The Trumpeter on the Tower

Chernivtsi has started a new tradition: every noonday a trumpeter on the tower of Chernivtsi City Hall plays the melody of the world famous song “Marichka,” which has become Bukovyna’s unofficial anthem. The trumpeter is Petro Tsurkan, a student at Chernivtsi College of Arts, who considers it an honor to act as a calling card for Chernivtsi. Every day he climbs 126 stone steps to the tower balcony fifty meters above the ground. Wearing a folk costume, he plays several chords in the direction of the four corners of the world. What follows is an uplifting melody that makes Chernivtsi residents and city guests stop and listen.

So as not to allow circumstances stand in the way of the noontime musical ritual, the trumpeter has a substitute, his fellow student Mykola Moroz, who has a chance to share his fame.

Similar traditions are observed in some major European cities, such as Krakow, but live performances are no longer performed everywhere. Chairman of the Bukovyna Travel association Vasyl Kyfiak, who initiated this novelty, believes that this custom will please Chernivtsi residents and attract tourists.

Moreover, Chernivtsi has introduced free Sunday tours of the historic part of the city as part of the “Get to Know and Love Your City” project. At noon every Sunday everybody is welcome to come to City Hall to see and learn more about this city on the River Prut.