Nahoryany

Dnistrovskyi district · Chernivtsi region

The village of Nahoryany is located on both banks of a steep ravine. At one end, it is adjacent to a pasture that stretches to the Dniester, surrounded by high stone cliffs. If these rocks could talk, we would hear many different stories about the brave and strong people who live in this village. That is why the village of Nahoryany is called "the village on top".

The village is located in the Kelmenets district, Chernivtsi region, the distance from Nahoryany to the regional center is 100 km, to the district center 12 km. The village borders on the village of Hrushevtsi (1.7 km away), on the southern side - on the village of Babyn (3.3 km), and on the western side - on the village of Lenkivtsi (3 km). The Dniester River, Sursha River and Sara Lunga River flow near the village.

The most interesting natural object of Kelmenets region is located here. To the east of the village, nature itself has created a unique geological landmark - the Shyshkovi Hills. Indeed, the three-row chain of cone-shaped hills that rise 15-20 meters above the high bank of the Dniester resemble cones from a distance. This miracle appeared millions of years ago, when natural forces destroyed a barrier reef in the warm sea whose waters were splashing in this place.

The Dniester bank near Nahoryany is a jumble of miraculous rocks, among which three with "human" names stand out the most: "Grandfather, Grandmother, and Granddaughter. Such beauty could not but give rise to folk legends, which gave names to these works of nature. One such legend tells of a sad love story between a rich, beautiful girl from the Nahoryany and a poor village boy. As usual, the girl's elderly parents were against such an unequal marriage, especially since the owner of Nahoryany was wooing the beauty. To eliminate the "competitor," the rich man sent the girl's lover to a dangerous job floating timber down the Dniester, where he died. The girl committed suicide by throwing herself into the river from the highest cliff.

Take the time and fuel to explore the banks of the Dniester in Kelmenets region from the opposite, Podillia side. To see this beauty, you need to go through Kamianets-Podilskyi to the village of Vrublivtsi and drive south for a couple more kilometers. On the opposite side are the Nahoryany. It is from here that the Shyshky hills and numerous stone blocks can be seen in their full glory!

Many artists were born in the village, and there are burials of lords who are hidden under a cross on the mountain. Some people say that there is gold in the crypt, but those who tried to find it never returned. The settlement on the high remnant of the right bank of the Dniester has a platform (20 m in diameter) bounded by ramparts and escarpments along the edge of the promontory and on the floor side. Ceramics of the 9th and 11th and 12th centuries were found. Some researchers consider it to be sacred.

The small village of Nahoryany is the center of folk carpet weaving in all of Bukovyna. The only museum of carpet weaving in the region, which dates back to the 30s of the twentieth century, operates here. Back then, a resident of the village, Andrii Kytaihorodskyi, opened a cloth mill in Nahoryany. Today, the amulet of the estate-museum is Victoria Kitayhorodska, who has conveyed many secrets of creating patterned carpets throughout her life to the present day.

The legend

During the Turkish rule, a man lived in the village. One day he brought rye from the field, unharnessed the horses from the cart and let them graze in the pasture, and he began to thresh the rye. At that time, a Turk was passing by the pasture. His horse was a meek and nondescript one. When he saw the beautiful horses grazing in the pasture, he decided to "trade" his dull horse for a couple of bay horses. Having quickly mounted one of them, the Turk was about to spur him on when he gave an alarming whinny. The owner heard his horse's whinnying and rushed to the paddock with the chain. When he saw the Turk on the horse, he swung the chain so hard that it fell to the ground like a pear. That's why old people still say when it comes to the pasture: "Where our husband killed the Turk."