The history of our hromada

The administrative centre of the Romny city territorial hromada is the town of Romny — one of the oldest settlements of the Sumy region and of Left-Bank Ukraine.

Archaeological research shows that the territory of present-day Romny was inhabited from the earliest times. Numerous sites of the Stone and Bronze Ages and of the Scythian period have been found here. In the 8th–10th centuries a settlement of the Siverians stood on the site of the modern town, known as the "Monastyryshche" hillfort.

"Monastyryshche" is a unique multi-layered archaeological site entered in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. The excavations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century by the archaeologist Mykola Makarenko became the basis for identifying and studying the Romny archaeological culture of the 9th–11th centuries, which takes its name from the town itself.

The town preserves archaeological remains of an early Rus fortified settlement that formed part of the Posullia defensive line of Kyivan Rus, built to guard the state's southern frontier. The first chronicle mention of the town, under the name "Romen", dates to 1096 and appears in the Tale of Bygone Years, in the account of the Rus princes' struggle against the Cumans.

Its many centuries of history, its substantial archaeological heritage and its role in the formation of early Rus civilisation give the Romny city territorial hromada a particular place in the historical and cultural landscape of Ukraine.

For centuries Romny was an important centre of the social, political, economic and cultural life of the region. After the Mongol invasion of the 13th century the town was revived thanks to its favourable position at the crossing of trade routes and to the development of crafts, agriculture and commerce.

In the 16th–17th centuries Romny became an important centre of Cossack life. Its inhabitants took part in the Cossack and peasant uprisings against Polish noble rule and in the war of national liberation led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. At various times the town belonged to the Myrhorod and Lubny regiments, and for a period served as the administrative centre of the Lubny regiment.

Romny also holds a notable place in the events of the Great Northern War at the start of the 18th century. The town is linked with the stay of Hetman Ivan Mazepa and King Charles XII of Sweden. A memorial sign commemorating this was unveiled in Romny in 2024.

The Illinskyi fair, founded at the end of the 15th century, played a decisive role in the town's development. In the 19th century it became one of the largest fairs in Eastern Europe and an important centre of international trade. The fair drove not only economic growth but also culture, education and the arts: it was thanks to the fair that Romny became a centre of theatre, book distribution and cultural exchange.

The history of the hromada is inseparable from the name of Taras Shevchenko, who visited Romny and the Illinskyi fair in 1845. Since 1918 the town centre has held the world's first monumental statue of Taras Shevchenko, created by the outstanding sculptor and native of the Romny area Ivan Kavaleridze.

In the 19th century Romny became one of the leading trade and industrial centres of Left-Bank Ukraine. The opening of the railway in 1874 gave a powerful impulse to industry, trade, banking and population growth.

In the 20th century the post-war rebuilding and development of the town formed an important stage in its history. A significant contribution to restoring the local economy and to developing industry, housing, social infrastructure and public amenities was made by Hryhorii Navrotskyi — a well-known public figure, administrator and Honorary Citizen of Romny. His many years of work strengthened the town economically and socially and improved the wellbeing of its residents.

Education and culture mattered greatly to the community. The town had a modern school, a girls' gymnasium, theological and commercial colleges, a public library, theatre companies, printing houses and places of worship of several denominations. The schools of Romny educated a whole galaxy of scholars, teachers, writers and public figures.

The lives and work of many outstanding people are connected with the Romny area, among them the archaeologist and researcher Mykola Makarenko, the sculptor, director and playwright Ivan Kavaleridze, the world-class physicist Abram Ioffe, the eminent engineer Stepan Tymoshenko, the educator Hryhorii Vashchenko, the writer Pylyp Kapelhorodskyi, the scholar Tetiana Buhaiko, the public figure Vasyl Poletyka and others.

In 1919 the Romny Museum of Local Lore was founded, becoming one of the leading centres for preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the region.

Numerous monuments of archaeology, architecture and town planning survive on the territory of the hromada to this day, among them the Holy Spirit Cathedral, the Ascension Church, the buildings of former schools, the zemstvo hospital and other heritage sites that shape the historic face of the Romny city territorial hromada.

A special place in the history of the hromada belongs to Oleksandra Derevska — a Mother Heroine who adopted and raised 48 orphaned children of different nationalities. Her life's work became a symbol of humanity, mercy and selfless service. Her memory is preserved in literature, in film and in local memorials.

The Romny area gave Ukraine and the world a whole galaxy of scholars. Among them are the chemist Volodymyr Korshak, the geologist and palaeontologist Oleksii Borysiak, the microbiologist and pathologist Ivan Savchenko, the physician and academician Maks Huberhrits, the physiologist and one of the founders of electrophysiology Vasyl Chahovets, and many other scientists whose work won international recognition.

The names of distinguished figures of culture, literature and the arts are also linked with the hromada: the eminent linguist Oleksandr Potebnia, the revolutionary Andrii Potebnia, the People's Artist of Ukraine Stepan Shkurat, the doyenne of Ukrainian theatre Hanna Zatyrkevych-Karpynska, the writers Borys Antonenko-Davydovych, Dmytro Bilous and Hryhorii Nudha, the fabulist Petro Kliuchyna, the writer Mykola Bazhan, and the local historian and public figure Fedir Sakhno.

The kobzar tradition is an important part of the hromada's cultural heritage. The Romny area is associated with the celebrated kobzars Musii Oleksiienko and Yevhen Adamtsevych, creators and popularisers of the famous "Zaporozhian March", which became one of the symbols of Ukrainian music.

The hromada takes pride in its artists, among them Lina Breus, Valerii Zosenko, Mykola Samokhin, Oleksii Severyn, Nadiia Poluian-Vnukova, Serhii Pivtorak, Oleksii Fedko, Ivan Rozhenko, Ivan Tsiupka and other members of the artistic community whose work develops and promotes the cultural heritage of the Romny land.

The Romny city territorial hromada holds a substantial historical and cultural inheritance that forms an important part of the national heritage of Ukraine. Its territory concentrates sites of archaeology, architecture, town planning, history, monumental art and landscape gardening of local, regional, national and international significance.

Monuments of national significance include the statue of Taras Shevchenko in Romny — the first in Ukraine and one of the first in the world raised to the Great Kobzar — and the multi-layered "Monastyryshche" hillfort, an outstanding archaeological site tied to the formation of the Romny archaeological culture and to the town's early history.

The hromada counts 175 monuments and heritage sites. Of these, 136 are entered in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine, including monuments of architecture, town planning, archaeology, history and monumental art.

Of particular value are the architectural ensembles and places of worship of the 18th–20th centuries: the Holy Spirit Cathedral, St Basil's Church, the Ascension Church complex with its bell tower, St Nicholas Church in the village of Pustoviitivka, and the buildings of former schools, the zemstvo hospital and public and commercial premises that shape the historic setting of the hromada.

An important centre for preserving heritage is the Romny Museum of Local Lore, part of the "Posullia" State Historical and Cultural Reserve. Its collection holds unique items of history, archaeology, ethnography and art, among them rare early printed books, relics of the Cossack era and works of fine art, including the painting "The Romny Madonna" by Hryhorii Stetsenko.

Preserving, protecting and promoting heritage sites is one of the priorities of the Romny city territorial hromada and an important part of shaping its historical memory, cultural identity and appeal to visitors.