Kherson Celebrates Its Birthday: The History of Its Founding and Interesting Facts About the City.

Traditionally, Kherson City Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of September. In 2024, this date falls on September 21. «Glavkom» has prepared for you the history of the city's founding and interesting facts about it.

The History of Kherson's Founding

Kherson was founded in the 17th century and received city status in 1778 when the Kherson Fortress was laid down according to the project by the chief architect of the Admiralty Board, Mikhail Vetoshnikov. During construction, the initial project was adjusted and changed. By 1988, the fortress – an example of earthen fortification construction of that Time – was mostly completed. This is reported by the Kherson MBA.

In 1928, an electrolight hospital was opened in Kherson. In the early 1930s, it was transformed into an institute of physical treatment methods with water treatment, mud treatment, inhalation departments, an X-ray room, and a chemical-analytical laboratory.

In 1828 – the first pharmacy in Kherson – the private Miller's pharmacy was opened. It was located on the first floor of a building at the corner of Suvorovskaya and Potemkinskaya Streets (now K. Marx Street). Thanks to the round-the-clock operation, Miller's pharmacy remained the most popular in the city for several decades.

In 1853 – entrepreneur Vadon founded a large mechanical workshop on the banks of the Dnieper, which in the 1860s turned into an iron foundry and mechanical plant. During the Crimean War, the mechanical workshop fulfilled its first state order for the casing of 60 gun carriages for the Ochakov Fortress.

In Kherson, in 1798, the Assumption Cathedral was consecrated. The temple was laid down in 1786 in the very center of the Merchant's Suburb on the wide Greek Square. The necessity of building the temple was due to the fact that services in the Church of St. Sophia, which was operating in the suburb, were conducted in Greek. Therefore, the residents of the suburb applied to Archbishop Nikifor of Kherson and Slaven with a petition to build a temple in the name of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On May 31, 1898 – the solemn opening of the provincial scholarly archival commission and provincial archaeological museum took place in the hall of the Kherson City Library.

In 1969, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Kherson's liberation from Nazi invaders, a monument «T-34 Tank» was unveiled in the Park of Glory, and the square at the corner of Nikolaev Highway, Oil Workers Avenue, and R. Luxembourg Street was named Victory Square.

In 2022, from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the territory of the Kherson region was under attack from Russian armed forces. On the first day of the invasion, February 24, 2022, the Russian army crossed the administrative border of the Kherson region with annexed Crimea and began the occupation of the region. In early March, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost control of the regional center – the city of Kherson.

At the end of March 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive in the western part of the region, liberating several settlements. On November 11 of the same year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces de-occupied the right-bank part of the Kherson region, including the city of Kherson.

Interesting Facts About Kherson

• Forbes included the 11-meter Kherson sundial, which is a monument dedicated to John Howard, in the top five most unusual street clocks in Ukraine. This is reported by visitukraine.today.

• Kherson is literally a city on catacombs.

• The suitcases of the famous Louis Vuitton brand were made from raw materials supplied from the Kherson region.
• According to legend, many orphaned children and local residents died in the Kherson fortification well during World War II.

Let us remind you that in 2022, Kherson was recognized as «Hero City of Ukraine» for the mass heroism and resilience of its citizens during the resistance to the armed Russian invasion.