Hutsul Grazhda Folk Art Centre, Yavoriv

The village of Yavoriv near Kosiv is known as the capital of Hutsul lizhnyk weaving. Woollen blankets are woven in almost every other house here, and in summer colourful rugs dry on the fences along the road. To preserve and showcase these crafts, the Hutsul Grazhda Regional Folk Art Centre was founded in the village in 2012. It brings local masters together, collects their work (the collection holds around a thousand pieces, many of them by the Shkribliak family – woodcarver Yurii Shkribliak and his daughter, the embroiderer Kateryna) and helps travellers follow the whole journey of wool – from a sheep on a mountain meadow to a finished lizhnyk.

Why go: the “From Sheep to Lizhnyk” programme

The most rewarding format for visitors is an educational trip that takes almost a full day in summer. It can be booked for one person, a family or a group of up to forty. The programme has several parts:

• the mountain meadow: a climb to the shepherds on the Sokilskyi ridge to see the sheepfold, the shepherds’ hut and how the flock is looked after; you can taste budz, bryndza or vurda here;
• a walk around the village and a look at the folk art exhibition;
• a lizhnyk weaving workshop in a real grazhda – an old Hutsul homestead with an enclosed yard where the house and farm buildings form a ring;
• buying a lizhnyk directly from the weaver;
• a visit to the valylo – a wooden tub into which mountain water pours with force, where the blanket is “fulled” for several hours until it becomes dense and fluffy.

In winter the programme runs without the meadow hike. Always agree on the time, length and price in advance by phone.

How a lizhnyk is made and what to buy

A lizhnyk is a thick woollen blanket with a long pile on both sides. Fresh sheep’s wool is first washed in hot water, then rinsed in the river, dried, sorted and carded, spun into thick yarn and dyed. Yavoriv weavers prefer natural dyes – infusions of onion skins, oak and alder bark, elderberry and walnut leaves. The weaving is done on wooden looms, and the final, decisive stage happens in the valylo.

In Yavoriv people buy not only large bed blankets but also runners, cushions, small rugs and warm throws. The weavers will gladly show you how to tell a genuine lizhnyk from a factory copy: look at the colour and pile, rub the fibres between your fingers, hold the piece up to the light. Buying in a weaver’s home means the money goes to the craftswoman herself, and you can choose the pattern and size – or order a piece in advance.

A village of artists

Yavoriv is famous for more than blankets. It is home to the Shkribliak and Korpaniuk carvers, founders of the Hutsul flat-relief carving style; villagers also embroider, paint pysanky and make trembitas, and the International Hutsul Festival has been held here. A lizhnyk workshop in Yavoriv is therefore also a chance to get to know one of the liveliest art centres of the Hutsul region.

Practical information

• Address: Yavoriv village, Kosiv district, central part of the village.
• Visits: by prior arrangement only.
• Phone: +380673946999 (check in advance that the programme is still running).
• Price: depends on the programme; ask by phone.
• What to bring: comfortable shoes and a rain jacket for the meadow climb, cash for buying from the weavers.

Previously published prices are out of date and the format may have changed, so be sure to call before you travel. Some individual weavers in the village also run workshops in their own studios.

Getting there

Yavoriv lies on the R-24 road between Kosiv and Verkhovyna, about 11–15 km from Kosiv. By car, drive from Kosiv towards Verkhovyna; the village’s main craft spots are within about a kilometre of each other. By public transport, take a Kosiv – Verkhovyna bus, which passes through Yavoriv. Kosiv itself is easy to reach by bus from Ivano-Frankivsk or Kolomyia.

Website and social media: grazhda.huculia.info

Photos: grazhda.huculia.info.