The Impact of Natural Landscape on Historical Urban Space: The Case of Vinnytsia City, Ukraine

Since ancient times, favorable natural and landscape factors have played a dominant role in choosing the location of the settlements of people. The territory of the modern Vinnytsia city has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, and from the middle of the 10^th century on the banks of the Bog river (now the Southern Bug) dominated the tribes of ulychi and tivertsy, that were the part of Kyivan Rus [13].

Each of the periods of the formation, development or decline of the urban environment is connected with the socio-political life of the region. The foundation of the Vinnytsia chronicle from 1363 is commonly associated with the princes Koriatovych and the attempt of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to establish its dominance in Podillia. Until now, the exact location of the first Vinnytsia castle has not been accurately determined. According to the description of the city in the lustration of the Kyiv land in 1471 and to the revision of Vinnytsia Castle in 1545, it is known that there were two wooden castle fortifications on the left bank of the river Bog (now the Southern Bug river) around which the settlement “Old City” was formed. [1].

With the method of analysis of literary sources it is found that the creation of a stable planning structure of the city began only at the end of the 16^th century after the foundation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (according to the Lublin Union in 1569) and the transformation of Vinnytsia in 1598 into the administrative center of the Bratslav voivodeship [3].

Considering the borderline position of the Bratslav region, the need to develop, repair and modernize defensive fortifications increased. The new situation of the city also contributed to the cultural, commercial, economic, and architectural development of Vinnytsia. Due to the Polish magnates, scientists and artists Vinnytsia at that time experienced significant development of the urban planning system. During this period, new principles of settlement, development of territories and defense activities, which were worked out by Sh. Starovolsky, K. Opalinsky, G. de Boplan (Fig. 1) and other urbanists of Poland, were applied [3].

Figure 1.

For the construction of the right-bank of New City, a significant effort was made by the Polish headman Valentyn Kalynovsky (1604–1613) [2]. He built a new castle (1604) on the artificial island called Kempa of the Bog river (now the Southern Bug) and in 1610 he made a donation to the Jesuit college that was settled in Vinnytsia. They built a church, collegium (school), a konvikt (hostel), surrounded by thick brick walls with corner towers. This complex received the eloquent name “Mury” and survived to our time, despite significant losses. Together with the constructions of the Dominican monastery (laid about 1624), the Jesuit institution became the main fortification of the New City [13].

In its architecture, the stone structures of monasteries did not differ much from similar fortress defensive constructions. The walls and towers of the monasteries with various surrounding economic and residential buildings, which concentrated around the building of the temple, created a picturesque architectural ensemble, harmoniously connected with the surrounding natural landscape. The river was used by monasteries not only for economic purposes – it was also important for the defense, completing it with natural water obstacles [4]. As Omicron once wrote: “…The city was destined to survive a number of military storms and the era of «ruins». And since the Mury was a strongly fortified place, it had to withstand the siege more than once and cover both the host and the civilian population within its walls…” [11].

Thus, the urban planning composition of Vinnytsia at that time included the New City and Old City spatial system, which were simultaneously developed, considering the landscape component and functional needs. Using a comparative and historical method, it was found out that at the evolution of the city, the natural components of the landscape experienced a significant impact of human activity and they were used in accordance with urban trends.

In the late 17^th and early 19^th centuries Vinnytsia was expanding geographically: new quarters were being formed: Zavallya or New City (Fig. 2), near the Letychiv Gate; in the southwest of the city – the suburb of Sadky; On the left bank of the Southern Bug near the Old City appeared the Dubovetska Slobidka, over the Vinnychka River – the Old Hutory. According to the revision of 1764, the Old City had 162 houses (Christians farms 75, Jewish estates 87), and in New there were 123 (of which only 16 were Christians, 36 were yards of gentry), in the suburbs of Sadky there were also registered 24 farms [10].

Figure 2.

After the second partition of Poland (in 1793) Podillia and Bratslav were passed into possession of the Russian Empire and formed the Podilsk province [2]. The city become the center of the Vinnytsia district (uyezd), and at the beginning of 1798 the “City Regulation” was introduced and since then the gradual growth of the city and the formation of the urban planning system became rather noticeable.

According to Jay W. Forrester, the city is a complex multi-level dynamic system that has got the form of a social system and finds itself in the surrounding environment it interacts with [14]. The urban planning system of Ukrainian cities was formed in specific natural conditions and always included elements of the natural complex. Natural conditions also became the most important factor that determined the choice of a planning solution in the 19^th centuries. In this sense, the natural landscape can be considered as a complex of various kinds of urban resources. Their estimation is made both from positions of building manufacture, and from a position of the organization of all kinds of industrial and non-productive activity. However, it is good to bear in mind, that in the 19^th centuries elements of nature were largely deformed by human activity.

Along with the change in the social and economic structure, after the construction of the Kyiv-Balta-Odessa railway near the city in 1871, the implementation of the reform of local government and the establishment of the city council, significant changes began in the planning structure of Vinnytsia (Fig. 3). The development of the manufacturing industry, the streamlining of city streets and the precise formation of the quarterly development of the Zamostya district (in accordance with the general plan of 1839) the emergence of new building materials and technologies, gradually formed a new architectural and artistic expressiveness of the city. Vinnytsia, with a population of more than 34 thousand people, gradually turned into a powerful administrative and cultural center of Podillia [9].

Figure 3.

Despite the attempts of the Russian authorities to introduce the classical regular city planning, it was established by the graph-metrological analysis of historical maps that Vinnytsia kept the chaotic parcelling of the building sections for a long time.

The spatial development of the city was carried out in two areas: within the Old and New City. However, the harmonious dynamic development was giving to the urban planning form of the New City. Due to the fruitful work of the Mayor M. Ovodov (1899–1917) and the chief architect G. Artinov (1900–1919), Vinnytsia received new well-planned broad streets and boulevards. In total, in the city there were 44 streets, 11 lanes and 6 squares in 1911 [5].

Urban space of Vinnytsia, which was formed along the central highway of the New City – Poshtova Street (now Soborna St.), was a reflection of the functional and spiritual needs of the society of that time. Along the main axis of the city, which began from Kalich and went to the bridges, crossing the city from west to east, the main administrative, cultural and educational institutions were built.

Most of the buildings under construction at that time had spatial accents in the urban landscape, which was primarily due to the contrasting combination of its clear architectural shapes with the forms of the natural environment around them. The building not only entered into active interaction with the spatial structure of the natural environment, but also formed its own architectural space, additionally revealing the structural features of the natural landscape, for example, the building of the City Council (1911), the District Court (1912), the City Theater (1910), the building of the Women’s Gymnasium (1901), the water tower with the first constructions of the Vinnytsia water supply (1912) and others. The development of the system of engineering networks contributed to the construction of large buildings, such as the Savoy Hotel (1913) [7].

Nowadays the construction of the New City forms the central historical area of Vinnytsia.

In the early 20^th century G. Artinov, the chief architect, implemented new planning principles for the formation of urban space. In 1913, the first tram line of connection “Station – Women’s Gymnasium”, in the length of 8.6 km was opened on Poshtova Street. A new phenomenon was the creation of recreational areas in the city’s structure. Thus, on Poshtova Street from the women’s gymnasium to the first six-storey hotel “Savoy” was arranged a boulevard named after the mayor M. Ovodov [7].

An important sports and cultural center were the banks of the Southern Bug river and the island in the Kumbar area. V. F. Korenev, a teacher of drawing in a real college, in the spring of 1910, at the expense of Count Grokholsky and other well-off Vinnytsia residents, created a school of water sports. Later, the sports town for young people would have its own structure of beach, swimming pools, playgrounds, park and yacht club “Sport” [7].

The formation of the Vinnytsia region in 1932 within the USSR and the assignment of the status of the regional center to Vinnytsia became a significant impetus for the development of the city. At that time, the urban space was being actively improved, and the communal economy was being rebuilt: the streets were being cobbled, new water mains and sewers were under construction, new tram ways were being laid. In 1934 the project of the general plan of Vinnytsia was approved, that was developed by a group of designers under the guidance of architect A.D. Gurovich of Kharkiv branch “Dnipromisto”. The streets of the historic center became modern, such as the Lenin Street (now Soborna St.) and the Dzerzhynsky Street (now Teatralna St.). A lot of squares and parks appeared on the city map. So in 1936 the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Rest was created with an area of 29 hectares [6].

The urban planning system of that time was developed in accordance with Soviet paradigms. So well-known urbanist Z. Yarhina [15] claimed that the term “urban planning system” is a set of spatially organized and interconnected material elements of technically developed territories, buildings and structures, roads and utilities that together with natural components forms the environment of social activity in various territorial levels. The human influence in this system is not considered. Therefore, the development of Soviet cities had a utilitarian character.

Only in the 1990’s there was reconsidering of the concept of urban planning system in the Ukrainian urban studies took place thanks to prof. M. Demin [16], who provided rationale for the socio-economic component and established the connection “population-environment-activity”.