The Ukrainian Baden-Baden

A vacation in Truskavets gives you lots of great opportunities:

• Visiting historical places;
• Taking a breath of crystal clear air;
• Enjoying the delicious cuisine of the Carpathians, above all, homemade sausage, fish soup with mushrooms, small Hutsul cabbage meat rolls, local sheep cheese. All dishes are cooked from ecologically pure products, spring water, so the taste is different and very special.
• Staying at modern tourist complexes, which allow to combine a comfortable stay with treatment. Each of the spas has its own things to attracts a vacationer. However, there are also many new hotels, villas, where you can feel at home. In addition to staying at a hotel, you can get a treatment package at one of the spas of Truskavets.

Truskavets is a city located about sixty miles to the south of Lviv. It was known as a salt mining city for hundreds of years. According to the legend, the city name originated from a Lithuanian word “druska” – salt. The city name appeared when state relations between the Principality of Galicia and Volhynia, or Kingdom of Ruthenia, and the Great Duchy of Lithuania flourished in the 12th – 14th centuries and the modern city area belonged to that medieval state since 1349.

Feeding pigeons in the spa square / Victor Hotel, Truskavets

The city museum

The Resort Park, Truskavets

In the first half of the 19th century, a mineral spring was rediscovered here. Villagers had used the spring for a long time as a source of healing water. The hear 1827 is considered to be the inauguration of the spa in this area. The water of Truskavets underwent thorough analyses, and its healing properties were confirmed. The flow of visitors to the new spa started in the sixties of the 19th century. New mansions sprang up all over the city to accommodate the arriving vacationers. Those old style mansions still adorn the city streets creating a unique aura of the spa. I was privileged to stay at one of them – Villa Victoria Hotel that dates back to 1843.

The health resort of Truskavets occupies a ravine surrounded with picturesque hills.The local population comprises about 30,000 residents. Over half of million health resort visitors stay at the city sanatoriums and spa hotels every year. Many of the sanatoriums belong to the Soviet legacy: Batkivshchyna, Vesna, Shakhtar and others. They are huge multi-storeyed buildings that were previously run by Soviet trade-unions.

Gigantic Soviet-time spas

Old Soviet spas

Some of those gigantic sanatoriums are closed now and will soon be demolished as worn-out buildings beyond repair. They will be replaced by ultra-modern medium sized holiday homes and villas. Live and see.

What we saw there were several ruins – rusty and disintegrating Soviet era buildings as well as brave newly built unfinished projects that were conserved and wait for further investments. Brother Klytchko’s spa hotel is one of these ambitious uncompleted projects, as our fiacre driver explained to us. It has been a construction site for years, and the construction seems to continue slowly, resuming now and then stopping, evidently in need of larger investments.

Truskavets staircase

Villa Kalyna, Truskavets

Truskavets

Truskavets is a spa resort of Ukraine that received a worldwide fame. The city is located in the foothills of the Eastern Carpathians about 350 m above sea level.

Our friends stayed at Svitiaz Hotel in Truskavets

The main road in Truskavets / The Cossacks Tavern Restaurant, Truskavets

The resort was laid in the 18th century. In the early 20th century, Truskavets became popular in Europe as a wellness center. About 900,000 tourists not only from Ukraine, but also from CIS countries and from the EU arrive to Truskavets for a pleasant and unforgettable holiday. In Ukraine, the city of Truskavets city takes the leading position in the ranking of "Best Cities for Life".

Fiacres of Truskavets

Need a fiacre ride?

Truskavets is a small, but very attractive green city with clean air of the Carpathians, located in the middle of the gentle wooded slopes and rivers. The warm, temperate continental climate of the resort, the air rich in oxygen and ozone, curative mineral waters makes the city a suitable and indispensable for rest and medical treatment. You can always have a place to stay here - dozens of spas, hotels, luxury villas - something for every taste and income level. Different spas offer a variety of original wellness techniques. If you wish to stay at economy class spas, you have to reserve a room at the following spas of Truskavets: Diamond, Crystal, Spring, Arcade.

At a Soviet-time spa

There are popular spas such as Dnipro, Beskid, Southern. There are spas that offer their own powerful medical facilities, such as: Moldova, Karpaty, Shakhtar, Pearl of the Carpathians, Crystal Palace, Victor. New spas have already gained popularity, among them such spas as: Rixos, Geneva, Chalet Grail, Mirotel, Forest Song. These spas offer new medical equipment and lots of places for entertainment.

Visitors can relax in the spa complex, watch new movies at movie theaters, go to a disco, go bowling, play billiards or go shopping to brand new shopping malls. Many people call Truskavets a democratic resort where you can see and feel cheerful and colorful life in the streets, admire many talents in singing, dancing, and drawing. Professional photographers can photograph you, you can buy local souvenirs for your relatives and friends, as well as enjoy day trips to some famous places of Western Ukraine.

Svitiaz Spa Hotel

Svitiaz Spa Hotel

Svitiaz Spa Hotel

Svitiaz Hotel was our VT HQ during our visit of Truskavets. It is a superb spa hotel downtown located at 25 Sukhovolia Street. My VT friends Matt, his wife Urszula and Sonja, who had come to Truskavets stayed here. Therefore, the hotel became our headquarters, where we met and had our meals planning our trips. I frequented this hotel to see my friends and the hotel amenities.
The hotel was built in the Carpathian style and look fine from outside. It is also nice inside.
Svitiaz Spa Hotel has 57 spacious rooms. The hotel has its own medical treatment facilities, a spa center with a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and what not, a fitness center, a lobby bar and, of course, a great restaurant with A La Carte menu.
I have very good impressions of visiting this hotel and my friends were quite satisfied with all the service there.

As of today, choosing Truskavets as your vacation place is advantageous and prestigious. More and more people select treatment and healing at this place for themselves and for their families. If you are concerned about your musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular, endocrine system, or suffer from other diseases, then you definitely need to visit the spa resort of Truskavets. You can choose a lot of hydrotherapy treatment, physiotherapy, spa treatment, diet and, of course, good climate. The net effect of all these factors will show its effectiveness to each visitor.

Park Hotel, Truskavets

At Park Hotel, Truskavets

The entire world knows that Truskavets is rich in its mineral water such as "Naftusia", "Yuzia", "Maria", "Sofia", "Bronislava". However, not everyone knows that Truskavets also has a deposit of "mountain wax" - ozekirite . It’s unique in the world and is located just 4 km away from Truskavets, in the town of Borislav). Treatment with ozocerite is successfully used at the spas of Truskavets. They treat the gastrointestinal tract, liver, biliary tract, urinary and neurological disease with ozocerite. Ozokerite is also called "black wax". It has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect, which helps to strengthen the hemodynamics in a damaged body.

Naftusia Pump Room is the most popular pump room at Truskavets Resort. The water from it is considered the most healing. The main distinguishing feature of this water is the persistent smell of oil. However, it does not deter those vacationers who wish to get rid of their diseases. It is worth noting that when in contact with air, this water loses its healing properties. So do not try pouring the water into a bottle and taking it home. It becomes useless very quickly. If you come across a source of healing water, you can only drink the water from special cups, which are sold nearby. The fact that the structure of this water is very harmful to the enamel of your teeth, so do not neglect such a measure of precaution.

Barbara Salt of Truskavets can be a competitor of the famous Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) that is extracted from highly mineralized brines. It is widely used in Truskavets spas for bowel lavage and duodenal sounding. The treatment with Barbara Salt affect the human body very well.

During your stay in Truskavets, allow some time to explore the Resort Park and to take a look at the main city sights such as Taras Shevchenko monument in from of the Soviet era Taras Shevchenko Leisure Center, the Central Mineral Water Well-Room, St.Nickolas Church that belongs to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, i.e. the Byzantine-rite Catholic church), the Spa Museum.

In the twenties and thirties of the last century almost 300 hotels, villas and guesthouses were built here. The town was awarded with three gold medals as the best Polish spa resort. A number of notable Polish personalities visited Truskavets during that era, including Józef Pilsudski, Stanislaw Witkiewicz, Bruno Schulz and many others. Before 1939, there were 320 villas - wooden houses and stone buildings in the modernist style - in Truskavets. Unfortunately, as of today, there are only 30 surviving villas in the city. They are all protected by the state and they need a lot of attention and care.
Once the health resort of Truskavets was called the Ukrainian Baden-Baden and recommended by Globe Ukraine:Recommendation video of Truskavets for you.

In addition, here is the official site of the health resort.

Truskavets overwhelms its visitors not only with its landscapes, but also with surprisingly pure air and its resort park - a unique monument of landscape art, that covers an area of nearly 50 ha. It is considered the pride of the resort, and its "lungs". There are many paved roads there, and you can also see several sculptures there. Here are several nice video clips about this park:

• Resort Park - 1
• Resort Park - 2
• Resort Park - 3

Zlagoda Bar was our favorite nighttime spot in Truskavets. It is located opposite the hotel and has good service.

Truskavets has several nice night clubs that can satisfy your need in relaxation. Cazanova Club at 10 Roxolana Street offers an interesting evening program for the visitors who stay until dawn.

Fans of noisy discos are sure to enjoy Euphoria Club located on the city outskirts at 8 Horodyshche Street. This is where there is an excellent bar and a large dance floor. Insomnia Lounge and Night Club at 1 Cobzar Square is good for relaxation in a sophisticated setting. As the city guide explains, a unique aristocratic atmosphere characterizes it. The club is open from Friday until Sunday. Millennium Entertainment Complex located at 29 Stebnyk Street is another popular night-time spot. It must be the city’s oldest nightclub. Also, pay attention to Masse Billiards Club here. It is located at 33 Mazepa Street. This is where you can have a great time with your friends and enjoy your favourite game.

Cossacks’ Tavern (“Kozatska Korchma” in Ukrainian) is located downtown at 12a Stepan Bandera Street. This restaurant has an upper hall and a lower hall. We had lunch at the terrace overlooking the main square – Independence Square. The beer was refreshing. The views were amazing. There was a concert on the central stage, but without crowds of spectators. The menu includes several fish dishes: baked carp, trout in foil, salmon on the grill, as well as meat dishes: veal shish kebab, veal ribs, and beefsteak. Their khachapuri was great! In addition, they offer nice cakes such as chocolate marquise. Table reservation: +38 067 673 56 57.

We had some coffee at Stare Misto Coffeehouse located downtown at 58 Stebnyk Street.The coffeehouse has a cosy hall and a nice terrace. They offer a lot of yummy homemade cakes, Italian coffee, and many sorts of tea. According to their ad, they offer the city’s best coffee.I could not compare since it was the only coffeehouse I went to, but I believe it was more or less true…

There are three operating museums in the city: the Resort History Museum, Mikhailo Bilas Museum (a unique museum dedicated to a lifetime ethnic painter), as well as the New Diocesan Museum. The city picture gallery was dedicated on June 18, 2010. This is the picture gallery of the Kopchak family. The gallery reflects the creative activities of seven members of the Kopchak family who are artists and create many works of art. The gallery is called SevenArt. The art critics say that the paintings of the Kopchaks radiate uniqueness, strength, and confidence. They praise their home city Truskavets in their works as much as their famous compatriot - artist Mikhailo Bilas, whose works are kept at the Arts Museum. The gallery was dedicated on the city outskirts, in the premises of Arco Household Items Store (on the second floor) located at 23 Mazepa Street, in the former hunting hall.

Truskavets Resort Museum is located in the center of the resort in Villa Saryusz. This villa is an architectural monument of the beginning of the 20th century. The seven rooms exhibit historical documents, as well as the everyday household objects of people who inhabited this Sub-Carpathian area. The exhibition illustrates the history of the region from ancient times to the present day
Here are some useful links FYI.

I really appreciated these videos that I watched on Youtube:

• Bird's eye view of Truskavets - 1..............
• Bird's eye view of Truskavets - 2................
• Bird's eye view of Truskavets - 3 ..............

I bought home some Carpathian Tea includes several ingredients: Ehinotseya; willow-herb; tutsan; raspberries; mint; linden; melissa.
Carpathian dried fruits are another specialty from Truskavets. They are recommended especially in winter, when the body lacks vitamins. This tea contains fruits and berries of wild apple, raspberry, rose, pear, cranberry, cherry, blueberry, Carpathian hawthorn.
Peppermint tea is also on sale everywhere. It is very fragrant, delicate and refreshing drink. It refreshes, invigorates, and improves digestion.

Here is a bit of humor I came across when in Truskavets :

1. Only in Truskavets they know what “zdykhli” means – >> (it's a dialect word for “vacationers”).

2. Only in Truskavets they drink water from funny mugs.

3. Only in Truskavets there is a spring that will make you younger.

4. Only in Truskavets it is possible to get from one end of the city to another.

5. Only in Truskavets there are more hotels than private houses.

6. Only in Truskavets you can have a rest from the city noise without leaving the city.

7. Only in Truskavets the visitors regard the park to be a forest.

Here are some pictures from our fiacre ride about the city:

During a fiacre ride

During a fiacre ride

Here is some useful reference for you :
1. Tourist Information Center attached to the City Council: Tel./fax: +38 03247 5 42 34; +38 096 447 16 50; +38 099 376 77 07;
2.Railway station : +38 03247 5 13 81;
3. Bus terminal : +38 03247 5 02 63;
4. Airline tickets : +38 03247 5 15 16;
5.Central Post-Office : +38 03247 6 86 87;
6. Night-time drugstore: +38 03247 6 70 42.

There are affordable day trips (around UAH 200-250) to some interesting destinations around Truskavets. Summer visitors can tour the temples and holy places, visit medieval castles, stroll through the old city and enjoy the beauty of the local natural attractions. Interesting day trips include:
1. Borzhava Valley: Shipot waterfall, cable car journey, a spectacular panorama of mountains and Hutsul settlements, the culture and the cuisine of the local population.
2. Dovbush Rocks: This facility, located in Falcon Forest, attracts vacationers by the primeval grandeur of the Carpathian nature creations. You can see cascading waterfalls on the River Sukkil, take an-hour-and-a-half walking tour of the Dovbush Caves, hear local legends, and admire the mountain views. You can partake to the dishes of the traditional Hutsul cuisine.
3. Carpathian alpine lake located at 989 meters above sea level. Local nature is ideal for a relaxing break and relaxation. The tour includes a visit to the Goshevsky Monastery, a hiking route along the Carpathian meadows and mountain passes, enjoying the views of the mountain rivers and waterfalls; riding a chair lift; tasting some mineral water, getting to know the Hutsul culture (wooden architecture, huts, traditional dishes). Website: Mountain Lake
4. Sambir – a walking tour of the historic center of Sambir. You can visit the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, venerate the relics of Saint Valentine, the wonder-working icon of the Weeping Mother of God, visit St. John the Baptist Church. You can listen to the 19th-century organ in the building of the former Catholic Church.
5. A day trip to several cities: Lviv, Mukacheve, Berehove, the village of Urych, Yaremche, Slavske Please contact Perlyna Travel Bureau at +38 098 062 33 33; +38 098 062 33 34. The address is: 3 UIA Heroes Street.

Staying at Villa Victoria

Staying at Villa Victoria

Staying at Villa Victoria

My room at Villa Victoria

I reserved a standard room at Villa Victoria and was glad I had selected that hotel. The hotel has affable staff, 19 rooms, cosy interior and a great downtown location. It was for the first time that I had a hotel room on the first floor.
The hotel has no restaurant, but there are lots of cafes and restaurant nearby, so it was not a problem. The hotel staff was so kind as to provide me with a small mirror for shaving. They also took me around the hotel and showed me other vacant room for me to take a picture of them "for the Internet". I left a thank you record in their guest book attaching VT stickers there since I was a Virtual Tourist member then

Enjoy your stay in Truskavets, fellow travelers!