Putivl is a small town with a population of about 12,000 people, located in Sumy Oblast, approximately 80 km northwest of the city of Sumy.

The unique photographs presented below were taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky, a pioneer of color photography in the Russian Empire, near the town of Putivl in 1904-1905. At that time, its population was about 10 thousand people and it was part of the Kursk Governorate of the Russian Empire. On October 16, 1925, Putyvl and its surrounding villages were transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. Source: The Legacy of S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky.

The town of Putyvl of the Russian Empire.

Ukraine in the early 20th century

Tags: Sumy oblast

Korostyshivsky quarry is a picturesque flooded granite quarry located on the outskirts of the town of Korostyshiv in Zhytomyr Oblast, about 30 km east of Zhytomyr and 100 km west of Kyiv.

The landscape around the quarry is unusual, the shore is covered with spruces and birches, which resembles Karelia (Russia). The height of the rocks reaches about 10 m, the depth of the artificial lake is up to 20 m. This place has become a popular object of industrial tourism and a natural landmark. Korostyshiv Quarry on Google Maps. Photos by: Igor Golovach.

walk along the shore of an artificial lake

Tags: abandoned · Zhitomir oblast

The Schenborn (Schönborn) Palace, also known as the Beregvar Hunting Lodge, is the former residence and hunting lodge of the prominent Austro-Hungarian aristocratic dynasty of Schönborn, which included several high-ranking members of the Roman Catholic clergy. Representatives of this family were the largest landowners in Transcarpathia.

This architectural monument of national importance, which currently houses the sanatorium “Karpaty” (“Carpathians”), is located in the village of Karpaty, about 17 km north-east of Mukachevo in Zakarpattia Oblast. The Schenborn Palace on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

very picturesque palace

Tags: Mukachevo city · Uzhgorod city · Zakarpattia oblast

Stare Selo is a village with a population of about 2,100 people located in Lviv Oblast, about 27 km southeast of the center of Lviv. Stare Selo was first mentioned in 1442. In 1498, it was destroyed by the Ottomans, in 1648 – by the Crimean Tatars.

The main attraction of this place is its gradually crumbling castle – an architectural monument of national importance, the largest castle in Lviv Oblast and one of the largest castles in Ukraine. The Stare Selo Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque abandoned castle

Tags: fortress · Lviv oblast

Potelych is a village with a population of about 800 people located in the Zholkovsky district of Lviv Oblast.

The main attraction of the village is the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit – an Orthodox wooden church built in 1502. It is the oldest surviving wooden church in the Lviv region. Potelych on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

one of the oldest wooden churches in Ukraine

Tags: church · Lviv oblast

Piddubtsi is a village with a population of about 1,000 people located in the Lutsk district of Volyn Oblast, about 16 km east of Lutsk.

The main architectural attraction of this village is the nine-headed Orthodox Church of the Intercession, originally – the Uniate Church, built in 1745. Piddubtsi on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful multi-headed church

Tags: Lutsk city · Volyn oblast

The following watercolors were included in the fourth album of the artist Zbigniew Szczepanek “Zamki na Kresach”. It shows the 59 most famous fortresses in Kresach (the Polish name of the territory of today’s Western Ukraine).

About 40% of the castles show the author’s reconstruction, the remaining 60% – their current state. The images of some fortifications have been reconstructed for the first time and can therefore be considered unique in a way.

Berezhany Castle in Berezhany, Ternopil Oblast.

picturesque Ukrainian castles

Tags: fortress · Ivano-Frankivsk oblast · Khmelnitsky oblast · Rivne oblast · Ternopil oblast

This architectural monument is unique for Ukraine. The Holy Protection Fortress Church is located in the village of Sutkivtsi in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, about 47 km south of Khmelnytskyi.

It was built as a defensive church at the expense of the nobleman and owner of these lands, Fyodor Sutkovetsky, in 1476. It combines features of the Gothic and Baroque styles. The thickness of its walls is about 1.5 meters.

amazing fortified church

Tags: church · Khmelnitsky oblast

Kozelets is a village with a population of about 7.5 thousand people, located in the southwest of Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. It is known since the beginning of the 17th century as a fortified town, which was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under the name Kozelec.

Here you can see several interesting architectural monuments, but the most interesting and picturesque one is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1752-1763), an architectural monument of national significance, which combines features of Ukrainian and Elizabethan Baroque. Next to the church, there is a magnificent four-tiered bell tower, built in 1766-1770. Kozelets on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

magnificent cathedral

Tags: Chernigov oblast · Chernihiv city · church

Zhytni Hory is a village with a population of about 2,300 people located in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine, about 105 km south of Kyiv.

The main architectural attraction of the village is the Church of the Righteous Joseph the Betrothed (1766) – a monument of architecture of national importance. Zhytni Hory on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

very elegant church

Tags: church · Kiev oblast