Sloboda Ukraine (Slobozhanshchyna) is a historical region located in the northeast of present Ukraine and the southwest of the Central Chernozem economic region of Russia. In the 16th-18th centuries, it was a border region, which was actively settled with the support of the Russian government to protect the state from the raids of the Crimean Tatars.

The settlers took over the guard service and military protection of the frontier, their settlements called “sloboda” enjoyed more freedoms. Today, the term “Slobozhanshchyna” is actively used as an informal collective name of the Kharkiv, Sumy regions of Ukraine and the Belgorod region of Russia.

Tags: Kharkov oblast · Sumy oblast

Derenivka is a village with a population of about 500 people located in the center of the Ternopil region, about 44 km south of Ternopil. One of the few architectural attractions of Derenivka is the wooden church of the Resurrection of Christ located in the central part of the village.

The church was built in 1672. In 1715, it was reconstructed and got its current look. The high bell tower with four bells stands near the church. Derenivka on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque small wooden church

Tags: church · Ternopil oblast

Rohatyn is a small town with a population of about 8,000 people located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, about 60 km north of Ivano-Frankivsk. This town is considered one of the historic places of Ukraine.

There are several interesting monuments of architecture in Rohatyn. One of them is the wooden Church of the Holy Spirit – a monument of folk architecture and monumental art of national importance included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Rohatyn on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful wooden church

Tags: church · Ivano-Frankivsk oblast · museum

Synyak (1,665 m) is a mountain with steep slopes in Gorgany, a system of mountain ranges in the outer strip of the Ukrainian Carpathians. This mountain is located within the Carpathian National Natural Park, in the Nadvirna district of the Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Mount Synyak is a popular destination for hiking trails on weekends. From its top you can see the adjacent ridges. It also offers a magnificent panorama of the ski resort of Bukovel, as well as a view of the highest range of the Ukrainian Carpathians – Chornohora, with the mountains of Hoverla (2,061 m) and Petros (2,020 m). Mount Synyak on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Ryzhkov.

hike in the Ukrainian Carpathians

Tags: Ivano-Frankivsk oblast

Founded in 1260, Chetfalva is a village of about 700 people located in the Berehove district of the Zakarpattia region, less than 1 km from the border with Hungary, about 90 km south-east of Uzhhorod.

Chetfalva is a rather unusual place, street names are in two languages: Ukrainian and Hungarian. It looks like a typical Hungarian village. Local architecture is also very distinctive. In the foreground, you see a futuristic building with a strange parabolic arch-belfry – the ensemble of the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit built in 1998-2001. Chetfalva on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque old church

Tags: church · Zakarpattia oblast

Korets is a small town with a population of about 7,200 people located in the southeast of the Rivne region, about 68 km east of Rivne. It is included in the list of historical towns of Ukraine.

There are about a dozen architectural monuments in Korets. One of them is the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony – the oldest church in the town built in Baroque style in 1706. Korets on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful Catholic church

Tags: church · Rivne oblast

Lazarivka is a village with a population of about 500 people located in the Monastyryska district of the Ternopil region, about 100 km southwest of Ternopil.

The main architectural sight of the village is the Church of St. Nicholas (1812) – a small wooden church resembling a ship. Lazarivka on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque wooden church

Tags: church · Ternopil oblast

Muzhyliv is a village with a population of about 1,200 people located in the the Pidhaitsi district of the Ternopil region, about 63 km southwest of Ternopil.

One of the attractions of the village is an old wooden church, the Church of St. Basil the Great, built according to different source in 1590, 1703 or 1776. It was restored in 1992. Muzhyliv on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

church in the colors of the Ukrainian flag

Tags: church · Ternopil oblast

Pluhiv is a village with a population of about 800 people located in the Zolochiv district of the Lviv region, about 78 km east of Lviv.

The main attraction of the village is the Church of St. Paraskeva, a picturesque old wooden church built in 1715. This architectural monument belongs to the characteristic works of the Galician school of folk architecture. Pluhiv on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

beautiful wooden church

Tags: church · Lviv oblast

Today, Kokhavyno is not a separate territorial unit. This place is located almost in the center of Hnizdychiv – an urban village in the Zhydachiv district of the Lviv region, about 70 km south of Lviv. It is a famous pilgrimage place.

The main attraction of this place is the Monastery of St. Gerard founded by the monks of the Carmelite Order in 1755. The monastery was founded near the wooden church built for the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kokhavyno in 1748. Monastery of St. Gerard on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

amazing monastery

Tags: church · Lviv oblast