Rakhiv. I Wish You to Be Better, to Grow and Prosper

My first acquaintance with Rakhiv, forgive me for being honest, left no pleasant impressions. There were many situations I did not like. Contemplating the rubbish overflowing the mountain Tysa brought no pleasure. The trading kiosks fastened onto one of the town's main shrines, the Church of St John of Nepomuk, look highly unattractive. It is sad to look at the disfigured facades of the constructivist-style buildings erected during the Czechoslovak period. Do the cluttered Burkut Park and the unsanitary state of the mineral-water spring of the same name awaken any aesthetic pleasure? My notes from three years ago provoked a storm of disagreement from the town's residents, which is understandable. But three years have passed, I am in Rakhiv again, and I want to see the town's favourable sides and change my opinion of the highest mountain town in Ukraine.

 

Lviv. Forestry University Botanical Garden and Wood Museum

Lviv is considered the richest regional centre for the number and variety of its parks and gardens, each with its own distinct aesthetic. The Botanical Garden of the Lviv Forestry University is also a large green oasis and a charming adornment of the architectural ensemble of Ukraine's cultural capital.

 

Lviv. Botanical Garden of the Forestry University

Delyatyn. The Jewish Past: Places of Memory

In every settlement, places of memory testify to how old its community is, when it was founded and how the history of the settlement is preserved. Delyatyn is a large town in the Subcarpathian region, known since 1370, and the first records of Jewish residents are documented in the mid-18th century. They were merchants and owners of mills and sawmills; they healed and taught, provided legal and notarial services, and also practised craft trades. According to the laws of Judaism, a Jewish cemetery is a place of rest for the dead.

Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Jewish cemetery