Attractions of Uzhhorod district

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.

The Uzhhorod Orthodox Synagogue is the temple of the Transcarpathian community of Ashkenazi Jews.

The synagogue in Uzhhorod was built in 1904 in the neo-Moorish style according to the project of architects Dyula Papp and Ferents Sabolch.

Currently, the building houses the Transcarpathian Regional Philharmonic.

The Chardonnay wine tasting hall was opened in 2007 in the old center of Uzhhorod by Oleksandr Kovach, a private winemaker from the village of Kontsovo.

A 19th century wine press is installed at the entrance.

The tasting room can accommodate 60 visitors at the same time. At the beginning, visitors are shown a film about Transcarpathian winemaking "The Divine Gift of Bacchus". At the tasting, the best products of the most famous wineries of Transcarpathia are presented: ”Skilur”, ”Kotnar”, ”Bobovyshchansky”, ”Leanka”, ”Zakarpatsky sad”.

Visitors can taste such famous Transcarpathian wines as "Troyanda Zakarpattya" in 1986, "Kahor", Serednyanske”, ”Shardone”, ”Spokusnytsya”, ”Starovynnyy zamok”, as well as "Zakarpatsky" cognac.

Cheeses from Selyska's private cheese factory are offered as snacks.

Heated vats with water from a hydrogen sulfide mineral spring began to be used in Lumshory for medical procedures as early as the 17th century.

Patients with musculoskeletal disorders were treated with hydrogen sulfide baths. One of the ancient cast-iron vats is now in Austria, the other was found by a local resident on the banks of the Turichka River near his house. Now it is used again for its intended purpose. The vat is filled with cold mineral water from the spring, river stones are placed at the bottom, then the water is gradually heated over an open fire. When the temperature reaches 30 degrees, you can start taking a bath, alternating immersion in hot water with cooling in a mountain river. An old Austrian vat with a volume of 250 liters holds 2 people. Modern vats can hold up to 12 people.

Now in the village of Lumshory, different owners have 18 vats, cast according to the old technology. Three of them are located on the territory of the local koliba.

The ruins of a powerful quadrangular tower-donjon are the only structure of the Serednyansky castle that has survived.

It was the main defensive node of the fortress, built by the Knights Templar like the ancient Roman border watchtowers on the Rhine and Danube. The thickness of the walls of the tower reached 3 meters. With the help of a chain of similar castles, the Templars controlled the salt route from Transcarpathia to Europe in the 12th-15th centuries.

After the liquidation of the Knights Templar, the castle briefly became the property of the monastic order of Saint Paul, and then was gifted by King Charles Robert to the Drugets magnates. In the 16th century, the new owners from the Dobo family, whose representative Ishtvan Dobo distinguished himself during the defense of the Eger fortress from the 120,000-strong Turkish army, took up the expansion and strengthening of the castle.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Serednyansky Castle changed owners several times. It played an important role during the anti-Habsburg movement of the Hungarian nobles under the leadership of Ferents II Rakotsi in 1703-1711, as a result of which it was badly damaged and never recovered.

There is a legend about a complex system of underground passages, some of which were later converted into wine cellars.

The museum of the Transcarpathian artist Andriy Kotska was opened in the Uzhhorod house where he had lived since 1945.

The exposition is based on materials collected by the artist's sister Anna. In his studio some of Kotska's works are presented - portraits and landscapes of the post-war period.

Other works of the master can be found in the memorial part of the museum, where the living conditions of the house are preserved.

The garden around the house grows fruit trees and shrubs, as well as rare ornamental species of European and local flora.

Andriy Kotska Memorial House-Museum is a branch of the Transcarpathian Regional Art Museum named after Yosyp Bokshay.

The Archaeological Museum named after Professor Eduard Balahuri is located on the first floor of the rectorate building of the Uzhhorod National University.

It was founded in 2004 on the basis of the archaeological laboratory of the History Faculty of UzhNU. It bears the name of historian, archaeologist, professor of Uzhhorod University Eduard Balahuri, on whose initiative the first museum was opened at the university in 1984, which became the predecessor of the current one.

The exhibition presents historical and cultural values from the Paleolithic to the late Middle Ages, which were collected by the archeological expedition of UzhNU during the decades.

The most interesting exhibits come from the excavations of the Dacian hillfort near the village of Mala Kopania, the model of which can be seen in the exposition. Among them are samples of Dacian pottery, tools, weapons, jewelry, coins, as well as cult objects, including a ritual ram vessel and a Dacian burial urn.

The Museum of History of the Uzhhorod National University is located in a separate exhibition hall, which presents the achievements of higher education in Transcarpathia, from the founding of the Jesuit collegium in the 17th century to the modern achievements of UzhNU.

"Blue Lagoon" (or Lyutyanska) is the name given to a chain of picturesque floodplains on the mountain river Lyuta, on the territory of the Chornoholova Forestry, 8 kilometers upstream from the village of Chornoholova.

Waterfalls flowing into the river, mountain streams form baths with vertical rocky walls, the water in which has a turquoise hue, for which this place is also called the "Paradise Lagoon of Transcarpathia".

The Botanical Garden of the Uzhhorod National University was created in 1946, occupies 4.5 hectares of area.

The boat garden is a monument of garden and park architecture of state importance. Maintains relations with 155 botanical gardens of the world.

The park is spread over three levels: one third of it is located on the first and second terraces above the river, and two thirds descends into a part of the valley. The height difference is 22 meters. Volcanic parent rocks covered with a coarse layer of loamy cultured soil. Landings are placed according to the geographical principle. The following areas of exotic plants are located here: American, Caucasian, Central Asian, Chinese, Far Eastern.

About 3,800 species of plants are collected in the garden. The flora of Transcarpathia is represented by 400 species of plants, including: Hungarian lilac, Carpathian cornflower. There are about 800 species of trees and shrubs in the arboretum. 130 species of conifers grow: yew, swamp cypress and others. The alpine slide represents the flora of the mountains separately. 150 species of plants grow here, including the wonderful edelweiss. Decorative floriculture is represented by 1200 species of plants, including: 120 species of roses, 50 species of gladiolus, 25 species of chrysanthemums, 20 species of lilies.

Tropical and subtropical plants grow in the greenhouse of the Uzhhorod Botanical Garden: banana, mimosa, laurel, eucalyptus, papaya, 10 types of palm trees, 250 types of cacti.

The ancient building of the "Sovyne Hnizdo" brewery, located in the center of Uzhhorod opposite the city council building, is sometimes called "Rakotsi cellars", "wine cellar", "Boholvar" or simply "ambar".

The brewery building with beer barrel cellars is believed to have been built in the 17th century under Prince Ferents II Rakotsi, although the date "1781" can now be seen on the facade. The construction of the brewery is associated with a surge in industry, trade and winemaking in Transcarpathia. The warehouse was used to store food and beverages until the end of the 20th century.

Until recently, the building was abandoned, but in 2011 the premises were cleared and prepared for the "Transcarpathian Beaujolais" wine festival. After the restoration, the Uzhhorod cultural and historical center "Sovyne Hnizdo" was located here, which quickly became a popular venue for holding various festivals, fairs and wine tastings.

During the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2022, the "Sovyne Hnizdo" housed the Center for Humanitarian Aid for IDPs.

The ethnographic museum of the Lubnia village is located in the premises of the village club.

The museum was created in 2004 by the efforts of local enthusiasts.

The exposition tells about the history and culture of the inhabitants of Uzhanska Verkhovyna. About half a thousand exhibits are presented: embroidered clothes and towels, objects of peasant life, fragments of ancient weapons, old photographs.

All exhibits were donated to the museum by residents of the village of Lubnia.

The People's Ethnographic Museum "Lemko Manor" in the Transcarpathian village of Zarichovo reflects the life and lifestyle of the Lemkos, one of the ethnographic groups of the Ukrainian population of the Carpathians.

This small skansen (open-air museum) was created in 1985 on the basis of an authentic Lemko hut of local carpenter Petro Kovach, built in 1902 from beech logs by Transcarpathian craftsmen. The manor consists of a residential part (a chamber, a outer entrance hall and a storeroom) and utility premises (a barn, a cowshed), which are combined into a single complex.

The house reproduces a typical interior of a Lemko dwelling of the beginning of the 20th century. Traditional clothing, ceramic dishes, carved furniture, household and daily use items, antique carpentry tools are presented.

Upon prior reservation, visitors can enjoy traditional dishes of Lemko cuisine and Carpathian herbal tea made from seven herbs collected on Friday at dawn on the eve of the "Green Holidays" in the local mountains. The performance of the folklore and ethnographic ensemble "Lemkivchanka" with folk dances, songs and jokes will give the guests a special flavor.

The Ethnographic Museum "Lemko Manor" is a branch of the Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life.

The Ethnographic Museum "Svitlytsya" was founded in Uzhhorod in 1991 by Transcarpathian ethnographers, folklorists and teachers as an ethnographic corner of the Transcarpathian Regional Center for Children's and Youth Creativity "PADIUN".

The exhibition "Transcarpathian House" reproduces the interior of a traditional residence of the inhabitants of the region. The tools of peasant work and everyday life, folk costumes of Transcarpathia are exhibited.

The exhibition "Past by hands of the future" presents historical miniatures of the life, everyday life, trades and crafts of the residents of the Eurocarpathian region, models of architectural monuments of Transcarpathia.