Attractions of Chortkiv district

The majestic one-nave Gothic-Renaissance Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Yazlovets was built at the end of the 16th century at the expense of Mykolay Yazlovetskyi.

At first, it was a parish church, but in 1639 it was transferred to the Dominican monks, who founded the monastery (the semicircular chapels that were added at that time have been preserved). Nearby is a powerful open bell tower.

Polish composer Mykolay Gomulk is buried in the church.

The Yazlovets church was closed during Soviet times, and is now in a dilapidated state.

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.

Fragments of the fortifications of the Polish fortress of Holy Trinity Trench, built in 1692 by crown hetman Yablonovsky for the blockade of Kamyanets-Podilskyi, which was occupied by the Turks.

For six weeks, the entire army under the leadership of engineer Gommer poured powerful ramparts, erected towers and walls. A very advantageous place was chosen for the fortress from a strategic point of view - a narrow rocky isthmus at the confluence of the Zbruch and the Dniester. From the lookout tower, Khotyn and Zhvanets fortresses were perfectly visible, and in the distance you could see the domes and minarets of Kamyanets-Podilskyi.

Since 1693, the Polish garrison began to regularly carry out successful attacks on Turkish camps, disrupting the supply of products from Kamyanets-Podilskyi. After Podillya was returned to Poland in 1699, the Fortress "Holy Trinity Trenches" lost its strategic importance. In 1769, it was taken by Russian troops, later it was used as a border outpost.

The Lviv and Kamyanets gates, the ruins of the watchtower above Zbruch, as well as the system of earthen fortifications have been preserved.

The small and very simple castle church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Kryvche was built in the 17th century - at the same time as the Kryvche Castle.

According to other sources, the church was rebuilt from the castle powder tower in 1723. It served as a burial place for the Holiyovsky magnates.

The church is located in a spruce grove on the edge of the castle hill. Partially restored.

One of the most powerful castles in Podillya was built in Yahilnytsia in 1630 by Crown Hetman Stanislav Lyantskoronskyi.

In 1655, Yahilnytsia Castle withstood the siege of the Cossack troops of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, and only later as a result of betrayal was captured by the Cossacks of Buturlin.

After the signing of the Buchach Peace Treaty, when Yahilnytsia, along with some other Podillya lands, went to Turkey, the castle housed the garrison of the Turkish Pasha for some time.

By the end of the 18th century, the Yahilnytsia castle lost its strategic importance. The Austrian authorities ordered to fill in the ditches and dismantle part of the fortifications, and the buildings were used as a tobacco and potash factory. The castle kept this purpose until now under the sign of the Yahilnytsia tobacco and fermentation plant. Currently, it belongs to a private company, the plant does not work, access to the territory is closed.

The Empire-style palace with an original colonnade and wing was built in Zalishchyky in 1831 by Baron Ignatius Brunytskyi on the site of the Ponyatovsky hunting castle.

Austrian Emperor Franz II stayed here during his trip to Galicia. A 5-hectare park was also laid out, where more than 400 trees of 40 species and forms are growing.

The Brunytsky Palace has been preserved to this day, until recently it housed the department of the district hospital.

Zalishchyky Park is part of the protected zone of the regional landscape park "Dniester Canyon"

"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.

The Greek-Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Borshkov was built in 1886. It is located on the central square of the city.

The church keeps a copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Borshchiv in a "black embroidered dress". The massive and simple bell tower is a modern building.

A monument to the fighters for the freedom of Ukraine was erected next to the Assumption Church (1993).

The Buchach Local Lore Museum is located in the center of city, near the town hall.

The archeological vuseum`s exposition presents objects from the times of Trypillya culture.

The ethnographic exhibition tells about the life of peasants of the end of the XIX century.

In addition to the history of the city and the district, there is an exposition dedicated to the work of the outstanding sculptor Ivan Heorh Pinzel, who lived and worked in Buchach for a long time.

The model of Buchach Castle is also of interest.

The Roman Catholic Church of the Mother of God of the Holy Scapular in Borshchiv was built in 1763 instead of the wooden church destroyed by the Tatars.

The three-tier bell tower was rebuilt from the defense tower of the 17th century castle. Faceted upper tiers have a baroque finish.

Restoration was carried out in 1928-1930. Today the Mother of God of Holy Scapular Church is active.

The castle in Zolotyi Potik was built in the 17th century by Bratslav voivode Stefan Potoski and his wife Mariya Mohylyanka (relative of the founder of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Petro Mohyla).

The fortress controlled one of the trade routes from Halychyna and Volhynia to Moldova and Pokuttia. The castle, regular square in plan, is located on a low hill in the valley of the Tatarka River. Of the four corner hexagonal two-story towers with loopholes, only three have survived, and even then with significant changes. The height of the walls is about 5 meters, the thickness is up to 2 meters. In the center of the north-eastern facade of the castle is a three-tier entry tower. Outside, the castle was surrounded by a rampart and a deep moat with water. There was a one-story palace on the territory, and in the middle of the yard - a well, which is associated with the legend of the origin of the name of the Zolotyi Potik (allegedly, during a long siege, the defenders of the castle, tired of thirst, found a spring, which they called "golden").

The Zolotyi Potik Castle was captured several times by the Turks and Cossacks, but each time it was rebuilt, and it has survived to this day in good condition. Now it is one of the objects of the National Reserve "Castles of Ternopil Region".

The Greek Catholic Church of the Ascension of Jesus Christ was built in Yahilnytsia in 1842.

Part of the funds was allocated by the tycoon family of Lyantskoronsky.

The cruciform church is designed in the Byzantine style.

The Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in Kopychyntsi in 1802 by the Bavorsky magnates, who owned the city, as a family tomb.

The first Catholic church, which existed since 1443, was destroyed in the 17th century.

Three-nave temple. In 1846, a stucco altar with figures of Peter and Paul was built. In the underground part are the remains of the tomb of the Bavorsky.

During the Soviet era, the Assumption of Virgin Mary Church was closed, revived in 1991.

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 Bilche-Zolote Village Museum opened in 2020 on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day at the initiative of Lidia Miskiv and folk craftswoman Kateryna Butovska.

The exhibition presents ancient household items of the villagers, tools, icons, pedestals, old working women's and men's clothing, furniture (bed, bambetel, sideboard (credenza), chest).

The room "History of the Village in Figures" contains many old photographs, exhibits from the "Verteba" cave. An unusual exhibit is a wooden log with a trident and the inscription "Glory to Ukraine" carved inside. The patriotic inscription was carved by the rebels on a young tree and it grew into the trunk.

A separate room is reserved for wind-up dolls, which are created by local craftswoman Kateryna Butovska.

In 2022, the museum's collection was replenished with postcards of Ukrainian insurgents, which local residents found while cleaning an old house.