Attractions of Chortkiv district

The Bernardine church and monastery was founded in Husiatyn in 1610 by the Polish magnate Valentiy Oleksandr Kalynovskyi, who handed over the first wooden church to the Bernardine brothers.

10 years later, the future Crown Hetman Martyn Kalynovskyi started the construction of a baroque stone church and a two-story monastery building. In 1648, the monastery was destroyed by the Tatars. It began to be restored after the liberation of the city from Turkish rule, and was completed only in 1728.

Under the Austrians, the church became a parish church, and under the Soviet authorities it was closed. The revival began in 1991 with the efforts of the Franciscan brothers. Currently, it is the Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the building needs restoration.

The ruins of the defensive Buchach Castle, which protected Buchach from the Tatars and Turks since the 14th century, stand on a hill in the center of the city.

The fortress was founded in 1379 by the local magnates Buchachskyi, and three centuries later it was fortified by the new owners Potocki. In 1648, the Cossack army tried to capture it, and in 1665 and 1667 it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Tatars. Only in 1672, the Turkish army was able to capture the city and the fortress was destroyed.

The Potocki tried to restore Buchach Castle, but in the 19th century it finally lost its significance and was almost completely dismantled for building materials.

Fragments of walls and towers have been preserved.

Buchach Town Hall is a wonderful baroque creation of the Lviv architect Bernard Meretin, and is a hallmark of the city.

The 37-meter-high town hall was built in Buchach at the expense of Mykola Vasyl Potoski. The two-story tower rests on a two-story cubic base. Initially, the town hall was crowned with an 18-meter spire (replaced by the current dome after the fire of 1811) and decorated with 17 sculptures by the outstanding sculptor Ivan Pinzel on the theme of the struggle between good and evil. Most of the sculptures were destroyed by a fire in 1865, four of them survived only in fragments.

Thanks to the sophisticated synthesis of architecture and sculpture, the Buchach Town Hall is considered an outstanding work of world architecture of the late Baroque era.

Restoration is currently underway, and the creation of the Ivan Pinzel Museum is planned. The lost sculptures are planned to be replaced with copies. The restored clock on the top tier strikes every quarter of an hour, and every hour plays the melodies of Ukrainian songs.

In 2014, a monument to Pinzel was erected in front of the town hall.

The ruins of a poorly preserved castle built in the 17th century on a mountain surrounded by the Drapaka stream. The name of the founder is unknown.

The castle in Vysichka was quadrangular, with four corner towers. In 1672, it was captured by the Turks, and in 1675, the Polish king Yan Sobeskyi stayed in the castle with his army.

In 1820, the owner of Vysichka, Mariya Holiyovska-Charkovska, built a palace in the Neo-Gothic style on the territory of the dilapidated castle. In 1900, Kyrylo Charkovskyi ordered the castle walls and the entrance tower to be dismantled, as well as the moats to be filled in.

The palace was completely destroyed during the Soviet rule. In fact, only one castle tower has survived. Another is in ruins, and only the foundation remains of the third. One of the utility rooms and some basement rooms have also been preserved.

The ruins of the castle tower in Ozeriany are located in the very center of the village near the crossroads.

The castle probably dates back to the 17th century, when Ozeriany belonged to the Polish king. The castle controlled the salt road that runs through the village. The walls of the surviving tower are 1 meter thick. The rectangular tower measures 10 by 7 meters.

Only the first tier and the dungeon have survived.

The cave monastery in Monastyrok was founded in the 9th-10th centuries by hermit monks on the site of an ancient Slavic pagan temple.

It is noticeable that human hands put effort into the arrangement of the natural cave. A huge stone overhanging the entrance to the cave is supported by several columns made of flat stone blocks.

In the temple there is an image of Jesus, which, according to legend, came to the monks in the form of a play of light and shadow. They drew this image with paint and got what we can see now.

An ancient altar is also preserved in the cave, which is still used for its intended purpose. It is decorated with icons and lamps. Archeologically, it has been proven that the temple was lined with wood, had a wooden floor and may have been heated.

At the end of the 17th century, the temple was destroyed by fire, and in the 18th century it was destroyed by an earthquake.

Back in the 16th century, the Basilian Monastery was founded nearby. The complex includes the Ascension Church (XVI-XVIII centuries) and monastery cells. Near the entrance to the cave lies a stone with a cross carved on it, which is called the "stone of Dovbush". Perhaps it was a pagan altar.

The early Christian cave temple near the village of Stinka in Ternopil region belongs to the 12th-13th centuries.

The natural cave of karst origin is located on the left bank of the Dniester at an altitude of 15 meters. On the second level, an artificial room measuring approximately 8 by 9 meters was cut out of the travertine rock. In the center of the eastern wall is an altar with a solar sign in the form of a swastika. Crosses and other Christian and pagan symbols are depicted on the walls.

Probably, the temple existed even in pagan times, and with the advent of Christianity it became a cave monastery.

Two round Gothic crenellated towers at the bottom of the giant crater are the remains of the ancient Chervonohorod Castle, the history of which dates back to the 9th century, when there was an ancient Rus settlement called Chorlene Mistechko (later it was called Chervonohorod, Chervonohrud, Chervonohrad).

In 1351, the Rus-Lithuanian princes Koriatovychi (Koryatovychi) built a wooden castle in Chervonohorod for protection from the Tatars. At the beginning of the 17th century, the royal elder Mykola Danylovych built a new stone castle at the bend of the Dzhuryn River, which was later destroyed by the Turks. The picturesque ruins served as the basis for Prince Karol Poninsky to build a magnificent Gothic palace in 1870 (architect Yulian Zakharevych).

The estate in Chervonohorod was considered one of the most elegant tycoon residences in Poland. Until 1939, Princess Lyubomyrska lived in the Chervonohorod castle.

By the middle of the 20th century, the estate fell into disrepair, during the Soviet rule, most of the buildings were dismantled for building materials. Nearby you can see the ruins of the Peter and Paul Church of the XVII-XVIII centuries, the abandoned cemetery with the Poninsky tomb, as well as the remains of the hydroelectric station near the Dzhuryn waterfall.

Descent into the canyon to Chervonohorod - 2.5 kilometers of rather steep ground, which in bad weather can be difficult for cars to pass. Lately, there is an entrance fee, walking is free.

The stone Chortkiv Castle at the foot of the Vygnan mountain was built in 1610 by the new owner of these lands, Stanislav Holsky, on the site of the wooden fortress of the Princes of Chartkivsky.

The pentagonal fortification with towers at the corners, inside which the palace and farm buildings were located, was considered a typical defensive structure of its time, but it had an unfortunate strategic position - the castle was repeatedly destroyed. In particular, in 1648 it was stormed by the troops of Maksym Kryvonos, and in 1672 it was captured by the Turks.

In the 19th century, the representatives of the Potocki princely family tried to restore the castle, for some time it was owned by the order of Carmelite sisters, but it remained uninhabited and gradually fell into disrepair. During the 20th century, it was used as a warehouse. Until recently, it was owned by one of the city's utility companies.

Currently, Chortkiv Castle is under the protection of the National Reserve "Castles of Ternopillya". Archaeological research and conservation work are underway. It is planned to create a museum and a cafe.

Chortkiv Museum of Local Lore is located in a modern building on one of the most colorful streets in the center of Chortkiv.

Fixed assets include more than 10,000 exhibits.

The Chortkiv Museum of Local Lore presents an exposition dedicated to different periods of the region's history. Various archeological material tells about the life of people in ancient times, about ancient crafts and trades.

The history of the Ukrainian army and the national liberation struggle in the Chortkiv region is presented. A separate exhibition tells about the consequences of the Bolshevik terror and the expulsion of the fascist occupiers.

The Department of Nature reflects the flora and fauna of the region.

The Church of the Ascension of the Lord is located near the Chortkiv railway station.

It was built in 1717 on the site of a burned-down church founded in 1630 in the suburb of Dolishnya Vyinanka.

This three-log wooden church is considered one of the best examples of Podillya folk architecture. Built by Chortkiv folk craftsmen without a single nail, it impresses with its monumental forms. There are many carved details in the interior.

The Ascension Church belongs to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The wooden Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chortkiv is an example of Podillya folk architecture, the oldest surviving church in Chortkiv.

It was founded in 1538 on the initiative of the city brotherhood, whose members were local craftsmen. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1635.

This type of church is called "house" - they were built like ordinary residential houses-huts without architectural decorations. Wooden log cabins are covered with a common shingle roof.

A wonderful carved iconostasis of the 18th century has been preserved.

Assumption Church belongs to the parish of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in Buchach under the castle hill near the town hall at the expense of the owner of the town, Kaniv mayor Mykola Vasyl Potoski, as evidenced by his Pylyava family coat of arms on the pediment. The inscription on the portal says: "Out of a desire to have three crosses in Pylyava Potocki, the House of the Cross was built for the glory of God."

The outstanding sculptor Ivan Pinzel worked on the interior design for several years. The monumental composition of five altars includes the image of the Mother of God with the Infant Jesus, the figures of Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Yoakhim, Saint Anna, Saint Zazarius, Archangel Michael, Saint Yan Nepomuk, angels, allegorical figures of Swiftness and Love, and the composition of the Glory of God.

After the destruction of the Soviet Union, the church was restored and again welcomes believers.

The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God in Buchach was built in 1764 in the late Baroque style according to the project of the architect Bernard Meretin (according to other sources - Yohan Shiltser).

The temple has a defensive character. The impression of "femininity" of the interior is created by the rounded corners and harmonious lines of the portal. The Deacon Gate, the work of the outstanding sculptor Ivan Pinzel, has been preserved.

During the revival of the Intercession Church after the Soviet period, the burials of dozens of repressed residents of the city were discovered in the basements.

"Crystal cave" ("Kryvchanska") is the most famous and most suitable for tourists to visit the Podillya cave.

The entrance is located in the spurs of the mountain on the southwestern outskirts of the village of Kryvche. This is one of the largest gypsum caves in Europe - the length of its investigated part is almost 23 kilometers.

The Kryvchanska Cave was first mentioned in 1721 and was rediscovered in 1908. It is a branched gypsum system of passages washed by underground waters 20 million years ago.

The excursion route through the cleaned and illuminated part of the "Crystal Cave" is about 2.5 kilometers, of which 500 meters is the entrance corridor. The walls of the cave galleries are covered with white or various colored gypsum crystals, hence the name. Many crystals resemble silhouettes of animals: buffalo, lizard, elephant, eagle, etc.

Constant temperature +11 degrees. Open to the public all year round, the tour is possible only with a guide.