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Sumy
Below you will find links to websites with information about the city of Sumy in Ukraine.
General Information and City Photo's
Tour Information
Apartments
History
EuroScope:
On-Line Guides: Ukraine: Sumy
Women
from Sumy
Special offer with tours to Sumy: Free pick up and drop with driver in Kiev. Free introduction letter to 25 women. Free unlimited internet access in your apartment. Interpreter's services for free. Car with a driver can be arranged for €45-50/day
My agent from Sumy will arrange to have all tour clients met on their arrival in Kiev because Sumy does not have an airport. She will have a driver take you to your apartment in Sumy, pictures below. The drive takes 3 1/2 hours over the 340km distance from Kiev to Sumy. You will also be returned to Kiev the same way. I advise you not to take a large amount of money in cash into Ukraine. You can take credit cards (Mastercard or VISA) and easily withdraw cash from ATM machines (in USD or Ukrainian Gryvnas). You can get cash from your cards in banks (for this you need to show your passport). You can also cash €US travelers checks in banks. Banks take commission of 1-3%. Please note, sometimes in banks they do not change old bills or banknotes with defects.
Prices in Sumy are reasonably low. For example, a taxi cab drives you to any district of the city for €1-3. Here are some other prices for food and services in Sumy. Bread - €0.25, milk - €0.25 for litre, beer - €0.30 for bottle, wine - €2 for bottle. Dinner in restaurant will cost you €10 for person. We can buy you any food, flowers and gifts and deliver it to any apartment according to your order. Top
ApartmentsApartments in Sumy cost €125 per day as part of our tour package. We have 2-room apartments for guests. The apartments are located downtown and 7 minutes walk from my agents office. They are comfortable, clean, safe, furnished and well equipped (phone, PC PII-233 with Windows 98, different software and unlimited internet access, TV). The apartments are located nearby to each other. Please note our power supply voltage is 220V. If you plan to bring your own electrical equipment make sure it works with local voltage. Our kitchen has china, fridge, coffee-maker. The phone in apartments is only for local calls which are free of charge. Click on the photo's to enlarge the image. Top
In the middle of the 17th century in the northeast of present day Ukraine
a town-fortress came into being. It sprang up in an incredibly picturesque
setting with numerous marks of ancient Slav settlements, completely uninhabited
at that time. Voivode K.Arsenyev who guided the construction of the fortress
reported to the Russian tsar Alexei Mikhailovich that on the river Psyol
in the mouth of the Suma River the town had been built. The town-fortress
was built by Russian military men and Ukrainian migrants from over the Dnieper
who later became the dwellers of the town and neighboring settlements. It
was thanks to them that there appeared a legend about hunting bags (bag - «suma»).
It says that three hunting bags full of gold were found in an oak-tree wood.
It was like a blessing for the people to start the town at that place. It
became an insurmountable barrier for Tatars' forays in the southern boundary
of Moscow Rus. In the autumn of 1708 the town-fortress was preparing for
its last defence. The Russian tsar Peter the Great spent two months in the
town, devoting all his time to the fortification work to protect Sumy from
Europe's strongest army of Sweeds.
Bravery
and valor of the citizens was highly appreciated by the Government. It gave
Sumy significant privileges that had made the town an important centre of
trade and handicrafts by the end of 18th century. Annual fairs held Sumy
merchants from Russia, Ukraine, Western Europe and Asia. The worthy place
among the items of production was occupied by those made by Sumy potters,
curriers, blacksmiths, weavers and jewelers. In 1786 the town's center was
reconstructed into new housing estates by the famous architect P.Yaroslavsky.
The old center has been preserved up to our days. In 1869 in Sumy was built
the Pavlovsky sugar refinery which soon became the most important one in
Europe. The railway connected Sumy with the major industrial and commercial
centers. The town was flourishing: new brick houses, large shops, educational
institutions, banks, public gardens sprang one after another. And all that
could happen thanks to the owners of local enterprises, above all to the
owner of the sugar refineries Ivan Kharitonenko. He wrote in his last will: "Love
Sumy as much as I did". In 1899 on the people's donations a monument to this
man was placed in the center of Sumy (by the famous sculptor A. Opekushin).
By 1914 Sumy had changed into the best-built chief town of the district with
all amenities in the whole of the Kharkov province. There appeared cobbled
streets and urban water supply, electricity and telephone communications.
2 theatres and several cinemas were functioning in the town. 50000 people
lived in Sumy.
The
cataclysms of history did not pass by Sumy. In 1918-1919 the town lost most
of its industry, in 20s-30s - a number of outstanding architectural memorials.
In 1939 Sumy became an administrative center of the Sumy oblast (area). During
World War II the citizens experienced the 2 years of fascist occupation.
After the war chemical, machine-building and instrument-making industries
began to develop. Sumy has changed greatly by now. Its population is over
300000 people who have gone through lots of different events. We should render
the residents their due - they managed to preserve their dignity and they
did not become hardened no matter how much they had to suffer. Those who
happen to come to Sumy enjoy its' fascinating sites, unforgettable historical
environment and hospitality of the Sumy folk.
Museums
1. The Sumy Fine Arts Museum. Opened in 1920. Started from nationalized
private collections of the town and district, among them O.Gansen's collection.
Today the museum is one of the most outstanding arts centers in Ukraine which
contains unique paintings and works of applied arts. The building made in
the early 20th century.
2. The Museum of Local Lore. Founded in 1920. In the years of fascist occupation
the most important items of its collections were lost. Today it contains
unique collections covering archaeology and natural history of the Sumy Area.
Located in the building of the 19th century that originally was the seat
of the district government. In different years the building was visited by
A.Kuprin and V.Korolenko, the famous writers.
3. The Chekhov Museum-reserve in Sumy. A unique architectural complex representing
a nobleman's country estate of the 18th - 19th centuries in Luka that belonged
to the Lintvaryovs. In 1888-1889 a great writer and dramatist Anton Chekhov
lived in the western outbuilding of the main estate. For many years A.Chekhov
was dreaming to settle down in Luka forever but his dream did not come true.
"Abbacia and the Adriatic Sea are superb, but Luka and the Psyol are better",
- he wrote in his letter from Italy to his friends in Sumy in 1894.
The most important industries
1. Joint-stock company "Frunze Production Association". It goes back to
machine-building workshops, founded by Belgium joint-stock company in 1896.
The main work is to design and produce pumps, compressors for gas pipelines,
chemical equipment, and consumer goods.
2. Sumy Industrial Association of Power Plant Pump Manufacture - PO "Nasosenergomash".
It was founded in 1949. It produces centrifugal, vacuum and torque-flow pumps,
used almost in all fields of national economy.
3. Production Amalgamation "Khimprom". It is one of the biggest chemical
enterprises in Ukraine. The 2 first workshops came into operation more than
40 years ago; they were to produce sulphuric acid and super phosphate. Today
it produces mineral fertilizers, acids, paints, and pigments.
Below you will find links to websites with information about the city of Sumy in Ukraine. Top
