Attractions of Rakhiv district

The wooden church of the Ascension of the Lord in Yasinia is called the Strukivska church after the legendary founder of the village, the shepherd Ivan Struk.

According to legend, in the 16th century, a shepherd built a chapel at this place to thank God for the miraculous salvation of his flock.

The current Ascension Church was built in 1824. It is considered one of the most perfect wooden temples of the Hutsul region. A good ratio of the central dome and four gable roofs was found in the Strukivska Church. The two-story bell tower is not inferior to it in its architectural and artistic qualities.

The interior of the temple is particularly cozy and at the same time not devoid of solemnity. Several icons from the 17th century have been preserved in the church.

Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in the category "Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Region of Ukraine".

The geographic center of continental Europe was calculated and marked in the village of Dilove, in the Rahiv district, by Hungarian surveyors in 1887.

A two-meter concrete geodesic sign in the form of a truncated four-sided pyramid was installed here. On the rectangular pedestal is carved in Latin: "Permanent, exact, eternal place. Very precisely, with the help of a special device made in Austria-Hungary, according to the scale of meridians and parallels, the Center of Europe is determined here. 1887."

Subsequently, the calculations of Hungarian surveyors were repeatedly denied by scientists from other countries, but they remain generally recognized.

In Soviet times, a new 7.2-meter-high stele was installed nearby. In 2005, the Alley of European Flags appeared next to the stele, emphasizing the symbolism of this place. The hut-museum presents a collection of authentic Hutsul household items.

In 2010, an ecological and educational center with a museum of nature and culture of the Carpathians was opened, for which a two-story wooden house in the Hutsul style was built. The ecological and cultural recreation complex "Center of Europe" is a branch of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.

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 Hutsul Bryndzya Museum ethno-tourist center in Rakhiv was opened in 2020 on the initiative of representatives of the Association of producers of traditional Carpathian high mountain cheeses.

The exhibition presents a mock-up of a sheepfold - a room for the production of polonynas sheeps cheeses with traditional cheese-making equipment: a cauldron, a putera and a berbenitsa. During the tour, visitors are introduced to the Hutsul bryndza production technology, and the documentary film "Hutsul Sheep Bryndzya" is shown about this traditional product, which received the first registered PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) geographical indication in Ukraine.

The museum premises are decorated in the style of a traditional Hutsul house. All exhibits can be handled, tried on, photographed with them. There is a tasting gazebo in the yard. The program of the visit includes the preparation and tasting of kulesha with bryndza.

The territory of the Hutsul Bryndzya Museum is arranged taking into account the norms of architectural accessibility.

The cultural and touristic route "Hutsul Cheese Plays" starts from the museum.

Drahobrat is a high-altitude village that arose as a ski resort around the "Drahobrat" refuge at an altitude of 1,400 meters above sea level (the highest ski base of the Ukrainian Carpathians).

The resort area with housing (Drahobrat camp and private cottages) and entertainment is located on the Drahobrat plain at the junction of coniferous forests and alpine meadows at the foot of Mount Stih (1707 meters) in the area of ​​the Blyznytsia mountain range (1883 meters).

The unique topography of the slopes and a long snow period (snow falls from November to March) attracts professionals and fans of extreme skiing, and the difficult road from the nearest large village of Yasinia weeds out random people.

Overcoming 14 kilometers of mountain road in winter is possible only on a utilitarian off-road vehicle, so motorists prefer to leave their own transport in Yasinia and use the "Carpathian taxi".

The Hutsul Carvings Museum of Yuriy Pavlovych was opened in 2014 on the first floor of the Hotel "Europa" in Rakhiv.

The exposition presents more than a hundred works of the outstanding Transcarpathian carver, Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine, Yuriy Pavlovych. The master works in the techniques of conventional carving, dry carving, inlaying with bacunt, bone, beads, mother-of-pearl and nails.

Among the exhibits are decorative plates, caskets, tubs, candlesticks, spoons, knives, trembits, guns and sabers.

A special place in the exposition is occupied by carved portraits of prominent personalities of Western Ukraine, including Vasyl Stefanyk, Les Martovych, Mikhay Munkachi, Yerotey Pihulyak and others.

The Hutsul Heritage Museum of the village of Kvasy was opened in 2023 on the territory of the "Hirska Tysa" sanatorium. It is dedicated to the history and legends of the mountain village of Kvasy, the traditional way of life and crafts of the Hutsuls who live here.

More than a hundred photographs of the Austro-Hungarian and Czechoslovakian periods, rare letters, household and everyday items, musical instruments, Hutsul clothing, etc. are presented. In total, more than 200 exhibits.

In particular, the Kvasy map of 1782-1784, a yoke of the end of the 19th century, shingles from the roof of the Strukivska Church, an ancient mandolin, an ancient washstand and much more are on display.

Visitors are treated to Carpathian herbal tea.

One of the mineral water sources "Burkut", in honor of which the village of Kvasy got its name.

Mineral water with a high degree of natural carbonation is called "Kvasy" water in the Hutsul Region. Only in Kvasy, on the territory of Ukraine, there is a similar carbonated arsenic mineral water, which belongs to the "Arzni" and "Yesentuky" types.

The healing properties of water have a positive effect on the restoration of the musculoskeletal system, improve metabolism, remove radionuclides and excess salts from the body.

Mount Petros (2020 meters) is one of the highest peaks of the Carpathian Chornohora massif, the third highest mountain in Ukraine after Hoverla (2061 meters) and Brebeneskul (2035 meters).

It is located at the northwestern end of the ridge between the Sheshul and Hoverla mountains. The name is translated from Romanian as "stone". It consists of sandstones, covered with subalpine vegetation. The western slope is steep, with numerous stone screes.

According to legend, a stone cross was once found on the top of Petros. Today, a wooden chapel has been built on this place. The top offers a wonderful view of the entire Montenegrin mountain range, as well as Mount Blyznytsia.

Mount Petros is popular among lovers of mountain tourism. The ascent to it is more difficult than to Hoverla, due to the greater steepness of the slope. The easiest route starts from the village of Kvasy, from where there is a gentler ascent. Snow avalanches often occur in winter.

The central manor of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is located on the southern outskirts of Rakhiv.

Under the protection of the reserve are 2.5% of the territory of the Carpathian region (58 thousand hectares), the ecosystems of which are characterized by the greatest biological diversity in Europe and are considered among the most valuable on the planet.

The first forests of the Carpathians were taken under protection in 1955, and soon the Carpathian Nature Reserve was created on an area of 12 thousand hectares. Since 1992, it has been part of the international network of UNESCO biosphere reserves. There are six separate massifs on the territory of several districts of Transcarpathia. The most famous is the Narcissus Valley, where the rare narrow-leaved narcissus grows. The Svydovetsky reserve covers the highest part of Svydovets with the legendary peaks of Blyznyuky - Edelweiss trees grow here. The business card of the Chornohorsky massif is the highest peak of Ukraine - Mount Hoverla (2061 meters above sea level).

The Museum of Mountain Ecology and History of Nature Use in the Ukrainian Carpathians operates at the central estate.

The Velykyi Bychkiv Historical and Local Lore Museum acquaints visitors with the nature, culture and history of the urban-type settlement of Velykyi Bychkiv from ancient times to the present day.

The museum was founded in 1957 on the initiative of the local community. It is located in a two-story building, which is a historical monument of the 17th century. The museum's collections include about 3,000 exhibits. In particular, a lithograph with the image of the "Clotilda" factory is presented – the first chemical enterprise in Hungary, which was built in Velykyi Bychkiv in 1868.

One of the exhibition sections is dedicated to the native of the village, the bishop of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic Diocese, the blessed holy martyr Teodor Romzha.

Products of local masters of folk art: artists, carvers, embroiderers are widely presented.

The Historical and Local Lore Museum of the urban-type village of Yasinia is located in a wooden house in the center of the village.

The exposition has four sections. The ethnographic department is decorated in the form of the interior of a Hutsul house and demonstrates the daily life of the Hutsuls. Hutsul tools of the 19th - early 20th centuries are presented in the Hutsul economy department. In the department of folk crafts, samples of Hutsul embroidery, weaving, carving, cooperage, etc. are exhibited. The Department of Nature of the Carpathians tells about the fleet and fauna of the region. T

he Yasinia Historical and Local Lore Museum also has an art gallery on the second floor. 

On the facade of the museum, a memorial plaque was installed in honor of the founder of the village, the legendary shepherd Danylo Struk, who built the first wooden church in Yasinia.

In 2011, a monument to Stepan Klochurak, president of the Hutsul Republic of 1918-1919, was erected on the square in front of the museum.