Mykolaiv. The Pysanka Chapel and Vysokyi Kamin

Every town or village has its own calling card, which stands out through the information it conveys about the place and is a part of its history. In Mykolaiv in the Lviv region, such a symbol appeared in 2002 — one that is known beyond the town and that tourists include in their routes. A chapel in the shape of a painted Easter egg stands on Mount Vysokyi Kamin and can be seen from several kilometres away.

 

Mykolaiv. Lviv region. The chapel in honour of the Nativity of Christ. The pysanka chapel

All visitors to Mykolaiv — and even celebrities, such as the People's Artist Nina Matviienko — are sure to make the climb up the cliff to bow before the holy images, honour the memory of our heroes and take in the incredibly beautiful expanses of the Mykolaiv area from a bird's-eye view.

The sacred building stands on the eastern outskirts of the town. Against the flat landscape, at the top of the rise, the stone boulders suddenly soar into the sky, which is what gave rise to the oronym.

 

Mykolaiv. Mount Vysokyi Kamin (Halia)

This is not the only name of a place where the Galician tradition of hayivky was held, with bonfires, ritual dances and singing. Locals call the high hill simply Halia, and why they do so has already been lost to memory.

 

Mykolaiv. Mount Vysokyi Kamin (Halia)

The residential district has closely surrounded Halia, and you won't find a sign for the climb up the hill. You need to start at the crossroads of Taras Shevchenko Street and 400th Anniversary of Mykolaiv Street. Between the homesteads there is a narrow nook, at the end of which a path to the top of Vysokyi Kamin appears.

 

Mykolaiv. Mount Vysokyi Kamin (Halia)

The path up the mountain slope to the chapel is designed as a Way of the Cross with stations. Stopping at the 14 crosses, a pilgrim asks for forgiveness and God's mercy and reflects on the path of suffering and pain of Jesus Christ, who carries His cross to Golgotha.

 

Mykolaiv. The Way of the Cross up Mount Vysokyi Kamin (Halia)

The terrain of Halia does not allow access by motor vehicle, and the climb can be steep and slippery in wet weather, so benches for a short rest have been placed for travellers. On the summit rises the pysanka chapel, symbolising the beginning of all life, the life after life that the Son of God grants through the suffering He endured.

 

Mykolaiv. The chapel in honour of the Nativity of Christ. The pysanka chapel

The initiator and organiser of the chapel's construction was a caring Mykolaiv resident, O. I. Ivaniv. All the district's enterprises, public organisations, religious communities and residents of the town and surrounding villages took part in building the unusual chapel. The Lviv architect Kostiantyn Maliarchuk had at that time a design for a pysanka, as if created especially for the Mykolaiv hill. Building the religious structure was not easy, but neither the windy weather on the summit, nor the difficult delivery of scarce materials, nor the shortage of hands prevented the chapel in honour of the newborn Saviour from appearing.

Mykolaiv. On Mount Vysokyi Kamin (Halia)

Specialists of many trades showed their skill, craftsmanship and imagination to make the chapel special. The building's dome is crowned by a cross of glass, which in sunny weather is lit up by the sun's rays and in the evening by electric lighting. Artists painted the church inside and its outer walls, creating images of John the Baptist, the holy prince Volodymyr and the holy princess Olha.

 

Mykolaiv. The pysanka chapel

The faithful brought holy images, prayer books and church furnishings. On 1 December 2002, in defiance of the snowy weather, parishioners gathered on the hill, and priests of all denominations consecrated the chapel in honour of the Nativity of Christ.

 

Mykolaiv. Inside the chapel in honour of the Nativity of Christ

From the height of Halia a panorama of the outskirts of Mykolaiv opens up.

 

Sandstone monoliths with small grottoes and tunnels lend the place picturesqueness and sacredness.

Mykolaiv. The rocks on Mount Vysokyi Kamin (Halia)

In 1993 Father Andrii Shahala, a monk of the Krekhiv monastery, set a mission cross on a rock ledge as a mighty talisman and a symbol of faith and protection.

 

Mykolaiv. The cross on Mount Vysokyi Kamin

The Mykolaiv pysanka is considered one of the largest in Ukraine and the world. In Kolomyia a structure in the shape of an Easter egg serves as a museum, while in Bratkivtsi the pysanka chapel is decorated with a mosaic ornament. 

Coordinates: 49°31'15"N 23°59'37"E

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This story is also available in Ukrainian: Миколаїв. Каплиця-писанка. Хресною дорогою на Високий Камінь