The Main Directions of Historical and Topographic Research of Ukrainian Cities

Abstract

The article analyzes the main directions and problems of historical and topographic research of Ukrainian cities of the Middle Ages and early modern times. One of the important areas of historical research is the study of the historical topography of settlements at different stages of their evolution. A necessary condition for such research is the study of the historical topography of settlements at different stages of development. Quite often the reason for insufficient study of the historical and topographic dominants of the medieval city is the limited number of narrative evidence on the history of the city, among which there is no detailed topographic description. In this case, of course, the integrated use of verbal, cartographic and archaeological sources becomes especially important. Only the combination of data of toponymy, historical topography with archaeological and written sources, their mutual verification and addition can give interesting scientific results. Without the data of historical topography, the study of spatial history, historical urbanism is inconceivable, it is the basis of sociotopography. The study of the topography of the medieval city includes a number of problematic issues: time and sequence of foundations of different parts of the city and lost buildings, toponymy and its changes, the degree of authenticity of chronicles and other written sources, archaeological material, city boundaries, roads, etc. Attention to the problems of the historical topography of Ukrainian cities in different periods is due to the need to develop and comprehensively reproduce the characteristics of urban development. Consideration of various aspects of the historical topography of medieval and early modern cities of Ukraine allows us to trace the dynamics of powerful urban centers in time and space. However, today, many historical cities of Ukraine have not become the object of comprehensive scientific research. Among other areas of historical topography studies, the creation of virtual models of urban fortifications in 3d format with reference to the Global Position System has recently become relevant. After all, the latest technology allows you to see deeper and solve those scientific problems, the formulation of which until recently looked fantastic.

Keywords

• historical topography
• cities
• urban planning
• Middle Ages
• archeological sources
• Ukraine