Poltava

Understand

Poltava is the administrative center of Poltavs'ka oblast (Poltava region). It is home to about 283,000 people (1 January 2021) . The municipal administration has been cleaning up the city centre clear and making it look more like a European city than a Soviet one. Its residents are proud of their city, and call it "a city where one wants to live in". In the 1709 battle of Poltava, Russian czar Peter the Great defeated Swedish king Charles XII (see Swedish Empire). In the following treaties, Russia annexed most Swedish territories east of the Baltic Sea including Saint Petersburg, marking the rise of the Russian Empire as a great power. Languages spoken are Russian and Ukrainian (the latter is official and first is more widely spoken). However most people understand and are able to speak both. English isn't widely known, but many people (especially young people) would make their best attempt to understand you. Some people you talk to are quite fluent in English (or German, French), as these languages have been studied at school.

Municipal information Poltava City Government website

Getting there

Train and bus are the only reasonable ways to get to Poltava (unless you have your own car), and ticket price is roughly equal.

By train

Four railway lines coming out west, east, south and southeast from Poltava. Usually there would be a few trains per day to your selected destination, see the website of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian railways) for timetable and ticket prices.

1 Kyiv Station or Poltava-Kyivska railway station (Київський вокзал / Залізничний вокзал Полтава-Київська), Stepana Kondratenka str.(вул. Степана Кондратенка), 12, ☏ +380 532 107101, +380 532 51-41-01. Opened in 1901. Connect it with Kyiv (280 грн, 3½ hours); Kharkiv (220 грн, 2 hours) and other Ukrainian cities. (updated Sep 2023) 2 Poltava-Pivdenna or Southern Station (Полтава-Південна, aka (Південний вокзал), Russian: Южный вокзал), Slavy sq. (площа Слави), 1 (To get to the centre from Pivdenniy Vokzal, take trolleybus 1, 2, 4, 6 or 11), ☏ +380 532 512035. Watch your timetable/ticket carefully, as train may stop only at one of those stations, or both. It is a good idea to buy tickets for your next train (if you haven't bought them in advance) immediately upon your arrival. Both railway stations are well connected with city transport (bus/trolley). However, between 22:00 and 06:00 taxi is the only option.

By bus 3 Bus station (Автостанция), Shevchenka str., 65 (Connected with municipal bus/trolley routes. Between 22:00 and 06:00 you'd need to get a taxi), ☏ +380 532 274410. 4 Inter-city bus station (Автовокзал), vul Velikotirnovska ( вул. Великотирнівська), 7 (about 7 km east of the centre). You must buy ticket at the bus station, and then better keep it with you, ticket control is possible. The most useful buses are to Kharkiv (13 hr, 2½-3 hours, 8 daily) and Dnipro (15 hr, 3-4 hours, 8 daily). Bus connection with other cities is fine, especially along E40 road (Poltava is midway between Kyiv and Kharkiv): buses usually arrive/depart every hour or a few. It will take you 5 hours to get from Kyiv or 3 hours from Kharkiv. There are a few different carriers on these routes:

Avtolux, Günsel bus service, which provide more comfortable buses, and cost a bit more (from Kyiv - up to 100 грн). National and various private bus services. Some of them have less comfortable buses (e.g. old Ikarus), for cheaper price. Other are more comfortable, though ticket price is somewhat 20-25% higher. Station charge included in ticket price. Shuttle-bus services, which use Mercedes Sprinter or similar. (Don't confuse them with "marshrutka" which is city transportation, never mind localscan call

Getting around

It would be a good idea to have an acquaintance with a bilingual local person who will give you advice on how & where to go around Poltava. But if you don't have one, you can ask for help at local English-speaking message board en.poltavaforum.com Most of city transport operates between 06:00 and 22:00 on major routes, and only until 20:00-21:00 to suburbs. During other hours from this, take a taxi. There are crowded routes, where you may not be able to get a seat. During rush hours (06:00-09:00, 17:00-18:00 and possibly throughout the day on suburb routes) you may loss up to 1 hour of your time due to municipal transport being filled up. On suburban routes and during holidays or other celebrations, serious delays are likely. In trolleys, buses and marshrutkas you pay a single fixed price for each trip at each vehicle, no matter how far away you go (within city limits).

By foot Poltava is relatively small city, where it is possible to cross it one border to another in 1½ hours. If you're walking around down-town & historical centre, you are 30 min away from any destination within it. So if you know where to go across centre, you may not use transport at all. However, for safety reasons, don't walk by foot to distant suburbs, if you don't know your way or if it is late evening/night. Bear in mind that the Lower City (Podol/Podil, Russian: Подол, Ukrainian: Поділ) near Vorskla river and Pivdenna Train Station is situated really deep down, so walking up to the train station can be very tiresome.

By public transport Poltava has a convenient public transport system:

9 trolleybus routes 14 bus routes 34 marshrutka routes Single ride tickets in trolleybuses cost 10 грн, in buses — 12 грн, in marshrutkas — 10-12 грн. Schedules are available on rozklad.in.ua (in Ukrainian). You can also check information about public transport on EasyWay and Google Maps.

By trolley There are 11 trolley routes across the city. This is the cheapest kind of transport, however particularly slow and often crowded, sometimes delayed. Ticket costs 1 грн, paid to a conductor, who will ask you soon after you enter the trolley.

Route 1 goes directly between two railway station - Kyivsky & Pivdenny vokzal. Route 15 ("Кільцевий") goes round across the city, connecting downtown with main residential districts and the bus station (Avtovokzal).

By taxi Taxi is the easiest way of getting around the city. Some popular taxi companies include:

Bolt (Болт). (updated Sep 2023) Uklon (Уклон). (updated Sep 2023) OnTaxi (ОнТаксі). (updated Sep 2023) Opti (Опті). (updated Sep 2023) Sh

See

Churches 1 Svyato-Panteleymonivska Church (Свято-Пантелеймонівська церква), Street Frunze, 64 (trolley 2, 6, 15 to stop Park imeni Ivana Petrovycha Kotlyarevskoho), ☏ +380 532 532158. Built in 1999 to the 1100-year anniversary of Poltava. 2 Voznesenskaya church (Вознесенська церква), Street Zoriana, 2 (On territory of former suburb of Pushkarevki - West), ☏ +380 532 661623. Built in 1762. 3 Khrestovozdvyzhenskyi (Holy Cross) monastery (Хрестовоздвиженського монастиря), Street Sverdlova, 3 (east). Founded in 1650. There is the Свято-Троїцька церква (Sviato-Troits'ka church) +380 532 561125 4 Samsonovskaya church (Самсонівська церква), Street Shvedska Mohyla, 16 (N). The church was sanctified in 1856. 5 'Light of Life' church (Церква Світло Життя), Street Biriuzova Marshala ( Бірюзова Маршала вул.), 63 (NW), ☏ +380 532 530902. 6 Panteleymonivska Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Пантелеймонівська українська православна церква), Talalykhina ln.(Талалихіна пров.) (NW), ☏ +380 532 566409. 7 'Flag of Khrysta' church (Церковь Флаг Христа), Street Kondratenka Stepana ( Кондратенка Степана вул.), 6 (Next to Kyiv Station), ☏ +380 532 508050. (updated Sep 2023) 8 Synagogue (Синагога), Street Gogolya ( Гоголя вул.), 6 (Center). 9 Former Chorale synagogue (Хоральна синагога), Street Gogolya (Гоголя вул.), 10 (former Ivanovskoy) (center). Built in 1856. Burned out in 1911. Rebuilt, functioned to the end of 1930th, was after closed, and the nationalized building is reconditioned under a club. In 1943 the club burned.

Museums 10 Aircraft Museum (Полтавський музей дальньої авіації), Street Kharchovykiv (Харчовиків вул), 27 (NW), ☏ +380 532 678183. In a museum the airplanes of distant aviation are kept An-22, An-22 M3, An-160, educational-battle airplane of Su-15, airplanes TU-134 UBL, An-26, model engines etc. 11 Poltava Battle History Museum (Державний історико-культурний заповідник Поле Полтавської битви), Street Shveds'ka Mohyla (Шведська Могила вул.,), 32 (5 km north-east of city. There are several marshrukta buses going via Zygina Square, as well as buses 4 and 5 right to the bus stop «The museum of the history of Poltava Battle»). Su Tu-Th 09:00-17:00, F 09:00-16:00, M closed. There are a museum and the Swedish cemetery. The restricted territory of historical field consists of 1 906 acres. -There are 4 old settlements and more than 30 burial mounds (1000 BC and 1000 AD) on the reserve territory. 12 Poltava Art Museum (Gallery) (Полтавський художній музей (галерея мистецтв)), Street Frunze (Фрунзе вул), 5 (Center), ☏ +380 5322 563540, +380 5322 560731.

Do

1 Botanical Garden of the Poltava State Korolenko Pedagogical University (Ботанічний сад П ім. В. Г. Короленолтавського державного педагогічного університет), Morhuna Fedora str., 16 (NE 1 km), ☏ +380 5322 22829. 2 City Park (Dendropark, Полтавський міський парк), Bakynskykh Komisariv St and Yakivchanska St (Bus 10, 33 to stop 'Dedndropark' - N 2 km from Center). Watch football ie soccer at FC Vorskla Poltava, who play in the Premier League, the top tier of Ukrainian football. Their home ground is Oleksiy Butovskyi Vorskla Stadium, capacity 25,000, just north of city centre.

Buy

Markets 1 Kyivskyi and Pavlenkivs'kyi Markets and Malls (Ринок Київський, Ринок Павленківський), Zinkivska str., 4-6B (near Train Stn), ☏ +380 532 511173. 2 Yurivskyi Market (Ринок Юрівський), Polovky str.(Половки вул.), 45 (Northwest), ☏ +380 532 661939. 3 Central Market (Центральний ринок), Shevchenka (Шевченка вул.), 29 (Center), ☏ +380 532 612952.

Eat

1 Mimino Hotel-Restaurant (Ресторанно-готельний комплекс Міміно), Biriuzova Marshala str.( вул. Бірюзова Маршала), 15 (Near to Train Stn.), ☏ +380 532 275012, +380 532 509883. 2 Riviera Hotel (Ресторанно-готельний комплекс Ривєра), Rybalskyi lane.(пров. Рибальський), 16, ☏ +380 532 572344.

Sleep

Budget 1 Vivat Hotel (Готель «Віват Провінція»), 3A Zenkivska Street, Pobyvanka, ☏ +380 500 645685. From 800 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Tourist Hotel (Готель «Турист»), 12 Myru Street, ☏ +380 679979711, [email protected]. From 350 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Hotel Almaz (Готель «Алмаз»), 60 Kyiv Highway, ☏ +380 963070900, +380 667117772, [email protected]. From 700 грн. (updated Sep 2023)

Mid-range Ukraina Hotel (Готель «Україна»), 41A Sobornosti Street, ☏ +380 532 546544, +380 665857582, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] EMAIL. From 1,160 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Alleya Grand Hotel (Готель «Алея Гранд»), 57 Sobornosti Street, ☏ +380 532 579737, [email protected]. From 1,200 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Kyiv Hotel (Готель «Київ»), 2 Sinna Street, ☏ +380 532 224286. From 1,520 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Premier Hotel Palazzo, 33 Gogolya Street, ☏ +380 532 611205, +380 679611205, +380 532 611208, [email protected]. From 2,083 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Optima Collection Gallery Poltava (Optima Collection Галерея Полтава), 7 Yevropeiska Street, ☏ +380 503 052283, +380 532 561697, +380 675313721, [email protected]. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. From 1,925 грн. (updated Sep 2023)

Go next

Dnipro Kyiv Kharkiv Lubny three hours by bus. The main sight here Savior-Transfiguration Monastery Mgar. Also good base to visit [http://nppns.at.ua/ Nyzhnosulskyy National Park] and Pyriatyn National Natural Park

Myrhorod three hours by train or bus. Enjoy the Resort Myrhorod (Миргородкурорт) and the Ukrainan rural town charm