Three days in the Carpathians: mountains, air, vat, castle…

01 October 2014 Travel time: with 09 September 2014 on 13 September 2014
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For some reason, this year I am not able to build (or, more precisely, implement) far-reaching plans: first I want something, plan, meticulously study, and the time comes and… "Here bam! Backshift! ", As it was said in the famous film of the Soviet times, or simply - there is a radical replacement of the object!

Yes, in the spring, instead of Switzerland, I went to "Little Switzerland" Truskavets, which did not regret a drop (impressions of the trip, who is interested, you can read here). ), in the summer instead of Paris was in Holland, which left a pleasant but chaotic impression, but this September the sea "turned" into the Carpathians! ; ) Or rather, not quite so: instead of the sea we chose a trip to Europe, but since the holiday was longer and I wanted to spend it so that it was not "painful", we decided to visit the Carpathians for three days (and closer to Europe from the Carpathians) than from Kiev). ; )


Due to a certain "emergency" of the trip and the lack of time for detailed study of the issue, as well as the need to be in Chop at hour N, our choice, by accident, fell on the village of Polyana, near Svalyava. And only then did we remember that we had been there before and that was where I took my "first steps" (as well as other body movements, such as falling from a lift, traveling on a fillet from a slide down, etc. ) on downhill skiing. It was all the more interesting to look at this area in the warm season, and even after almost ten years.

Next I will try to convey my impressions in points. I'll start with the main -

We got the hotel "Katerina" - a nice three-story building with 6 or 7 rooms, of which 2 were occupied before our arrival.

But with the exterior miniature, everything you need to live in the hotel was - and breakfast in the room (I did not get bored nouveau riche, but that's where this service was perceived somehow very organic), and an indoor pool of very large size with sauna and trout pond , and a local wonder-entertainment called "Chan", and booking tours, and a restaurant, etc.

And our hotel was located near the entrance to the Glade next to another hotel "Continent", which was our resort mini-complex. : ) In addition to all of the above, 50 meters from the entrance to the hotel is a small ski lift up the mountain (in case of winter visits), however, in fairness, it should be noted that this winter, according to the owners, he worked only 6 days - snow was not.

And the bulk of hotels, hotels, guest houses, estates, etc. spread around the existing since Soviet times, the famous sanatorium "Sunny Transcarpathia".

According to locals, at the moment this whole "large resort complex", as I called it, has about 60 facilities.

So we had a very nice, quiet and patriarchal, that the truth had some influence (mostly narrowness of choice) on the question

In our hotel, the price of the room included only breakfast, although in other places, as we later inquired, the options were different - from "accommodation only" to "three-time complex". In addition, in order to attract customers, hotels are trying to add some zest: a romantic dinner, the possibility of cooking trout caught by you while fishing, and so on.

Prices for food in restaurants at hotels are not quite Kiev (in the direction of cheaper), but not as indirect as I remember them in ancient times.


; ) We, due to the location of the hotel, the choice "to eat" was from the restaurants of our two hotels, and in the same complex that emerged around the "Sunny Transcarpathia", there were more huts and cafes, due to than there, probably, it was possible to find something cheaper.

Although, to tell the truth, the biggest check for dinner with salads, snacks, hot dishes in the form of barbecue and grilled trout, wine and local "grappa" we had about 400 UAH. (It is clearly not up to Kyiv; )). In this regard, we did not look for the good and dined exclusively in our restaurant.

And in the "big complex" we liked the confectionery on the territory of "Sunny Transcarpathia", where there was a chic selection of cakes and pastries at very reasonable prices. We went there "for coffee", although, as my husband laughed at me - "Would you go to Kiev for 2 km of coffee to drink? ! ! ": ) To be honest - I would not go, but here I am on vacation and I need to do something!

And here I want to go to the point

Entertainment.

Here's what to do at sea - everyone understands, in a sightseeing tour - too, time is always short, and here (in the Carpathians) it seems that time is a car and at first you somehow do not know what to do. I will say that in three days we solved this problem brilliantly and then even regretted that we came here for such a short time.


Among the entertainment in the Carpathians in general, and in Polyana in particular, for the average tourist (not a fanatic of hiking or green tourism, who knows in advance what he will do in the mountains), I would call the following: hiking in the surrounding forests. physical capabilities), cycling (in my opinion, bicycles are offered for rent in almost every hotel), ATV trips (as we understand, are very popular and there are three routes to choose from, varying in time and complexity), fishing (and both in natural reservoirs and in special trout ponds), water treatments (represented by indoor swimming pools in hotels, and we even saw another open in a "large tourist complex" and a local specialist - a tub) and, of course, a variety of excursions both in Transcarpathia and with trips all the way to Lviv (although I personally think that spending time moving back and forth is irrational, it is better to study more thoroughly adjacent territories: ))

. And, yes, there is also mushroom hunting in the autumn season, if, of course, you know mushrooms! ; )

Of all the above, we have implemented the following:

- walked around the village and studied the features of the infrastructure, and found a cafe and confectionery, and a source of mineral water in the center of the village, and just looked at other housing options - because winter is just around the corner : ));

- climbed the surrounding mountain, which generally took the south and brought a lot of impressions - first, I was very proud of myself for overcoming such a difficult path, and secondly, inspired by the beautiful Carpathian air and explore the surrounding beauty from higher points than the balcony our number: ), thirdly, ate blackberries, the bushes of which grew along the entire path leading up, fourthly, just enjoyed the silence, peace and absence of people;

- tried the local entertainment "Chan", which looked like this in our hotel - near the trout pond we have small gazebos for, as I understand it, barbecues, solitary dinners for those who do not want to visit the hut, or just want to have fun outdoors. In addition, there was an even larger canopy, under which there were 2 vats: one with hot water (heated by a wood stove), to which are added various local herbs, and the second - with cold water.

And here you are for 5 minutes (or who can stand) immerse yourself in hot water, then climb the ladder (sorry, I will not pick up another verb, because I just climbed : ) in the next cold tub and dive three times (I overcame for the first time only one dive, then it was more fun), then rest for a while on the benches located right there at the table (actually, and dinner, or beer, or herbal tea - whoever likes more, you can order here). And so a few repetitions.


I liked! Especially because we ordered the vat in the evening, when it was getting dark, multi-colored light bulbs were lit above the vat, lanterns mysteriously flickered around the pond, sometimes trout splashed and nothing else disturbed the surrounding silence (well, except for our "ears" and "explosions" ) when immersed in a cold tub; )) - idyll : ).

Although in later times, when the rowing fog descended from the mountains and the humidity, in my opinion, was approaching 100%, in the same entourage you could safely shoot a "Via" or "Dracula";

- went on a tour, although initially planned at least two: Lake Synevyr and Mukachevo. We managed to implement only one, because Synevyr did not fall on the dates when we were in Polyana. So I will tell you a little more about the excursion to Mukachevo, which started from the Castle, so I'll start with it. Therefore,

Palanok Castle.

It is one of the most valuable historical, cultural and military-architectural monuments not only in Transcarpathia, but in the whole of Europe, and is also one of the five most remarkable castles of this type preserved in Europe. The Castle was located on a mountain of volcanic origin at a height of 68 m and covers an area of ​ ​ almost 14.0 thousand square meters. m.

The exact date of the Castle is unknown, but the "fortification on the mountain" is mentioned in written sources of the XI century - in 1086.

The Mukachevo fortifications were the only defensive structure that did not surrender to Khan Kutesk's Polovtsian army. Khan Batu, who twice in 1241 tried unsuccessfully to take Palanok, also failed. And in 1352 the garrison of the Castle defeated in battle the detachment of Khan Atlamosh, and the Khan himself was taken prisoner and later executed in Palanka. In general, the Khan's troops and strategists were unlucky in the fight for the Castle. : )

The next mention of the Castle can be found in the charter of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and Poland in 1376, when she gave "our town Munkats, located under Munkats Castle in the county of Bereg, " the right to long use the seal with the image of St. Martin.

It should be clarified at once that the name "Palanok" comes from the wooden fence of the same name, which once surrounded the moat with water around the Castle.


However, until the beginning of the twentieth century in written documents written in Latin, Hungarian, German, the castle is called simply as Mukachevo (Munkats, Munk? Csi v? R, etc. ). And only in 1920 did Czech officials begin to call the Castle first Var-Palanok and then simply Palanok.

During the XII-XIV centuries the fortifications belonged to the Hungarian royal dynasties Arpadowicz and Anjou, and in 1396 Sigismund I, who succeeded the Anjou dynasty and ruled Hungary for 50 years, presented the Castle to Fedor Koryatovich (Theodore Koryeda Koryata) and his grandson. I think that for a person, at least remotely familiar with the history of Ukraine, its cities and castles, Fedor Koryatovych does not need additional ideas. : )

Thus, Fedor Koryatovych, having received the fortress for his own use, developed a rapid construction there, improved and expanded the fortifications, ennobled the Castle and made it his residence.

At the same time, an 85-meter well was dug in the castle yard through the rock of the mountain to provide the Castle with autonomous water.

An ancient legend is connected with its construction: Koryatovych started the construction of the well, involved both locals in this hard work and captured Turks, they zealously dug the rock, but there was no water… And then the prince in his heart promised a bag of gold to those who still get water. And here, from nowhere, a dark-skinned man with a small sprout appeared before the prince and promised the prince water in the well, if he did not refuse his words about the bag of gold.

The prince confirmed his promise, then the man jumped into the well, there was a roar and a roar, and then it smelled gray. The prince understood that he had contacted the unclean. And he got out of the well, showed the prince the water that shone in the depths, and told to collect gold - in three days he will return.


Koryatovych was only sorry for the money, and he didn't have that much gold… Only the clown found a princely solution - there was no agreement on the size of the bag, so they sewed a small bag, put some gold in it and handed over the limit when he according to the promised calculation . came. The devil got angry, jumped into the well, roared and howled there for a long time, only the water in the well remained. And the howling of the unclean can be heard to this day, he roars at the bottom of the well, and does not go up - he is ashamed that such an experienced trait ordinary people have spent. ; )

To be honest, I didn't hear the howls from the well, but I saw the well itself, I even saw the water in the depths. ; ) And the most interesting thing is that Oleksiy Filippov, a Mukachevo researcher and corresponding member of the Ukrainian Academy of Heraldry, claims that there are no written mentions of Fedor Koryatovych's construction of the Castle in Mukachevo and the well in it.

5 m to 18 (!!! ) M. There is such a transition from the lower yard to the upper, rising which you begin to believe in the stated 18 meters. ; )

After the death of Fedor Koryatovych in 1414 and his wife Olga in 1418, the castle passed into the possession of the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary Janos Hunyadi (Hunyadi), who in 1445 gave Mukachevo the right to self-government "following the example of other free cities. "

However, representatives of Mukachevo Castle often violated and infringed on the rights of the city's residents, as they had repeatedly complained to Janos Hunyada's widow at the time. The result of such complaints was that the grandson of the Princess of Hungary, King Matthias Gunyadi (Matthias Hunyadi), nicknamed "Corvinus" (immediately mentioning the Church of St. Matthias in Buda and Buda Castle with its crows : )), harshly reminded the governors of the commitment.

Later Palanok changed owners, was subjected to sieges, destruction and further improvement, in 1595 became the property of the Principality of Transylvania, and in 1633.

redeemed by Prince George I Rakoczi, and then became the capital of the principality until 11 years. After Gyö rgy's death in 1648, the castle was ruled by his wife, Juž anna Lorantfi, and in 1649 the castle was visited by envoys of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky with a proposal for joint action against Poland.

Later, Palanok passed to the grandson of George I, Prince Ferenc I Rakoczi, who married the daughter of the Croatian ban Peter Zrini - Ilona, ​ ​ whose name is associated with the legendary three-year siege of the Castle by Austrian troops.


And a number of events led to it: Ilona's husband Ferenc Rakoczi took part in the uprising against Austrian rule, but failed, and in 1676 he died. Palanok became the property of his mother Sophia Bathory, and only after her death in 1680 did Ilona Zrini become the full-fledged mistress of Mukachevo Castle and was finally able to remarry in 1682 to the famous Hungarian politician and leader of the Kuruz rebels, Imre Tekeli.

Interestingly, at the time of the wedding, the wife was 39 years old, and the husband - only 25!

Shortly after the wedding, Imre Tekeli, with the help of a large army, occupied Upper Hungary and earned the title of "Lord and Voivode of the Hungarian units", and in Mukachevo Castle he built a luxurious courtyard, which cost almost 16 thousand gold annually, and the palace guard. Gold.

In 1683, when the Turks invaded Austria, Tekeli and his army rushed to the rescue, leaving his wife in the Castle. As we know, Sultan Mehmed IV failed to take Vienna and his troops were driven back, in the process of retaliation in 1686 Habsburg troops took the Buddha, and in August 1687 - Mogach. The result of such victories was the signing by the Hungarian Sejm in Pojon (now Bratislava) of peace with the emperor.

Meanwhile, from 1685 to 1688, the siege of Mukachevo Castle by Austrian troops lasted, in which Ilona remained with her children. Until 1688

Palanok was the only point of the Transylvanian principality, unconquered by the Austrians.

As the Castle could not be conquered in a fair fight, cunning and cunning came to the rescue: the Austrians wrote a letter on behalf of Tekeli to Ilona, ​ ​ in which he allegedly asked to surrender the Castle. Influenced by a false letter, Ilona Zrini signed the surrender of the Castle on January 15.1688.

There is another legend about the surrender of the Castle, where, as always, there is love and betrayal. According to contemporaries, Princess Ilona was a gifted, talented and dazzlingly beautiful woman, so it was impossible not to fall in love with her. There is a legend that once an Austrian officer, seeing Ilona on the wall of the Castle, stopped the attack and said: "I am not at war with the beauties. " During the siege of the Castle, Antonin Obsolon, the head of the chancellery, fell in love with the valiant princess, but did not wait for reciprocity.


Then he decided to raise the soldiers of the Castle to revolt, because they had not been paid for their service for the third year.

But Ilona collected all her jewels and sent the man devoted to her, Captain Andriy Radych, to Lviv so that he could sell them there and bring money. And if the valiant captain was still able to get out of Mukachevo, returning to the Castle seemed to be the most difficult task. But Radych came up with a very original way - moving to the Castle, he simply soldered the wine of the Austrian guards on the way, sticking to the bottle with them. The result of such an original plan was that the last meters to Palanka, the captain was carried in the arms of his subordinates, because he himself could not go. But the insidious Antonin Obsolon, seeing the failure of his attempt to discredit the princess in the eyes of the defenders of the fortress, resorted to the most tried and tested means - poisoned the water in the well and besieged Palanok was left without water.

This led to his surrender.

Whether this was the case or not, the Castle fell, and Ilona Zrini was arrested, deported to Austria, and beheaded as a nun. Later, the princess received permission to leave her homeland and moved to Turkey, where she met a man who had previously been exchanged for the captured Austrian General Siegbert Geister. The Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV, whom I have already mentioned, was so impressed by the courage of the defender of the Castle that he sent her a special letter - a thank you rescript-atman, which is the only case in Muslim history!

However, even now Ilona Zrini with her son Fernets II Rakoczi stands in the courtyard of the Castle and overlooks the city: the monument to the princess was erected in 2006 by the Society of Hungarian Culture of Transcarpathia.

It is located in the middle of a plain on a high mountain, a good fifteen minutes walk from the city. Grapes grow on the hillside ...I would not like to drink wine from these grapes. It would seem to me that I am drinking the tears of prisoners. " A memorial bust of Sandor Petofi is now installed in the Castle.


In October 1896, in honor of the millennium of the Hungarians crossing the Carpathians (I think everyone remembers the scale of this date in Hungary itself and how many monuments were dedicated to it in Budapest alone, starting with Pam ' of the Millennium in Heroes' Square). ending at Vaidahunyad Castle in Varoshliget Park, the Palanka prison was closed.

During the Czechoslovak period of 1922-1926, the castle was converted into a barracks, and during World War II, Hungarian troops were stationed here.

Since 1980, the Palanok Castle has housed the Mukachevo Historical Museum, which is still there today.

Following the visit to the Castle, I will say this: it is worth going, interesting, beautiful, though a little run, informative. And the ticket price is only about 10-15 UAH. For which you can visit all the exhibitions and premises of the Castle. Well, we're moving aside

The Ukrainian Wikipedia states that in the Ukrainian language there are discrepancies (or rather, different speeches) in the name of the city, so “… On the page of the Verkhovna Rada, as well as in dictionaries, the name of the city is given as Mukachevo. This name is considered normative. On the website of the Mukachevo City Council, the city is named Mukachevo, and this name is also used by local residents.

The name of the city of Mukachevo is also common in the Ukrainian language, it was normative before the reform of the Ukrainian orthography in 1933 by the Soviet authorities. »

I, with your permission, will follow the name Mukachevo. : ) It is believed that the name of the city comes from the Hungarian "munk?

Currently, Mukachevo is a city of regional importance and is among the 50 largest cities in Ukraine. The population of the city exceeds 85 thousand people. , and among the famous natives of Mukachevo artist Mihai Munkach (Michael von Lieb), politician Victor Baloga, leader of the group "Ocean Elsa" Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. : )

It seemed to me that most of the main attractions of the city are located in a small triangle formed by the street. Pushkin, Sq. Peace and Sq. Fedorova.

Our tour (I will call it for simplicity, although as a result the guide passed with us only on the street.


Pushkin, where, pointing in different directions, named the objects that we can find there, and let go in "free swimming" for about an hour, which was enough for us) began on the street. Pushkin opposite the building of the Mercury Trading House (built in the early XX century as the building of the Trade Exchange).

Pedestrian part of the street.

Pushkin begins with a monument to Alexander Dukhnovich - a famous Greek Catholic priest of the first half of the nineteenth century. , who is also known as a writer, educator, secular and ecclesiastical figure who devoted himself to the study of the history of his native land.

And behind it you can already see the spire of Mukachevo City Hall - an architectural monument of the early twentieth century. The construction of the Town Hall was carried out in 1903-1904 under the direction of the Hungarian architect Janusz Babula Jr. According to local historians, during the laying of the foundation of the building in the first stone builders walled up a letter containing information about the city's population (1.416 people.

) and the number of buildings in it (1553 houses).

The Town Hall tower is decorated with chimes by watchmaker Yosyp Shovinsky, which is one of the five most unique tower clocks in Europe.

The watch turned out to be made on conscience and works to this day, ringing every 15 minutes with the ringing of a small bell and every hour with the ringing of a large bell.

For some reason, I was most impressed by the unusual color of the Town Hall - greenish-turquoise, which is not typical for official buildings. ; )

The Drama Theater is located diagonally from the Town Hall. But the traditional lack of money postponed the start of construction for 12 years, when the necessary funds were raised. And three years later, in 1899, the theater, built in the Art Nouveau style on the site of the former shopping malls, opened its doors.

An interesting fact is that for almost half a century the city did not have its own theater troupe, here were visiting actors. The first official theatrical season in Mukachevo was opened by the play "Commander Suvorov", staged by a troupe transferred here from Ackermann in 1947.

Next to the theater on the square. A monument to Cyril and Methodius was erected in Peace.


It should be said that Sq. Peace is more of a pedestrian boulevard than a square in its traditional sense. That is why it is one of the sides of a kind of "tourist triangle", which I mentioned above. The square is also a traditional venue for annual events, including the Red Wine Festival, which is traditionally held in the city in January and this year was celebrated for the 19th (! ) Time. That's where you need to come in winter! ; )

But if we turn away from sweet dreams of wine and move along the square. Peace to the Cathedral of St.

Martin, whose spire is already visible from afar, on the way we will see the so-called "White House" or Rakoczi Palace. It was built in the second half of the XVII century. (more accurate date is called 1663) Transylvanian princes Rakoczi and until 1711 served as their city residence. Later in 1728

was given along with huge plots of land as a gift to Count Schö nborn-Bugheim, for which a major reconstruction of the building was carried out under the direction of the famous German architect Johann-Balthazar Neumann and the "White House" (the palace owes its name to its original original foreign ambassadors.

Currently, the building houses a children's art school. M. Munkachi, the monument to which is almost completed by the ensemble of Sq. Peace on the other side.

There is another interesting sculpture on the square - the Monument to the Happy Chimney Sweep, erected in 2010.

Locals call it "Bertalon-bachi", because the prototype for it was the famous Mukachevo chimney sweep Bertalon Tovt. I will tell at once - portrait similarity is available (magnets on which Bertalon Tovt stands near a monument are on sale nearby)!

: ) Well, tourists, and locals, "fortunately" have already polished to a shine a button on the clothes of a chimney sweep and the head of his faithful cat. ; )

We turn to St. Martin's Cathedral, which, as I said above, is considered the patron saint of the city and is depicted on its coat of arms. The Cathedral itself is relatively new - it was built in 1904 by the Budapest architect Ziegler on the site of an old Gothic church, which dates back to the XIII century. And here is the chapel of St. Joseph of the XIV century, located next to it. (in some sources it is for some reason called the Chapel of St. Martin) and are the remains of the original building - it served as part of the altar.


Ancient paintings of the XIV century have been preserved in the chapel. and tombstones, but during our tour the chapel was closed, so we could not see for ourselves.

But we are still waiting for the third side of the "tourist triangle", where we admired the beautiful building of the same 1904.

This concludes our three days in the Carpathians. We had a great rest, combined pleasant extravagance with cognitive activity, climbed mountains and breathed the charming Carpathian air, tried the famous "Polyana Kvasova" straight from the pump rooms (which impressed - tastes almost no different from bottled water), gained new impressions. And to go even a little sad.

Well, tomorrow we will have a car, a train, Chop, the border and… But this is a completely different story! ; )

Translated automatically from Ukrainian. View original
To add or remove photos in a story, go to album of this story
Греко-католический собор Успения Пресвятой Богородицы в Мукачево
Торговый дом
Кафедральный Собор Почаевской иконы Божьей матери в Мукачево
Часовня Св. Мартина, XIV в.
Собор Св. Мартина в Мукачево
Памятник счастливому трубочисту или Берталон-бачи на пл.Мира
Памятник Кириллу и Мефодию на пл. Мира
Драматический театр в Мукачево
Мукачевская Ратуша нестандартного цвета :))
А это знаменитые часы на башне Мукачевской Ратуши
Вдоль ул. Пушкина в Мукачево
Памятник Александру Духновичу - с него началась наша прогулка по Мукачево
Замок Паланок
Бастионы впечатляют!
Церковь на территории Замка, восстановленная при участии В.Балоги. Только знаки на ней все больше в виде массонских пирамид да розы розенкрейцеров (вверху под крышей). Интересно, что Виктор Иванович хотел этим сказать?! ;)
Во втором дворе Замка
Одна из экспозиций на территории Замка
А такие вот в Замке забавные лесенки
Илона Зрини со своим сыном Ференцем II Ракоци
Взгляд на средний двор со стен Верхнего замка
А этот тот проход, глядя на который начинаешь верить в 18-метровую толщину стен.
Федор Корятович
В верхнем дворе Замка, а под березой тот самый 85-метровый колодец, в котором нечистый завывает!
Замковый бастионы.
Птицы Турул на смотровой площадке у Верхнего замка (не возникает ассоциаций с Будапештом? ;))
Вид на Мукачево со смотровой площадки Замка Паланок
Нижний двор Замка
В с.Поляна
Наш отель
Село Поляна при солнечной погоде :))
Антураж для съемок
Наш форельный прудик с альтанками
А это Латорица
В горы!!! И ежевика на обочине. :)
В Карпатах осень
Вид на с. Поляну с небольшой возвышенности, на которую мы уже взобрались
Вечереет, спускается туман
Село Поляна и
Село Поляна
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