If you travel Ukraine in Summer, around 6-7th of July, don’t miss the spectacular celebration of Ivana Kupala Night! Actually, this is the ancient pagan tradition, which was renovated into one of the native Christian celebrations. It’s loved by locals and deeply impresses foreigners with its fascinating rituals, intertwined with national folklore, and enriched with modern special effects.

The celebration goes at night, in the riverside, and it looks more colorful in a countryside. Crowds of people gather to stare, participate in rituals or just to feel the excited festivity spirit. You can join the overnight folk dancing or jumping over the flames of bonfires, testing your bravery and faith.

Girls sing “kupalni” songs, referencing to love and marriage. Then they float flower garlands with burning candles, attempting to foresight their relationship fortune. Boys make the Kupalytsia doll, dressing it up and decorating like a girl, and girls – the Kupala doll and dress it up like a man. At the end of celebration, “male” dolls have to be burned in a fire, and “female” ones – to be drowned in a river.

There is an ancient belief, that only on the Ivana Kupala eve, the fern blooms. All the human goods would befall on whoever finds it. The desire for good faith forces it’s lookers to the dark night forests! And you may also try

Velykden’ (Easter) is the most cheerful religious holiday for orthodox believers in Ukraine. While travelling the country during this time, you’ll have an exceptional opportunity to immerse yourself in a unique atmosphere of this holiday!

Similar to Christmas, it embraces purely Christian motifs and the traditions, associated with the ancient tiller’s calendar. Now it’s a celebration of Christ resurrection and spring nature awakening.

The holiday begins with the Easter Eve high liturgy. People come to the church with baskets full of Easter food: paska, special round-shaped Easter cakes, traditionally baked at home; Ukrainian imperative attributes of the holiday – pysanky and krashanky (decorated or colored Easter eggs) and other eatable feast attributes. After the liturgy, the joyful people and decorated colorful baskets with lots of lightening candles form a wonderful circle around the church – for the priest’s consecration. After that, people hurry home with their baskets of blessed food and have a family holly breakfast, playing the favorite Easter game: knocking the eggs. If you knock somebody’s egg and your egg is not broken – than you are the winner!

Be ready to hear the Easter greetings “Khrystos voskres!” (Christ has arisen!) everywhere on these days! You’ll also be deeply inspired by the especially pure and elevated atmosphere of the holiday!

Pysanka (pisanka) – traditionally painted Easter egg. Every Ukrainian region has its own authentic Pysanka style.

Krashanka – simplified Pysanka.

Paska – traditional Easter cake.

“Khrystos voskres!” (Christ has arisen!)

Originally, Ukrainians confessed Eastern version of Christianity, after it was brought from Byzantium by Greek monk missionaries. Thus, the nation has always belonged to Orthodox church under the authority of the Greek patriarch of Constantinople.

However, 4 centuries under the rule of predominantly Roman Catholic Polish Kingdom on the Ukrainian west  couldn’t go unnoticed. The principal role for Ukrainians was played by the Union of Brest-Litovsk in 1595, which broke the Greek patriarchate of Constantinople and set Union with Roman Church and Vatican on the condition of further following the old Orthodox rites and liturgy style. After this event, many believers were re-united with the See of Rome, while others remained Orthodox.

In the 19th century, there was a tendency of Ukrainian Catholic Christians emigration to North America, bringing their traditions, pastors and liturgy to the United States and Canada.

Under Communist rule, similar to other religious people, the Catholic Christians of Ukraine were persecuted, with many being imprisoned and murdered. In 1945 almost all of the Ukrainian Catholic bishops were arrested, accused in collaboration with Nazis and killed.

Today the Ukrainian Catholic Church is the largest Eastern one, with about 5 million followers: the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with about 3 800 communities, Roman Catholics (about 1 100 communities), Ruthenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church. Ukraine is also the only country in Europe, where the Catholics of Eastern traditions dominate over the Roman Catholics.

Generally, Catholicism is mostly spread in the Ukrainian west, although Catholic observance network embraces all the country’s territory. While travelling, you can find the Catholic shrines almost in every town. The main Cathedrals you’ll find in Kamyanets-Podilsky, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Lutsk, Mukacheve, Odesa and Lviv.

Lviv, due to its numerous Catholic formations and institutions, is probably the most Catholic city of Ukraine. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv – a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in western Ukraine. The Ukrainian Catholic University – the first one on the former Soviet Union territory and also the first university opened by one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The pompous Lychakiv Necropolis and, of course, the magnificent Lviv Cathedrals!

Try to discover Catholic Ukraine – you’ll acquire a lot!

Catholic Church in Chortkiv, Ternopil Region (built in 1600)

Catholic Church in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Region

Inside Catholic Church in Lviv

Catholic Church in Lviv

Kyiv Catholic Church

Abandoned Jesuit Church in Chernivtsi

Inside Catholic Church in Kamyanets-Podilsky

… and this is Catholic Church in Sevastopil. During the Soviet Period it was turned into cinema. Now it belongs to local Catholic Community.

Dendrological Park Oleksandriya is the largest and the oldest landmark of park and gardening art in Ukraine. It was named in the honor of  Oleksandra Branytska, the favorite lady-in-waiting of Empress Catherine the Great. It was Oleksandra, whose idea to gentrify the suburban residence led to the creation of the most beautiful park masterpiece not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe!

Age-old oak forests, shadowy meadows and picturesque river Ros inspired the emperors, aristocrats, famous culture and art figures. You’ll walk on the “Big Glade”, which presents the unique museum of trees, brought from all around the world:  tulip, iron, vinegar, coffee and even velvet trees!

Romantic landscape corners, mirror ponds, streams,  fountains, lots of graceful bronze and marble sculptures. Walk on the China Bridge with the sculptures of a beautiful Chinese woman and Chinese Gage, visit the Turkish House, meet the graceful Goddess Diana, Mercury and dreadful Lion, guarding a spring with healing water. Find the  “Echo” colonnade (whisper a word here - you’ll hear it at another end, 34 meters far!), listen to the mighty waterfall noise – it’ll lead you to the “Ruins of Castle”.

“Oleksandriya” is located in Bila Tserkva town, 80km from Kiev. The transportation is easy: a number of buses and mini-buses from the capital.

The Chinese Gage

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In the North-Western corner of Ukraine, near the borders with Poland and Belarus, there’s Shatsky National Natural Park – one of the most unique nature points of Europe. Over 30 hectares of impenetrable forests, rare flora and fauna, amazing landscapes and one of the largest lake cascade in Europe – around 23 lakes of prehistoric glacial origin. The most famous lake is Svityaz – Ukrainian deepest (58,5m) and cleanest (water clarity – 5-8m) lake. Lakes of Shatsk are of international importance and are protected under the Ramsar Convention requirements.

Shatsky National Natural Park is perfect for rest of any kind. Here you can walk down the forest trails for hours, explore wild nature, pick up mushrooms or berries. You can also try your fishing luck and try to catch eel which is local delicacy. Well, and don’t be sad if you don’t catch it, you can always buy tasty smoked eels at a local market. Or try a special local eel soup at a restaurant.

Lakes of Shatsk are a great place for lazy people who like barbecue picnics as well as for active ones who can rent a bicycle, a boat or a car and explore interesting places: a small local desert, radiotelescope “URAN – 3” or even take a tour to Belarus.

“Extreme” lovers will be impressed by the variety of activities, regardless of a season. Summer is perfect for kayak tours, which allows you to observe the lake surroundings and meet its inhabitants. Freediving will open you the beauty of Shatsk’s underwater world with its fish flocks and algae jungle. You can also get an extreme rally expedition into the Shatsk’s wildlife, driving the Soviet jeep Gas – 69 through the forests and ditches!

Winter offers unforgettable impressions of iceboating – you can reach remote inaccessible places through ice and wind. The biggest Lakes of Shatsk are cool for skating or skiing manoeuvres, while covered with ice and snow. Healing sauna and ice bath, especially with herbs decoction, will give you true appeasement!

Nowadays the infrastructure of Lakes of Shatsk is well-developed. Here you can easily find where to stay, to eat and to entertain. It won’t be a problem for you to get here even if you travel without your own car – there’s a regular bus connection from the nearest big cities. From Lviv, for example, there’s an express bus transportation, which takes only 3h.30m (ordinary – 6h).

The famous smoked eel

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