Town Hall, Vyzhnytsia

The picturesque town of Vyzhnytsia has such a set of attractions that even small towns in Europe can envy it, as it has a complicated history, starting with the smallest town in Bukovyna.

The name "Vyzhnytsia" appeared in 1501. It is associated with the weight of goods, with carts, with cherries, but with the arrival of Jews to the city, it acquired a new sound. After all, the word "Vyzhnytsia" means "entrance, opening, gate". Thus, the ancient name became a symbol of the town's good location at the beginning of the road to the Carpathian mountainous country, under the Nimchych Pass, and on the way of timber rafting along the Cheremosh to the Prut. At the end of the eighteenth century, the town was home to an incredible number of Hutsuls, Moldovans, and Poles, who formed the "Carpathian" dialect of the Ukrainian language.

In the center of Vyzhnytsia, on Rynok Square, there is one of the most important sights of the city - the town hall. The building dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The small two-story building is the centerpiece of the Bukovinian town.

Before the construction works in Vyzhnytsia began, the workers worked in Vienna, Prague, Krakow and Copenhagen, so the settlement was built according to the scheme of a European city. The center of this Bukovinian settlement was the Town Hall and the adjacent square, which very quickly turned into the main trading area in the region, i.e. the market. And soon the main square in Vyzhnytsia was called Rynkova Square. This all happened because the locals were engaged in commerce, and the peasants brought the results of their labor here. However, no one was upset by this. After all, the same market squares were the centerpieces of a number of European cities, whether in Bratislava, Krakow, or Helsinki.

The only feature that distinguished the square in Vyzhnytsia from the European one was its size. Today, however, these lands are home to a park, monuments, and promenade paths. The main building on the square is the Town Hall, a two-story building made in the shape of the letter "P", following a classic, moderate, functional style. The building is decorated with superstructures, five of them, which imitate the third floor and an elegant, decorative signaling tower. The tower has eight faces, and like a medieval knight, it is covered with sheet iron. Today, the Town Hall is painted pale yellow and protected from the weather by a metal roof.

As it was intended, the local municipal authorities "nested" in the Vinnytsia City Hall. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the magistrate worked here, and during the Romanian era, the Primeria met here, and during the ZUNR, the county government met here. Interestingly, since 1991, the largest and most beautiful building on the Town Hall Square has been occupied by the Treasury, and a couple of years ago it was sued and taken over by the city court.

Of course, Vyzhnytsia's attractions do not end with the Town Hall and Market Square, and a vacation in the Carpathians guarantees extraordinary mountain scenery and a great vacation among the breathtaking nature.

The city of Vyzhnytsia is located 70 km west of Chernivtsi. It stands on the Cheremosh River. You can get here by suburban car and railway transport from the city center, or by private car. There are shuttle buses running around the city, and the Rynok Square will be a tourist's landmark.

Today, a city park is laid out on the square around the town hall, walking paths are laid out, and benches are installed. In front of the town hall there is a monument to the famous deputy of the Austrian parliament, the leader of the popular uprisings in 1843-1849 - Lukyan Kobylitsa. In the park there is a city monument to Taras Shevchenko.

Vyzhnytsia is a small Carpathian town with a population of only about 5 thousand inhabitants. However, the amazing beauty of the surrounding mountains and forests, the steep Cheremosh, combined with the original architecture of the Austrian times makes it a real gem of the Carpathian part of Bukovyna. Vyzhnytsia is located at the foot of the Carpathians, on the right bank of the stormy Cheremosh, 70 km from the regional center of Chernivtsi.

The first mention of the town is found in the Moldovan chronicle of 1501. In 1514-1574 the town was under the rule of the Turks. Until 1774, Vyzhnytsia was subordinated to the Principality of Moldova, and later to Austria-Hungary. At the end of the eighteenth century, with the beginning of the development of the timber industry, Vyzhnytsia became an important point of trade in wood. After the Cheremosh riverbed was regulated (1790-1812), construction timber and firewood were floated to Chernivtsi, and from there, along a dirt road through the Boyany, to Bessarabia and Podillia.

Vyzhnytsia suffered terrible devastation during the First World War. The town changed hands several times, leaving most of the buildings in ruins and the number of inhabitants down to 500.

In 905, a regional school of carving, turning, and metal ornamentation was organized in Vyzhnytsia. It was attended by 20 children. Its founders and teachers were the famous Hutsul carvers Vasyl Shkribliak, Vasyl Devdiuk, Marko Megedeniuk, and Fedir Hnatiuk. The school's products soon became known far beyond the region.

During 1869-1872, the writer Yurii Fedkovych worked as an inspector of schools in the Vyzhnytsia district. Ukrainian artist, writer, and public figure Kornylo Ustianovych (1839-1903) lived and died in Vyzhnytsia for some time. The famous Polish artist Juliusz Kosak (1824-1899) was born here; the Polish artist Anna Czartoryska spent her childhood and adolescence here.

Ukrainian writers have visited the city: Ivan Franko, Lesya Ukrainka, Vasyl Stefanyk, artist Ivan Trush, and other cultural figures. The city's community always welcomed their favorite artists with hospitality and joy. On 23 July 1901, in honor of Lesia Ukrainka's arrival, a large concert was organized in the largest venue of the time.

Vyzhnytsia is the birthplace of the People's Artist of Ukraine Nazar Yaremchuk, the Smerichka vocal and instrumental ensemble and the Smerechyna folk dance ensemble were born here, and Vasyl Zinkevych and many other famous artists began their careers here.

Tourist attractions of Vyzhnytsia include the wooden St. Dmitry's Church (nineteenth century); St . Nicholas Church (late nineteenth - early twentieth century); St . Peter and Paul Church (nineteenth century); synagogue (eighteenth century, now the Palace of Culture); the old railway station (Austrian times), Vyzhnytsia Town Hall (early twentieth century); Anna Moskva-Golota's house-hotel (Lesya Ukrainka, Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Olha Kobylianska visited it in their time), Nazariy Yaremchuk's museum-estate, M. Marfiyovych's museum. Marfiyevych, the museum of the V. Shkriblyak College of Applied Arts (its collections contain more than 600 exhibits of diploma and best semester works: women's blouses, men's shirts, napkins, towels, carpets, tablecloths). You can learn about the history of the city and the region by visiting the Vyzhnytsia Folk Museum. Vyzhnytsia is rightfully considered a center of folk crafts (embroidery, carpet making, woodworking, Easter eggs, inlaid products).