Oster is a river that is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. A huge number of legends, fables and fantastic stories are associated with it. Where does the river begin? Where does it flow? And what is the current ecological state of the river?
Oster River (Chernihiv Oblast): general information
The length of the river is almost 200 kilometers, and the total area of the water basin is about 3, 000 square kilometers. Oster is a tributary of the second order Dnieper. On its way, it takes water of at least 60 tributaries and streams.
Oster is a river that flows completely within the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. On its banks are dozens of settlements, the largest and most famous of which is the city of Nizhyn.
Where does the Oster River flow from? Its source is located near the village of Kalchinovka, Bakhmach district. Further, the river flows in a westerly direction, crossing the Dnieper lowland. The mouth of the watercourse is located within the city of Oster, where it flows into the Desna.
Oster is a river with predominantly snowy food. In the mouth area, the water flow is quite significant and is 3.2 cubic meters. m / s The channel freezes around the beginning of December, and opens by mid-March.
Oster River: photos and interesting facts from history
The beautiful Oster River flows through a territory that has been inhabited by humans since ancient times. Scientists are still arguing about the origin of this oikonym. It is interesting that the root "str" is quite common in the geographical names of the region of Eastern Europe. One need only recall such rivers as the Dniester, Stryi, Styr and others. Researcher V.P. Petrov suggests that they all come from one ancient Sanskrit word sravati, which can be translated as "flow" or "flow".
A lot of legends are associated with this river. According to one of them, somewhere at the bottom of Ostra there is still a Roman ship with innumerable treasures in the holds. This legend arose after local boys found ancient foreign coins on the banks of the river.
“Was Oster navigable?” - This question has long haunted local historians and local historians. According to the memoirs of travelers that have survived to this day, in the 18th century, Oster was as deep as the Dnieper, and ships floated freely on it. Even in the upper reaches of the river, researchers found the remains of old wooden vessels, which only confirms this theory.
Thus, before, Oster was most likely navigable. But active human intervention in the life of the river substantially altered it. As a result of the massive construction of dams and mills, Oster became shallow, and its banks began to swamp.
Oster and ecology
Ecology in the Oster River today remains very unfavorable. In July 2016, its waters were polluted with hazardous chemicals discharged into the river bed within the Nezhinsky district. Poison runoff caused a massive pest of fish. The river water darkened, and offshore there was a pungent and unpleasant odor.
In connection with the current situation, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources announced a ban on bathing and fishing in the Oster River. A special commission took water samples and carried out their chemical analysis. The results were disappointing: the content of phosphates, ammonium and iron in water exceeded the norm by 3-10 times.
Large-scale cleansing of the Ostra river bed was carried out three times over the past hundred years: in the 1930s, after the end of World War II and at the beginning of this century.
Treasures of Ostra
At the bottom of the river and on its banks more than once found silver dinars - ancient Roman coins. It is these findings that make the romantics think that somewhere at the bottom of Ostra lies a huge ship filled with jewels. The last such coin was found here in 1957, during a large-scale purification of the river channel.
No less valuable and interesting finds were found in the Ostra basin. So, in the vicinity of Nizhyn, coins of Kievan Rus from pre-Mongol times were found. Even foreign publications wrote about this fact. In 1873, the so-called Pashkovsky treasure, consisting of many Roman coins, was found near the village of Pashkovka. This find once again confirmed the theory of close trade and economic ties of the region with the Roman Empire.
The city of Nizhyn and its bridges
Today, 15 bridges of various sizes have been built on the Oster River within Nizhyn. A hundred years ago, there were only four, and at the beginning of the XIX century - not even a single one.
Castle, Moscow, Lyceum, Maghersky, Chervony - all these are the names of different bridges on the territory of the ancient city of Nizhyn. And they were not given to these structures by chance. The castle bridge, located near the Intercession Church, was also previously called Kerosinov, since there was a shop with this valuable product near it. But the Lyceum bridge was named after the city lyceum, founded by Prince Alexander Bezborodko in 1807. By the way, it was in this institution that the great writer Nikolai Gogol studied.
Of all the Nezhin bridges, Lyceum is the most interesting and oldest. It was built back in 1832, on the site of the liquidated city dam. Young Gogol must have crossed the Oster River many times over it. Not far from the bridge is a monument to the writer.
