Subcarpathian Capital

Ivano-Frankivsk that is often called “IF City” or “Frankivsk”/”Franyk” for short, has long attracted us with its special atmosphere. In October 2017, my wife and I were privileged to spend our vacation in that city. We rented an apartment in new districts and managed to pay a visit to many city sights. We enjoyed walking along the city’s colorful streets, visiting the picturesque parks and squares, and admiring its pearls of architecture. In addition, we made a day trip to Yaremche, Ivan-Frankivsk region.

In 1687, the city was visited by a French traveler named Francois Daleran, who wrote in his travel diary, "Among all the Transcarpathian cities, Stanislav is the largest and most beautiful one, located on a splendid plain two miles from the Dniester. Its regular fortifications impress with their perfection. There is a magnificent palace built from stone. The city market, buildings and the arsenal significantly distinguish the city among other cities of Ruthenia."

The City Hall, Ivano-Frankivsk

The City Hall

• The City Hall built in 1928-1932 is called the most recognizable building of Ivano-Frankivsk. The first version of the city hall was wooden. It was erected in 1666. In that time, it was both the location of the local administration and the observation post. The present city hall building is the fourth version. Interestingly, it was constructed in the form of the Polish military order of Virtuti Militari, as seen from above. The order was awarded to the soldiers and officers of the Polish army of Józef Haller for the elimination of the West-Ukrainian People’s Republic during the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1919. Therefore, the entire City Hall building was built to glorify the victorious Polish Army.

Inside the CIty Hall

A view from the City Hall tower

The City Hall located in Market Square (“ploshcha Rynok” in Ukrainian) is the only one in Ukraine built in the style of constructivism that prevailed in the 1930s. In addition, it is the only secular building in Ukraine that has a gilded dome. It was gilded during a large-scale reconstruction of the city center in 2000, consuming 200 g of gold leaf.

Exhibition of wrought-iron sculptures inside the City Hall

The City Hall is the highest building in Ivano-Frankivsk. It is 49.5 m high, which corresponds to the height of a 16-storey apartment house. The construction is a cross, with the intersection of which the tower is raised. We paid a symbolic fee and climbed the spiral staircase to the City Hall tower located at the height of 33 meters. On the way to the observation platform you can see an exhibition of wrought iron works created by the participants of the traditional Blacksmiths’ Festival. The views from the observation platform were really impressive. We were privileged to enjoy good weather as well.

The City Hall contains the local lore museum dedicated in 1959. The museum uses former casemates and warehouses. The local lore museum has a fairly extensive exposition, including exhibits of the ancient Trypillia culture that is also referred to as the magnificent ancient civilization of Cucuteni – Trypillia. For a symbolic fee, you can view the large collection of exhibits from the history, ethnography and culture of the entire Sub Carpathian region.

• Cathedral of Virgin Mary’s Protecting Veil

Virgin Mary’s Protecting Veil Cathedral is the full name of this church. The former Armenian Church housed the workshops of local artists from 1949 until 1971, and then, from 1971 until 1991 - the Religion and Atheism Museum.

Cathedral of Virgin Mary’s Protecting Veil, Ivano-Frankivsk

Since 1992, the building of the Armenian Church belongs to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and a replica of the miraculous icon is kept in the church.

This church is often called the Armenian Church or simply “the blue church”. The Armenian community used to own the entire city quarter and had a great influence on the city life. The temple got its own miraculous icon. On August 22, 1742, the image of the Mother of God cried with real tears. After that, the icon became famous for many miracles. A lot of people were healed near it. In honour of the miraculous image, the Armenians erected a brick church in the style of European Baroque. The church was built in 1743-1763.
After the Second World War, the Armenians left for Poland, taking the miraculous image of the Virgin, which is now in St.Peter and St.Paul’s Cathedral in the city of Gdansk.

The church has bell-like domes that distinguish it among other old churches. They were installed after the fire of 1868 to replace the old helmet-like domes that were destroyed completely by the fire. We went inside to admire the interior and to take some pictures. The All-Seeing Eye with golden rays above the entrance looks impressive. The inscription under the image reads, “Who is like God”.
Here are some more pictures of this church

• The Arts Museum of the Sub Carpathian Region, located in Metropolitan Sheptytsky Square, is a treasury of the fine arts of the region. The exhibition hall is located in the oldest architectural building of the city - the Renaissance Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary that dates back to the 17th century. At one time, the crypt of this temple was a family burial ground of the founders of the city – the Pototskys. In the side crypts, wealthy nobles and priests were buried.

The Arts Museum of the Sub Carpathian Region_1

The collection of the museum was started in the 1980s. It covers unique exhibits of the Galician iconography, works of classics of the Western Ukrainian painting, works of Ukrainian artists of the second half of the twentieth century, as well as works of Polish, Austrian, German and Italian masters of the 18ty 20th centuries. The museum holds a large collection of contemporary foreign graphics, donated from the exhibitions of the Imprez International Biennale.

Visiting the exhibition at the arts museum

Sacral sculpture occupies a large part of the museum collection. The three figures of angels created by Johann Georg Pinsel himself are the pride of the exposition. And the icon of Holy Paraskeva Friday "starred" in the famous Sergey Paradzhanov’s film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors".
This museum has about fifteen thousand exhibits. Here you can see the artefacts of the Galician iconography and Baroque sculpture.

• Andriy Sheptytsky Square

Sheptytsky Square is considered to be the spiritual and cultural centre of the city. Holy Resurection Cathedral of the Greek Catholic Church is nearby. The former Roman Catholic Cathedral – Virgin Mary’s Cathedral – is located in Sheptytsky Square. This building is the city’s only religious building that is not used for its purpose. It houses the Arts Museum now.

The rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a fountain and a rotunda is very impressive, especially at night when it is lit by different lights. The monument was unveiled in 2000. As our guide explained, the modern statue has a certain resemblance to its predecessor - the Baroque statue of Virgin Mary of the sixteenth century that stood downtown.
The monument to Blessed Metropolitan Andriy Sheptytskyi dedicated on August 27, 2015 is unique as well. Blessed Metropolitan Andriy Sheptytskyi is often called “Moses of the Ukrainian people”. A few words about the monument itself. I must say it looks somewhat disproportionate. The statue of Andriy Sheptytsky looks like three-meter high on the background of two children. Although, as they say, the Metropolitan’s natural growth was more than two meters. Therefore, this disproportion is obviously justified. It only emphasizes Metropolitan Sheptytsky's appearance in real life. The monument is half-turned to Holy Resurrection Cathedral. Moreover, it turned out that Sheptytsky sat with his back to the former Blessed Virgin Mary Church and to the huge crucifixion on that church. However, I think that criticism is not appropriate here. Please all, and you will please none. It is just a small observation.

Andriy Sheptytsky Square

Andriy Sheptytsky monument

Andriy Sheptytsky monument

We were also impressed by the bronze Emperor Franz Joseph sculpture that stands at the entrance to Franz Hotel in this square. The monument was unveiled in November 2014. According to the plan, Emperor Franz Josef himself invites guests to stay at this hotel bearing his name.

The statue of Emperor Franz Joseph_1

Here is http://ukrainaincognita.com/ru/3d-panorama/3d-panorama-ploshchi-sheptytskogo-v-ivano-frankivsku (< ERROR: the link title is too long!).

• Numerous Cathedrals and ChurchesYou cannot help noticing many churches, cathedrals and chapels in this city. We walked past some of them and paid a visit to a couple of them as well.

Transfiguration Cathedral in Passichna District was built in 1998-2015. It is the biggest Greek Catholic church in the city today. Its dimensions and the interior impressed us. As you enter the cathedral, you will see an amazing mosaic of Apostle St.Thaddeus, also known as Saint Jude, to your right. This apostle is known to have evangelized the region of Armenia and Persia I have never come across his name or image at any other church. Here is a a small Youtube video about Transfiguration Cathedral

Transfiguration Church

Transfiguration Church

Virgin Mary’s Protecting Veil Church was built in 1902-1905. It stands at 29 Kniaginin Street. We noticed it from the window of the apartment we rented in Ivano-Frankivsk, and one day paid a visit there. The church stands in a quiet street full of old houses and mansions. The churches stands out for its arcades, the iconostasis, the huge forged crucifix and the gate.

Virgin Mary’s Protecting Veil Church

Virgin Mary’s Protecting Veil Church

St.Dimetrius Church built in 1904 in Pasichna. This old wooden church stands at 6 Nechui-Levytsky Street.

St.Demetrius Church

St.Demetrius Church

The church is located in the north-western part of the city, in the middle of Pasichna District, to the west of the main road, near residential buildings. The church has one storey, a distinctive silhouette, and original wooden arched windows. There is a small chapel in the park next to this church.

St.Cyril and St.Methodius Church in Galician Street The church is simply called the Lemko Church, but not because the Lemkos attend it. It was merely built in the Lemko style in 2011-2016. It was consecrated on May 22, 2016.

Prophet St.Elijah Church near the railway station stands not far from the common grave of soldiers. It was built in 2013-2017. This new church is known for its stained glass windows on both sides. It was consecrated on August 2, 2017, on the Feast Day of the Prophet.
Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary Church at 63a Viacheslav Chornovol Street.

• Holy Resurrection Cathedral

We were glad to visit this temple and to see many different people there. The temple is interesting because at various times there was a shrine of practically all Christian denominations. It was built in 1753-1763 by Jesuits, who came to Stanislav in the early eighteenth century. However, in ten years, the Austrian authorities abolished the Order of the Jesuits, and the church was closed. Gradually the building became abandoned. Fortunately, the temple became a parish church of the Greek Catholic Church in 1849.

Holy Resurrection Cathedral

The exterior of the cathedral was built in the style of Austrian and Bavarian Baroque. The forms of the domes were borrowed from Hutsul wooden temples. The interior of the cathedral is made in Byzantine style, and the main decoration is a five-year iconostasis, which was installed in 1901.
The cathedral is the largest temple of Ivano-Frankivsk and continues to be a Greek Catholic shrine. It enjoys such popularity that on holidays and sometimes during the evening service you simply cannot squeeze in because the temple resembles a busy bus in a rush hour.

Holy Resurrection Cathedral

Holy Resurrection Cathedral

• Adam Mickievicz Square has never changed its name since its inception in the 1870's. In addition to the cozy park, this place attracts by interesting sights. The most important decoration is the monument to the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, erected in 1898 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the oldest surviving monument in Ivano-Frankivsk to this day. By the way, Adam Mickiewicz has never been to Stanislav. After the monument had been unveiled, the square became the place of crowded rallies.

Adam Mickiewicz Square

Adam Mickiewicz Square, Ivano-Frankivsk

In 2012, within the framework of the 100th anniversary of the National Scout Organization of Ukraine, "Plast" monument was unveiled in this square and became the world's first monument to Plastoons.

• Shevchenko Park is located in Shevchenko Street. The street is one of the oldest city streets and was always considered a recreation area. Shevchenko Street has been known since the seventeenth century, when it led to the Zvirynets Oak Groves, which was locate on the site of the present-day park. The groves were used as hunting grounds by the Potockis and their guests. At the end of the 19th century, the former hunting grounds were cultivated, alleys were laid, and subsequently cascading ponds were dug.

Now Shevchenko Park became a recreational park in 1946. It attracts everybody with picturesque landscapes and attractions. In 1955, the city lake was created on the park territory. It is often called Swan Lake and the Sea of Stanislav. It has a small island with ducks and swans. The island is called “Island of Love”.

At the entrance to Shevchenko Park

Shevchenko Park

Many newlyweds on their wedding day come to the park to happily touch the "Stone of Love", which was installed here in 2010. The stone was brought from Cana, a small town in Galilee, precisely from where Jesus Christ blessed the brides.

Shevchenko Park

Shevchenko Park is often called the true green heart of the city. We enjoyed the cleanliness, shady alleys, green lawns and flower beds, the calm and quiet atmosphere in this park. Here you can see many unique trees such as Japanese sakura, French tulip tree, Tibetan ginkgo, etc.

• Pedestrian Precinct

“Stometrivka”, also called “Sotka”, is one of the interesting places of Ivano-Frankivsk which you are unlikely to miss. It is the main pedestrian zone. The locals call it simply "the one hundred meters run distance”. This pedestrian zone is a part of Independence Street. It actually stretches for nearly half a kilometer.

Pedestrian precinct

"Sotka" is one of the "liveliest" centers of the city, a place of meetings and walks, street musicians, bookshops, coffee shops, and shopping. Forged sculptures appear here during the annual Blacksmiths’ Festival and add special charm to this place.

Tree of Happiness

The tradition of blacksmiths festival in Ivano-Frankivsk is already 15 years old. The event is organized for the City Day celebrations, during which blacksmiths from different parts of Ukraine and from abroad show their masterpieces and skills. At the end of each festival, the blacksmiths present the city with some kind of forged sculpture such as: "Bouquet of Masters", "The Easter Sun", "The Tree of Happiness", "The Circle of Forged Rings" and others.

Craftsmens' Bunch of Flowers

The forged Tree of Happiness that stands in the pedestrian precinct is one of the smithery gifts of that festival. It looks awful and scary at first. You have to stand and ponder at that masterpiece before you start liking it. A swing is attached to one of the branches, and many children enjoy swinging there. Therefore, that peculiar forged object is never empty in the daytime.

Walking along the pedestrian precinct, or Stometrivka, you will reach Sicheva Square (“People’s Gathering Square”), where you are sure to enjoy viewing the huge fountain, one of the six city fountains that have appeared in recent years and have become a separate tourist attraction. The fountain in Vicheva Square is in the form of a large bowl. In addition, there are other fountains: the Egg Fountain in Market Square, Nadia Hotel fountains, Sheptytsky Square fountain at the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

• Bastion Fortress Gallery

We were advised to pay a visit to the Bastion, a fortress gallery, which was built around the remains of the ancient wall of the Stanislav Castle. The bastion includes a terrace for walks and a gallery. There are many souvenir shops, stores with clothes, perfumes, as well as a cafe, a restaurant, a contemporary art gallery. This place is also a public venue for different meetings and exhibitions.
The fortress was built in 1662 on the order of Count Andrzej Potocki, the Governor of Galicia.

Bastion Fortress Gallery_2

The architects of the new Bastion Mall successfully combined the remnants of a defensive structure with a new complex, which was built in 2002. This is where you can come across some interesting artistic event. Various exhibitions of arts are constantly represented here: photographs, paintings, graphics, sculptures, etc. We did not see any presentation or festival there; we simply went window shopping and admired the wrought iron sculptures. They were left in the Bastion as reminders of the traditional Blacksmiths’ Festivals.
Bastion Gallery

• Franko Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater

The building of the theater is among the local examples of the Soviet art, one of the most notable constructivist buildings of the city. It was built in 1980. The largest decor of the Drama Theater is the interior decoration, executed in the Hutsul style.

Franko Theater

Franko Theater

Memorial Square is located behind the theater and Nadia Hotel in Independence Street. The so-called Stanislav Necropolis is the former city cemetery. It is also called an open-air museum. This is where many prominent inhabitants of the city were buried. The place has the status of a national monument. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Galicia, where the first burials of date back to 1782.

Unfortunately, in the early 1980s, the necropolis of the city was almost completely destroyed by the authorities. The probable cause of the destruction of the graves at that time could be the graves of 143 Sich riflemen who had fought against the Soviet power. After that, the cemetery was closed and turned into a square. Soon the square was reconstructed to a memorial square. The few remaining graves were restored and memorial plaques were installed. Only a few tombstones have been preserved out of the many thousands.

Ivan Franko monument

• Sich Riflemen Street (“vulytsia sichovykh stril’tsiv” in Ukrainian) is one of the few unique streets where Austrian buildings dating back to 1870-1910 were preserved. There are up to 30 historical and cultural monuments in this street. The most characteristic architecture of the city is represented in this street. Almost every building has its own interesting story. Ivan Franko, in honor of whom the city was named, stayed briefly in one of the buildings in this street.

The city is often called “the Pearl of Western Ukraine”. It is full of different monuments and dozens of memorial plaques, many of which we saw on our way during our walks.

• We passed the Afghan War memorial complex every day on our way downtown. The monument to the soldiers who fell in the 1978-1989 Afghan War stands in the former Pioneers’ Park (now Internationalists’ Park) that occupies an area of about four hectares.

The Afghan war memorial

The Afghan war memorial

You can see an almost three-meter-high granite sculpture. There is a 30-ton rock on the pedestal. The rock contains a golden bas-relief of a dying officer who is a live target under the gun of a sniper rifle. The officer put his hand above his wound that pierced his heart. The officer is dropping his machine-gun and is about to fall. There is an inscription in golden letters in Ukrainian at the foot of the monument. The inscription reads, “To the residents of Sub Carpathian region who fell in the Afghan War”. There are memorial plaques at the foot of the monument. The plaques contain the names of the fallen soldiers and officers and their dates of life. The back of the monument is impressive as well. It contains four gilded hands lifted upwards.
Approaching the monument, you will see several stones with painted inscriptions with the names of Afghan cities, where the most brutal battles with the participation of the Ukrainians took place: Kabul, Kandahar, Salang, and Jalalabad.
The memorial complex was unveiled on May 19, 2009, when the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan was observed.

St.George's Chapel

There is a Greek Catholic Church behind the Afghan War memorial complex. The church is St.George's Chapel built in 2002-2008 and consecrated on May 17,2008. The chapel is attached to St.Jehoshaphat's Seminary.
The War Obelisk stands in the area where we rented an apartment. The Obelisk was built in honour of the 25th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders. Its height is 26 m. The obelisk was crowned a five-pointed star, which was removed after the independence of Ukraine was proclaimed.

• Urban Space Civic Restaurant

This is where the public life rages: various presentations, conferences, film shows, and even radio events are held. People come here not only to eat, but also to talk, to discuss ideas, to meet the like-minded people, to read a book, to buy something in the store, which is open at the restaurant, or to organize some interesting and very necessary event for the local community.

This restaurant has become a successful example of uniting indifferent city residents around a common goal. Around 100 socially active people became the funders of this restaurant and have united idea of qualitative development of the urban space. The uniqueness of the plan is that the profit of the restaurant is directed at realization of public projects of Ivano-Frankivsk.

• Potockis Palace

The palace was built by Andrzej Potocki in the second half of the 17th century (1672-1682) and was a family castle. It is a monument of architecture, but, unfortunately, it is now in a rather neglected state.

Potockis Palace

At the beginning of the 19th century, the last owner sold the residence because of financial problems. A military hospital was arranged in the palace, and the planning of all the buildings was thoroughly changed. This military medical institution can be considered one of the oldest in Europe. The military hospital functioned here until 2004. For the time being, the future of the palace is not known. The civic activists, members of #Frankinsk That Should Be Preserved want to turn the neglected palace into a history museum. Live and see!
Potocki Palace is located at 5 Hospital Street. As of today, only the stone palace gate decorated with knight symbols has been well preserved. The gate is in a good condition, but it is permanently closed. There are also two old wings to the left and to the right of the baroque gates, which survived almost unchanged. The wall in Hospital Street is mostly authentic.

We saw the windows of one of the buildings in this street that were covered with portraits of the Potockis and other rulers who had lived and stayed in this city:
1) Andrjey Potocki (+1692);
2) Stanislav Potocki (1659-1683);
3) Kateryna Kossakivska (1720-1803, “the Great Wise Lady”, who was a city mayor for 30 years;
4) Ferenc II Rakoczi (1676-1735), the king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth;
5) Jan III Sobieski (1629-1696).
The portraits were installed in February 2017 within the framework of «Heroes of forgotten houses" initiative of #Frankivsk That Should Be Preserved.
The monument to Petro Prokopovych (1775-1850), a famous Ukrainian beekeeping scientist, the founder of rational frame beekeeping, is in the courtyard of the Potockis Palace.

• The railway station

The railway station of Ivano-Frankivsk was built in 1866. The cast date "1866" can be seen on some columns of the platform shed.

The railway station_6

The railway station

The railway station

The elements of the Moorish style were used here: narrow semi-circular windows, ribbed columns. In 1866, first track from Lviv was laid through Ivano-Frankivsk to the city of Iasi in Romania. It is interesting to know that the railway station itself was the first building in Ivano-Frankivsk, which was lit by electric lamps. It is worth paying attention to the interior arrangement of the main hall, especially the large girandole chandelier in the center.

• Buses and trolleybuses

There are nine trolleybuses routes in the city now: No.1,2,3,4, 6,7,8,9,10 (the fare is UAH 2.00);
City buses
- city buses No.22, 27 38, 40;
- route buses ("marshroutka": No.21,23,24,25,26, 29,30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42 43, 44, 47, 48, 49 (the bus fare is UAH 4.00).

Central Market bus stop

One of the busy streets

The railway station transportation hub

I did not see any difference between the city buses and route buses. For us, it was important to get to our destination.
All their routes are represented on the Internet (in Ukrainian). Also, you can find places using the GPS monitoring (in Ukrainian) GPS monitoring of Ivano-Frankivsk
However, we simply inquired at the bus stop how to get to wherever we needed. We used buses 33, 38 and 26 and found them fast and convenient.