From Svaliava I travelled by the local train Lviv — Mukachevo to the station of Chynadiiovo. Beside me sat a couple of venerable age, whom I asked to let me know when my station came. They suggested I see the other landmarks in the area as well. I later travelled to this village specially to see what I had not seen. And I had already been to the castle of Count Schonborn before.
It turns out that my fellow traveller's father, before the war, worked there as a stove-maker and gardener. He lived to a great old age. The former owner of the castle, Count Schonborn, has descendants living in Vienna. One of them came to Zakarpattia on business. She wished to meet the man who had been one of the last witnesses to the life of her ancestors in the castle. The aristocrat, together with an interpreter and a doctor, called on the old man and brought him gifts. She looked modest, without the gold jewellery that is so loved in our parts. She offered to pay for his medical care and invited him to visit the capital of Austria. The younger generation of this family took up the invitation.
The time flew by in conversation, and on parting the woman wished me all the very best and advised me to follow two girls who had got off at this station.
So as not to walk alone through an empty and unfamiliar village, I caught up with them and asked how to get to Vilkhovytsia. The girls invited me to walk with them. We went along a one-sided street, set right beside the River Latorytsia.
The sisters told me about themselves — they study at the Svaliava Agrotechnical College and travel there to their classes every day. They had already done a work placement in Slovakia, and the future technologists had been invited to work there. So here are two more clever and beautiful girls who will be developing winemaking not at home, but abroad. We crossed the River Latorytsia by the bridge, and the students said goodbye — they were going the other way.
And I could already see the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius, and I quickly headed for it. At the edge of the village stands a cross.
The church was built in the 17th century in the village of Bystrytsia and, at the beginning of the 20th century, was moved to Vilkhovytsia. Undoubtedly, moving a building like this is very laborious, and so part of the structure had to be replaced. The repair of the shrine was done badly, breaking the architectural style of the wooden church. Nevertheless, the shrine is active and is regarded as an architectural monument.
The doors into the church are set low, so you have to enter with a bow.
Images of the saints are painted on the vaults above the porch.
Further up the street there is a new church. But I did not reach it, since the autumn day is short and I had to hurry for the local train. I walked a little way up the street, where the office of the Mukachevo Forestry is located, with a cross on its grounds.
I walked back along the familiar road, looking at the handsome homesteads.
The riverbank is reinforced with a wall. The Latorytsia overflows in spring, and there have been floods. A historical inscription on a stone, undamaged by the flood.
No sooner had I arrived at the station than the local train pulled in, and 25 minutes later I was in Svaliava. Thank you to everyone who helped me on the trip, and I share my impressions with you.
This story is also available in Ukrainian: Вільховиця. Дерев'яна пам'ятка в закарпатському селі
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