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.

 

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

Lviv. The Cemetery of the Polish Eaglets

For the 20th anniversary of the restoration and opening of the Polish military memorial in Lviv

In the south-eastern part of the «Lychakiv Cemetery» historical and cultural reserve in Lviv lies the military burial of Polish soldiers who fell in the course of the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-1919), in particular in the battles for Lviv against units of the West Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR).

Lviv. The Memorial of Glory at the Polish military cemetery

Zarichchia. A Park Monument and Partisan Memorial

In the Nadvirna district, to the south-west of the village of Zarichchia, on the road to the village of Bili Oslavy, lies the national-significance landscape-gardening park monument «Park of Partisan Glory». This green landmark covers an area of 7 hectares at the foot of Mount Rakhovo (589 m above sea level). The emerald rectangle is located within the Delyatyn Forestry Enterprise’s Zarichchia forest district and has held protected status since 1983.

Nadvirna district. Memorial park of partisan glory

Yasinia. An Easy Short Route to Heredzhivka (818 m)

The village of Yasinia lies at the crossroads of tourist routes between the Svydovets and Chornohora ranges. The Yasinia railway station is the terminus for trains from Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Kharkiv, and travellers from various regions of Ukraine choose this distinctive Hutsul village to master mountaineering skills. When, on long hikes with significant elevation changes, the wisdom of the trail has been absorbed, the backpacks are packed and there are 2-3 hours left before the train departs, an unhurried ascent of Mount Heredzhivka near the station will be the farewell chord of a Transcarpathian holiday.

 

Yasinia, Mount Heredzhivka. View of the Chornohora range

Bili Oslavy. In Mariika Pidhirianka's Homeland

On the birthday of the poet, playwright and folk teacher Mariika Pidhirianka (29.03.1881 – 18.05.1963)

I thank the director of the Mariika Pidhirianka Museum, Vasyl Yuriiovych Levytskyi, for the opportunity to visit this remarkable cultural institution in Bili Oslavy, for creating the exhibitions and preserving the museum collections, and also for an enlightening tour. 

When little ones are learning to speak, poems help develop their language culture and thinking; from poetry collections children discover the sound and meaning of words. In the language of artistic imagery, writers converse with young readers, which helps improve memory, logic and communication. 

In the village of Bili Oslavy in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the memory of the children's writer and educator Mariika Pidhirianka is preserved. The central street and the local school are named after the celebrated Ukrainian woman, a literary museum has been created, and memorial plaques have been installed in honour of the renowned native.

 

Bili Oslavy. The Mariika Pidhirianka Museum

Lychakiv Necropolis. On Your Own or with a Guide

Resting places attest to how the names of those who shaped the history of a village or a town, of a region and a state are preserved, and it is no wonder that necropolises are objects of sightseeing.

 

Prosiana. The Biggest, the First and the Unusual

Prosiana — a village in the Dnipropetrovsk region that emerged at the end of the 19th century. Today, in this village — which 30–40 years ago was promising and looked no worse than a town — there are more downsides than upsides. My walk through this settlement, «golden» in the past, took me about 3 hours, and here is what I managed to learn and see. 

Lviv. The Hill of Glory. A World War II Memorial

World War II left memorial markers of tragic events across the country. In the eastern part of Lviv stands the Hill of Glory, where Soviet soldiers are buried.

 

Mykolaiv on the Dnister: Landmarks in and Around Town

To find landmarks at every step, inquisitive tourists with a passion for little-known routes, having had their fill of strolls around noisy Lviv, move on to the quiet and sparsely populated Mykolaiv, located 30 kilometres south of the regional centre. In ancient and medieval times the lands of today's Mykolaiv area were conquered, annexed, destroyed and revived again, and to strengthen the borders both defenders and conquerors built fortified zones with fortifications to protect the crossing over the Dnister.

Mykolaiv, Lviv Oblast. A view of the town from the artillery positions

Lviv. A Walk in Khmelnytsky Park

We go to a park first and foremost to gain, within the city, a chance to be in contact with nature, to break away and rest, to stroll the alleys and soak up the picturesqueness of a green oasis. The Khmelnytsky Park of Culture and Recreation fully meets the townspeople's needs and is one of the best-kept parks in Lviv.

 

Lviv. Khmelnytsky Park

Mykulychyn. Everything Here Is Hutsul and Distinctive

Thanks to domestic tourism, Ukrainians are increasingly learning about their homeland, their roots, national culture, and traditions. Mykulychyn is a place with many kinds of tourism: health, gastronomic, intellectual, and spiritual. A trip to the largest village in Ukraine allows you not only to commune with natural beauty but also to get acquainted with the Hutsul cultural and historical heritage.

 

Mykulychyn. Ivano-Frankivsk region

Vovkiv. The Ustyianovych Museum-Estate

The list of Ukraine's museums includes not only large exhibition centres and galleries with masterpieces of world importance, but also small memorial house-estates, no less interesting and appealing to seekers of something new and little known. What makes rural museums special is the wish to preserve history, cultural heritage and information about a locality's distinguished natives. Museum collections in small settlements can be considered folk collections: they are created by the whole community and survive on their own.

 

Vovkiv, Lviv region. The Ustyianovych Art and Memorial Museum-Estate

Rudnyky. The Vanished Monastery and 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

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

Vynnyky. A Way of the Cross Honouring Ukrainian Heroes

In 1999 a Way of the Cross was created in Vynnyky in the Lviv region, on the slope of Zhupan hill. Its 14 stations mark the path of the Son of God bearing the cross of human sins. Services on the Way of the Cross are held for spiritual renewal and to promote Christian values.

Vynnyky. The Way of the Cross

Nadvirna. A Meeting with a Precarpathian Town

Nadvirna is called the gates of the Carpathians. And how, indeed, could one drive past these very gates on the way to the mountain peaks and waterfalls? Nadvirna lies in the south of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, 35 kilometres from the regional centre. This Precarpathian town was a popular resort at the beginning of the 20th century, and even now an inquisitive traveller, on a 2-3-hour walk, will find plenty of curiosities that set apart one of the youngest district centres of Western Ukraine.

 

Nadvirna, Ivano-Frankivsk region

Horbachi. A Ukrainian Village and Its Own Character

In Ukraine every village has its own history, whose roots reach into the distant past and the times of paganism. The churches and houses in villages and small towns preserve the architectural style and the hand of their master craftsmen. It is good when a community keeps its cultural heritage, its unique dialect and its local traditions. The village of Horbachi lies 40 kilometres south of Lviv, and it too has its own masterpieces and singular features.

 

Horbachi, Lviv region. The Church of St Ignatius

Deliatyn. The Gates of the Carpathians. The Very Best

Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region is exactly the kind of place where travellers are ready to spend their precious tourist time usefully and with the utmost pleasure. The settlement stretches about 12 kilometres from north to south.

 

Deliatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The Liubizhnia river

Yasinia. A Cultural Centre of Transcarpathia

Yasinia is a settlement in the south-west of the Transcarpathian region, 30 kilometres from the district centre of Rakhiv. The nearby Chornohora and Svydovets ranges attract tourists in both winter and summer.

 

Yasinia, Rakhiv district, Transcarpathian region