about a reclaimed sandy spit, on the one hand, it is washed by the waters of the Black Sea, and on the other — by the Dnieper River. The total area of the spit is only 200 hectares, but such a variety of flora and fauna is rarely seen anywhere: 60 species of animals, 600 species of plants, Kinburn mud, and salt lakes, deposits of white clay, and relict groves. As well as the remains of the Turkish fortress Kinburn, the Komendantskoye tract, the shallow waters of the Yagorlitskaya inlet, the spire of the spit — the place where the waters of the Dnieper-Bug estuary and the Black Sea meet, etc. It was to preserve all this beauty at the base of the spit that the regional landscape park was.
The peculiarity of the spit is that there are no roads as such. On the one hand, this makes it difficult for people to move along the spit, but on the other hand, it only helps to save it from the destructive effects of human society. Here are ideal beaches, unique forests, a variety of medicinal plants, and an orchid field.
The park is more than 26 years old, covers an area of 5 thousand 34 hectares, and is spread over the territory of five districts of the Mykolaiv region and along the Southern Bug River. This is one of the oldest land areas in Eurasia, which played an important role in the speciation of the Black Sea region. There are lots of unique natural monuments, 900 species of plants, including relic and endemic ones, 26 of which are listed in the Red Book, about 100 archaeological sites, numerous rapids, rocky shores with granite outcrops, waterfalls, and small islands — all this is just part of what attracts tourists from all over Europe to enjoy the richness and originality of this corner of nature.
On the territory of the "Granite-steppe Pobuzh, ye" there are the "Bugsky Gard" tract and the abandoned granite quarry "Blue Lake", reaching a depth of 40 meters.
Visiting a girl from Mykolaiv is a wonderful opportunity to meet more beautiful ladies as our managers may arrange multiple dates for you. This will increase your chances to find love and your future life partner. Ukrainian girls are open and sincerely willing to create a family. They will be glad to have an opportunity to meet you and go on a date with you.
Start with online dating. Be sure to get acquainted with several Slavic Women from Mykolaiv if you plan multiple dates – this will increase your chances for success. Well, good luck! SlavicGirl team is always here to help you!
Comments