Ternopil oblast can become a hub of historical and cultural tourism
WE’LL COVER THE WALL HOLE WITH A PICTURE
The History of Ukrainian Art acterizes the 18th-century town hall of the city of Buchach, “original in concept, bold in decision, with refined proportions.” This small city was founded in the 13th or 14th century. The town hall’s architecture is a combination of clear-cut and exquisite late-baroque forms. The stone sculptures and high reliefs were made by the well-known Western Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Pynzel. His works also adorn St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv and structures in other cities of Ukrainian Galicia. They portray Ancient Greek and Roman, and Biblical characters. Unfortunately, many of the figures perished in the late 19th century, while others were destroyed in the mid-1950s.
By all accounts, the town hall is not properly cared for even today: what this run-down building clearly seems to want is a restorer and funds for this kind of work. Conversely, the majestic cathedral of Basilian Fathers, a monastic order guided by the rules established back in the fourth century, is conspicuously neat. The Fathers have been restoring and renovating it since 1992. Also noteworthy is St. Nicholas’s Church, the city’s oldest edifice of worship, and the Church of the Holy Virgin’s Veil, the last work of architect Bernard Meretin and Pynzel. Buchach’s castle hill also features the ruins of one of Galicia’s six well-known thirteenth century fortresses and the site of an ancient settlement.
Unfortunately, the Buchach sights also perform a not-so-useful function. They attract visitors with their architecture, but at the same time, distract them from other urban landscapes. Our visit to this nice little town proved again that small-city development in this country will only break this vicious cycle if the concept of such development envisages concrete and adequately-funded deeds, not just long- winded words. For only too committed or too unpretentious tourists will go to see new sights without even a trace of service facilities.
VISITING PRINCES ZBARAZHSKY
The gem of the old Zbarazh is a medieval castle towering over the city. This defensive structure replaced ruined fortresses. It was erected in the seventeenth century on the initiative of brothers Juri and Chrystofor Zbarazski, sons of the Kremenets starosta Janusz Zbarazski. It is said that the brothers were unique by that time’s standards. Janusz’s father’s wealth as well as his rivalry for supremacy with the Princes Ostrozski must have prompted him to give his sons a European education. Chrystofor and Juri enrolled first in the university at Krakow and then at Padua, and studied civil engineering in the Netherlands, attended lectures of the famous Justus Lipsius, a disciple of Erasmus of Rotterdam. They made friends with Galileo Galilei. So historians believe that the ideas of Renaissance Europe reached Ukraine quite rapidly thanks to these men.
While in Venice in 1612, Chrystofor met a prominent Italian architect, Vincenzo Scamozzi and, in all probability, hired him to design a castle. Historians confirm that Scamozzi’s book L’Idea dell’Architettura Universale mentions a customer named Chrystofor Zbarazski. But the history of the castle’s final construction is no less intricate than that of its owners, conquerors and visitors. The persons who are associated with this castle include the Princes Wiszniewiecki, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Maksym Kryvonis, Ivan Mazepa, his nemesis Tsar Peter the First, and the family of the magnates Potocki. Today, the castle is a fully restored integrated structure which houses permanent expositions, “Local Archeology and Ethnography” and “A History of the Zbarazh Architecture.” The castle has also housed periodic exhibitions. It features crypt open to visitors.
Finally, there is the Legend restaurant. Whoever came up with this idea to open this kind of establishment here deserves a medal. For the McDonalds-type “junk food” pales when compared to the exquisite dishes partaken in the dainty medieval interior of a stone fortress.
ON THE ADVANTAGES OF BEER
The historical and architectural sights of Ternopil oblast have long deserved the honor of being immortalized in thick guidebooks. It would be a futile attempt to try to briefly describe them in a newspaper article. Therefore, let me switch from food for thought and intellect to the places of bodily pleasures. I mean the village of Konopkivky. Because of an extremely good combination of natural factors, the eastern Galician upper crust knew this town as a spa nearly two centuries ago. Now it is home to the Medobory health center which helps cure cardiovascular, central nervous, pulmonary, osteal- articular, gastroenteric, dermal, endocrinological and gynecological diseases. The main local medicine is water rich in hydrogen sulfide, sodium chloride and hydrocarbon sulfate. This water is good for drinking, as well as swimming and bathing, and as an aid in massage. One can spend free time between medical treatments on the dancing or sporting ground. In the summertime one can take a dip in the river or do some angling. Also at your disposal are mud baths, laser, magneto, reflexo, and physiotherapy rooms, a dentist, a dental technician, and a masseur.
There are also endless non-traditional therapies which rely, such as aroma, bee products (api-therapy), speleo, and phytotherapy, and much to the delight of this writer, who is a great beer freak, beer therapy. This potent beverage has long been known for its healing properties, and the old formula, “everything is good in a good measure,” also applies in this case. Perhaps some confirmed teetotalers may disagree. This writer and others believe that medicinal beer is a “genuine” product which has undergone no filtration or heat- treatment and thus preserved all the useful properties. What is more, there are no problems with the supply of this “therapeutic remedy.” The nearby village of Mykulyntsi hosts Brovar, one of Ukraine’s oldest breweries. It opened in the times of Zygmunt III at the end of the 16th century. Traditions are the only old thing here, for this small but one of the most successful enterprises, uses state-of-the-art German equipment and continues to modernize. The current plans to increase output from 1.2 to 2.5 million decaliters a year inspire a hope that, sooner or later, one of this country’s most delicious beer varieties will at last reach the capital. Right now only the western region’s inhabitants and visitors can relish this high-quality drink.
“A THING TO ITSELF” FOR HOW LONG?
As we were taking our Ternopil oblast press tour, some of the hosts showed a Polish-published list of Western Ukraine’s most important historical and architectural sights to see. This list is important for the Polish tourist who comes to this region to study the milestones of his history with the help of Polish agencies. But because tourist infrastructure is underdeveloped in Ternopil oblast, local governments deprive themselves of handsome revenues. To use a figure of speech, they mend roads after receiving foreign tourist buses. Through the decade of independence, the region has not seen it fit to issue at least one guidebook, whereas, frankly speaking, such publications should come out annually.
By all accounts, “potential” is a swearword in present-day Ukraine. Having a stunning potential for becoming a powerful hub of the religious, historical, aquatic, walking, spelunking, and sporting tourism with a number of international-standard ski jumps and a bobsled track in Ternopil oblast, the region remains, so to speak, “a thing to itself.” The 1997-2005 regional tourism development plan was foiled by all kinds of “destabilizing economic factors,” which nipped in the bud the idea of building a series of various service facilities for tourists.
Nevertheless, local authorities claim that the results of travel agencies’ performance in 2000 already inspire optimism because the oblast administration has begun to supervise the tourist establishments and pay more attention to receiving tourists and advertising. The region’s chief city is now trying to grant the Halychyna and Ternopil hotels a three-star status. Both are renovating their rooms. Moreover, there will be (and already is at the Halychyna) self- contained boiler rooms, business centers, and entertainment complexes. Plans include a water park on the lake in the area of the two hotels. Besides, representatives of the Ternopil authorities, the regional tourism development association, and some Ukrainian parliament members signed late last year a joint action memorandum which calls for considering tourism as a strategic sector.
We can only hope there will be no new “destabilizing economic factors.”
