Attractions of Ternopil

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ternopil is an architectural monument of the late European Baroque.

A large Roman Catholic church with two elegant towers was built in 1749-1779 in the historic center of the city according to the project of the architect Avhusta Moschynskyi (according to other sources - Yan de Vitte) on the site of an ancient Rus Orthodox church. At the same time, a two-story cell block of the Dominican monastery was built. Between them is the so-called "Italian courtyard", currently not accessible to tourists.

The Dominican church was badly damaged during the Second World War and was restored in 1953. It was used as a picture gallery of the Ternopil Regional Local Lore Museum, and the archive is still located in the monastery building.

In 1992, the building was restored and handed over to the Greek Catholic community. The interiors were not preserved.

Next to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a monument to Metropolitan Yosyp Slipiy has been erected, and in the square opposite the church - a monument to Prince Danylo Halytsky.

The Historical and Memorial Museum of Political Prisoners opened in Ternopil in the basement cells of the temporary detention center of the former Ternopil Department of the NKVD-KGB on October 14, 1996.

The museum's exposition tells about the struggle of Ukrainian patriots against the communist regime, the repressive methods of the Soviet special services and the life of convicts in the Gulag camps, and recreates the regime of detention of political prisoners and interrogation methods. Among the museum's exhibits are a map of the USSR indicating the locations of special camps, stands with biographies of armed underground leaders, belongings of political prisoners, photographs and biographies of OUN and UPA leaders, postcards from 1940-1950, photographs from the unique UPA photo archive found in 1999 in Ivano-Frankivsk region, materials about the repressions of 1939-1941 in Western Ukraine.

The prison environment has been recreated in 28 pre-trial detention cells. Visitors can see the punishment cell, torture instruments, clothing and household items of prisoners. Models of a Siberian concentration camp and a "calf barn" wagon are also on display.

The monument to the ancient Rus prince Danylo Halytskyi, the unifier of Western Ukrainian lands, was erected in the center of Ternopil in 2002.

In the middle of the 13th century, Danylo Halytskyi managed to unite in his hands the Galicia-Volyn state, which he inherited from his father Roman Mstyslavych, and in 1254 he became the first king of Rus. He was also the first Rus ruler who was able to defeat the troops of the Golden Horde. Under him, the spread of Western culture and the European type of state and administrative management began in Rus lands.

The author of the equestrian monument to Danylo Halytskyi is the sculptor Bohdan Rudy.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Ternopil is a surprisingly beautiful temple, one of the best examples of the Podillya architectural school of the 17th century.

The church was built in 1602-1608 by a craftsman named Leontiy near the eastern city gate. It acquired a modern appearance as a result of further reconstruction and restoration in 1937.

Currently, the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The main shrine is the icon of the Mother of God of Ternopil.

The world's first monument to the outstanding opera singer Solomiya Krushelnytska was erected in Ternopil in 2010.

A full-length bronze cast figure of the prim. The monument is 3.8 meters high and weighs 3.5 tons.

The authors of the composition are sculptor Volodymyr Stasyuk (Rivne) and architect Isabella Tkachuk, who worked together with Ternopil artists Danylo Chepil and Anatoliy Vodopyan.

Until now, the memory of the Ukrainian singer Solomiya Krushelnytska, who was born in Ternopil, was immortalized only by busts in Lviv and Milan, where she performed at the La Scala theater.

A monument to the head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the leader of Ukrainian nationalists, Stepan Bandera, was erected in Ternopil in 2008 to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.

It is located in Tarasa Shevchenko Park, opposite the building of the Ternopil Regional State Administration.

The author of the monument to Stepan Bandera in Ternopil is the Ternopil sculptor Roman Vilhushynsky.

Ternopil Castle was founded in 1540 by the Grand Crown Hetman Yan Tarnovskyi on the site of the ancient Rus settlement of Sopilche (Topilche) to defend the Polish borders from the Tatars.

In the 17th century, the Grand Crown Chancellor Tomash Zamoyskyi significantly expanded the fortifications, but in the following years they were repeatedly destroyed. In particular, the Ternopil castle was almost completely dismantled by the Turks after the capture of the city in 1672.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Count Frantsishek Korytovskyi built a palace in its place, for which the surviving fortifications, towers and gates were demolished, and the building was surrounded by an ordinary fence. Some castle elements have been preserved.

During the First World War, the palace was burned and was in ruins for a long time. Renovated in 1951, it houses exhibition halls and a training and sports center.

From the street the Ternopil castle building looks inconspicuous, but from the side of the lake its fortification character is well visible.

The "Museum of the City of Ternopil" was opened in the dungeons of the castle.

The Great Pond in the center of the city of Ternopil was created at the initiative of Crown Hetman Yan Tarnovsky during the construction of the Ternopil Castle.

For this purpose, the channel of the Seret River was dammed. The area of the Ternopil pond is about 300 hectares. In addition to protective, it also performed an economic function - it was used for breeding fish.

Currently, Ternopil Pond has become surrounded by parks, which are a favorite place for walks among the citizens.

The courtyard of a large building on the corner of Taras Shevchenko and Stefan Kachala streets is called the "Venetian (Italian) courtyard" in Ternopil.

In 1893, the Polish stock exchange and library "People's School Society" (Towarzystwa szkoly ludowej) opened here. In 1913, the Podillya Museum was opened with four departments: ethnographic, historical-numismatic, natural history and archeology (its exposition formed the basis of the current local lore museum). Later, the building housed a women's gymnasium, and now it houses the Ternopil City Council Education Department.

The inner courtyard of the building was nicknamed "Venetian" ("Italian") for its characteristic design with an arcade and a portal with columns.

Until recently, the Municipal Police Department was located there, the object was in a very bad condition. Currently, the partially restored "Italian Courtyard" is the summer patio-terrace of the conceptual restaurant-gallery "Bunkermuz".

Ternopil Academic Regional Ukrainian Drama Theater named after Taras Shevchenko was founded in 1915 on the initiative of the famous Ukrainian actor and theater director Les Kurbas as the first professional theater in Ternopil "Ternopil Theater Evenings".

The current building of the Ternopil Drama Theater was built in 1957 by architects Ivan Mykhaylenko, Volodymyr Novykov, and Dmytro Chornovol. It has a hall for spectators with 600 seats.

A monument to Taras Shevchenko has been erected in the park next to the theater.

The first museum of retro cars "Retro-Cortege" in Western Ukraine was opened in Ternopil in 2016 on the initiative of entrepreneur Taras Demkur.

More than 20 vintage cars are presented, some of which have an interesting history. In particular, the collection includes a Jaguar car that belonged to US President Richard Nixon, as well as a Maybach from Hitler's Werewolf stake. The oldest car dates back to 1933.

Also presented are restored motorcycles, old radio equipment, a collection of mini cars from different parts of the world, military equipment.

The area of the Aquapark "Alligator" at the hotel entertainment and health complex in Ternopil is 4.2 thousand square meters. It can accommodate 400 visitors at the same time.

The Aquapark has three pools with a depth of 150, 90 and 30 centimeters, 8 water slides for adults and children of different ages with a length of 3 to 33 meters and a height of 1.5 to 10.5 meters. In addition to the water slides, there is a hydromassage area, waterfalls and 2 exciting attractions: "Body Slay" (an intriguing journey through a closed water pipe 86 meters long from a height of 6.5 meters) and "Black Hole" (adrenaline descent through a closed water pipe from a height of 12.5 meters 160 meters long, accompanied by spectacular illuminations and exciting sounds). Other attractions: the "Kamikaze" slide (height 10.5 meters, length 33 meters), the slide "Truba" (height 6.5 meters), the slope "Family hill" (height 4.5 meters and length 20 meters).

The water park complex includes a SPA zone (infra-red sauna, professional massage therapists, Turkish bath hamam).

The hotel complex has a bowling alley, a disco club, a restaurant, billiards, and a fitness club.

The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary in Ternopil is a church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The first Church of the Assumption in the Ternopil suburb was built in 1636 from wood. Until 1744, the Basilian monastery operated under it. In 1837, a new stone temple in the Empire style was built.

The monastery and the Church of the Assumption were destroyed during the Soviet regime in 1962. Today, a new Assumption Church with a bell tower has been built in their place. Modern buildings are modernized and differ from the original construction.

"Heritage" ethno-gallery was founded in Ternopil in 2016 by the family of entrepreneurs Taras and Iryna Demkur on the basis of their private collection of authentic Ukrainian national clothing, embroidered towels, adornment and household items.

The gallery space is located in the "Atrium" business center in the city center. About 5,000 rare examples of applied folk art from all over Ukraine are presented here. These are ethnic Ukrainian costumes, ancient women's adornment, collectible towels, Cossack and painted household icons, clay products, rare documents and much more. There are also artifacts of Trypillya culture, the Cossack era and the liberation movement of Ukraine.

The special pride of the "Heritage" ethno-gallery is the collection of Borshchiv embroidery, embroidered with black threads on white canvas. In 2020, Borshchiv folk embroidery was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It is possible to visit the gallery with a tour.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Nadstavna) is the oldest church in Ternopil.

It was built by the founder of the city, crown hetman Jan Tarnovsky, on the site of the ancient Rus temple of the times of King Danylo Halytskyi. The church was located next to the western (Lvivsky) gate of Ternopil above the pond, which is why it received the second name "Nadstavna" or "Church above the pond".

In 1627, the bell tower was completed. Old Rus defensive architectural traditions are used. In 1959, the Exaltation Church was restored.

Belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.