Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk district · Ivano-Frankivsk region

Ivano-Frankivsk (formerly known as Stanislaviv) has interesting places for the soul, and our tourist guide helps the city maintain its high status as a tourist center of Ukraine, as well as the economic and cultural center of the Carpathian region. And most of the Carpathian routes pass through the capital of Prykarpattia, which is located on the Pokutska plain in southwestern Ukraine in the interfluve of the Bystrytsia Nadvirna and Bystrytsia Solotvynska rivers. Ivano-Frankivsk City Council includes 5 other surrounding villages: Vovchynets, Krykhivtsi, Mykytyntsi, Uhornyky, and Khryplyn.

To answer the question "Where to go in Ivano-Frankivsk today?" we would recommend its wonderful parks and squares for recreation:

Shevchenko Park of Culture and Recreation (formerly known as the Park of Tsarina Elzbieta);
Warriors-Internationalists Park (formerly Pionerskyi Park, Vasylianok Street);
Park on Molodizhna Street (Molodizhna Street);
Memorial Square (formerly the city cemetery, the so-called Stanislavivsky Necropolis, Stepan Bandera Street);
Square of Glory (Lepkoho str.);
Pryvokzalnyi Square (Pryvokzalna Square).

The city was formed on the site of two villages - Zabolotia (1437) and Knyahynyna (1449). The date of the city's foundation is not precisely known, but it is known for certain that in 1662 Stanislaviv received the Magdeburg Law. This year is considered the official date of the city's foundation.

of the city. Details about how the city has developed from its foundation and the Magdeburg Law to the present day can be found on Wikipedia.

Here we will only note how the main historical sights of the city appeared, which you should definitely see and take pictures of as a souvenir.

The fortress city was built in 1661-1662 in a short period of time (5 months) by François (Francesco) Corassini from Avignon in the shape of a hexagon with additional bastions, redoubts, and a fort surrounding the Potocki castle. At the tips of the hexagon were bastions, external additional pentagonal fortifications that allowed for flanking musketry along the walls. The transverse section of the walls was an earthen rampart (embankment) 20-30 meters wide, reinforced from the outside with oak logs. The city was immediately built as a powerful fortress. In 1672, a partial reconstruction of the Stanislaviv Fortress was completed: wooden fortifications were replaced with stone ones, and the entrance gates to the city, the Halytska and Tysmenytsia towers, were built of stone. The remnants of the fortress wall can be seen today along Fortechnyi Lane. In the same year, the Stanislaviv Fortress was so strong that it was able to stop the Ottoman army, withstanding a long siege.
Stanislaviv began with Rynok Square and the town hall (in 1666 the construction of the first wooden town hall was completed), which are preserved in a modified state to this day.
In 1665, the construction of a wooden Armenian church was completed, built at the expense of A. Potocki and donations from wealthy Armenian merchants.
In 1905, the Stanislav Ukrainian Gymnasium was opened (this building is located at 44 Shevchenka Street). In general, it is worth walking along Shevchenko Street to Taras Shevchenko Park, and in the park turn to the city lake.

Theaters and cinemas in the city

Theaters in Ivano-Frankivsk - Ivano-Frankivsk Academic Regional Music and Drama Theater (27-a Nezalezhnosti St.);
Ivano-Frankivsk Academic Regional Puppet Theater named after Mariyka Pidhiryanka (27-a Sichovykh Striltsiv St.);
Regional Philharmonic;
Three cinemas: "KinoBum, Cosmos, and Lumiere.

There are a significant number of museums in Ivano-Frankivsk

Museum of the Heavenly Hundred
Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Art Museum
Folk Museum of Education of Prykarpattia
Museum of the Liberation Struggle of the Carpathian Region
Museum of the Liberation Struggle (here is a monument to Stepan Bandera)
Museum of Life and Ethnography of the Western Region (7 Troleibusna St.)
of family professions
Historical and memorial museum of Oleksa Dovbush
Literary Museum of Prykarpattia
Museum of "Prykarpattyaoblenergo" (34 Industrialna St.)
Geological Museum of IFNTUOG (15 Karpatska St.)
Ivano-Frankivsk Museum of Local Lore - a significant collection of materials and objects on the history, ethnography and cultural development of Prykarpattia; the sarcophagus of
of the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl is kept.
The Museum of Victims of Communist Terror (in the Demianiv Laz tract) is located in the basement of the memorial chapel in Demianiv Laz, where the remains of mass torture carried out by the NKVD in 1939 are buried. The museum's exposition includes numerous archival materials: photo and photocopies of many unknown documents that confirmed the facts of atrocities committed by the NKVD in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, as well as material evidence found during excavations (begun in 1989), and properly documented eyewitness accounts of the tragic events. The museum was opened on October 11, 2009, with the participation of President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.

Festivals and cultural and entertainment events

Every year in May, the City Day is celebrated with marches and concerts of artistic and folklore groups.
The Christmas parade of nativity scenes, which takes place on January 7-14, is a spectacular sight.
All-Ukrainian festival of artistic groups "Carpathian Spring" (May every year),
The Volya Festival of National and Patriotic Song and Poetry (held in October in odd-numbered years), and the Impreza Biennial of Contemporary Art.
In May 2003, the annual international blacksmithing festival "Blacksmiths' Holiday" and the art exhibition "Ornamental Blacksmithing" were launched. Blacksmiths from Ukraine and many other countries take part in the festival: Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Israel, the United States, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Belgium, Australia, and others. These are leading blacksmiths, metal artists and sculptors, internationally recognized blacksmiths, and folk artists.
Since 2005, the Carpathian Vernissage festival has been held in Ivano-Frankivsk, with more than 200 folk artists from all over Ukraine and abroad participating in 2007.
The festival takes place on the city's central historical square, Sheptytsky Square.
On October 13-14, 2007, the first festival of antiquities and the Hutsul ethnic group "Galician Antiquities - 2007" was held on Sheptytsky Square.
International Festival of Choral Music "Predzvin", founded in 1999 All-Ukrainian Competition of Choral Music named after D. Sichynsky, founded in 1999.
The Edelweiss Youth Music Festival, founded in 1999.
Sacred music festivals "From Christmas to Easter", founded in 2000.
Since 2009, the Taras Melnychuk Literary Festival "Pokrova" has been held. The festival traditionally begins on October 14 on the feast of the Intercession.
On September 18, 2010, the annual festival of historical reenactment "Living Middle Ages" was held for the first time, organized by the first Ivano-Frankivsk historical reenactment club "Thistle". The city was transformed into a world of warlike knights, blacksmiths, comic jesters, and graceful ladies from the era of chivalry.
On August 22, 2011, a record was set in Ivano-Frankivsk for the simultaneous performance of the national anthem of Ukraine in embroidered shirts.
On June 8-12, 2016, the PortoFrankoGogolFest festival was held as part of the Porto Franko and Gogol Fest festivals.
On August 19-21, 2016, Ivano-Frankivsk hosted the First All-Ukrainian Festival of Love Lyrics and Love Songs "In the Language of the Heart". The festival was organized by Roman Boichuk and Olga Breslavsky.

As of January 1, 2011, there are 23 hotels and motels in Ivano-Frankivsk, which can accommodate more than 1,200 tourists daily. There are 1 four-star, 3 three-star, 11 other hotels and 3 motels in Ivano-Frankivsk. Recently, small hotels, motels and hostels (with up to 9 rooms) have been opened.

Architectural monuments

Building of the Jesuit College (c. 1744), 21 A. Sheptytskoho Square
Armenian Church (built in 1762), 6 Virmenska St.
Collegiate Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (brick, 1672-1703), 8 A. Sheptytskoho Square
Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection (former Jesuit church, built in 1753-1763), 22 A. Sheptytskoho Square
City square, where famous cultural and public figures are buried (folklorist Meliton Buchynskyi, poets Mawrycja Gosławski, K. Swidzynski, composer Denys Sichynskyi, and others), XIX - early XX centuries
Brewery (c. 1767), 49/28 Novhorodska St.
The palace of Baron Romashkan.

Monuments of Ivano-Frankivsk

The majestic monument to Ivan Franko and Stepan Bandera,
Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Monument to Jesus Christ.
The oldest monument that has survived to this day is to Adam Mickiewicz (1930).
The only monument to an egg in Ukraine is located in Ivano-Frankivsk. In 2000, as part of the city's reconstruction, a fountain was built on Rynok Square to symbolize the rebirth of life, which always conquers death. This symbol was originally shaped like an egg, with plant shoots carved out of its shell. Over time, the metal "shoots" broke and only the stone part remained.
On May 23, 2019, on Heroes' Day, a monument to the legendary UPA commander-in-chief Roman Shukhevych was unveiled in Ivano-Frankivsk. The authors of the monument are Ihor Semak and Yevhen Shatyrko.

Here we offer you a 3D tour of the city hall.

Ivano-Frankivsk is one of the leading cities in Ukraine in terms of living comfort. The city is positively assessed in terms of the quality of services, the work of local authorities, infrastructure development, the level of cultural needs, the level of medical care, employment and unemployment, the opportunity to get higher education, the environmental situation and other indicators that determine the quality of life. According to a study by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk is the safest and most prosperous city to live in, and has the lowest crime rate in Ukraine.

The city has the following fountains:

The fountain on the square near the Nadiya Hotel (Independence Street);
Fountain in the form of a grain (Rynok Square);
Fountain on Vicheva Square;
Fountains on the "hundred-meter" square (Nezalezhnosti str.);
Fountain with the Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (Sheptytsky Square).

Currently, there are about 500 streets in the city with suburban villages, including a third of alleys, 8 squares, 1 boulevard, and 1 embankment. It is difficult to say about their total length in kilometers because no one has counted them, but it is known that the longest (over 5 km) is Yevhen Konovalets Street. The narrowest street in the city is Trinitorskaya Street, which at one time was designed for a cart to pass through, and then only in one direction. There are neighborhoods: Arsenal, Bam, Braty, Hirka, Kalynova Sloboda, Cascade, Maisli, Opryshivtsi, Pasichna, Pozitron, Rin, Sofiyivka, Dolyna. The central part of the city is completely pedestrianized.