In 1829, Gogol's novel "The Fair at Sorochyntsi" introdused the world to the once-unknown and now famous village of Velyki Sorochyntsi in the Myrhorod district.

There were fairs here already in the second half of the 17th century. The town was the residence of Hetman Danylo Apostol. The grand Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, which has a unique iconostasis of twenty by seventeen metres, consisting of more than one hundred icons, was built with hetman's money in 1732-1734.

Velyki Sorochyntsi would probably remain a simple village, if not for our great countryman, Ukrainian writer Mykola Vasyliovych Gogol (also known as Nikolai Gogol in Russsian spelling)/ In the house where the author of The Fair at Sorochyntsi, Taras Bulba, The Dead Souls, The Marriage and other masterpieces was born on April 1st, 1809, there is now a M.V.Gogol literary and memoriel museum.

Very soon, in 2009, Ukraine and the world will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the prominent writer.

Since 1966, the tradition of the fairs have been gradually reviving in Sorochyntsi. Since 1995, Sorochynskiy Fair, which is held in August, gained international status and is since 1999 Ukrainian national fair. It is always opened by "Gogol" himself, and the village turns into an open-air museum where craftsmen offer their unique folk products in the yards of manors in 18th century style.