Vytachiv, Duke's Spire and Wooden Chapel

Hello today, folks!

Today I want to share a short story about one of my favorite places in Ukraine. It is a place where I come to for just being there, look outside and inside of myself, to breath and walk.

The first picture is my entry to Week #036 of Landscape/Seascape contest hosted by @axeman. This is a chapel located in Vytachiv village, Kyiv region.

And here is the story.

Vytachiv is small (about 800 people), but very old settlement. In 10 century the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos called it the largest port on the Dnieper.

Dnieper is the biggest river of Ukraine and one of the major rivers of Europe.

In ancient times, it was a really big city with large port. At the bottom of the his there is still a small bay where sailers could dock their boats.

Also, it was a place where in 1100 the congress of Dukes of Kievan Rus took place.

Recently, scientists have excavated a graveyard and ancient settlement here. Also, it is surrounded with private territory, that's why this chapel at the first photo was build in 1991 not at it's original place, but on the hill named Duke's Spire. The one can get inside with a guided tour. And for others this is a viewpoint with amazing views.

According to legend, here in the 1940's the First Apostle Andrew raised the FIRST cross of the Slavs as a symbol of their new faith.

And there is a cross there now, very beautiful but modern. The second photo I captured with my smartphone, it is a view of the river through the forged elements of the cross.

Thank you for coming along!

I am with @qurator, and you?

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