Sliding hill in the city of Vyshgorod

Not far from the capital city of Kyiv, hidden in the greenery of the forests, is the small satellite town of Vyshgorod. Despite its small size, Ancient Vyshgorod was one of the significant cities of Kievan Rus, first mentioned in the chronicle in 946 as the residence of Princess Olga - “Olzhin grad”. From the middle of the 10th century. was known to Byzantium, and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in his work “On the Administration of the Empire” names it along with the significant political and economic centers of Kievan Rus - Kiev, Chernigov, Novgorod, Pskov. During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, a congress of princes took place in the city, at which the “Pravda of Yaroslav” was adopted, which became part of the “Russian Pravda”. The end of greatness was brought by the Tatar-Mongol invasion in 1240.

Nowadays, Vyshgorod is known primarily for the fact that it is here that the dam is located that blocks the Dnieper and forms the Kiev Sea. They say that at the bottom of the Kyiv Sea lie many villages that were flooded during its construction. Vyshgorod, located on the picturesque hills, on the contrary, has turned from a small village, which it was until the 60s of the last century, into a small but cozy town.

Picturesque hillsides near Vyshgorod

Thanks to its hilly terrain and proximity to Kyiv, even in our Soviet past, it was Vyshgorod that became the place where a sports base and a large toboggan hill were built.

The Vyshgorod sports base was once famous for training athletes in luge sports. It was here that Olympic participant Natalya Yakushenko began her career. There were trainings and competitions. But in addition to the training of Olympians, a children's sports school was constantly operating at the Vyshgorod base.

According to the stories of old-timers, this is the most dangerous section of the slide. At a certain speed, you could simply fly off it

This was the case even before perestroika. Afterwards, it was not possible to preserve the former glory. Constantly changing management, dismissal of coaches... probably every sports institution faced such post-perestroika troubles. The children's sports school was closed. Then disaster struck. Allegedly, part of the route accidentally burned down. As a result, the base stopped working altogether.

Traces of fire on the toboggan slide

True, this place is quite famous among winter sports enthusiasts. In winter there is a small ski slope here. When it was conceived (USSR times), there was an unspoken agreement between a group of enthusiastic workers at the Antonov plant and a sports school, which owned the toboggan run and the surrounding area. Through the efforts of these people, the slope was cleared, a trailed rope tow 200 m long was designed, manufactured and installed. And in winter, although not on a sled, you can ski here.

T-bar lift: small but angry

Now some work is being done on the hill again. They brought some equipment, snow cannons, and arched structures of lifts. According to the guys working there, a new reconstruction is awaiting the Sled Hill and, perhaps, this winter new, more modern and interesting ski routes will open here. But the toboggan hill prevents them from turning around.

Equipment prepared for the reconstruction of the ski slope

Unfortunately, today there is little that reminds us of the former splendor of the toboggan hill - this unique sports facility. In some places the road surface was burned and the skeleton of the route looked like the skeleton of some gigantic, prehistoric animal. The starting tower has been almost completely destroyed, and only by showing a fair amount of imagination can one imagine how future Olympic champions climbed its steps towards their glory.

The toboggan tower is the starting point of more than one sports career

But even today, visitors to these wonderful places have something to see. Picturesque hillsides overgrown with tall grass, steep spurs descending tens of meters down, picturesque views of the Kiev Sea, a small hotel located on the very shore. And, of course, the sledding hill itself.