[PL] Polska wersja tutaj

Probably not many people thinking where is the world's largest shepherd of sheep monument. These aren't the thoughts we usually think about. This monument is in the middle of the steppe, in the Ukrainian part of Bessarabia, only steppe gravel road leads there.

Looking for steppes - continuation

A bit disappointed with The Ackerman Steppe (that they were gone), I moved into Bessarabia, to a place where there are still some steppe, and some specific village.

The road leading to this place was some type of adventure road - good for my motorcycle, but less for my old Ford Focus. However, I adhere to the principle that desire and enthusiasm are needed to travel, not equipment. So if the locals go there with normal cars, it means that my Ford is enough.

At the beginning, the road was looked good

Later, I had to start driving off-road

But sometimes only the "main road" was available

Geese rest on the road

Tarutynskyi Steppe

After ~6h driving and passing 150km, we reached the the steppe.
I finally saw the steppe for which I drove so much;) To our goal, we still have to drive 18 km of gravel road.

"Nature Reserve Tarutynskyi Steppe""

My dog was also happy with the steppe

While driving through the steppe birds accompanied us, and followed the car by sitting on the next wooden poles.

Small birds...

... and bigger

"Only for tourists"

Frumushyka-Nova

Frumushyka-Nova is partly a sheep's farm, and partly a reconstruction of the old village of Frumushyka, which the Soviets displaced and razed to the ground (along with the surrounding villages) in 1946. The USSR, preparing for the next war and further "march west" needed a military training ground, so it had no qualms about destroying a well-developed village (there were 5 mills, 2 elementary schools, a specialized training school and an Orthodox church), which dates back to the 18th century.

"Welcome to the land: sheep cheese, honey, wine"

Rebuilt Orthodox church

Oleksandr Palariiev is author of this village reconstruction, who in 2006 built a sheep farm in the place where his father was born. Currently, there are several thousand sheep on the farm, there are also horses.

Open-air museum

One of the first buildings were the reconstruction of old houses that have been built using traditional methods of material on the spot.
This material was a "lampach" (a mixture of clay, straws and muck). There are reconstructions of huts belonging to different nationalities that once inhabited these lands. These are huts: Moldovan, Ukrainian, German colonialists, Jewish, Bulgarian, Gagauska and Soviet workers.

Bulgarian house of Bessarabia - the second half of the 19th century

Russian house of Bessarabia - second half of the 19th century

House of the German colonists of Bessarabia - the beginning of the 19th century

House of the Soviet workers in Bessarabia - the second half of the 20th century

Gagauzskiy house of Bessarabia - second half of the 19th century

Jewish house of Bessarabia - began the XX century

Due to the growing interest, the infrastructure for tourists (rooms and cottages for rent) was built. There is also a tavern with really good local food and a great lamb. A good dinner can be complemented by a glass (or bottle ;) of local wine.

Tavern with great food

on the right: "If you bring joy - come in without knocking =)"

If anyone was looking for a direction to Las Vegas

Near the tavern there are sculptures of sheep stylized on different nationalities.

Shepherd monument

Chaban is local name of the shepherd of sheep, it originates from Turkish languages and originally referred to shepherds engaged in grazing in the steppe.

The history of this monument is so unconventional that I smile as I think about it. As I mentioned earlier, to get to Frumushyka, you have to overcome 18 km of gravel road. The cost of laying asphalt there is so large that Oleksandr (owner) would not be able to build it. After recalculating the costs, he came to the conclusion that the value of such a monument equals the price of one kilometer of the road. Frumushyka was already popular at that time, and getting a Guinness record would further increase popularity. This, in consequence, may convince local authorities to build a road to develop tourism in the region.

The dog is an inseparable companion of the shepherd, therefore plans to build another monument - a shepherd dog. Of course it also has to be the largest in the world. :)

To be continued...

Source:

• Own knowledge collected in Frumushyka
• Frumushyka official site
• Ukrainer

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