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| Mykulychyn. Ivano-Frankivsk region |
Mykulychyn lies within the Carpathian National Nature Park and attracts travellers with its emerald mountain peaks, popular hiking routes, comfortable guest houses, Hutsul hospitality, and natural and cultural landmarks.
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| The Prutets Chemyhivskyi River |
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| Mykulychyn. The Prut River |
One-day hikes, conquering Carpathian peaks and admiring the canyons and waterfalls on the Prut River and its tributary the Prutets Chemyhivskyi, are a sure choice, with a feeling of flying over the folds of the mountain ridges and the dense forests.
Like bees to honey, lovers of a striking photo flock to the big Carpathian swing. The history of this popular tourist spot began in the 1970s, when the head of the Ostapiuk family built a huge swing for his children. Preserving Hutsul traditions and in memory of their childhood, in 2020 the three brothers restored the 8-metre attraction, which creates the effect of taking off and soaring over the Carpathian peaks and the tops of the pines. The themed picture is complemented by Hutsul costumes and treats of the national cuisine offered to guests in the cafe.
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| Mykulychyn. The Hutsul swing |
Mykulychyn was known to tourists as far back as the second half of the 19th century, when it had the status of the largest rural settlement in Europe.
Unfortunately, the manor houses and luxurious villas of the Polish period have not survived. The only preserved building is of red brick, with a statue of the Holy Mother of God on its facade. A former monastery, and later a boarding school, it now serves as a building of the "Karpatski Mrii" (Carpathian Dreams) health centre.
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| Mykulychyn. A building of the "Karpatski Mrii" health centre |
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| Mykulychyn. Monument to Queen Jadwiga |
Modern Mykulychyn consists of many neighbourhoods, which are called uchastky here. The toponyms correspond to the location and the specifics of the terrain: Horby, Pidstrim, Pidlisniv, Polumystyi, Khyzhky.
Comfortable cottages and guest houses of various designs, using elements of Hutsul folk architecture, are scattered across the mountain slopes. Multi-sloped roofs and steep-pitched attics, canopies and tiered towers resemble medieval castles and mountain peaks.
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| Mykulychyn. Kosmonavtiv Street. The "Halushko" hotel |
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| Mykulychyn. Hrushevskoho Street. A commercial building |
Landscape design and woodwork complement the ethnographic motifs at the estates.
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| Mykulychyn. Decorative ornamentation at the estates |
Playful details are also present at the Hutsul homesteads.
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| Mykulychyn. Ornamentation of an estate |
Among the public buildings, the estates of the Polianytsia and Pidlisniv forestries deserve mention; they have preserved the traditions of the wooden architecture of the Carpathian region.
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| Mykulychyn. The Polianytsia forestry |
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| Mykulychyn. The Pidlisniv forestry |
Especially artistic are the buildings of the "Smerichka" sports and health complex, built by local master builders in the Hutsul style using national symbols.
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| Mykulychyn. The "Smerichka" sports and health complex |
Mykulychyn has very many beautiful hotels and health resorts with incredible decorations, yet the eye finds dearer the simple wooden houses that have preserved the rural colour and originality. The dwellings of the highlanders are distinguished by high craftsmanship and practicality.
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| Mykulychyn. Residential buildings |
In the very centre of Mykulychyn stands an architectural dominant and an architectural monument of national significance. The Church of the Holy Trinity of 1868 conforms to the canons of wooden Hutsul sacred buildings; it has preserved an exquisite interior, its parishioners kept the shrine safe through the years of wartime hardship and Bolshevik atheism, restored it after a flood, and in the old bell tower created a museum, which houses church utensils, holy images, old prints, and photo documents.
Weddings in the church take place according to Hutsul traditions, with bright little trees that are considered symbols of a prosperous family life.
In the remote Polumystyi neighbourhood, in 1992, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord was built, preserving the Hutsul traditions of constructing sacred buildings.
Many regional local history museums would envy the ethnographic material and rich collections gathered in the only one of its kind in Ukraine - the Museum of Hutsul Ritual Symbolism. The main themes of the exhibits are ornament, adornments, and symbolism in drawings, iconography, carving, embroidery, and ceramics.
Another small but unusual narrow-gauge railway museum is housed in a wooden railway carriage and is dedicated to the former Austrian logging railway.
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| Mykulychyn. The narrow-gauge railway carriage museum |
Mykulychyn offers a lot of craft produce. Makers of sausages and meat delicacies, cheese, honey, and beer invite travellers to taste and buy their treats at the sales points.
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| Mykulychyn. Shops and pubs |
Touristic Mykulychyn is impossible to imagine without the torhovytsia, as the local market is called, which has become part of the culture and a characteristic feature of the Hutsul village - its colourful picture with the aroma of flowers, fruit, wild strawberries, and salo.
Mykulychyn is easy to reach from any region of Ukraine by rail or road. The H 09 Mukachevo-Ivano-Frankivsk-Lviv highway passes through the village; there is a bus station and a railway station where long-distance and suburban trains stop.
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| Mykulychyn. The bus station |
This story is also available in Ukrainian: Микуличин. Тут все гуцульське – визначне, смачне, самобутнє
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