Attractions of Mukachevo

Mukachevo Castle "Palanok" is an outstanding historical and architectural landmark, the ancestral nest of the Transylvanian princes Rakotsi.

The castle was built on a high volcanic mountain (65 meters) in several stages. In the 11th century, by order of King Laszlo I, a stone tower-donjon was built on the site of the ancient Rus wooden fortifications, in 1321, by the will of King Karl Robert, Italian masters expanded the fortress, in 1394, Prince Fedir Koratovych, exiled from Podillya, took up the reconstruction ), and the fortress acquired its current appearance in the 17th century under Dyerd I Rakotsi.

Mukachevo Castle controlled the trade routes through the Veretsky Pass connecting the Middle Danube Valley with Eastern Europe. The outer lines of defense included a moat, a rampart, and a stockade (palanok), which gave the entire castle its name. A bridge across a dry moat led to the Lower Castle, a square for celebrations was provided in the Middle Castle, and princely chambers and a siege well (86 meters) were located in the Upper Castle.

The castle withstood many sieges. The most famous defense in 1685-1688 was led by Ilona Zrini, the widow of Ferents Rakotsi. For three years, she repelled the attacks of the Austrians, who were able to force the garrison to surrender only by trickery. For a long time, the castle was a stronghold of the Hungarian national liberation struggle under the leadership of her son Ferents II Rakotsi. Monuments were erected to both of them.

Under the Austrians, a prison for political prisoners was located here, and under the Soviet authorities - various institutions.

Since 1993, the premises of the Mukachevo Castle have been occupied by a historical museum and an art gallery. You can relax and have a snack in a cozy cafe. A wine tasting room of the "Chizay" trademark has been opened in the castle cellars.

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.

The memorial house-museum of the Transcarpathian artist Adalbert Erdeli was opened in 2022 in the restored house of the artist, located under the Palanok castle in Mukachevo.

Erdeli is considered the founder of the Transcarpathian school of painting, on his initiative the Uzhhorod Art School was opened in 1927.

Erdeli lived in this house for six years with his parents before leaving for Europe.

The creation of the museum was initiated by the famous artist, associate professor of the Transcarpathian Academy of Arts Attila Kopryva.

The interior of the house and the workshop in the yard are reproduced based on photographs and drawings by Erdeli himself. The exposition presents furniture, personal belongings, photographs, documents, early drawings of Erdeli, reproductions of his most famous paintings.

The Adalbert Erdeli Museum functions as a house of creativity. In the attic space on the second floor, there is an open space for exhibitions and guest rooms for artists.

The Applied Art of Transcarpathia Museum was created in 2004 at the Mukachevo State University on the initiative of the famous Transcarpathian artist, art critic and teacher Attila Kopryva.

His personal collection of Transcarpathian folk costumes formed the basis of the museum exhibition.

In addition to samples of folk clothing and embroidery, the museum presents household items (wooden products, pottery, weaving and wickerwork) and work tools (looms, spinning wheels, etc.).

The Roman Catholic Cathedral in honor of Saint Martin, the patron saint of the city of Mukachevo, was built in 1904 on the site of an old Gothic church.

The 14th century Gothic chapel of Saint Yosyp with medieval paintings and tombstones has been preserved from the original building. It served as the altar part of the ancient temple, most of which had to be dismantled due to dilapidation. Of particular interest are the carved stone window casings with rich, unrepeatable ornamentation, colored stained-glass windows, supports (buttresses) of the walls, as well as Gothic vaulted ceilings.

Restoration was carried out in 1976.

The Cathedral in honor of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God is located in the center of Mukachevo, next to the pedestrian square of Kyryla i Mefodiia.

Built in 1992-1993. At the heart of the building is the building of the former office of the Shenborn estate, which was used as a border outpost in Soviet times.

Belongs to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

A monument to Afghan soldiers has been installed nearby.

The Greek-Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Mukachevo is located at the intersection of Oleksandr Dukhnovych pedestrian square and Uspenska Street.

It was built in 1829-1859 on the site of the unfinished Mukachevo monastery, founded in 1752. The initiator of the construction of the temple was the outstanding Transcarpathian educator Vasyl Dovhovych, who was the first local scientist to become a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. A clock made in Munich was installed on the bell tower.

In the 1990s, the church was reconstructed, and a new iconostasis by Yosyp Volosyansky was installed. In front of the church fence - a sculpture of the Virgin and Child.

The tasting room "Celtic yard under Lovacka" in Mukachevo is located in an ancient 45-meter long cellar at the foot of the Lovacka mountain, on the slopes of which grapes have been grown for more than 500 years.

The name is connected with the fact that there is an ancient Celtic settlement nearby.

The tasting cellar offers guests to taste several types of fruit liqueurs and tinctures (slyvovytsya, kedrivka, cherry, wild gooseberry, persimmon and others), three types of domestic ale (Celtic, ginger, corn), domestic cider, as well as several types of vermouth made with 30 herbs .

Among the exclusive and seasoned drinks, tourists can taste gin, schnapps, grappa, oruho and brandy of their own production.

Drinks are served with pickles and tomatoes, sandwiches with corned beef and home-made lard.

Cyril and Methodius Square Square in Mukachevo (former Myru Square) is a cozy paved boulevard that forms the basis of the pedestrian triangle of the tourist zone in the center of the city.

The dominant feature is the city hall in the Art Nouveau style (1906), on the tower of which a clock with a complex mechanism is installed. At the other end of the square rises the cathedral church of Saint Martin, who is the patron saint of the city. Nearby is the Gothic chapel of Saint Yosyp (XVI century), in which medieval paintings have been preserved.

A monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius was erected on the square.

It is the venue for mass events, including the annual "Chervene Wine" festival.

The Zakarpatsky Regional State Drama Theater in Mukachevo owes its birth to the Drama Theater of Bessarabia.

In 1884, the "Theater Construction Society" appeared in Mukachevo. However, the necessary funds were collected in the city only after 12 years. The foundation of the theater was laid on the site of the trading rows and the salt administration. The theater, built in the Art Nouveau style, opened three years later, in the fall of 1899. And yet, for almost half a century, the city did not have its own permanent theater troupe, although visiting actors sometimes performed here.

The first official theater season in Mukachevo was opened by the play "Commander Suvorov", which was staged by a troupe transferred here in 1947 from Akkerman (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi). The organizer and founder of the theater was Hryhoriy Hotarskyi. Over the years of its existence, the theater team staged more than 250 plays.

The Fine Arts Museum was founded in 1997 at the Mukachevo Boarding School of Art, now the Mukachevo Lyceum No. 8. The Lyceum is located in the premises of the former Hungarian State Royal Gymnasium, which was built in 1892.

The exhibits of the museum became the examination works of the graduates of the school in fine and decorative and applied arts – the best works of art of painting, graphics, embroidery, ceramics, carvings, moldings, straw appliqués, collages, etc. Here you can see embroidered towels, Easter eggs, paintings with Transcarpathian landscapes, various clay products.

Excursions to the Fine Arts Museum are conducted by members of the "Young Tour Guides" group.

The "Honey House" in Mukachevo is one of the attractions of the "Honey Route of Transcarpathia", which is part of the "Sweet Transcarpathia" tourist route.

The Mukachevo honey museum was opened in 2010 by a family of beekeepers from Perest. The exhibition features a living beehive with transparent walls, beekeepers' tools, a collection of toy bees, a unique map of Ukraine in honeycombs, wax candles, samples of honey from 60 countries of the world.

Visitors to the "Honey House" are offered a tasting of 4 types of Transcarpathian honey, as well as some honey drinks: mead and herbal honey balm.

The monument to the Chimney Sweep in the center of Mukachevo was erected in 2010 at the initiative of the former head of the Transcarpathian regional state administration Viktor Baloha.

The sculpture by Ivan Brovdi is placed on the cobblestones near the fountain, opposite the city's House of Culture. The monument to the "happy Chimney Sweep" was immediately nicknamed "Bertalon Bachi", because the prototype was the well-known Mukachevo Chimney Sweep Bertalon Tovt. He is shown with his gear surveying the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. Beside him is a faithful cat.

It is believed that a meeting with a Chimney Sweep brings good luck.

The Mukachevo Literary and Art Museum opened in 2021 on the first floor of the Oleksandr Dukhnovych Central City Library in the center of Mukachevo.

The museum was created at the expense of the public at the initiative of writers Viktor Dvornychenko and Tetyana Rybar.

The exposition presents ancient and modern examples of literature, visual and theatrical arts, music, and sculpture. You can see old typewriters, music records, theater posters, works of decorative and applied art.

The Palace of Princes Rakotsi in Mukachevo is better known as the "White House". It is located in the center of the city, inside the block on Cyril and Methodius Square. The palace was built in the XVII-XVIII centuries in a mixed Renaissance and Baroque style. It owes its second name to the initial color of the facade.

The palace served as the city family residence of the princes of the Transylvanian Rakotsi dynasty. In 1726, it became the property of the Shenborn family, for whom the famous German architect Yohan-Baltazar Neyman carried out a major reconstruction of the building and completed a new building in compliance with architectural proportions and symmetry. A powerful baroque portal stands out, next to which is placed a sculptural portrait of Prince Ferents II Rakotsi (according to legend, it was here that the prince wrote an appeal to the Hungarian people calling for an uprising against the Habsburgs).

Despite its respectable age, the "White Palace" is in excellent condition. Inside, the original interior has been largely preserved: cross vaults, ancient stucco, a marble fireplace, a bronze chandelier in the Art Nouveau style. Since Soviet times, the palace has been home to the Mukachevo Children's Art School, named after the founder of the Hungarian school of realistic painting, Mihay Munkachi. In the hall of the school there is a museum exposition dedicated to the artist, in particular, a plaster form of the future monument to Munkachi. There is a bust of Mihay Munkachi on the square in front of the palace.

The Palace of the Princes of Rakotsi is an architectural monument of national importance. Restoration is planned, after which the White House will be equipped with a museum of the Rakotsi family and a hall for receiving distinguished guests.