Images of the Galagan’s estate in vill. Sokyryntsi in Historiography of the late 19th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The estates of the Left-Bank Ukraine nobility representatives are an extremely valuable source of information on the history of this social stratum. These expressive architectural complexes attracted the attention of researchers and were reflected in their professional activities. One of the brightest representatives of noble architecture of the 18th-19th centuries is the estate of the Galagan’s family in the village of Sokyryntsy, Chernihiv region. Throughout its centuries-old history, it has undergone several large-scale reconstructions, but invariably remained the most important, sacred place for its owners and one of the significant cultural centers of the Left-Bank Ukraine. The relevance of the study is determined by the possibility of its inclusion in studies on the history of architecture, social, cultural, intellectual history. The article is aimed at carrying out an analytical assessment of the process of formation and evolution of the image of the Galagan’s estate in Sokyryntsy in the historiography of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The methodological basis of the study was formed by the basic principles of the theory of the historiographical image. The following methods are also used in the work: historical, analytical, genetic, comparative, biographical, method of studying the products of activity. Main results. Publications containing detailed estimates of the Galagan’s estate in Sokyryntsy were investigated. It was found that all the authors of the publications visited the estate personally, which greatly affected their stories. It is determined that the most stable is the image of the estate as a masterpiece of architecture, the keeper of Ukrainian Cossack traditions, a refuge for a large number of the scientific and creative elite representatives. Despite large-scale socio-political changes in the early twentieth century, the estate was not forgotten. Researchers recorded the loss of the former beauty and grandeur of this place, caused by significant destruction and decline of architectural compositions. However, they remained optimistic and confident that the estate would be rebuilt in its original form. The works of historians of the late nineteenth–- early twentieth centuries became the foundation for a comprehensive study of Ukrainian landowner estates. The practical significance of the work is to draw reader’’ attention to the problem of preservation and restoration of rare architectural monuments of Ukraine.