Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument

Updated April 16, 2024

## Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument in Berdiansk: The “Breadwinner” Fish of the Azov Sea

On the seafront of Berdiansk, a bronze fish rears up from its plinth, gills flared and tail arched as if it has just leapt from the Azov Sea. This is the Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument – literally the “Goby-Breadwinner” – one of the most recognisable symbols of this Ukrainian resort city on the Sea of Azov. Rated Online

Use the quick links below to jump to key sections:

– History and meaning: the goby that “fed” Berdiansk
– Practical travel context today: safety and ethics

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### Where the monument is and what you actually see

The Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument stands in Prymorska (Seaside) Square in central Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov.

A few things are clear from mapping data and on-the-ground photography:

– Location:
– Address: Prymorska Square, Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine, 71100.
– It sits on a paved pedestrian promenade close to the waterfront, alongside benches and a small classical-style pavilion that has become a visual shorthand for the city’s seafront.

– What the statue looks like:
– It is a bronze sculpture of a goby (bullhead) fish, depicted almost upright, with a strongly curved body, large splayed pectoral fins, and a wide open mouth.
– The fish is mounted on a low rectangular stone pedestal, making it easy for visitors to sit beside it or pose for photos. Rated Online

– How visitors rate it (pre-war):
– Before the full-scale invasion, TripAdvisor listed the monument as #5 of 24 things to do in Berdiansk, with an average rating of 4.7/5 from 10 reviews.
– The independent site Top-Rated Online similarly described it as a “famed bronze monument of a fish, popular for photos, set in a central promenade along the beach,” also giving it around 4.7/5 based on user ratings. Rated Online

Taken together, you’re looking at a compact but visually striking piece of public art in one of Berdiansk’s main seaside squares – more of a symbolic landmark and photo stop than a large-scale museum-style attraction.

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### History and meaning: the goby that “fed” Berdiansk

The word “hoduvalnyk” in Ukrainian literally means “breadwinner” or “provider”, and that choice of name is the key to understanding the monument.

Several Ukrainian and international sources describe the statue as a tribute to the Azov goby, a small but economically crucial fish in the Sea of Azov.

#### Why a goby?

– According to regional tourism descriptions, in economically and politically difficult periods, including times of food shortages, goby catches from the Azov Sea became a vital, cheap source of protein and nutrients for residents of Berdiansk and surrounding areas.
– A travel review captured locally repeated lore, calling the goby depicted in the monument the “Saviour of Berdyansk”, because its abundance in local waters during war and scarcity quite literally helped keep people alive.

So although the sculpture looks playful – a big bronze fish rearing up in the sunshine – for many residents it represents something much more serious: food security, resilience, and the role of the sea in the city’s survival.

#### The artist and fabrication

A detailed write-up by a bronze foundry that reproduces the design (and explicitly locates the original in Berdiansk) gives additional technical and historical detail:

– The monument is attributed to sculptor Mykola (Nikolai) Myronenko.
– The statue was cast in seven hollow bronze sections, welded together in a foundry.
– Approximately 800 kg of non-ferrous metal (mainly copper with aluminium to make bronze) were used.

That same source underlines that the fish is intentionally not an exact match to any one of the 18 recognised Azov goby species – it’s a stylised, “composite” goby created to stand for the whole family of fish that supported the local economy.

#### Ties to Berdiansk as a resort and fishing city

Berdiansk has long been both a fishing centre and a resort city on the Sea of Azov. Encyclopaedia entries and travel guides emphasise the city’s role as:

– A port and fisheries hub, with research institutions working on Azov basin fish stocks, including gobies.
– A spa and health resort, known for sandy beaches, a mild coastal climate and mud-treatment facilities, which drew large numbers of visitors before the current war. Britannica

In that context, a goby monument in a central seaside square makes sense: it connects Berdiansk’s working sea economy (fish, port, research) with its leisure identity (promenade, photo spots, quirky statues).

If you want to stay within this article and explore the story deeper, scroll to the section History and meaning: the goby that “fed” Berdiansk again – it’s the conceptual anchor for understanding the whole monument.

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### What it was like to visit before 2022

Pre-war visitor comments paint a fairly consistent picture:

– The monument was a popular photo stop on a walk along the seafront, with people often posing sitting on or next to the fish.
– Reviewers described it as “very beautiful” and noted that pictures taken there often captured both the gazebo and glimpses of the sea in the background. Rated Online
– It functioned as one of several playful pieces of public art in Berdiansk, alongside other monuments such as the Ship Monument and themed sculptures scattered along the promenade.

These accounts are from 2019–2021, before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. They should be read as historical context, not as a description of current on-the-ground conditions.

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### Practical travel context today: safety and ethics

This is the part that matters most right now.

#### Current control of Berdiansk

– Multiple reputable sources, including up-to-date reference articles and Ukrainian official statements, state that Berdiansk has been under Russian occupation since 27 February 2022.
– Reporting from 2025 describes deteriorating infrastructure and a severe water-supply crisis in occupied Berdiansk, with prolonged outages affecting households and healthcare facilities. Новини України.
– Broader human-rights reporting on Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine documents patterns of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and other abuses. Department of State

On major travel platforms, Berdiansk attraction pages – including the Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument listing – now carry a prominent notice advising against travel to Ukraine due to armed conflict and serious security risks.

Given this, any non-essential travel to Berdiansk is currently unsafe and strongly discouraged by most governments and international organisations. Conditions on the ground are fluid and can change quickly.

#### Why pre-war reviews and photos are outdated

– All widely available visitor reviews and photos of the Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument that can be dated are from before 2022, primarily 2014–2021.
– These describe a lively seaside resort with open promenades, functioning cafés and busy summer beaches – a setting that is no longer an accurate representation of life in an occupied frontline region.

For responsible travel content, it’s important to treat pre-war descriptions as historical snapshots and to explicitly flag that current infrastructure, accessibility and safety are fundamentally altered by the ongoing war.

#### Inclusive and respectful framing

When writing or reading about the Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument now, it’s worth keeping a few ethical points in mind:

– People still live there. Commentary that treats occupied cities purely as “off-limits resorts” risks erasing residents’ experiences. Articles on life in occupied Berdiansk describe restrictions, fear, and economic collapse, not holiday conditions.
– The monument’s meaning has arguably deepened. A statue that once symbolised survival during earlier crises now sits in a city facing occupation, infrastructure damage and long-term uncertainty – a potentially powerful metaphor, even if we don’t have current on-the-spot reporting specifically about the statue.

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### How to “visit” the monument responsibly right now

Until conditions change and Ukrainian authorities themselves are again promoting travel to Berdiansk, the most responsible way to engage with the Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument is remotely:

– Use a virtual perspective:
– Study photographs and street-level imagery that clearly pre-date 2022 to understand the monument’s design, urban context and role in Berdiansk’s pre-war seafront life. Trek

– Learn about the city:
– Read independent reporting on Berdiansk as a resort city before the war and as an occupied city now, rather than only treating it as a pin on a map of “things to do in Ukraine”.

– Support Ukrainian culture and recovery efforts more broadly:
– Engaging with Ukrainian art, history, and verified humanitarian initiatives is a way to honour places like Berdiansk without contributing to unsafe or ethically dubious travel. (Specific charities or programmes aren’t listed here because they change frequently; up-to-date recommendations should be taken from reputable international organisations.)

If you’re revisiting this article later, you can jump straight back to Practical travel context today: safety and ethics to check whether the security situation has shifted enough for tourism guidance to change.

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### How the monument fits into a future Berdiansk itinerary

Looking ahead to a time when travel is once again safe and responsibly managed by Ukrainian authorities, the Bychkovi-hoduvalnyku Monument clearly has the ingredients of a high-value micro-stop in a broader Berdiansk itinerary:

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