Poltava City Information

General Information and City Photos
Maps
	Time Zone The Time in Poltava, Ukraine

The old town of Poltava situated on the banks of the Vorskla River (a tributary of the Dnepr) is a provincial center in Ukraine. It's an administrative center of Poltava Province. The population of the city is 350,000.

The name of the town appears in chronicles for the first time in 1174 under the name of Ltava. Later, at the end of the 13th century, the settlement and surrounding territories were occupied by the Mongol-Tatar hordes of Baty-Khan.

In 1430 name "Poltava" was mentioned as a settlement that was part of the Lithuanian principality. It was transferred to Poland in 1569 and in 1667 became part of Russia.

What made the city really famous was the Battle of Poltava in 1709.

The Battle of Poltava is perhaps the most famous episode in the Great Northern War (1700-1721). In 1700, Russian Tsar Peter the Great allied with Denmark, Saxony and Poland to attack Swedish hegemony in the North. When the forces finally defeated King Charles XII of Sweden in 1709 at Poltava, it became the turning point of the Great Northern War, heralding the collapse of the Swedish Empire and the rise of Russia, the effects of which would be felt for almost three hundred years. Idiom "like a Swede at Poltava" is still a synonym for "totally helpless" in the Russian and Ukrainian languages.

During World War II Poltava was destroyed by the bombing and street battles and in 1944 it started its life anew.

If you flew over Poltava today, you'd see a large green circle with streets dispersing from it like the rays of the sun. The green circle is a central park, the heart of the town. Two streets cross it, so the park seems to consist of four quarters.

The center of Poltava is the oldest and most beautiful part of town where you will find a lot of especially interesting places. Most of the houses there were built in the 19th - 20th centuries. Dozens of shops, offices and restaurants are situated there, so the streets are never empty, even at night.

New residential areas look dull in comparison with the picturesque city center.

Public transport is well-developed in Poltava. Owning a personal car is not important for people who live and work within the town limits. To get to work or to school residents usually travel by bus or trolleybus because it's cheaper.

In 1999 Poltava celebrated its 825th anniversary. However, posters and shop windows showed two anniversary dates - 825 and 1,100. Why? In 1998 archaeologists found the proof of the fact that the town is no less than 1,100 years old.