Attractions of Transcarpathian region

Wine cellars in Serednie are the oldest and largest wine-making center in Transcarpathia.

The cellars were laid in 1557 by the magnates Frantsysk Stefan and Dominik Dobo from Ruska, who owned the Serednyansky castle at the time, as evidenced by a stone tablet near the old entrance to the dungeon.

The construction of the cellars was carried out by the forces of the captured Turks. Their total length was 4.5 kilometers. Initially, the cellars played the role of an underground shelter in the event of an enemy attack, but gradually turned into a wine cellar.

The tunnels are cut in tuff, a porous rock of volcanic origin. Inside, the temperature is constantly maintained at +12 degrees, which are ideal conditions for aging wine.

Serednyansky wines were known to many monarchs of Europe, they were supplied to the court of the Russian Tsar Peter I. In Soviet times, the cellars were nationalized, and on their basis, the Serednyansky state farm factory was created, which became famous for the famous vintage wines "Serednyanske", "Pearl of the Carpathians", "Rose of Transcarpathia". Currently, the plant belongs to APF "Leanka".

Excursions are conducted to the cellars, where the wine is aged in huge oak barrels, and visitors are offered to taste the best Serednyansky wines. The factory's products can be purchased in the company store.

The elegant hunting palace-castle of the Shenborn Counts is located in the Berehvar tract in the village of Karpaty, on the outskirts of Chynadiiovo, 10 kilometers from Mukachevo.

In 1728, Austrian Archbishop Lotar Frants fon Shenborn received a gift from Emperor Karl VI of large lands in the Mukachevo area, which in 1711 were taken from Prince Ferents II Rakotsi, the leader of the anti-Habsburg uprising.

The new owners chose the picturesque Berehvar tract for hunting and built a wooden hunting castle. In 1890-1895, Ervin Fridrikh Shenborn-Bukhhaym built a magnificent stone castle-palace in its place. The eclectic architecture dominated by Neo-Gothic and Renaissance elements gives the building a romantic look of the French castles of the Lyudovik XIV era. The project is based on the astronomical year: 365 windows correspond to the number of days in a year, 52 rooms correspond to the number of weeks, and 12 entrances correspond to the number of months. The building is decorated with numerous turrets, weather vanes, bright tiles, colored stained-glass windows, and heraldic stucco. On the clock tower you can see the coat of arms of the Shenborns with a lion and a crown. Interiors with grand staircase and fireplace have been partially preserved.

The palace is located in the center of an English park with an area of 19 hectares with a natural landscape where rare species of trees and shrubs are found: boxwood, sakura, Weymouth pine, Canadian spruce. The outline of the park pond repeats the map of Austria-Hungary.

Aristocrats from all over Europe gathered every autumn to rest and hunt in the Shenborn lands.

Since 1946, the clinical sanatorium "Karpaty" was opened on the territory of the estate, where cardiovascular diseases are treated. There is a pumping station with mineral water "Polyana Kupel". The building of the Shenborn Palace is now one of the buildings of the sanatorium.

Down by the road is the railway station "Sanatorium Karpaty", which is made in the same romantic style as the palace.

Shenborn Park in the Voyevodyno tract next to Turya Pasika was created in 2013 by philanthropist Serhiy Moshak for the 285th anniversary of the gift of the Transcarpathian lands by the Emperor of Austria to Archbishop Lotar Frants Shenborn.

The entrance gate of the park, built on the ancient foundations of the 18th century building, symbolizes the portal between the Austro-Hungarian era of Transcarpathia and modern Ukraine.

Shenborn Park is set among the mountains of the Turya Valley around the dammed Lake Tur with an island in the shape of the 1867 Austro-Hungarian borders, accessible by raft. Each element of park architecture has a certain symbolic meaning. For example, 7 lanterns of different shapes correspond to the days of the week, 12 bridges symbolize the signs of the zodiac. In the Celtic Grove, you can see the Druid calendar in the runic circle and various trees corresponding to people's birth dates. Above the lake stands the water mill of Saint John with ancient millstones. The Baroque Bridge of the Four Evangelists is decorated with sculptures of Saints Luke, John, Mark and Matthew. You can also find several mini-sculptures of Celts by sculptor Mykhaylo Kolodka in the park.

Entrance to the park is free for guests of the Voevodyno resort.

Shypit waterfall (Shypot, Shipit) is one of the most beautiful and full-water waterfalls in Transcarpathia.

It is located in the mountains on the outskirts of the village of Pylypets. Nicknamed Whisper for his loud voice that can be heard as a whisper from afar. The water flows from the Borzhava basin and falls in picturesque cascades from a height of 14 meters.

The waterfall is especially beautiful in spring, when the snow melts, and in autumn, during the rainy season. In the summer, there is a small stream that runs down the mountain along several rocky ledges.

Every year since 1993, the waterfall gathers thousands of informals from different countries for the hippie festival "Shypit". About traditions, the culmination of the holiday falls on Ivan Kupala, July 7.

The Skakalo waterfall happily jumps over the boulders on the Matekiv mountain stream near the village of Chynadiiovo, immediately behind the Vodohray tourist complex.

A stone ridge crossing the wooded slope of the mountain blocks the path of the watercourse, and the stream breaks off the ledges with three steps, forming a four-meter cascade of jets that seem to jump from stone to stone.

The Kolochava Open-Air Museum of Folk Architecture and Life (skansen) "Old Village" (Stare Selo) is located in a picturesque area on the outskirts of the Transcarpathian village of Kolochava.

The museum has about ten authentic residential and commercial buildings with household items and works of art of local residents of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In particular, the Czech gendarmerie, a village school, a forge, a Hutsul kolyba, artisans' huts, a Jewish tavern and other buildings are presented. The museum combines the cultures of Hutsuls, Boykys, Lemkys, Hungarians, Romanians, Czechs, Slovaks, Germans, and Jews.

On the territory of the "Old Village" museum there is also the Museum of the Carpathian narrow-gauge railway, where you can see a German steam locomotive, several old cars, a motorized draisine and other rare railway equipment.

In addition, on the territory of the open-air museum, the underground bunker of the UPA rebels of Mykhaylo Shteyer has been recreated, in which the museum exhibition "Shteyer's Bunker" has been opened.

Nearby, a separate exhibition "Kolochava Bokorash" has been created, where you can visit a lumberjack's hut, familiarize yourself with the authentic tools of loggers and bokorashs, see reproduced robes for bringing down wood from the mountains, and take a photo on a huge bokor raft.

By prior order, theatrical performances with tasting of Kolochava drinks are held in the Jewish "Wolf's Tavern". There is a souvenir shop.

The old wine cellar in Berehove, over 300 years old, is being used for its intended purpose again thanks to a family of enthusiasts for the revival of Berehove winemaking: Oleh and Tetyana Havrilchenko.

According to legend, the wine cellar was carved out of the rock by hand by captured Turks. The restored cellar is one of the few preserved in Berehove from the 17th century.

According to traditional technologies, vintage wines are produced here from local grape varieties of the Berehove grape region. The most difficult to produce are Bianca and Traminer, but Riesling, Merlot and Zweilgate have an equally interesting taste. Muller-Thurgau wine is considered the pearl of the Old Wine Cellar collection.

The Torun pass (941 meters) is located at the exit from the village of Torun towards Dolyna, on the border of Zakarpattya and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

On the pass is a reinforced concrete Hungarian DOT from the Second World War (probably 1940) and a cemetery for Austro-Hungarian soldiers who died defending the pass during the First World War in 1914-1918.

There is also a rest area with gazebos on the pass.

The building of the Town Hall in Mukachevo has been serving its purpose for more than 100 years - now it houses the city council.

It was built according to the project of the Budapest architect Yanosh Bobul, Jr. When the first stone was laid in the foundation of the main clock tower, a letter was placed in which, in particular, it was reported that 14,416 people lived in the city, there were 1,553 houses.

The main portal is decorated with chimes installed by the master Yosyp Shovinsky. The main mechanism is located in a small oval room in the tower. A system of gears and levers connected by cables with two bells under the roof of the dome works in a glass box. Every 15 minutes, a hammer strikes the smaller bell, striking the quarter hours. Strikes on the big bell announce the hours. Thus, within the hearing range of the bells, the time could be determined by ear.

Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life is a stylized ethnic village in the center of Uzhhorod, where samples of wooden architecture are collected, typical for representatives of different peoples of Transcarpathia: Dolynyans, Lemkis, Boykis, Hutsuls, Hungarians, Romanians.

The pearl of the Uzhhorod open-air museum is considered to be the Lemko wooden Saint Michael's Church (1777), brought from the village of Shelestove, Khust district. In the interiors you can see a carved iconostasis and icons of the XVIII century.

The Hutsul estate-citizen from the village of Stebny in the Rakhiv region, which combines residential, economic and defense functions, also deserves special attention.

An interesting design of a water mill of the XIX century. from the village of Kolochava in the Mizhhirya region, which provides a room for a mill mechanism and a sludge room.

Hungarian folk architecture is represented by the house of a wealthy peasant of the XIX century. from the village of Vyshkovo, Khust district.

Trufanets waterfall - the highest natural waterfall in Transcarpathia - 36 meters.

Located near the Yasinia-Rakhiv highway, 2 kilometers from the turn to Drahobrat. It is located on the Trufanets stream - the right tributary of the Black Tysa River, on the southeastern slopes of the Svydovetsky Range.

Formed at the place of emergence to the surface of sandstones resistant to destruction. The stream originates in the subalpine belt at an altitude of 1,720 meters at the foot of Blyznytsia. The length of the stream is 2830 meters. In the forest belt, it partially (230 meters) flows underground.

The Trufanets waterfall forms several cascades. This is one of the most picturesque cascading waterfalls in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Hydrological monument of nature.

The directorate of the Uzhanskyi National Nature Park is located in Velykyi Bereznyi in the northwest of the Ukrainian Carpathians.

Back in 1908, the "Stuzhytsia" and "Tikha" nature reserves were created to protect the relict forests on the outskirts of Velykyi Bereznyi. Currently, it is part of the world's first tripartite Ukrainian-Polish-Slovakian international biosphere reserve "Eastern Carpathians", which is included in the World Network of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. It occupies an area of almost 40 thousand hectares.

Uzhanskyi National Park is distinguished by a variety of natural landscapes, unique forest ecosystems, a wealth of flora and fauna, and a large number of cultural and historical monuments. 863 species of plants grow on the territory of the park, 80 of which are listed in the Transcarpathian Red Book, 52 are included in the Red Book of Ukraine, and 2 are included in the International Red List.

The main sights are located in the area of the village of Stuzhytsia: karst caves, mineral springs, wooden churches and the place where the famous Knyahinensky meteorite fell.

Uzhhorod Castle is one of the best preserved medieval fortifications in Ukraine.

The emergence of a fortified settlement of the Slavic tribe of white Croats on the Castle Hill above the river. Researchers date it to the VII century, but it was first mentioned in Hungarian chronicles in the IX century.

In its current form, Uzhhorod Castle was rebuilt after 1322, when the city passed into the possession of the Italian Druget family. The Count's Palace-Citadel was surrounded by strong walls with five bastions and a wide moat. According to legend, during the construction, the daughter of Count Druget was walled up for treason.

The fortress was turned into a luxurious residence in the XVII century by Count Miklosh Bercheni. In 1704, Uzhhorod Castle briefly came under the control of the Hungarian rebels Ferents II Rakotsi, and after the return of Austrian rule, a seminary was opened on the territory.

Currently, the premises of the Uzhhorod castle house the expositions of the Transcarpathian regional museum of Local Lore named after Tyvodar Lehotsky: folk art, spiritual culture, ethnography, firearms, and others.

In the yard - a 36-meter siege well and two sculptures of the XIX century: "Hercules, who kills the Lerneian Hydra" and "Hermes, who is resting." In the basement there is an exposition "Torture Room", which presents exhibits reproduced from drawings, medieval sketches, engravings and photographs.

The Uzhhorod Castle restaurant with a summer playground above the defensive moat has been opened in the castle guard room, and a Transcarpathian wine tasting room is open.

Uzhok Pass is located on the border of Transcarpathia and Lviv region, near the border with Poland.

The height of the pass reaches 889 meters. From the side of the village of Uzhok, a steep serpentine of the Uzhhorod-Sambir highway leads to the pass. From the observation decks you can enjoy wonderful panoramas of the main Carpathian ridge.

During the First and Second World Wars, fierce battles took place on the Uzhok Pass. A monument was erected to the heroes of the Second World War who died in 1944, liberating the Carpathians. A memorial sign was also erected in honor of the Ukrainian Sich riflemen who, fighting on the side of Austria-Hungary, in 1914 took their first battle with the Kuban Cossacks at the Uzhok Pass.

Veretskyi waterfall is a Carpathian pass at the watershed of the Stryi and Latoritsa rivers, which crosses the border of Zakarpattia and Lviv regions. Also known as Vorotskyi Pass or Rus Gate, now it is called Serednyoveretskyi.

In 894-896 BC, tribes of Ugrians (Hungarians) led by Arpad crossed the Veretskyi Pass, moving from the Urals to the Danube lowland. Having recaptured the Danubian lands from the Bulgarians, the Hungarians thereby gained their new homeland. Ukrainians moved to Transcarpathia along this route.

In 1896, a monument was erected in honor of the conquest of the homeland by the Hungarians at the pass, which was then the border between the Hungarian and Austrian parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It consists of seven blocks stacked on top of each other in the form of an arch. They symbolize the seven Ugric tribes that crossed the pass.

In 1939, a mass shooting of Ukrainian Sich archers who defended Carpathian Ukraine took place here. After the Second World War, the commemorative plaques were removed from the obelisk, it gradually fell into disrepair. In 2008, despite the protests of Ukrainian patriots, the monument was restored.

From the Veretskyi Pass you can enjoy breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.