Podobanka is a historic woodland site near Novomalyn where natural beauty, ancient history, and the memory of Ukraine’s struggle for freedom come together. Today, almost nothing remains of the former hamlet, yet the area preserves traces of events from many different historical periods.
Podobanka gained international scientific recognition thanks to an archaeological discovery made in 1937. In the nearby forest tract known as Holodkova Berezyna, forester Mykola Yavorskyi accidentally uncovered a large concentration of mammoth bones. Subsequent excavations by Polish archaeologists confirmed the site as an exceptional Palaeolithic settlement. Researchers unearthed the remains of at least seven mammoths together with flint tools used by prehistoric people. The discovery became a major scientific sensation of its time, and most of the finds are now preserved in the Museum of the Earth in Warsaw.
Another important archaeological site is located within the Podobanka tract itself, where archaeologists investigated a settlement belonging to the Komariv culture of the Bronze Age. These discoveries testify to continuous human habitation in this area over thousands of years.
During the Second World War, the Podobanka hamlet became one of the centres of activity of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The forests and ravines surrounding Novomalyn served as bases and shelters for insurgent units. Archival documents also confirm that after the war this area remained a battlefield between the Ukrainian underground resistance and the Soviet security forces. In July 1943, one of the largest clashes between UPA units and Soviet partisan forces took place in the vicinity of Podobanka.
Today, Podobanka is a peaceful natural retreat where visitors can find a spring, old forest roads, and picturesque landscapes. It is a place where the connection between nature, the region’s ancient past, and Ukraine’s twentieth-century struggle for independence can still be felt.