Kaniv is a city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 23,503
Kaniv is a historical town that was founded in the 11th century by Kievan Prince Yaroslav the Wise. This pleasant city is known today mostly for the burial site of Taras Shevchenko, the great Ukrainian poet and artist.
Picturesque and ancient, Kaniv was once one of the largest cities of Kievan Rus'. At that time, it was an outpost used for diplomatic meetings between Ruthenian princes and ambassadors of militant tribes. Later, in the 18th century, it became a popular destination for elderly Cossacks, who wanted to live out their days on the banks of the great Dnieper River, and on the Chernecha Mountain, where, according to legend, a monastery stood in the past. The mountain remains one of Kaniv's most important places, attracting thousands of tourists to the city.