In the Carpathians, it’s easy to get used to “big” things. Peaks. Waterfalls. Alpine meadows. The Karst Bridge isn’t a monumental landmark. It’s small — …
The Karst Bridge in Mala Uholka — a Stone Arch Amid a UNESCO Beech Primeval Forest
The Badeni Palace in Koropets — an Aristocratic Dream Above the Dniester
Koropets is a small village above the Dniester. Quiet, hills, slow-moving water below. And then, suddenly — a palace. It appears out of nowhere, as …
The Hudym-Levkovych Estate in Horoshyne — a Brick Two-Story House Above the Sula
Above the quiet Sula River, in Horoshyne, stands a brick two-story house that once served as the residence of the landowner Hudym-Levkovych. Locals still call …
Mokhnata Tract — the Edge of Podillia Where You Can See the Dniester Like a Map, and Moldova Switches On
Sometimes the best places aren’t “sites.” Not castles. Not waterfalls. Not even ruins. Just a height from which the world suddenly gets bigger. Mokhnata Tract, …
Olesko Castle — the birthplace of a Polish king and the place where Bohdan Khmelnytsky’s father served
In 1605, a minor nobleman from Zhovkva — Mykhailo Khmelnytsky, father of the future hetman — entered the service of Ivan Danilovych, the owner of …
Pidhirtsi Castle — the “Versailles of Galicia,” awaiting its revival
Perched on a hill amid the forests of the Lviv region stands a castle that does not look abandoned — but does not look alive …
The Buky Canyon — a 2-billion-year-old granite gorge in the Cherkasy region
Central Ukraine is usually flat. So when the road leads to Buki, your mind freezes for a second. Rocks. A gorge. Water flowing between the …
The Bilokuzminivski Chalk Cliffs — the white walls of the Donbas amidst the plains
Amid the flat plains of Donetsk Oblast, they suddenly appear — towering white cliffs, as if a fragment of another world had been cast here …
Pomoryany Castle — “The Ship,” the garrison that fled through an underground passage, and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic of 1918
The castle’s founder named it “Korab” (Ship). A rectangular structure amid ponds and marshes — and there is indeed something ship-like about this image: a …
Zolochiv Castle: five prison regimes and stones with indecipherable inscriptions
The initials “JSKKSK” are carved into the bastions of Zolochiv Castle. These are the initials of the patron — Jakub Sobieski, Crown Chamberlain and Starost …
Lake Zadorozhne — the “Lviv Baikal,” the deepest body of water in Lviv region
Lake Zadorozhne is the deepest body of water in Lviv region. 89 ft (27 m). 155 acres (0.628 km²). Altitude 869 ft (265 m) above …