Rudnyky. To the Site of the Vanished Monastery, with a Tour of the Village Landmarks

From monastic prayers of old

The spiritual bell tower tolls.

For the living generations –

Our chapel of remembrance.

According to legend, in the Middle Ages monasteries were built near sites of pre-Christian culture, and also where a holy image had appeared. Many cloisters were spiritual centres and places of pilgrimage for centuries, yet have not survived to our day. Relics gathered over the ages vanished; the houses of prayer did not outlive reforms and troubled times, and were burnt and destroyed. These holy places lie far from tourist routes, surrounded by silence and filled with spiritual power. One of the vanished monasteries had existed since time immemorial in the village of Rudnyky, and now a memorial chapel has been erected on the holy site.

 

Rudnyky, Lviv region. The chapel of Sts Peter and Paul on the site of the vanished monastery

Tatariv. The Kirkut. A Place of Memory and Sorrow of the Vanished Jewish Community

The history of Tatariv is closely interwoven with the history of the Jewish community of this Carpathian village, whose story reaches back to the 17th century.

 

Tatariv, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The kirkut

Wherever You're Headed, I'm Off to Semenivka!

A stroll through Semenivka in the Lviv region, known for its architectural monuments, is guaranteed to enrich your knowledge of little-known landmarks. Semenivka lies 20 kilometres south of the regional centre and has its own railway halt, and the Lviv-Mukacheve suburban train, the hugely popular "mukachivka", whisks you to the start of the walking route in half an hour. The settlement arose at the end of the 14th century, and its first written mention dates from the mid-15th century. In 2018 the villagers celebrated the 300th anniversary of the church of St Michael, an architectural monument of national significance, and they continue to preserve its rare 18th-century murals.

 

Semenivka, Lviv region. The church of St Michael. 1718

Lviv. The Courtyard Museum. No Entry for Outsiders — Keep Walking!

Lviv counts more than 40 museums – state-run, private, open-air. The historic centre could itself be called one continuous museum with an unbroken stream of tourists and guests of Ukraine's cultural capital. Lviv folk are creative people with imagination, and in the very heart of this museum-city, in the courtyard of an ordinary residential house, they created their own unofficial museum, which won no small popularity in its few years of existence.

 

Lviv. The house-museum