Tour Description
In the Carpathian Mountains visitors can not only admire picturesque mountain landscapes, but also beautiful ancient buildings, built in harmony with nature. It seems that mountains, covered with evergreen woods, organically outlined architectural and cultural traditions of mountain dwellers.
For centuries, their mastery in carpentry and wooden architecture had been improved and developed into genuine high art of erecting buildings of original forms and perfect constructions. On the territory, inhabited by Ukrainians, there is a tradition of wooden architecture with common features, which originate from the times of Kyiv Rus', but it was in the Carpathians, in Hutsul Region in particular, that this tradition reached its highest level of development. Architecture of this region has features which are characteristic of Hutsul, Boyky and Lemky ethnic groups.
The most perfect buildings of Hutsul house-building which survived till our days since time immemorial are wooden churches. In the old Hutsul kolyada there are the following words: ‘there, where Christ’s drops of blood fell on the ground, appeared a church’. Every village had its own church, even the smallest one. The churches of Hutsul school of folk architecture are cruciform churches, with one, sometimes three and five domes. The researches believe that such wooden cross-shaped churches were built in the Carpathians during the period of Halych Rus' (12-14th centuries), though these buildings did not survive till our days.
Wooden churches is one of the most characteristic displays of regional cultural heritage and possibly the most precious contribution of Carpathian region to the world treasure house of art; historical monuments, the source of the greatest esthetic pleasure and finally – the most attractive tourist objects. Wooden temples may be found almost in every district of the Western Region, in cities and mountain villages. They are unique samples of wooden architecture. Their beautiful architecture and unusually vivid interior are fascinating.
Traditionally, one can differentiate between 5 styles of Carpathian wooden churches. Lemky, Boyky and Hutsul styles – named so after the ethnic groups of Carpathian Ukrainians, and gothic and baroque – signify the connection to the West.
Lemky and Boyky churches are built in the oldest traditions of Ukrainian church building, which are based on the principle of triple unity: the church has three parts, three domes, three tops. Ancient temples of a house type are characteristic of Bukovyna.
Hundreds of wooden temples, built during 14-20th centuries, survived till our days in the Carpathian Region of Ukraine on the territory of:
According to the official data, 2000 wooden churches are preserved in Ukraine.
8 wooden churches of the Carpathian Region of Ukraine are waiting to be added to UNESCO World Heritage List: 4 churches in Lviv Oblast' (Holy Spirit Church (1502) in Potelych, St.George’s Church (1657) in Drohobych, Holy Trinity Church (1720) in Zhovkva, Church of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1838) in Matkiv); 2 churches in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast' (Church of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1808) in Nyzhnij Verbizh, Holy Spirit Church (1490s) in Rohatyn); 2 churches in Zakarpattia Oblast (The Church of the Ascension of Our Lord (1824) in Yasinia, The Church of St. Archangel Mykhailo (1745) in Uzhok).
The developed model tourist product makes it possible to diversify it in accordance with the terms of holding and modification of tourist objects, as well as according to the convenience in transportation of tourists to the starting point after the tour. It is especially important for the tour operator and their ability to diversify the list of tourist objects for different categories of tourists as well as to create their own variants of tourist programmes on the basis of given model product for other consumers of the products of specialized interests or niche tourism.
The developed tour begins in Ukraine. The starting point of the programme is the airport or the railway station in Lviv.
This product has the main programme which is saturated with tourist target objects, which strictly speaking define the content component of the suggested tour. The programme is designed for 4 days and its route passes through Lviv – Rohatyn – Kolomyia – Kosiv – Verkhovyna – Tatariv – Rakhiv – Dilove.
The fifth day of the tour is variable and can be changed according to the direction of further track and scheduled duration of tourist residence on the territory of the Carpathian Region:
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