The city of Sumy is a district and regional center located in the northeast of Ukraine. Within the city’s boundaries, there is a significant number of water bodies: the Psel River and the Sumka (formerly the Suma) flowing into it along with the tributaries the Strelka (formerly the Sumka) and the Popadka, Lake Chekha, as well as artificial backwaters. On the north and north-east sides, there are the forest plantations and Tokarevsky forest.
The origin of the city’s name is ambiguous. The most plausible version is that the name is related to the surrounding rivers. But according to the legend, gamebags full of gold were once found there in the forest. It was reflected in the city’s coat of arms in 1781 in the form of three shoulder bags of black color and with gold buttons on the background of a rectangular shield.
The city was founded as part of the Belgorod fortified line protecting the south of Russia from the Crimean Tatars. Wooden Sumy fortress was built in 1656-1658, and it became the place of deployment of a Cossack regiment. The modern streets’ names remind us of that period. Sumy is quite a busy transport interchange. Highways connect it to neighboring regions. There are the Central and an additional bus station, and numerous interurban bus routes run through the city. In 1978, an international airport was opened. It accepts non-scheduled flights by prior agreement. There are two train stations: Central (which is a station of the Southern Railway that accepts long-distance trains) and Sumy-Tovarnaya (for suburban electric trains).
