Zhovkva. A Walk with History

To immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of the Renaissance and see the historic centre of an ideal town of the early 17th century — welcome to Zhovkva, an old town of Prykarpattia.

Zhovkva. Viche Square. The Town Hall. The fountain

Kramatorsk. The Noble Nest of the Korshuns

Neglected and ruined estates, forgotten names and the tragic fates of their owners. Ruined family houses in which people grew up and lived who served their Motherland and their people faithfully and truly. On the northern edge of Kramatorsk, in oblivion and desolation, amid the thickets of an abandoned park, the mansion of a noble family gleams white and forlorn — the house in which the eminent microbiologist, the talented scholar Stepan Vasylovych Korshun, lived and worked.

Kramatorsk. Donetsk region. The Korshun house. Late 19th c.

Hodoriv. From Station to Station in 2 Hours

There are towns you get to know while passing through them in transit. Hodoriv is a railway junction that you can reach by suburban and long-distance trains from Lviv, Stryi, Zhydachiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Halych. To sit at the station for two hours waiting for the suburban train — no, that is not for me. A two-hour blitz-hike along the town's main streets proved instructive and successful, despite the rainy weather.

Hodoriv. The railway station

Novhorodske. A New York in the Donetsk Region

In 2016 a bill was registered on the Verkhovna Rada's website to rename the settlement of Novhorodske in the Donetsk region as New York. This was the name the former German colony bore until 1951. What of note has survived in this workers' settlement, founded by Mennonites in the 19th century, who gave it its overseas name?

Novhorodske. Donetsk region.

Halych. An Early-Mediaeval Castle in a Modern Reworking

The 14th-century Halych Castle — a mighty stronghold at the centre of the early-mediaeval Galician-Volhynian Principality, an architectural monument of national significance.

Halych. Castle Hill. The Starostyn Castle, 14th c.

Bakhmut. The World of Sparkling Wines

A New Year's table is hard to imagine without a bottle of sparkling wine, which creates a wonderful sense of celebration. With a glass of champagne we make a wish. How is it born, in what conditions is it made, and do we know how to drink the magical beverage? About this and much else you can learn by visiting the sparkling-wine factory in Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.

Bakhmut, the sparkling-wine factory. Dionysus with the maenads in the tasting hall

Dubno Castle. An Impregnable Aristocratic Residence

Dubno Castle is one of the most impregnable, wealthiest and most legendary European castles. Emperors, hetmans and kings visited this aristocratic residence. The defenders of the impregnable fortress repelled enemy raids, and the stronghold never once submitted — not to the Tatars, nor the Cossacks, nor the Swedes.

Dubno. The castle. The gatehouse

Donetsk Steppe Reserves: 'Prytorskyi' and 'Halyna Hirka'

The Donetsk steppe inspires poets, artists and film directors, who sing of it in their works.

The 'Halyna Hirka' reserve. Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region.

Rozhirche. To the monastery via Semyhyniv

The cave monastery of the 13th-15th centuries in the village of Rozhirche, Lviv region, is a unique example of sacred building in the rock.

Rozhirche. Stryi district, Lviv region. The cave monastery

Kalush. It both surprised and charmed me

Kalush is an industrial and cultural centre of Prykarpattia, set 30 kilometres from Ivano-Frankivsk. The town is associated with a zone of ecological disaster and the harmful influence of chemical production on the surrounding environment. Despite the intensive industrialisation and the dangerous ecological situation, the atmosphere of this old town of the Boiko region and its national colour can still be felt on its streets.

Kalush. Ivano-Frankivsk region. Heroes' Square