Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Here It Is, Mykolaiv. Without Sweeteners or Adornments

I will say straight away that I liked Mykolaiv, but I will not sing its praises; I will describe my walk through the city on a sunny March day without embellishment.

The City Council
The City Council

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

The Kytaihorod Temple Complex

In the centre of Ukraine, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, in the village of Kytaihorod, three monuments of history and architecture of national significance from the middle of the 18th century have survived to our days unchanged, all at once.

Kytaihorod. The temple complex, 18th c.

Monday, 27 February 2017

My Defilada through Lviv

Why do I keep coming back to Lviv? That question is impossible to answer, just as it is impossible to grasp the boundless.

Lviv. A photograph from the viewing platform of the church of Sts Olha and Elizabeth

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

The Hoshiv Monastery. A Pilgrimage Centre in Dolyna

Above the Subcarpathian village of Hoshiv, on the summit of Yasna Hora (Bright Mountain), rises the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a place of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world.

The Hoshiv Holy Transfiguration Monastery
The Hoshiv Holy Transfiguration Monastery

Thursday, 16 February 2017

In Skole — Through the Mountains and Through the Town

One could speak endlessly of the magical charm of our Carpathians. The more often you come here, the more you long to know about every corner of this blessed land.

Skole, Lviv region

Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Patsykiv. A 17th-Century Cossack Church in the Rain

I had long heard of the old monastery church in Patsykiv, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, and had seen a small photograph of the sacred building. For two years I looked at the map and wondered how on earth to get there.

Patsykiv. The Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. OCU. 1691.
Patsykiv. The Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. OCU. 1691.

Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Pidhirtsi Metamorphoses. Collective-Farm Sheds to Palace

When people mention Pidhoretsky Palace, they often think of the castle in the Brody district. But the Stryi district also has its own Pidhirtsi, with a little pearl of its own.

Pidhirtsi, Stryi district. The Jablonowski-Brunicki Palace

Wednesday, 25 January 2017

Selydove. Do the Small Towns of Donetsk Have a Future?

"You, my town of Selydove,
A flower in the Donetsk land,
Selydove, Selydove —
A beacon of miners' glory!"
The town's anthem.

I happened to be in Selydove on business — a small mining town in the Donetsk region.

Selydove. Donetsk region. Ukraine

Thursday, 19 January 2017

A Holiday in Any Season? Let's Go to Svaliava!

Svaliava is one of the most famous ski and balneological resorts in Ukraine, celebrated for its mineral springs "Poliana Kvasova", "Luzhanska", "Poliana Kupel" and other healing waters, similar in their properties to "Borjomi". To my taste they are tastier than the Caucasian ones, because they are more accessible.

The "Soniachne Zakarpattia" sanatorium.