Absolute record: six monuments to swine in Poltava region!
Pig, domestic as well as wild, for Ukrainian people from time immemorial was not only the source of meat, lard, hair coat, skin, and also a symbol of wealth, prosperity and awakening of the creative forces of nature.
Cult of swine was widely spread in various areas since the V century B.C. Among Trypillian culture
archaeological finds were clay sculptures of pigs with corn pressed in, and in many Scythian burial mounds were found pig figurines made of gold.
Many peoples preserved in folklore the comparison of the sun or stars with a gold piglet. In Germans myphology spring God Freyr and Goddess Freyja rode wild boar (Slavic Priya). Czechs on Christmas Eve take the children out and show Zvirynytsya star (Venus), while saying: «Vot zlate prasatko» ("Here is a golden piglet"). Slavs on Christmas do not sit to eat until the Dawn, and who will endure, he will see "a golden piglet". At Christmas, Swedes and Danes bake bread in the form of a hog and call him the "festive hog". To this dough must be added the last sheaf of grains. Part of the hog is to be eaten, and some part is added to the sowing grain. Estonians also bake "Christmas Hog", and sometimes on novolittya (in March) cook "the March pig", which hostess breed specially - secretly from her family. Bulgarians and Serbs bake a Christmas cookies in the form of pigs, which is called bozhura, bozhurytsya. In Ukraine, the bones of Christmas pig were buried in a secret place to improve the fertility of a field.
Christianity has brought a negative shade of the pig image, creating a fable that allegedly pig was constantly digging up the haulm, in which was wrapped baby-Christ when he was kept from the servants of King Herod. Christian imagination inspired in pig various "demons", "devils" and other negative from its point of view features. Despite this, agricultural nations respect the pigs always and today.
Pig with piglets in the worldview of Slavic tribes was identified with the lunar cult of Mother Goddess, and wild boar - the beginning of the solar circle (Christmas of Svarog Circle). Not by chance in ancient Rus pork head was the mandatory wedding meal, and pregnant women were forbidden to punch pig with foot, to avoid any problems during childbirth.
The oldest monument to pig stands in Portugal. Archaeologists believe that granite pig was created by tribes lived in these places before the Celts - iberians and lusitanians. The statue is so popular in the country that was represented on the arms of one of the cities, her name called several varieties of local wine, olive oil, a special cheesecake and a kind of local bacon.
Pigs were repeatedly eternalized in stone or bronze by the Germans, Danes, Lithuanians, who have long been famous for their passion for bacon. But Ukrainian love for lard surpassed everyone: few know that by the number of monuments erected to pigs, Poltava region is an undisputable leader in the world: there six of them in the region!
The first one was placed in the last century in the early seventies at the front of the main building of the Poltava Kvasnytsky swine breeding research institute established in 1930, and its founder and first director was professor O.P. Bondarenko. Since then, the institute remains in the only specialized scientific center in the country, which deals with theory and practice of pig breeding. Specifically, here during 1966-1993 under the leadership of professor B.V. Bankovsky was bred the Poltava meaty breed.
The sculpture of sow of Poltava meaty breed with twenty piglets stands in natural size on meter-high dodecahedron pedestal. The monument and pedestal were made of cement-granite compound at the
expenses of employees of the Institute (author - an amateur sculptor Alexander Kornienko).
A similar sculpture, but to wild pig with piglets, was installed at the Poltava State Agrarian Academy. Company to it is made by similar monuments: she-wolf, bear and mountain goat. All sculptures are made of cement mixture and placed throughout the Academy territory, making it a nature reserve. Students and visitors of this institution enjoy the opportunity to be photographed with these monuments, which have long ago become an inseparable part of the Academy, as it were, a visiting card.
And in 2003, wild pig got a relative-neighbor: on the fifth of April on the territory of Poltava State Agrarian Academy (just twenty yards from cement sculptures) there was an opening ceremony of the new monument. This is a group of life-size pig and two young swineherds - a boy and a girl - in national costumes. First, sculptors and managers of the Academy wanted to put on a pedestal two angels who bore a pig, but this project has caused disapproval reaction from the clergy. Therefore angels 
were replaced by tiny boy and girl who were urging on with a rod a huge pig. Sculptural group and a low pedestal on which it is installed are made of polymer material that affects the bronze. There is the inscription "To eternal breadwinner of Ukrainian people" on the pedestal. To give the name to the monument, at the Academy even was announced a contest in which won the assistant professor of the department of ecology and botany, known Poltava ethnographer Victor Samorodov, who suggested that inscription. The leadership of the institution explained their love for pigs because the animal is repeatedly saving our nation from starvation. According to historians, at the time of the Mongol-Tatar invasion invaders took everything from Ukrainians that was esculent to eat. Fortunately for our nation, religion of Muslims prohibits them to eat pork.
On April 1, 2009 in another city of Poltava Region, Komsomols'k, took place the ceremonial opening of new decorative sculptures. This city is still almost every year pleasing everybody with unusual monuments: just imagine a sanitary technician with puppy or granny, who sells seeds. This year the Day of humor on the streets of Komsomol'sk appeared three new sculptures. Mayor of the city S.A. Suprun and freeman A.P. Popov
presented a humorous monument to the state traffic warden-bribetaker and fantastic decorative sculpture "Head of the Giant". Latter located in the city amusement park. This is fabulous character of the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Ruslan and Lyudmila". The author of the idea and the performer of both sculptures is A.Y. Ryabo. According to him, humorous statue of the state traffic warden will teach children the order and remind them that they are to be law-abiding. A fabulous "Head of the Giant" will instill confidence in children that they can win, if they have fortitude.
But the biggest delight of the residents of Komsomol'sk caused humorous sculpture "Pig in mud", created by the sketch of Ivan Kuimov, a student of 2nd grade of children art school. The boy won the contest that was organized the year before by the former mayor A.P. Popov and a sculptor A.Y. Ryabo made the monument by schoolboy picture. About his work Ivan Kuimov said: "I love my city and do not want separate people who tipple and litter Komsomol'sk to be similar to my pig".
Two more pigs are "settled" at the homeland of Nikolai Gogol - Mirgorod. Monuments are located near the famous puddle that our world famous countryman described in the story "How Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich". But this pond is famous not only for that: Mirgorod puddle does not dry hot summer and freeze in frosty winter weather. In the early twentieth century doctor, the founder of Mirgorod resort Ivan Andriyovych Zubkovsky was able to explain this miracle - reservoir is "nourishing" by underground water springs. To 200-years anniversary of the birth of N.V. Gogol, April 1, 2009 there was built an embankment around a puddle on which there were installed sculptures of Gogol's literary heroes. Among them found its place the monument to sleeping pig. Architect Serhiy Rus'kyh and sculptures D.O. Korshunov and V.P. Golub executed thir work so skillfully that it seems like an animal made of concrete and copper is
about to wake up and move its ears.
And year later to the alley of Gogol's heroes was added one more monument to pig. Animal stretches itself out at the fence, placed its right side under sun. Residents of Mirgorod immediately gave to the sculpture name "Pig in Paradise". Everyone who at least once looked at the monument will not be able to disagree with this. Squinted eyes and wide smile of the animal gives no doubt: this pig feels quite comfortable among the sculptures of Solokha, Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich. The author is Yuri Kurylin, famous Mirgorod sculptor who in addition to "Pig in Paradise" created compositions "Three Godmothers", "Cossacks", "Hunters", "Cranes", monuments to heroes of Chernobyl, to the folk bard Fedir Kushnery, to N.V. Gogol and others.
Nationwide love of poltavites for pigs is expressed not only in the numerous monuments, but also in special holidays - including such as the Day of Lard that has grown into one of the favorite and "delicious" celebrations of the city.
