Uzhok

The village is located under the Uzhok Pass, where the Uzh River originates and where the Zakarpattia region begins. The population of Uzhok as of 2011 is 722 people. It is the center of the village council. The village of Uzhok is located under the Uzhok Pass, not far from the source of the Uzh River. It is the easternmost village of Lemkivshchyna. Your vacation in the village will be provided by the wonderful tourist complex "Uzhanski Kupeli".

The first written mention of the village of Uzhok dates back to 1582. The village got its name from the Uzh River, which originates here.

There is an observation deck between Uzhok and the pass, which offers great views. From here, you can watch trains traveling through viaducts and tunnels: there are 14 railway tunnels in the pass area, and it is the most beautiful mountain transportation route in Ukraine. The oldest (dating back to 1908) reserves of forest beech are located nearby.

A balneological resort known in Austria-Hungary used to operate here. Three springs of minewater are protected. The spring is a hydrological natural monument of local importance in Ukraine. One of the springs was called Hercules, as if the water from there gave people the strength that the ancient hero was famous for. The sculpture of Hercules, which now adorns the courtyard of Uzhhorod Castle, was once located there until the resort came to an end in 1915. It is still unknown whose artillery used the recreation area (two sanatoriums with 30 baths, a military hospital, and five villas) as a target.

A linden park decorated with statues surrounded the spa facilities. According to the old custom, the mineral springs were named after people: "Laszlo", "Bela", "Marcha". The mineral springs have been preserved to this day, so you can come here not only for new experiences, but also for health improvement. The popular recreation center "Uzhanski Kupeli" can help in this regard. In winter, the village has a ski resort of the same name called Uzhok.

The list of interesting objects in the vicinity of the village of Uzhok that are worth visiting is as follows:

1. The Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Uzhok village, XVII century. One of the most famous wooden churches in Transcarpathia, located in the village of Uzhok, under the Uzhok Pass. It was built in honor of St. Michael the Archangel in 1745, and since then it has served as a place of communion with God. St. Michael's Church belongs to one of the most unique local groups of Transcarpathian wooden churches, the Uzhok group, with its inherent combination of Boyko and Lemko features. The Boyko-style church was built by craftsmen Pavlo Toniv from the neighboring village of Bitlia on the Lviv side of the Carpathians and Ivan Tsyhanyn from the village of Tykhy (on the outskirts of Uzhok).

It is the Boyko churches, of which there are so many on both sides of the Uzhok Pass, that are considered the most archaic ceremonial buildings in the Carpathians and perhaps in all of Ukraine. They are based on the principle of trinity: the church has three tops, three parts, and three log cabins. It is the Uzhok church, which is recognized as a kind of standard of wooden architecture, that was included in 2013 in the list of 16 churches (eight from Poland and Ukraine) that have a special status in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is said that icons and old prints from the 17th century have been preserved inside the church, and the altar is from the 18th century. But getting there is not so easy because the church is closed most of the time.

3. Uzhanskyi National Nature Park. The Uzhansky National Nature Park was established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine in 1999 with an area of about 40,000 hectares, located in the Uzh River basin from the village of Zabrid to the Uzhok Pass and is part of the Eastern Carpathians International Biosphere Reserve. The park is home to rare animals such as brown bear, lynx, forest cat, Carpathian deer, European roe deer, etc. Many species of flora and fauna are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Recreational tourism is well developed in the park, with more than 20 hiking trails and ecological paths developed. Rural and ski tourism is widely developed, and cheese and dairy product festivals are held. On the territory of the Uzhansky National Nature Park, you can get acquainted with ecological trails.

4. Beech virgin forests. The area of the villages of Stuzhytsia and Uzhok is the territory where the oldest reserves of forest beech are located (1908). It is here that beech forests have been preserved on an area of more than 55 hectares. This territory directly borders on the nature protection areas of Poland and Slovakia. Beech virgin forests are protected by UNESCO.

5. Uzhok Pass (883 m). This is one of the ways to get to Zakarpattia from the Lviv region and the border with Poland (Sambir direction).

What you need to know:

• There are 14 railroad tunnels in the pass area, and it is the most beautiful mountain transportation highway in Ukraine.
• There are also a number of hiking trails here, such as the "Up the Watershed Ridge" route.
• There are many nature reserves and monuments along the route.
• The pass is part of the Uzhansky National Nature Park, which is part of the world's only trilateral International Biosphere Reserve "Eastern Carpathians".