Хортица – колыбель Запорожского казачества

In the city limits of Zaporizhzhya lies the beautiful Khortytsia Island. Not only the biggest on the Dnieper River but also the most diverse piece of land from many aspects. It has rocky cliffs and vibrant green floodplains, forests and steppe areas, marches and lakes, ancient findings and national history glory too, namely a direct correlation to the Zaporizhian Cossacks.
The latter probably is the most pronounced theme on the Khortytsia Island nowadays.
In the years of Independence, there have appeared wonderful expositions in the Museum of Zaporizhian Cossacks History telling about the glorious Ukrainian worriers in the most amazing and interesting details.
The open-air Zaporizhian Sich museum features a reconstruction of a Cossack settlement with inherent architectural units for the Zaporizhian Sich, which literally means: “a fortification made of chopped wood and located behind the river rapids”.. It is not a copy of any Cossack settlement that existed in reality but an accurate image of it.
The Cossack Show will complete the excursion to the island. Handsome Cossacks with immutable oseledets on clearly shaven heads, with gorgeous mustaches, dressed in traditional costumes perform tricky Cossack martial Arts and make a perfect equestrian show on the Khortytsia Island. Sometimes the show is complemented with an authentic Cossack treat of kasha and horilka.