Happy birthday, Kherson!

Members of the library’s weekly Talk Lab English Club contributed to the celebration of Kherson’s 233rd anniversary by making several interesting presentations about the city’s extraordinary history at the Sept. 18 meeting.
Highlights included a review of how Gregori Potemkin founded Kherson on orders of Russian empress Catherine II in 1778. Kherson was named after “Chersonesos,” an ancient Greek colony in southwestern Crimea. Kherson has continued to grow and now has more than 300,000 residents but the city continues to honor its heritage.
Talk Lab members displayed photographs and other visual renderings of important sites in Kherson, such as the remnants of the gateway to the city’s original fortress. The gateway is now depicted on the city’s emblem. Other pictures included those of Potemkin, the old post office and the train station. The presentations touched many areas of civic life, from government to schools to hospitals and sports.
Participants in the Sept. 18 meeting also made fun nominations for the “Best of Kherson” in categories such as best park, monument, school, institution of higher education, view, beach, walking area, marshrutka ride and prettiest place.
Winners included the Komsomolsk Park, John Howard monument, School 31, Kherson State University, the view of the Dnipro River from the library, Hydro Park, Suvorov Street, marshrutka #6 and Ushakova Street. Photos.