Beautiful Ukraine!
Developed by: Krzysztof Danielewicz, 22.08.2012
Part IV – Chernivtsi – Podolski Stone – Chocim – Zaleszczyki.
The next place I wanted to visit was the city of Chernivtsi, On my way from Ivano-Frankivska, I stopped for a fewer hours in Kolomya, which presently has about 60,000 inhabitants. The first information about this main town of Huculszczyzna and Pokucia and the gateway to Huculszczyzna and Carpathians dates back to 1240. The wheelman is sometimes called a tiny Lion or a part of Vienna. It lies on the Prut River, almost 95% of its inhabitants are Ukrainians, the remainder are Poles, Jews, Russians and Belarusians. The name of the town gave emergence to the name of folk dance called a wheelbarrow and a melody to it, which was identified with a Cossack. 1 of the most interesting attractions is the central Easter egg museum, designed for the occasion of the 1980s Huculsk Culture Festival.
There are about 12 1000 exhibits, among them the oldest Ukrainian egg from the 15th or 16th century. In it you can see eggs made with various techniques from around the world, as well as personally made by erstwhile presidents specified as Mikhail Saakashvili or Leonid Kuczma. It is the only specified museum in Ukraine and in the world, called the eighth miracle of Ukraine. In the city there is besides the world's largest museum of folk art Huculszczyzna and Penance – the only Ukrainian museum inscribed in the British royal encyclopedia as a museum of planet masterpieces. The collections number about 50,000 exhibits. In the center itself there is simply a very large market, where there are many different markets specialising in food, meat or industrial products. The mankament is simply a very large car traffic in the center itself, nevertheless resulting from commercial activity.
Visiting Chernivtsi had a individual subject for me. Writing a doctoral dissertation in 2001-2006 on the Lviv Intelligence Exposition No. 5 in Lviv, in the Central Military Archive in Warsaw, I found papers concerning the signing of an agreement on the exchange of intelligence information between the Lviv Expositure and the intelligence division of the Romanian 8th Division, which was then stationed in Chernivce. At the time, I imagined this city tiny and provincial. erstwhile I saw them, I found that even compared to Lviv, it could not have complexes. Of course, I mean not his size, but the beauty of the building. It is not akin to any Polish or Ukrainian city, and the number and quality of beautiful and well-maintained tenement houses are overwhelming. Given the stereotypes about modern Ukraine, I have concerns that erstwhile publishing photos from Chernivtsi, no 1 will believe me that this is the country.
Modern Chernivts, with about 250,000 inhabitants, are a symbol of erstwhile multiculturalism and Austro-Hungarian chic. The town, located in the south-western part of Ukraine on Prut, is the seat of the Chernivtsi region. The first historical mention dates back to 1408. In 1930, the city had a population of 112427, their composition was as follows: Jews 38%, Romanians 27%, Germany 15%, Ukrainians 10%, Poles 8%, Russians 1.3%. According to the 2001 census, Ukrainians accounted for 79.95%, Russians 11.3%, Romanian 6.1% and Poles 0.6%. Chernivtsi were successively under Moldovan, Turkish, Polish, Turkish, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, Romanian, Soviet, Romanian, russian and Ukrainian powers. The city began to regain its glory after 1991, i.e. after Ukraine regained its independence. It is now mostly inhabited by Ukrainians, though a large proportion of the population are Russians and Romanians. Poles, Germans, Jews and Armenians establish their cultural associations, which focus around the alleged national houses of Polish, German and other, located at the beautiful promenade of the Kobylanska Olga.
The Polish home in Chernivce was founded in 1905 and operates until today. As an association, he publishes “Gazeta Polska”, which dates back to 1883. In 1910, the Polish community counted 15 1000 people. At that time the most many nationalities were Jews, then Ukrainians and Poles. The city's most typical street was and is the street of Olga Kobylanska, erstwhile the street of Pana – the first full paved street in the city. Often, workers had to take their shoes off to climb it.
One of the city's best mayors, who made a immense contribution to its development, was Antonia vonKochanowski of Stachwan. This longtime mayor of Czerniowiec, the admin of Bukowina's principality, was born as the boy of Antoni Corvinus Kochanowski (1785–1840), owner of estates Stock and Kischer, from a lineage derived according to household tradition from the deceased without offspring in the male line Jan Kochanowski. From the time of the creation of the city council, Chernivtsi in 1864, he was a associate of it. Due to his organizational capacity, purposefulness, balance and ability to direct the work of his colleagues in 1866, the councillors elected him as mayor for the remaining 2 years of his word of office and again in 1868 and 1872. erstwhile the mayor of Chernivtsi Wilhelm von Klimesch died in 1887, Kochanowski was 70 years old, but he retained youthful energy, clear mind, and progressive views.
These features, multiplied by immense experience, gave the City Council MP a reason to re-elected him mayor of Chernivtsi until 1905. From 1890 to 1904, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Bukowina. Under his management, Chernivtsi flourished unprecedentedly. On 2 November 1895 waterworks and sewerage were commissioned. A power station was built, thanks to which electrical lanterns lit on the main streets on 5 February 1896, and the gathering area at the town hall was first electrically lit little than a period later, as on 3 March. On this occasion, the councillors gave the mayor a ovation. On 18 July 1897 a tram traffic began in the city.
The celebrated Poles associated with Chernivtsi are besides mentioned as the artist Augusta Kochanowska, who was friends with Ukrainian author Olga Kobylanska. The best period in the improvement of the city is the Austro-Hungarian times. This was due to a large deal of tolerance and to the unlimited anticipation of developing national minorities. Worse times occurred between 1918 and 1940, i.e. during the period of Bukovina's stay under Romanian rule. It was a time of aggressive nationalisation and simplification of the activities of national minorities.
Apart from the Polish House, which is located at Kobylańska Street, another interesting place related to Poland is the erstwhile Polish Consulate in Czerniowce at 14 Armenian Street. This consulate played an crucial function in 1939, erstwhile Polish military and civilian authorities were withdrawn to Romania. The consulate was located at 16 Armenian Street, which is simply a side street of Kobylanska Street. There was besides a Polish school nearby. At that time, there were a full of 15 different consulates in Chernivtsi, which only proves the position of the city.
Another celebrated citizen of Chernivtsi was Josef Hlávka (b. 15 February1831ed. 11 March1908) – Czecharchitect, philanthropist and founder of the first Czech foundation. Hlávka was born in Přešticach wheel Urgent in 1831. He studied at Technical University of Prague and Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Hlávka in Chernivce designed among others Armenian church, university and 40 crucial buildings in Europe, including. Vienna Opera And many buildings in Vienna.
The University of Czerniowce deserves peculiar attention, which was built as a residence of the Orthodox Metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia commissioned by the Orthodox spiritual Foundation of Bukovina and then Bishop Evgenij Gakman. Initially, it was the seat of the Metropolitan of Dalmatia, consisting of 3 buildings: the church, the monastery and the central palace of the metropolitan. They besides contributed financially to the construction of the facility The Blackist Jews, which was reflected on 1 of the domes of the right wing, where on 1 component we have a combination of the symbol of the cross and the star of David. The university's construction began in 1868 and was completed in 1882.
The building is 1 of the most beautiful in Europe and is simply a combination of different styles, including Mauritanian, Huculian and Byzantine. The university is surrounded by gardens in English and French style. Currently, about 20,000 students survey there, and in addition it is visited by 50,000 tourists per year. The university itself in this place was called in 1875 by Emperor Francis and was 1 of the first in the Austro-Hungarian era. It is now named after Ukrainian author Yuri Fetkovich, who was born as the boy of Polish noble Adalbert (Wojciech) Hordyński and daughter of an Orthodox clergyman. At his father’s request, he was baptized in a Catholic church, but later he passed to Orthodoxy and took the name Yuri. The University of Chernivtsi 10 years ago was included in the UNESCO list. During planet War II, the right side of the building was destroyed in connection with the fire, including the library burned down.
Another beautiful building is the Central Station, very akin to the Czerniowiecki Theatre. The oldest building in the city is the General's House, another – Colonel's House, which included a casino. Interesting is the Ship Building, built by a erstwhile sailor who thus showed longing beyond the sea. It was designed and arranged in specified a way as to make it appear to be pierced by the raging waves. Another crucial object is the Philharmonic building, where the most prominent artists from all over the planet toured.
In addition to these facilities, it is besides worth visiting the Armenian church, which presently houses a beautifully restored performance hall, St. Nicholas Cathedral Basilica, the wooden church of Mikołajewska, the Philharmonic, the Cathedral Church, the Council of the Holy Spirit, the square and the Turkish Bridge, the Theatre Square, the Central Square, the Philharmonic Square, the Main Synagogue of Bukovina, the City Hall, the Academy of Medical University (in the past Bristol Hotel), the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Main Street, Railway Station or Medical University. While in Chernivtsi, it is worth taking a walk in a beautiful park or visiting the National Museum of Chernivtsi, where we can admire the beautiful buildings of agrarian architecture. There are farmsteads from various periods, mills, forge, church and inn.
An interesting place is the beautiful Teatr Czerniowiecki named Olga Kobylańska, with a square specially lowered by 2 metres, so that the theatre is more visible. The theatre was started in 1905 and lasted 18 months.
Our compatriot Helena Modrzejewska performed there. In the square in front of the theatre there is an avenue of stars, including writers, musicians and singers associated with the Chernivtsi. The judaic House, which presently houses the home of Culture, is very impressive. By the outbreak of planet War II, Jews constituted the majority of the inhabitants. The rich lived in the upper, rich Chernivtsi, while the mediocre lived in the lower. During planet War II, a ghetto was created in districts inhabited by judaic poverty, with more than 50,000 Jews gathered. In 1939 there were 60 synagogues in the city. The Main Synagogue is now in operation, and there is besides a building of the old synagogue, where the cinema is located, and for this reason it is frequently called “kinagoga”.
Due to the large number of large literates residing in Chernivtsi, this town was frequently called the secret literary capital of Europe. Among the top judaic writers in this city is Paul Celan, born 1920. Another world-class author was Rose Auslander.
Definitely the prettiest and quietest street is already mentioned Olga Kobylanska street, on which many people always walk. Since it is excluded from the movement and completely restored, it enjoys exceptional popularity among city residents and tourists. I especially urge a walk from Friday to Sunday, erstwhile thousands of people come in and out of 1 end of the street and back.
There are plenty of restaurants on the street, serving Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Italian and many others. This street is besides popular among artists. Music can be heard here almost all day, but on weekend days artists play almost all 50-100 meters. The atmosphere here is amazing, people dance, sing or eat. You don't see any law enforcement, but you feel completely safe and carefree. To be honest, I've never seen specified an atmosphere and specified beauty anywhere before, and I've seen any of the world.
With full work I can urge respective restaurants in Czerniowce: Jordżina, ul. Olga Kobylańska 23 (Georgian cuisine), SzoSzo, ul. Główna 65, Bakłażan (Georgian-Armiańska cuisine), ul. Olga Kobylańska 38 and Rita Steinberg, ul. Uniwersytecka 48 (Jewish cuisine).
Chernivtsi are besides an excellent base of departure. From there, I took respective one-day trips – including to the castle in Chocim, the town and castle in Kamieniec Podolski, the castle in Czerwonogrod, Zaleszczyk or the old russian radar base Pamir, located in Carpathians close the border with Romania.
Castle Chocim belongs to the most celebrated in Ukraine, it is besides the place of 2 large Polish victories in 1621 and 1673. In 1621 from September to October, the combined Polish-Cossack forces defended the castle against the invading Turks, Tatars and Moldovans. Despite more than a double advantage, defenders managed to hold the castle, inflicting massive losses on Turka and their allies, killing over 40,000 soldiers of the opposing party. In 1673, Poles commanded by the captain John III Sobieski approached Turkish forces. Turks who defended themselves in the old Polish camp from the erstwhile war were broken. Both battles echoed widely throughout the Republic and Europe, and the triumph of 1673 secured the throne to Jan III Sobieski. Throughout its history, the castle has repeatedly passed from hand to hand, yet in the interwar period remained in the hands of Romania, and since 1944 – Ukrainian Socialist People's Republic, now Ukraine.
Currently, the castle is very well preserved and inactive preserved, which attracts many tourists. Its size and strategical location straight on the banks of the Dniester make it hard to even imagine its acquisition. Standing under his walls, from the position of a possible soldier from that time, we feel completely helpless. The only bridge leads to the castle. Its deficiency completely cuts off the castle from the surrounding area, due to the fact that on the 1 hand we have Dniestr, and on the another hand – a moat which flows a tiny river.
When we arrive, we first park in a large parking lot where we buy a ticket. In the parking lot there are besides suwenir stands and local food products. Coming out towards the Bender Gate, we pass the monument of Cossack commander Piotr Konaszewicz-Sahaidaczny, who, during the conflict of 1621, commanded 20,000 Cossacks, defended Chocimia with Poles. After crossing the gate we pass on the right side of the garrison church, erected by the Russians in the 19th century. The road to the castle leads through a drawbridge, exiting a tiny courtyard. In castle halls we can see a tiny historical exhibition, era costumes, siege machines or contemporary painting referring to the times of the castle's glory. At the end it is worth walking around the area to see the castle from a different perspective.
Name Podolski Stone it was associated with me (and most likely not just my association) always with the castle in the East Borders, known for 1 of my favourite films "Mr. Volodyjowski", shot by Jerzy Hoffman based on the trilogy of Henryk Sienkiewicz. I always wanted to see this castle with my own eyes. On the spot, it turns out that it is led by a very charming way coming consecutive out of the old town of Kamy. The historical Kamieniec Podolski itself was founded on a hill, cut off almost entirely from the remainder of the area by a very deep and inaccessible canyon of the Smotrycz River. This creates something like a peninsula with a narrow pass. The town itself besides served as a fortress, and to this day many shoals, towers and gates have been preserved, including Poland, Rusk, Batory or Wind. In emergency situations, peculiar hydrological devices caused water flooding in the ravine and cutting off the full city. The Turks, who failed to storm him in 1672, found this. present the old city looks truly awesome and is already mostly restored.
The Podolski Stone was granted city rights in 1432. It was inhabited by Poles, Rusins and Armenians – each of the nationalities owned its temple, mayor and courts. However, the beginnings of settlement in these areas are the work of the Lithuanians. many privileges caused trade to flourish and crafts to develop. Defence walls and fortresses were besides regularly expanded. During the partitions, the Russians tried to revive the city, but without success. After the fall of the Tsar, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians fought for Kamieniec. As a consequence of the provisions of the Treaty of Riga, the city fell to the Russians. Under their regulation many monuments were destroyed and devastated. The works of demolition were completed by the Germans, who murdered 20,000 Jews during the occupation.
The stone castle was planted at the Smotrics bend, next to the road moving to the town from the west side. The fortress played a very crucial function in the defence strategy of Kamieniec – it was in its area that there was the only large bridge leading to the center of the settlement. The capture of the castle was crucial to the full defence complex.
In the beginning of the 15th century, Kamieniec Podolski became the main town of Podolski Voivodeship. A powerful, constantly expanded and practically impossible to get fortress was essential to defend Polish interests at the east borders of the Republic. In 1621 Osman II resigned his assault on the city due to his fortifications. In 1633, Mehmed Abaza suffered defeat under the walls of the fortress in Podolsk, even though the allied Ottoman troops included the Tatars and Moldovans. Only in 1672, the multi-thousand Turkish troops, after a long siege and execution of many digs, blowing up any of the fortifications, forced the crew to surrender. Despite the insistence of the Hetman John III Sobieski, the king did not strengthen the crew of the castle, and he died during the Turkish siege. It was not reflected until 1699, but did not regain its erstwhile meaning. After the second partition of Poland in 1793, Kamieniec began to belong to the Russian Empire. At the beginning of 19th there was a prison behind the walls, and since 1928 the territory of the Old Castle became a museum. The real reconstruction of the fortress began only after planet War II.
Today, both the old town and the Old Castle make a large impression, of which the castle looks more awesome from the old city than from its interior. The interior of the Old Castle is now a large courtyard around which there are respective towers, any of which are accessible to visitors. Today's Kamieniec is simply a large and well-maintained town, with about 100,000 people surviving here in 2017. The main square of the Old Town is the erstwhile marketplace of the Polish Kamieniec community, next to which is the Baroque-Renaissance Town Hall.
A very interesting journey is simply a journey to the old base of russian anti-aircraft defence (OPL) in Pamirs, located in Carpathians at an altitude of 1410 metres above sea level. Pamir himself lies on the Semenczuk Pass, in the massif of the Jałoczorské Mountains. From Chernivtsi can be reached along the Wisznica, Putylia, Selatin route, all the way to the village of Szepit. The way itself from Putylia is very charming. Its large part runs along streams, frequently very wide. We pass beautiful and well-maintained Hucul villages, footpaths over rivers, waterfalls and churches. The last about 30-40 kilometres is already the ground road, where the bus's velocity is falling very much. We could usage any field cars. From the village of Shepit we can climb to the top of Pamir on foot, but we gotta consider that the way is about 5-6 kilometres, or take the terrain cars. In the village itself we will see a beautiful waterfall and a historical wooden church, supposedly made without utilizing nails. It is simply a very interesting and breathtaking experience to enter the terrain cars, at certain moments only for the brave, but views and emotions are worth it. On the transport of tourists to the top earns many local drivers having field cars. I saw with my own eyes the old russian truck kamaz, landed on the banks of young Ukrainians. any companies specialize in russian uases, others in Toyotas.
On top there are abandoned immense radar installations – mostly only their shields, resembling giant white balloons. Abandoned shelters and buildings after the erstwhile base are besides visible. Tens of people, especially on the weekend, go up and have picnics together. Before the summit we can meet herds of sheep or see houses where in the summertime period the Huculskis make sheep cheese. In good weather we have beautiful views of Ukrainian and Romanian Carpathians. Furthermore, part of the way runs straight along a barrier separating Ukraine from Romania. You can see to the bare eye that Ukrainians are beginning to see the tremendous tourist possible of Carpathians. Tourists from all over Ukraine, as well as Poland, Belarus, Germany, the USA and many another parts of the world, come to this area. There are no asphalt roads, but there is complete calmness, deficiency of cell telephone coverage, pleasant people and spectacular views. There is besides a tiny animal shelter close Szepit, where, apart from chaotic boars, badgers and deer, we can see 3 Carpathian bears, of which 1 large female Masha.
Amphibians It is simply a picturesque city located in the bend of Dniestr, which was a Polish heat pole and 1 of the most popular vacation resorts. It was celebrated for increasing vines and watermelons. Within the border of inter-war Poland Zaleszczyka was a point on the south-eastern edge of the country at the border with Romania. As a vacation destination, they were so popular among Polish elites that despite the underdeveloped railway and road network in Kresach, the celebrated “lukstorpeda” reached there. A train came here from very far distant Gdynia. It was at the same time the longest railway way in pre-war Poland, numbering 1314 kilometres. In Zaleszczyki, vines, peaches were grown, as well as delightful melons and watermelons that were not found in Poland. They even tried to grow citrus. The distinguishing mark Zaleszczyk was a promenade filled with 2 spatulas of equally cut clones, at night illuminated with lanterns, and 2 main beaches, called the sunny and thin.
Passing Zaleszczyki, we go to the ruins of the Polish castle in Czerwonogrod and the waterfall of Jurynskyi, which are located north of the town of Zaleszczyki, not far from the village of Nyrków. Behind Zaleszczyka about an hr drive north is the Werteb cave, which was closed on that day. The cave is so interestingly located, that by driving a car, we see first immense fertile fields of Ukraine, abruptly at any point a tiny funnel appears to us in the ground, descending to its bottom, and then the door to the cave, which is simply a monument to Tripolian culture. Werteba Cave is the most celebrated of 96 caves discovered in Jurassic rocks in the Tarnopolski region. It is besides 1 of the largest caves in Europe – the dimension of underground roads is 9021 metres. The cave is not located in the mountains, but on a plateau, and enters it through a gap in the ground. Most of the priceless excavations from this cave are now located in the Archaeological Museum in Krakow. Tripol culture is an archaeological culture representing the apogee of the improvement of neolytic cultures. The exhibits from this cave are besides found in museums in Warsaw, Vienna, Lviv, Borszczów and Tarnopol. These monuments come from an estimated period between 3870 and 2710 B.C.E.
Castle in Redbeard located in an highly picturesque valley of Dzuryn, in the vicinity of the erstwhile village of Czerwonogród. Before the Second planet War there were 361 people surviving there, mainly Poles. In 1944 most of them were murdered by UON – UPA, which caused the village to disappear. Only the ruins of the palace and church remained from the erstwhile building of the hill. The hills surrounding the hill, on which the ruins of the palace are located, are built of red sandstone. Watered by the river Dzuryn, the tributary of the Dniester, was an perfect place to establish a settlement. Natural barriers provided protection of the existing here in IX at the office of the Russian princes. The castle was a disputed place between Russian princes, later ruled by Tatars, Moldovan peasants and Lithuanian rulers.
After the entry of these lands into the Republic, the castle as a kingship was ruled by the ancient stony, initially buccaneers, later Jazłowiec and Danilovich. The increase in the importance of the village in the times of the Republic affected the appearance of the seat. It is not known precisely erstwhile the wooden castle was converted into a red sandstone. close the ruins of the palace is the highest waterfall of Jurinskyi, located on the Podol. large place to relax – you can take a bath in the cold water of the waterfall, take good pictures and a fewer hours of rest, as well as see Ukrainian fertile and rich farmland, stretching miles of sunflower fields, corn or soy. In the passing villages we can eat well and inexpensively or buy local products, specified as wine, vegetables and fruit, at all step of the way is besides sold acid. The main roads are rather mediocre quality, the side ground cover white grits. Despite the slow pace of moving views are worth bouncing into the side roads and getting the car dirty. It is besides worth highlighting a tiny car traffic that makes us feel no force to drive fast. There are besides fewer trucks.
Further in Monastyrok we can visit the old stone church and admire the panorama of the Seret River. mostly this area is very interesting in geological terms. Driving by car, we see immense flat spaces, among which abruptly appear very vast, wooded and deep canyons or gorges – rivers flow there, forests grow and very charming waterfalls fall.
