Rakhiv. I Wish You to Be Better! I Wish You Growth and Prosperity

My first acquaintance with Rakhiv, forgive me for being honest, left no pleasant impressions. There were many situations I did not like. Contemplating the rubbish overflowing the mountain Tysa brought no pleasure. The trading kiosks fastened onto one of the town's main shrines, the Church of St John of Nepomuk, look highly unattractive. It is sad to look at the disfigured facades of the constructivist-style buildings erected during the Czechoslovak period. Do the cluttered Burkut Park and the unsanitary state of the mineral-water spring of the same name awaken any aesthetic pleasure? My notes from three years ago provoked a storm of disagreement from the town's residents, which is understandable. But three years have passed, I am in Rakhiv again, and I want to see the town's favourable sides and change my opinion of the highest mountain town in Ukraine.

 

Lviv. Botanical Garden of the Forestry University and Museum of Wood. An educational institution and a green oasis

Lviv is considered the richest regional centre for the number and variety of its parks and gardens, each with its own distinct aesthetic. The Botanical Garden of the Lviv Forestry University is also a large green oasis and a charming adornment of the architectural ensemble of Ukraine's cultural capital.

 

Lviv. Botanical Garden of the Forestry University

Delyatyn. The Jewish Past. Places of Memory of the Jewish Community

In every settlement, places of memory testify to how old its community is, when it was founded and how the history of the settlement is preserved. Delyatyn is a large town in the Subcarpathian region, known since 1370, and the first records of Jewish residents are documented in the mid-18th century. They were merchants and owners of mills and sawmills; they healed and taught, provided legal and notarial services, and also practised craft trades. According to the laws of Judaism, a Jewish cemetery is a place of rest for the dead.

Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Jewish cemetery

Vorokhta. Market. A taste that captivates.

A market, a trading place is the calling card of a city or town. Every Friday in Vorokhta, Ivano-Frankivsk region, the market square turns into a bustling bazaar, and although today is not a market day, the season is not very touristy, the weather has completely deteriorated, and it is late afternoon, the market in Vorokhta near the train station is still operating, and a wandering traveler has the opportunity to buy souvenirs as a keepsake, gifts for home, and Carpathian delicacies to treat their colleagues at work and their family at home.

Vorokhta, market

Lviv. The Cemetery of the Polish Eaglets. We Remember the Past, but We Think About the Future

For the 20th anniversary of the restoration and opening of the Polish military memorial in Lviv

In the south-eastern part of the «Lychakiv Cemetery» historical and cultural reserve in Lviv lies the military burial of Polish soldiers who fell in the course of the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-1919), in particular in the battles for Lviv against units of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR).

Lviv. The Memorial of Glory at the Polish military cemetery

Train 133 Kyiv-Rakhiv. A Popular Route for Business Trips and Leisure

Traveling by train 133 Kyiv – Rakhiv is a convenient and fast way to reach the Carpathians while enjoying comfort throughout the entire journey. This train provides a connection between the dynamic center of Ukraine, Polissia, Prykarpattia, and Zakarpattia.

 

Zarichchia. A Landscape-Gardening Park Monument and a Memorial to Partisan Glory

In the Nadvirna district, to the south-west of the village of Zarichchia, on the road to the village of Bili Oslavy, lies the national-significance landscape-gardening park monument «Park of Partisan Glory». This green landmark covers an area of 7 hectares at the foot of Mount Rakhovo (589 m above sea level). The emerald rectangle is located within the Delyatyn Forestry Enterprise’s Zarichchia forest district and has held protected status since 1983.

Nadvirna district. Memorial park of partisan glory

Liubizhnia. Where a mountain river roars and the crystal Liubizhnianskyi Huk

Look, the little mountain stream runs down,

It flows, it leaps down from the heights.

To her, proud to the very edge,

A peaceful life is beyond price.

But once she bursts out onto the valley,

She grows gentle forevermore.

You can't tell her apart from the flow

Of ordinary, untroubled rivers.

She drifts past, unhurried, by

Houses, forests, fields and ponds,

Dreamily leafing through

Her girlhood years.

19.06.2023  Alex Vinokur

Do you know what the foothill village of Deliatyn looks like from a bird's-eye view – emerald peaks cut through by valleys, in whose lowlands the Prut and its tributaries swirl in winding ribbons. The mountain stream Liubizhnia, a left tributary of the Prut, rises and is fed on the slope of the Carpathian ridge, where the mountains Studena Klyva and Vavtorova stand side by side; it flows eastward toward the central part of Deliatyn and forms the valley in which the settlement of the same name arose. With its stony bed and swift current, this blue ribbon of the Carpathians lays out its 16-kilometre course in the north-eastern Gorgany and hurries to meet its rebellious elder brother in the eastern part of Deliatyn.

 

Deliatyn. The Liubizhnia River

Yasinia. An Easy Short Route to Heredzhivka (818 m)

The village of Yasinia lies at the crossroads of tourist routes between the Svydovets and Chornohora ranges. The Yasinia railway station is the terminus for trains from Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Kharkiv, and travellers from various regions of Ukraine choose this distinctive Hutsul village to master mountaineering skills. When, on long hikes with significant elevation changes, the wisdom of the trail has been absorbed, the backpacks are packed and there are 2-3 hours left before the train departs, an unhurried ascent of Mount Heredzhivka near the station will be the farewell chord of a Transcarpathian holiday.

 

Yasinia, Mount Heredzhivka. View of the Chornohora range

Bili Oslavy. In Mariika Pidhirianka's homeland they preserve the memory of the folk enlightener

On the birthday of the poet, playwright and folk teacher Mariika Pidhirianka (29.03.1881 – 18.05.1963)

I thank the director of the Mariika Pidhirianka Museum, Vasyl Yuriiovych Levytskyi, for the opportunity to visit this remarkable cultural institution in Bili Oslavy, for creating the exhibitions and preserving the museum collections, and also for an enlightening tour. 

When little ones are learning to speak, poems help develop their language culture and thinking; from poetry collections children discover the sound and meaning of words. In the language of artistic imagery, writers converse with young readers, which helps improve memory, logic and communication. 

In the village of Bili Oslavy in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the memory of the children's writer and educator Mariika Pidhirianka is preserved. The central street and the local school are named after the celebrated Ukrainian woman, a literary museum has been created, and memorial plaques have been installed in honour of the renowned native.

 

Bili Oslavy. The Mariika Pidhirianka Museum