Attractions of Ternopil district

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ternopil is an architectural monument of the late European Baroque.

A large Roman Catholic church with two elegant towers was built in 1749-1779 in the historic center of the city according to the project of the architect Avhusta Moschynskyi (according to other sources - Yan de Vitte) on the site of an ancient Rus Orthodox church. At the same time, a two-story cell block of the Dominican monastery was built. Between them is the so-called "Italian courtyard", currently not accessible to tourists.

The Dominican church was badly damaged during the Second World War and was restored in 1953. It was used as a picture gallery of the Ternopil Regional History Museum, and the archive is still located in the monastery building.

In 1992, the building was restored and handed over to the Greek Catholic community. The interiors were not preserved.

A monument to Metropolitan Yosyp Slipiy was erected next to the cathedral, and a monument to Prince Danylo Halytsky in the square opposite the church.

The historical and memorial museum of political prisoners is located in Ternopil in the basement cells of the temporary detention center of the former Ternopil detention center of the NKVD-KGB department.

The exposition tells about the struggle of Ukrainian nationalists against the communist regime, the repressive methods of the Soviet secret services and the lives of convicts in the Gulag camps.

Prison conditions were reproduced in 28 pre-trial detention cells. Visitors can see the dungeon, instruments of torture, clothing and household items of prisoners. Models of the Siberian concentration camp and a "calf" car were also exhibited.

The huge church of Saint Anthony, which is the central building of the Bernardine monastery, is clearly visible from the castle hill.

The monastery was founded by Prince Yuriy Zbarazky in 1627, the construction of the original complex was completed in the 1650s by the efforts of Yanush Korybut-Vyshnivetskyi and his wife Yevheniya. In its current Renaissance-baroque form, the church was rebuilt in 1723-1755 at the expense of the Kyiv voivode Yuzef Potoski (architect Yan Hants). A philosophical school, then a gymnasium, and a hospital worked at the monastery.

During Soviet times, the complex was abandoned, but in 1990 it was returned to the Bernardine family. Restoration is underway, services are held.

The interior contains altars with sculptures by Anton Osinsky (18th century), fragments of frescoes from the 18th-19th centuries.

Ternopil Castle was founded in 1540 by the Grand Crown Hetman Yan Tarnovskyi on the site of the ancient Rus settlement of Sopilche (Topilche) to defend the Polish borders from the Tatars.

In the 17th century, the Grand Crown Chancellor Tomash Zamoyskyi significantly expanded the fortifications, but in the following years they were repeatedly destroyed. In particular, the castle was almost completely dismantled by the Turks after the capture of the city in 1672.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Count Frantsishek Korytovskyi built a palace in its place, for which the surviving fortifications, towers and gates were demolished, and the building was surrounded by an ordinary fence. Some castle elements have been preserved.

During the First World War, the palace was burned and was in ruins for a long time. Renovated in 1951, it houses exhibition halls and a training and sports center.

From the street the building looks inconspicuous, but from the side of the lake its fortification character is well visible.

The "Museum of the City of Ternopil" was opened in the dungeons of the castle.

The first museum of retro cars "Retro-Cortege" in Western Ukraine was opened in Ternopil in 2016 on the initiative of entrepreneur Taras Demkur.

More than 20 vintage cars are presented, some of which have an interesting history. In particular, the collection includes a Jaguar car that belonged to US President Richard Nixon, as well as a Maybach from Hitler's Werewolf stake. The oldest car dates back to 1933.

Also presented are restored motorcycles, old radio equipment, a collection of mini cars from different parts of the world, military equipment.

The area of the Aquapark "Alligator" at the hotel entertainment and health complex in Ternopil is 4.2 thousand square meters. It can accommodate 400 visitors at the same time.

The Aquapark has three pools with a depth of 150, 90 and 30 centimeters, 8 water slides for adults and children of different ages with a length of 3 to 33 meters and a height of 1.5 to 10.5 meters. In addition to the water slides, there is a hydromassage area, waterfalls and 2 exciting attractions: "Body Slay" (an intriguing journey through a closed water pipe 86 meters long from a height of 6.5 meters) and "Black Hole" (adrenaline descent through a closed water pipe from a height of 12.5 meters 160 meters long, accompanied by spectacular illuminations and exciting sounds). Other attractions: the "Kamikaze" slide (height 10.5 meters, length 33 meters), the slide "Truba" (height 6.5 meters), the slope "Family hill" (height 4.5 meters and length 20 meters).

The water park complex includes a SPA zone (infra-red sauna, professional massage therapists, Turkish bath hamam).

The hotel complex has a bowling alley, a disco club, a restaurant, billiards, and a fitness club.

The Armenian Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Berezhany was built at the expense of the Armenian community, which played a significant role in the life of the city in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The church was built in the Baroque style with defensive elements. The fortification purpose of the building is indicated by the defensive walls that surrounded it. During the fire of 1810, the church was badly damaged, but in 50 years it was restored to its original appearance.

After the Second World War, when the Lviv Armenian-Catholic Archdiocese was liquidated, the church was abandoned and transformed first into a granary, later into a collective farm club. Subsequently, the church building was not used for a long time and began to gradually collapse.

During the time of Ukraine's independence, in order to prevent the destruction of the church, the Greek-Catholic community carried out a major repair of the church. At the end of 2016, the local Greek-Catholic parish of the Holy Trinity handed over the ensemble of the former Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary to the city's Armenian community.

The defense church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Bishche is officially dated 1664, but there is an assumption that it could have been created much earlier - in the 16th or even the 14th century.

According to one of the versions, the church was built by Dominican monks, who were invited by the founder of the city of Bishche, nobleman Yan Boshch. The massive three-tier defensive tower of the church is an example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture. The portal of the church is made in the Renaissance style. Its defensive power was strengthened by stone walls and ramparts. Powerful buttresses were added during the reconstruction in 1730.

During the Second World War, the Church of the Assumption in Bishche was badly damaged and was in a dilapidated state for a long time. Restoration work has been ongoing since 2013. Currently, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been partially restored.

The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary in Ternopil is a church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The first Church of the Assumption in the Ternopil suburb was built in 1636 from wood. Until 1744, the Basilian monastery operated under it. In 1837, a new stone temple in the Empire style was built.

The monastery and the Church of the Assumption were destroyed during the Soviet regime in 1962. Today, a new Assumption Church with a bell tower has been built in their place. Modern buildings are modernized and differ from the original construction.

The Berezhany Synyavsky Castle is one of the best examples of Renaissance defensive architecture in Ukraine, which the Poles called the "Eastern Wawel".

Monument of architecture and urban planning of national importance.

The magnificent defensive residence in Berezhany was built in 1534-1554 by the Rus (Ukrainian) voivode, Grand Crown Hetman Mykola Synyavsky. The impregnable fortification with four towers was built by Italian craftsmen according to the New Dutch system by French engineer Hiyom de Boplan using an artificial water barrier in the floodplain of the Zolota Lypa River. The facades of the palace buildings in the castle courtyard were crowned by two-story arcades-galleries like the Italian palazzo, which surrounded the buildings around the perimeter, and the windows were decorated with Renaissance carvings. The interiors of 14 ceremonial halls were decorated with paintings with battle scenes, on the third floor of the palace was a rich art gallery.

The Trinity Church was located on the territory of the castle, the former splendor of which can be judged even in its current dilapidated condition. In the 17th century, the Synyavsky tomb with marble tombstones by Yan Pfister was added to the church. Mykola Synyavsky and his sons Hiyeronim and Yan, as well as Hiyeronim's wife Anna, were buried here.

In the XIX century the castle began to decline, suffered severe damage during the two world wars. In Soviet times, it was abandoned and turned into a landfill.

In 2002, the Berezhany Synyavsky Castle became part of the State Historical and Architectural Reserve in Berezhany, and its restoration began. A small museum exposition has been opened on the territory of the castle, excursions are organized, souvenirs can be bought.

The Berezhany City Book Museum is located on the first floor of Berezhany City Hall.

Founded in 1984, since 1994 it has been a department of the Ternopil Museum of Local Lore. It tells about the history of printing in Ukraine and about outstanding writers of the region.

The exhibition presents old prints of the XVII-XIX centuries, the first edition of Taras Shevchenko's "Kobzar", "Grammar of the Little Russian Language in Galicia, composed by Ivan Vahylevych" (1845), "Grammar of the Ruthenian (Ruthenian) language" by Yosyp Levytsky (1834).

Also on display are paintings by Lev Lepky, graphics by Olena Kulchytska and others.

A separate exposition is dedicated to the public and philanthropic activities of Roman Smyk.

In addition, the Berezhany City Hall houses the Berezhany Museum of Local Lore, the Museum of Sacred Art and Church History, and the Bohdan Lepky Museum.

The State Historical and Architectural Reserve (DIAZ) in Berezhany was established in 2001 to protect, restore and use the city's cultural heritage sites, which preserved European planning buildings from the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, architectural ensembles Rynok Square, Bankova and Armenian streets.

In total, the reserve unites more than 30 architectural monuments, 6 of which are of national importance, including the Berezhany Castle Complex (Synyavsky Castle).

The administration of the reserve is housed in a manor house in the style of late classicism (empire) of the early XIX century, which is an architectural monument of local significance. The central part of the facade is decorated with a portico with four columns of the Corinthian order and a classical pediment. In 1828-1829, while studying at the local gymnasium, the famous Ukrainian writer and educator Markiian Shashkevych lived in this house.

In the administration of the Berezhany Historical and Architectural Reserve you can book sightseeing tours of the city, thematic tours of the Synyavsky Castle and the outskirts of Berezhany.

The Berezhany Museum of Local Lore is located on the second floor of the Berezhany Town Hall, which is an architectural monument of national importance.

Built in 1803-1811, the two-story town hall building with a clock tower reflects the typical Halician style of provincial urban planning of the early classicism period. It is the central architectural dominant of the Rynok Square in Berezhany.

On the ground floor there were shops, and on the second floor in 1805 the Berezhany Gymnasium was opened, where the writer and educator Markiian Shashkevych and the writer-literary critic and public figure Bohdan Lepky studied.

The Berezhany Museum of Local Lore opened here in 1980. The museum exposition is opened in 26 halls: "Natural Hall", "Archeology Hall", "Middle Ages and Cossack times in Berezhany", "Berezhany Gymnasium - center of education, science and culture", "Literary Berezhany", "Plast History and Political Repression Hall", "World War II", "Boyan Choir", "National Revival Hall", "Lemko Room", etc.

The model of Berezhany Castle attracts the attention of visitors, as well as exhibits that tell about the history of the Sieniawski family and the birth of Berezhany, the coat of arms of the Potocki dynasty.

Valuable artifacts are an authentic Cossack battle braid, Cossack cradles, a spearhead and a Cossack pistol.

A separate exposition is devoted to the history of the USS (Ukrainian Sich Riflemen) in the Berezhany region, in particular the battle on Mount Lysonya.

In addition, the Berezhany Town Hall houses the Regional Communal Museum of Bohdan Lepky, the Museum of Sacred Art and Church History, and the Berezhany Book Museum.

The strict complex of defensive monastery buildings of the Bernardine order rises above the city on Storozhisko hill.

It was built in the 17th century in the Baroque style at the expense of the great crown hetman Mykola Synyavsky. The central building is the Saint Nicolas church with a stone fence, which gives it a pronounced defensive appearance. Being near the city walls, the temple was part of the system of city fortifications.

During the Soviet era, the monastery cells were used as cells in a penal colony for minors.

After the independence of Ukraine, services were resumed in the Mykolaivska church - the monastery church became the church of the Pratulin Martyrs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, whose activities were prohibited in Soviet times. At the expense of parishioners, the dome with the cross was restored in the church, works on the restoration of the church are ongoing.

A picturesque panorama of the old city opens from the height of the monastery hill.

The church of Blessed Yacub Strepa was founded in Staryi Skalat in 1910. The construction of the church in the neo-Romanesque style was completed in 1912.

In Soviet times, the building was used as a warehouse. The shrine was restored after Ukraine gained Independence in 1995-1997.