Bratkivtsi — what a name! In this Subcarpathian village I wanted to see the pysanka chapel.
From the Stryi turn-off I walked into the village on foot — the buses do not run often, the weather was lovely, and on the way I would see something more besides. In this administrative building there are a paramedic's post, the people's hall and other services of the neighbouring village of Myrtiuky.
Formerly these two villages were one whole; the lands of Myrtiuky belonged to Bratkivtsi. Then the younger brother "budded off".
And here there was probably a House of Culture. Now there is something for entertainment there.
I crossed by bridge the small river Zhyzhava, which flows into the Stryi.
In a field stands a cross to the UPA soldiers who fell in 1946 in battle with the NKVD.
The pysanka can be seen from afar, by the road, out in the open — bright and unusual.
There is one like it in Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region. But the Bratkivtsi one is absolutely marvellous; you cannot admire it enough. Its height is 6.5 metres, its diameter 4 metres. In a niche a sculpture of the Mother of God is set. The original decoration in decorative mosaic in the form of patterns was done by graduates of the Lviv Academy of Arts. On feast days a service is celebrated by the pysanka chapel.
The village has churches too, and I walked on to see them.
The next stop is by the school. Nowadays educational establishments are called a "teaching and upbringing complex", where a kindergarten and a school are housed in one building. There is no need to mow the grass — a little cow has done it.
The village council and the People's House are also under one roof. Everything is done in a brotherly way in Bratkivtsi.
A very rare depiction of the national poets, when the Kobzar and the Kameniar stand together. Beside the bas-reliefs of Shevchenko and Franko, a sculpted bandura player has sat down, performing their verses.
I could see the domes of the church, but I asked a boy coming from his lessons how best to get to it. The eighth-grader offered to walk with me, since he too was going along that street. I always ask children whether it is hard to study. My serious companion answered firmly that it is not hard for him, but they set a lot of homework, there is little time, and he also has to help his parents about the house. Another boy came up to us, and they began to arrange a future game of football. There is a football pitch here too, and players. I thanked the boys and headed for the now-nearby Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
The wooden shrine was built in 1879 and is an architectural monument of local significance.
In atheist times it was closed, but people constantly asked for the church to be opened for them. The Bolshevik authorities did not meet the believers halfway and gave the order to remove the iconostasis and all the furnishings. A memorial plaque testifies to this instance of disregard for freedom of religion.
In the churchyard a symbolic Cossack grave has been raised, and old monuments with figures of Christ and the Mother of God have been preserved.
A new church was built by the efforts of the community in 2013 and consecrated in honour of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God.
I laid my way back along another street, not too even or straight, until I came out onto the highway.
I saw fine houses in this village, a walk through which I enjoyed, and I gladly share my impressions with you.
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