About the region
Khmelnytsky Region is situated on the Right-Bank Ukraine, in the middle part of Volyn-Podil sublimity. It is the part of Ukrainian Podillya with its picturesque landscapes, fertile earths and hardworking people. No by chance more than one century age genius Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrayinka with love and genuine fascination wrote about that land: «Beautiful Ukraine, Podollya!» In the present boundaries Khmelnytsky Region has been existing since September 22, 1937, when Kamyanets-Podilskiy region was established. In 1941 the regional center was moved to Proskuriv, and the region was renamed into Khmelnytsky in 1954.
The territory of Khmelnytsky Region is 20.6 thousand square km. It is mainly forest-steppe, although the northern part of Khmelnytsky Region is the Polissya area. More than one million and four hundred thousand people live in the region. Khmelnytsky Region comprises 13 cities, 24 settlements of urban type and 1416 villages. Khmelnytsky land has rich history, varied vegetable and animal world, and unique landscapes, rocks, caves, lakes and natural-raw potential.
By supplies of water resources Khmelnytsky Region takes the sixth place in the country as well as it is third by variety of vegetable resources (after the Crimea and Carpathians).
The tourist resources of Khmelnytsky land are one of the powerful in Ukraine (after the Crimea and Carpathians). In the northern part of the region there is Polissya with its unique pine-woods. Exactly pine-woods and their ozone air did at one time the estate of grandees Sangushki in Slavutych region by the original Mecca for patients with tuberculosis. The elite of the Russian empire, Poland and Austria treated there. And the found supplies of radon waters enable to create creation of powerful resorts on their base.
Khmelnytsky Region has powerful recreation and balneology resources due to the presence of great number of sources of high-quality mineral water. The mineral water “Zbruchanska” (like as Truskavets “Naftusya”) gave possibility to found resorts “Sataniv” and “Makiv” and the like. In fact the Zbruchansky deposit of mineral water is the biggest one in Europe. The people with the problems of digestion organs are making healthy here due to the use of this water as well as radio-active isotopes are brought out from the human organism.
There are almost 270 territories and objects of reserves in Khmelnytsky land. The National Natural Park “Podil Tovtry”, where due to general efforts of many Podil inhabitants 60 species of plants, 80 kinds of insects, birds and animals were put to the Red Book of Ukraine, is the invaluable its treasure. On the territory of this park the “Atlantis”, one of the most beautiful spouting horns is placed also.
The history of Khmelnytsky land has a lot of glorious pages. One of the most interesting cities of not only Khmelnytsky Region but also Ukraine and Europe is ancient Kamyanets-Podilsky city named by the pearl on stone. Its architecture saved the samples of cultures of many people, whose are living here: Ukrainians, Jewries and Armenians. And also there are many religions here such as orthodox, catholic, Judaic and moslem.
The center of world cultural inheritance UNESCO has registered the statement of Kamyanets-Podilsky city about inclusion of this Old city to the list of inheritance of world culture. Lately by joint efforts of local community and city authorities there was done much for the sake of creation of modern tourist infrastructure. Conducting of annual holidays and festivals assists in popularity of ancient Kamyanets as tourist center, in particular, Cossack Zabavy and International Festival of National Cultures. The tourists from the whole world will be interesting to visit also Trypillya settlement in Lutsa-Brublevska, Medzhubizka fortress, ancient cities Izyaslav and Polonne. The Bakotsky rock monastery and grave of Hasidism founder Baal Shem Tova attract tourists.
The well-developed transport connection by railway and motor transport assists to development of tourism. In the near future it is planned construction of the speed-up highway “Western Europe-Kyiv” passing through Khmelnytsky land. Khmelnytsky land is the land of large prospects.
Природно-рекреаційний комплекс: 269 територій та об’єктів природно-заповідного фонду: Національний природний парк «Подільські Товтри», 39 заказників, 198 пам’яток природи, Кам’янець-Подільський ботанічний сад і дендропарк, 7 заповідних урочищ, 24 пам’ятки садово-паркового мистецтва. Природними рекреаційними ресурсами вважаються сприятливі кліматичні умови, лісові масиви, джерела мінеральних вод, на їх базі створено курорт Сатанів.
Транспортна мережа: загальна довжина залізниць – 732 км, автошляхів – близько 7 тис. км, зокрема з твердим покриттям – 6,2 тис. км. Найбільші залізничні вузли – Шепетівка, Гречани, Хмельницький. У Хмельницькому є аеропорт.
Історико-культурний потенціал: загальна кількість пам’яток історії, археології, містобудування, архітектури, монументального мистецтва – 2015. Найвідомішим туристичним об’єктом є Національний історико-архітектурний заповідник «Кам’янець» у м. Кам’янець-Подільському, серед пам’яток якого – укріплення ХІV–ХVІ ст.: Гончарна, Кравецька, Кушнірська, Папська та інші вежі; Руська і Польська брами ХVІ–ХVІІІ ст.; церква Петра і Павла ХVІ ст.; готичний костьол ХVІ ст.; турецький мінарет 1672–1692 рр.; ратуша ХVІ ст.; Тріумфальна арка ХVІІІ ст.; дерев’яна Хрестоздвиженська церква на Карвасарах ХVІІІ ст.; монастирі ХVІ–ХVІІІ ст.; костьоли, замки, залишки фортець та інші пам’ятки.
У Хмельницькому 2 театри, обласна філармонія. В області 4 музеї.
Культура Хмельниччини унікальна: вона ввібрала в себе духовну спадщину не тільки українського народу, а й, внаслідок історичних обставин, російського, польського, єврейського, вірменського, молдавського.
