Attractions of Ivano-Frankivsk region

The Arts of Prykarpattya Museum in Ivano-Frankivsk is the largest treasury of sacred, fine and decorative art of Ivano-Frankivsk region, whose collection includes more than 15 thousand works of art.

The institution opened in 1980 as the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Art Museum. It has since been housed in a Roman Catholic church.

The Collegiate (Parish) Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saints Andrew and Stanislav is an architectural monument of national importance, one of the most valuable and ancient architectural and spiritual monuments of Ivano-Frankivsk. Built in 1672-1703 by French architects Fransua Korassini and Karol Benua to order the city's founders Andriy Potocki as the ancestral tomb of this magnate dynasty (Potocki's coat of arms "Pylyava" is located on the second floor on the east wall in front of the buttresses).

The three-nave basilica with a transept is made in the Baroque style with elements of the Renaissance. The interiors of the church have preserved frescoes by Erazm Fabyanskyi, which in Soviet times determined his fate to become an art museum.

Now the exhibition presents samples of Halician iconography and Baroque sculpture, the works of classics of Western Ukrainian painting: Kornyl Ustyanovych, Ivan Trush, Yaroslav Pstrak, Yulian Pankevych, Oleksa Novakivsky, Osyp Sorokhtey, Olena Kulchytska, as well as the works of Polish, Austrian, German and Italian masters of the 18th century.

The most valuable part of the collection are considered to be six sculptures by the outstanding Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Heorhiy Pinzel.

The wooden Church of the Ascension of Christ in Liucha in the Kosiv region is an architectural monument of national importance.

The Ascension Church was built in 1844. There is a bell tower nearby.

The wooden Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Sniatyn was built in 1838 (according to other data, in 1784).

The iconostasis of 1894 has been preserved.

Natalya Kobrynska, a well-known writer and activist of the gender movement, was the wife of the abbot of the temple Teofil Kobrynskyi.

The parish of the Holy Ascension Church belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Maniava Hermitage is an ancient ascetic men's monastery of the Eastern rite, nicknamed the "Carpathian Athos". It is located in the picturesque Carpathian highlands, on the banks of the Maniavka River.

According to legend, it was founded by monks who fled from Kyiv in 1240. The first monastery was located near the holy spring under the Blessed Stone. Rus princes came here for blessings.

The monastery was revived in 1612 by the schymnik monk Iov Knyahynytskyi, who previously settled here in hermitage, and before that he lived on Mount Athos for 12 years. In 1621, the Maniava hermitage received the right of stauropygy, and more than 500 monasteries in Galicia, Bukovyna and Moldova were subject to it.

The architectural complex of stone and wooden buildings, surrounded by a high stone wall with towers and loopholes, is successfully inscribed in the mountain topography. According to scientists, Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi is buried here.

The monastery was closed by the Austrian authorities in the 18th century. During the Soviet rule, restoration was carried out with the aim of creating a museum. In 1998, the monastery was returned to the Orthodox Church. In recent years, the Church of the Ascension of the Cross and other buildings have been restored.

A steep trail up Mount Maniavka leads to the Blessed Stone - a small cave that was the first refuge of the monks. People go here to cleanse themselves and drink the healing water that flows between the stones.

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Verkhovyna is one of the largest wooden architectural structures in Ukraine.

It was built in the 18th century. Burned down in 1944, restored in 1994.

A vivid example of Hutsul folk architecture.

The wooden five-log church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1600 on a hill on the right bank of the Pistyn River in the western part of the village, near Sheshory.

It is considered the oldest Hutsul temple, but in some reference books the date of construction is 1858. Local residents also call this church "Horishnya", i.e. "upper". To protect against Tatar raids, the temple was surrounded by a rampart and stone walls, the remains of which have been preserved to this day.

The Horishnya church is well preserved, but its authentic appearance is spoiled by the galvanized iron coating. There is a stone belfry (XVIII century) near the Assumption Church.

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lysets was built in 1852 at the expense of Count Rudolf Stadion (Shtadion) on the site of a wooden church that had existed since the 17th century.

The church in the Romanesque style has five altars.

The peculiarity of the Lysets church was that parishioners of the Latin and Armenian religious denominations held services in it at the same time.

The oldest and most valuable treasure of the Assumption Church was the miraculous image of the Mother of God of Lysets. In 1945, deported Poles took the icon to Poland.

In Soviet times, the church had a cinema.

Currently, the temple has been returned to the Roman Catholics, restoration and repair work is ongoing. The image of the Mother of God of Lysets returned to the church in the form of a copy.

The Greek Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in Horodenka in the 18th century at the expense of Mykola Vasyl Potoski.

According to legend, the temple was founded by Potoski to atone for his sin - the murder of a local girl (according to one version, these events formed the basis of the folk "Song of Bondarivna").

The author of the project is the famous architect Berdard Meretyn. Instead of the traditional cross, the temple is crowned with the "Pilyava" cross of the Potocki family coat of arms.

The iconostasis of the Church of the Assumption is similar to the iconostasis of Saint George's Cathedral in Lviv - it was also created by the outstanding Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Pinzel, who often worked together with Meretyn.

The wooden church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary in Yaremche was built in 1884.

It is located in the city center, next to the railway crossing.

The wooden church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary in Yablunytsia was built in 1895.

In 1900, the nave of the church was painted by the famous Ukrainian monumental artist Modest Sosenko.

The church is an architectural monument of local importance.

The town hall on the former Bilshivtsi Rynok square (now Vichevyi Maydan) was built in the 19th century.

Originally it had a taller square clock tower with an open gallery and a pointed spire. During the First World War, the building was damaged and was rebuilt in its current, more compact form.

The town hall still serves its purpose - it houses the village council of Bilshivtsi.

Lake Brebeneskul is the highest mountain lake in Ukraine (1801 meters). The Brebeneskul River flows from here.

The glacial lake is located on the southwestern slope of the Chornohora ridge, in the valley between the Brebeneskul and Gutyn Tomnatyk mountains.

The lake is 67 meters wide and 147 meters long. The greatest depth is 3.2 meters. Lake Brebeneskul has an oval shape. The banks are steep, high, with stone screes. The water is clean and slightly mineralized, the bottom is covered with gray silt.

Popular among lovers of mountain tourism.

The brown bear museum in Maniava was opened in 2006 on the initiative of the public organization "Our Home - Maniava". In this way, local residents honored the four-legged beast, which is considered the master of the forest, a symbol of power and part of local culture.

More than 80 "bear" exhibits are collected in several rooms of the premises of the Maniava village council, including a stuffed bear.

Also on display are souvenirs made by local residents, toys, Hutsul tiles, watches and much more. A gallery of paintings dedicated to the bear theme is on display.

Excursions are free, but voluntary donations are welcome.

Bukhtivets waterfall is located on the mountain river Bukhtivets in the village of Bukove.

Its height is 8 meters. The stream flows from the mountain and falls into the valley, cutting the rock with a narrow canyon.

In 1972, the Bukhtivets waterfall was taken under protection as a hydrological monument of nature of local importance.

Nearby is the 10-meter-high Krapelny waterfall, which got its name due to the fact that the water in it does not pour in a stream, but sprays in drops.

There is a picnic area near the waterfalls.

The Museum of Carpathian loggers-butynars is part of the "Butynar" eco-mansion, which opened in Kosmach in 2021.

At the heart of the open-air museum exposition (skansen) is a reproduced wooden hut of butynars, in which they lived while working in the mountains. In the hut you can see working tools and household items of loggers: saws, axes, wooden utensils, etc.

On the porch of the Hutsul hut, there is an exhibition of miniatures, which demonstrate the daily life of butynars. Another exhibit of the museum complex is a tavern.

In the yard - an ancient space carriage and wooden sculptures of mythical creatures from Hutsul folklore. Samples of Carpathian wood, old maps, and other tourist attractions of Kosmach are displayed at the stands.

The estate complex includes a rest house above the pond.