In the entire history of Uman, no scientific studies were conducted in the city. However, construction, repair, and refurbishing works were and are being conducted constantly. In particular, on the territory of the former Uman fortress, at a distance of 200-300 m. from which the "Fortetsia" restaurant-hotel complex is located. At different times, many archaeological monuments were discovered near the "Fortress" - evidence of Uman's eventful historical past. In particular, along the avenue Stone (within the former Uman fortress) - several pits - cellars, so the version about a continuous underground passage from the Uman fortress to the Greek forest arose. The ruins of 4 houses were found here. In one of them, a part of the eastern wall with an oven and broken fire bowls, fragments of tiles with the image of a rider on a horse was preserved. On the territory of the Old Bazaar (within the former Uman fortress) a part of the catacombs and 3 entrances to the dungeon were discovered. According to folk tales, here in the middle of the 18th century. the house of the governor of the Uman Key, Ignats Deshpot Mladanovich, was located. On the territory of the Old Bazaar, the following were also found: rows of bricks laid along the line of the defensive rampart of the former Uman fortress, two brick arches, a pottery kiln, ashes of a destroyed residential complex with an underground passage. The monument dates back to the first half of the 17th century. In the western part of the Uman fortress, outside the outer rampart, a large amount of hewn wood, chopped bones of cattle and shards of dishes were found (therefore, many people ate here for a long time).
So let's cross the bridge - masonry. No, not through the Umanka River. From the present to the past of our region - at least 500 - 100 years ago.
The town of Humano (Human. Now Uman of the Cherkasy region) was located north of the forest of Perevoloka (later names Perevallia, Perevolia). The Uman fortress stood in a convenient place for defense - in a bend (loop) of the Umanka river, on a high cliff rising between ravines and swamps. From the south, the Uman settlement was covered by the old, large and dense forest of Perevoloka. To the north of Uman is a forest-steppe. The Umanku River flows from the village of Kochubiivka in the direction of Uman. Around the city of Humano are tracts, fords across rivers and paths. In particular, the Black Way stretched along the southern outskirts of the city. (Cartographic works of the French military engineer and captain of the army of the Commonwealth of Nations (Polish state) Guillaume le Vasseur de Beauplan).
Umanshchyna was the theater of hostilities of the National Liberation War of 1648–1657 led by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. In the first months of the National Liberation War, the Uman Cossack Regiment was formed - a separate military and administrative-territorial unit. As a military formation, the Uman Cossack Regiment is one of the largest in Ukraine (14 hundred, 2,949 Cossacks). As a separate administrative-territorial unit, the lands of modern Umansky, Khrystynivskyi, Mankivskyi, Monastyrishchenskyi, Zhashkivskyi districts of Cherkasy Oblast, Ulyanovsky District of Kirovohrad Oblast, and Bershadsky District of Vinnytsia Oblast were included in the composition of the Umansky Regiment. Residents of Uman Oblast supported the policy of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, aimed at creating an independent Ukrainian state. Thanks to the efforts of tens of thousands of Ukrainians, including Uman Oblast, in 1648 a new politically independent country appeared on the map of Europe - the Ukrainian Cossack-Hetman State (Zaporozhian Army).
Uman is the administrative center of the Uman Cossack Regiment. The city is growing. In the direction to the southeast, on the slope of Goose Ravine, the suburb of Svichkarnya (later called Turok) appeared, on the right bank of the Umanka River the suburbs settled: Basarabka, Rakivka, Zvenigorodske and Vovkove (modern name Ivangorodske).
For the Ukrainian army and the Cossacks of the Uman regiment, separate premises were built on the outskirts of Uman - Cossack huts, and the city of Uman was turned into a fortress. The Uman fortress was surrounded by 3 rows of specially filled earth ramparts and the same number of deep ditches between them. The fortress walls (chastokile) were made of oak piles, 3 gates were built with high brick towers and loopholes. The main gate - Rakivska was located where the modern Sholom-Aleichem Street begins (near PJSC "Zavod "Megommeter". 200 meters to the "Fortetsia" restaurant and hotel complex). The Umani fortification and defense complex was considered impregnable. Contemporaries equated the Uman citadel with the Dutch (Kingdom of the Netherlands) Breda fortress.
In fact, part of the modern street Chapaeva, on which the "Fortetsia" restaurant-hotel complex is located, at that time was just the bank of the Umanka River near the southern wall of the Umansk Fortress. Low, gentle and in some places swampy, overgrown with grass, sedge and sedge...
According to the Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, representatives of the three largest Ukrainian regiments - Umanskyi, Kalnytskyi (Vinnytskyi) and Pavolotskyi - were not present at the adoption of the Pereyaslavsk agreement in 1654 on a temporary military alliance between the Ukrainian state and Muscovy. Residents of the settlements of these regiments, Cossacks and military officers refused to swear "loyalty" to the Tsar of Muscovy. According to folk tales, Colonel Kalnytskyi (Vinnytskyi) Ivan Bohun took an important step in political and moral terms - as a sign of protest against the unlawful demands of the Moscow government at the signing of a regular military agreement, he broke his battle saber and, shouting "Treason!", threw its fragments under legs of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
During the National Liberation War of 1648-1657, there were three major battles near Umanya. For the first time, Polish soldiers tried to storm the Uman fortress on March 24-25, 1654. They could not and lifted the siege.
The second battle took place on January 14-17, 1655. Uman was defended by Cossacks of the Umansky, Kalnytskyi (Vinnytsia) and Bratslavsky regiments (12 thousand Cossacks and volunteers). The assault continued on January 15–16, 1655, and on January 17, 1655, the Poles lifted the siege. In 1655, the Polish army planned to capture Kyiv, but the steadfastness of the defenders of the Uman fortress canceled this plan.
In February 1655, the Tatars tried to capture Uman. They couldn't! In Bratslav region and Uman region, the Tatars destroyed 270 settlements, destroyed 1,000 temples, took 200,000 inhabitants of the region into captivity. Uman persevered!
In 1654 and 1656, Antioch Patriarch Macarius the Third and Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo (Aleppo, Syria) traveled through Ukraine. Paul of Aleppo called Humano (Uman) the first big city of the Land of the Cossacks. In addition to the fortress, there were 9 Orthodox churches in Uman. The choir of the Holy Easter Church sang prayers according to the notes and accompanied by the organ, Umanchans could read and write - at that time an unheard of phenomenon for many countries of the world! In 1657, Uman region was visited by the statesman of the Ottoman Porte (Turkey) Evliya Celebi. He noted that the people of Uman (like all Ukrainians) are a "steadfast, stubborn and angry people", Uman is a large and ancient city, and the Uman fortress is a reliable fortification.
After the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654, the historical fate of Ukrainians was in the hands of the Polish state, Turkey and Muscovy. In 1667, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovy signed the Andrus Agreement and divided Ukraine between them. Kyiv, the Left Bank of Ukraine was captured by Muscovy. Umanshchyna, part of Right Bank Ukraine, was under the protectorate of the Polish state. Hetman of Ukraine Petro Doroshenko tried to unite the Ukrainian lands and for this he concluded a military agreement with the Ottoman Porte. But in Uman, an anti-hetman rebellion inspired by Moscow arose. In 1674, the Uman regiment swore allegiance to the Tsar of Muscovy. As a result, the 150,000-strong Turkish army burned the Uman fortress and the city, and depopulated other settlements in the Uman region. Suppression of the anti-state rebellion with the help of the Turkish state undermined the authority of Petro Doroshenko in Ukrainian society.
In 1732, Uman region was taken over by the Pototskyi clan, namely the Kyiv and Volyn voivode Franz (Franciszek) Salesii Pototskyi. In 1761, the construction of the new Uman fortress (Old Town) was completed. Its engineering and fortification system is one of the best in Right Bank Ukraine. The new Uman fortress stood in the same place as its predecessor - on a rocky hill above the Umanka river. The population of Uman is 2,200 people, of which 1,128 are Ukrainians (burghers and peasants). Umanchans-Ukrainians according to the social status of the serf Franz (Francischek) Saleziy Pototskyi.
Uman is a significant military, economic, trade, spiritual and religious, socio-political, cultural and educational center of the Commonwealth of Nations in Ukraine. By order of Franz (Franciszek) Pototsky, for the maximum possible economic exploitation, the Uman Volost was divided into smaller administrative and economic zones - keys (a total of 12 keys, among them Umansky). To maintain order in the territory of the enslaved region, 2 regiments of court Cossacks (2-2,600 people, local Ukrainians), 60 noblemen and an infantry garrison were stationed in Uman. On June 22, 1768, Uman occupied a special place in Ukrainian history - the Cossack Council proclaimed the restoration of an independent Ukrainian state on both sides of the Dnieper under the rule of a Ukrainian hetman. Maksym Zaliznyak was elected Hetman of Ukraine, and Uman Colonel Ivan Honta was elected Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army. The National Liberation War of 1768–1769 began on May 29, 1768, and on June 18, 1768, the units of Ivan Gonta and Maksym Zaliznyak approached Uman. The Haydamaks immediately destroyed the Polish military camp near Uman, and on June 21, 1768, stormed the Uman fortress. The people of Uman met the leaders of the National Liberation War of 1768-1769, Ivan Honta and Maksym Zaliznyak, as liberators - with bread and salt. But at the request of the Polish government, on the night of July 7, 1768, the Russian army conducted a military operation against the Haydamaks. Part of the Haydamaks died in battle, 1,954 patriots of Ukraine were brought under the field court of the Polish government. 700 of them, including Ivan Gonta, were executed. The fate of Maksym Zaliznyak is not known for sure. Almost 200 residents of Uman Oblast were executed as participants in the National Liberation War of 1768–1769. In 1795, the Russian Empire, Austria and Prussia put an end to the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Under the terms of the agreement on the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the sovereign independent Polish state disappeared from the political map of the world. Umanshchyna was under the protectorate of the Russian Empire. In 1795, the Uman district was formed. In 1796, it became a constituent part of the Kyiv province, the city of Uman received the status of the center of the Uman district. Until the Soviet administrative reform of 1923, Uman County was a part of the Kyiv Governorate. In 1796, according to the idea of Stanislav Felix Schensny Pototsky, the construction of "Sophiivka" - a landscape park in a romantic style - began in Uman. In terms of development, the city still retains the features of a traditional Ukrainian settlement: 6 parts - corners instead of streets and quarters. All 770 houses, churches, both Orthodox churches, both factories are wooden, 51 stone buildings (Basilian monastery, Orthodox church, 8 residential buildings, 40 benches). There are no inns (hotels at that time). From the outside, mud huts huddled against the walls of the Uman fortress. Shrubs, old trees, grass grew in the tract "Kamyanka" (where now "Sofiivka" is located, and the livestock of the residents of Uman grazed). From the north, Uman was surrounded by ravines, the nearest to the city of Grekiv ravine - the longest and deepest. In ravines, from underground sources, Umanchans took water. From the north and northeast, Uman was protected by large forests - Grekiv lis and Bilogrudivskyi. 6 thousand people lived in Uman. Along the southern side of the rock on which the Human fortress stood, the Humanka river rushes to the Z/Zhvirka pond. The low, flat, sometimes swampy left bank is overgrown with sedge and sedge. In the shade of the old hollow willows, a group of people is buzzing - queues to the mill are standing still. There he is - the old oak walls turn gray in the sun, the water in the trays makes a fun noise and plays with a rainbow. A little further on, another mill hums busily. People also crowd near him, horses fork, oxen respectfully quench their thirst with river water. Today, a majestic building of the restaurant-hotel complex "Fortetsia" stands on this place (address: Chapaeva St., building 52).
Fragments of the stone foundation and the legend about the old miller and his beautiful daughter remain from the mill. No one knows from which regions and when the old miller came to Human. They say that from his youth he was a Cossack on the Dnieper, with his fellow Zaporozhians he cut down a Turk and a Tatar with a saber, and both the Lyakhs and the Muscovites got it. As he got older, he got married and began to manage the land. What disaster happened, where the woman and the household were divided - it is not known, the old Cossack came to Human on foot, with his little daughter on his shoulders. He built a house on the bank of the Humanka, and then a mill to everyone's surprise - it was spacious and tall. Myroshnik day after day in the mill - sometimes he grinds grain for people, then he tells stories of his past - where he has been, how people live in foreign lands. And most of all, about the Cossack exploits, about the battles with the enemies of Ukraine: about Sahaidachny, about the Cossack blood-soaked field near Berestechko, about Mazepa, who saved Ukraine from Moscow, about the glorious Doroshenko... People heard more than one story, more than one Cossack song-thought from the miller and marveled at how much he knows and how incomprehensible he tells. It is as if the wind of truth, sprinkled with ashes on the heat, blows it away. And such a fire is kindled in the heart that I would have jumped on a swift horse, saber in hand and started to gain the will of Ukraine! A difficult miller man, the fame of the neighborhood has gone, a difficult character. The way he sometimes looks at some fool who is talking about Ukrainians, something terrible, as if from a gun... It was rumored that the miller was known to deal with both gods and devils. As ground flour, bread is like the sun. Anyone who needs flour for Passover or a wedding loaf should only go to him. It has long been known that millers are devil's godfathers, so they are not afraid of water or water inhabitants. Time has passed. Miroshnyk has grown old, although he was strong and sinewy, and just as witty on the tongue. Myroshnikov's daughter has grown up, it's time for the crown - even if you drink water from her face, she is so beautiful, she will speak like a chirping bird, she will laugh - coral beads roll and jump. As it goes, the logs are pushed in a cloud. The housewife is restless - both around the house and in the mill, she helps her father. She was kind to people, and she loved and respected her father the most. And how will he embroider a shirt either for himself or for his father! But the water-lily has woven something into her braids, and you can't do that, because these are the flowers of mermaids. The people warned the father, "Lord, do not bring any calamity..." He laughed with a Cossack mustache "We live near water and from water we chew bread...". They reached out to the miller of the old man. "Let it grow..." he says. Overturned elders - do not count. No and no! People shouted: "It's not good! It's not customary not to let your daughter get married!". Miroshnyk on that: "I myself know which Cossack my child needs...". When an orphan got married - no father, no mother, no family. The miller did not order towels to be served for him either, although the daughter begged, cried and fought. They loved each other. Every evening, secretly from her father, she ran to the sweet one in the willows over the river. Since that time, the daughter of Myroshnikov does not like cold water - she sits on a stone on the shore and sings songs about the unfortunate girl's fate. Wasted, withered, does not weave water lilies into braids. The old man was sad. Does not take grains of grinding. The water on the trays does not buzz. Only the song of a sad seagull squawks over Humanka. The miller couldn't stand it, called the boy to the house. The daughter was happy for the towels, and the father: "No! Let the Cossacks go first! Once again, a fierce enemy has attacked Ukraine - we must defend and liberate our native land! I would go too, but I can't do it...". At dawn, the Cossack set off. Myroshnikov's daughter led him to the Black Way, as far as the neighborhood. I said goodbye and gave her a handkerchief embroidered with silk and silver threads on the road - I thought I would use this handkerchief to tie him at the wedding, but lo and behold... A year and two have passed. Already the fifth is passing, and there are no rumors or news about the orphaned Cossack. The old man is weak, his daughter hurts him more in the mill, and he sucks his pipe and tells the people of the village. When in the seventh year a certain Cossack drove into the mill, he watered his horse on the river and sat down to listen to the old man's band. They talked about it already at the miller's house - he immediately recognized the Cossack nature and invited him to dinner. In the morning, the Cossack got ready for the road, washed himself, and instead of a towel took out an old quilted shawl from his bag. Myroshnikov's daughter took a look and frowned. "Where did you find this shawl, Cossack?" - she barely spoke. The Cossack bowed his head. Yes and yes, a note from a faithful friend. A comrade died in battle, but he left me a faithful and unhappy memory of his love. The Cossack left, and the miller followed him - to show the way in plain sight. The old man is not coming back soon - senile legs are not serving well. I called my daughter - only the echo left in the house. There is none here, neither in the yard, nor in the mill. The old man did not sleep until morning - he walked over the river and called. No - how did she fall into the water. There was a rumor among the people that the daughter of Myroshnikov was missing. The old man was sad and cried, he was completely exhausted, and you can't help the disaster. When a rumor spread about a week later that fishermen had caught a ribbon in some river, the current carried it. They say that when Myroshnikov showed her, he cried a lot - he recognized it. The old man got bored, abandoned the mill and the house, and later went somewhere. Rushed to get my daughter to Humanka, traveled to...
The "Fortetsia" restaurant and hotel complex is now on this site. The miller was forgotten, and the daughter reminds herself of herself - the ghost of a girl walks the corridors of the hotel. In a white shirt, with a wreath of water lilies. Both hotel employees and tenants saw him. A ghost "comes" into ……..a hotel room, sometimes looks into the kitchen. A ghost does no harm - on the contrary! After "getting by" in the kitchen, more visitors in the restaurant. And in that……hotel room, prophetic dreams are dreamed. In the first half of the 19th century the population of Uman increased to 26 thousand. The vast majority are craftsmen and merchants. The appearance of the city has changed. In the central part, 4 squares and 4 streets appeared: Sadova, Kyivska, Dvirtseva, Mykolaivska (lit by kerosene lanterns). In Uman there was a theater, 2 printing houses, 2 photo studios, a parish school, a district theological school, and more than 20 industrial enterprises. Taras Shevchenko visited Uman twice: in 1824, when he was a 10-year-old boy with his father, and in 1845 - as a popular artist and celebrated poet. In 1838 - 1857, the system of military settlements operated in the Uman region - a special form of organization of military units of the Russian army, according to the rules of which soldiers combined military service with agriculture. The city of Uman was the center of military settlements in 5 districts of the Kyiv and Podil provinces. The right of local residents to free movement was limited - there were military outposts on the main roads (to Zvenigorodka, Kyiv and Bratslav). One of them, Zvenigorodska, was on the modern street. Artema - near the place where the "Fortetsia" restaurant-hotel complex is now. Armed soldiers stood guard at outposts near wooden booths and barriers. In Uman there were 200 shops and 15 establishments selling alcoholic beverages. In 1889 - 1890, on the initiative of the local doctor Yury Kramarenko, the Uman Ukrainian Circle was created. In particular, the activists of the Uman Ukrainian Circle compiled a dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 4 volumes - "Russian-Ukrainian Dictionary" (known under the name "Dictionary of M. Umanets and A. Spilka"). (1892-1898, Lviv). Lawyer Petro Fyodorovych Kurinny organized the "Committee of People's Sobriety", a Ukrainian folk choir, organized public readings of Ukrainian books and staged Ukrainian folk plays in the villages, set up a free tea house in his own house, founded the first loan society in Uman, which lent money to villagers. Petro Fyodorovych Kurinnyi left an invaluable legacy from a historical point of view - diaries in which he daily described the public life of the Uman region, events of a political nature. The beginning of the 20th century. 31 thousand people live in Uman. Through the Ostashivska dam, there is a steep climb up - Dvortsova Street. On the spire of the mountain, the Zemsky administration. To the left - Dvoryanska street, on the corner is the building of the post and telegraph office, next to it is a police booth. On Dvortsova, in the direction of the city center, the building of the Uman branch of the international firm for the supply and repair of agricultural machines of the Elworthy brothers. Men's gymnasium (architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi), across the street from the women's gymnasium, opposite - the Military Cathedral (now the Chernyakhovsky cinema). On the main street of Uman - Mykolaivska - kerosene lanterns, a square with a fountain, a theater-circus, a wooden stage and a cafe, the Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Hotels around the central square: "New European", "France", "Bel-View", "London", "Bristol", "Grand Hotel", Hotel "England". Mykolaivska has the best residential buildings, shops, workshops, photo studios, confectionery, restaurants, coffee shops are no worse than in Kyiv and Odesa. Tenants of various ethnic origins, the Polish nobility and the Russian nobility, officers of the Russian army, and local government officials can afford this money. Ukrainians - peasants - farmers, artisans, factory and factory workers looked at the "victims" through the shop windows. Near the Old Bazaar (now the Central Market), from the steep spire of the mountain, the road turns to Umanka. On the shore, near the water, a tall new brick building rises - a factory for the manufacture of carts and furniture. The workforce is 30-40 people, but they are true masters of their craft, so the quality of the products is high, it is in demand and there is no interruption from customers. From all sides, the center of Uman is surrounded by suburbs - Zvenigorodske, Ivangorodske, Nova Uman, Basarabka, Mishchanka, Slobidka. It looks like a village. Houses of the Ukrainian architectural style under thatched roofs. Gardens, orchards, flower gardens, meadows. Willows above the wells with oak trees and "cranes", beehives. A viburnum bush is near every house. The streets are not paved, they are not lit at night, there are no shops. The spiritual and religious center of each suburb is its Orthodox church. A powerful source of Ukrainian national culture and right-wing traditions is in every house. There are many industrial and semi-artisan enterprises in Uman. In particular, 2 brickworks, 2 breweries, an iron foundry and tannery, 3 tobacco factories, steam and 2 water mills, 2 blacksmith workshops, 35 blacksmiths, 4 carriage workshops, 9 grocers, 9 bakeries, 7 wine cellars, 5 beer benches
In 1933, by order of the Bolshevik authorities, a large industrial enterprise - a tractor repair plant - was established in Uman. For production activities, he received new machines, devices and tools, expanded the production area. The new plant was formed by merging two old metalworking enterprises - "Truda" and "Robitnyk". Before the unification, "Trud" produced agricultural machines (planters, fans, harvesters, etc.) and spare parts for them. Workers of "Robitnyk" made carts and furniture, which is why the company had another name, unofficial and a little funny - "bed factory". It is in this building, where 100 years ago there was an enterprise for the manufacture of carts and furniture, now there is a restaurant and hotel complex "Fortetsia".