The legend about Motria Kochubei

The building of the regimental chancellery in Chernihiv is an architectural monument of the XVII century. It was built in late 1690 and belonged to Chernihiv Colonel Yakov Lyzohub. But among locals, it is better known as Mazepa's house. According to one legend, after the death of Yakov Lyzohub, his wife sold the house to Ivan Mazepa.

Hetman Mazepa hid barrels of treasures in the dark basements of the house. Namely, here he secretly met his own young goddaughter Motria, the daughter of Secretary General Vasyl Kochubey. Her mother cursed Motria for her sinful relationship with an elderly godfather, and her restless soul has been wandering the city ever since. Annually on the night of the Blessed Sacrament, she appears near Mazepa's house and begs passers-by to bless her cursed soul with an Orthodox cross, promising to reveal the secret of the hetman's treasures.