Apr/26

Sakura Blossom in Uzhhorod

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Cities, Photos, Travel

If you visit Uzhhorod, the capital of Zakarpattia Oblast, between mid-April and early May, you will see streets adorned with blooming cherry trees.

The cherry blossoms in Uzhhorod are a truly stunning and astonishing spectacle, transforming the city into a veritable Japanese garden. Photos by: Taras Kashchak.

Cherry blossoms in Uzhhorod usually bloom in the second or third week of April (depending on the weather) and remain in full bloom for about two weeks. They are most abundant in the old part of the city – in Laborets Public Garden, Drugetov, Dovzhenko, and Rakoczi Streets.

Several cherry blossoms grow on Svobody Avenue, in Masaryk Square near the transport bridge, and there are also numerous trees on the side streets of the city center. Today, Uzhhorod even boasts an entire sakura alley, a kilometer and a half long, located on the Pravoslavna and Kyivska embankments. It is the longest in Europe, with thousands of trees growing along it.

There are several theories about when the first sakura appeared in Uzhhorod. According to one, it happened as early as the 17th century, and Count Drugeth himself brought the tree from the beautiful city of Vienna.

Another theory holds that sakura trees appeared here in 1923, when Transcarpathia belonged to Czechoslovakia and Uzhhorod was actively developing the Galagov neighborhood, including planting linden trees along the famous linden alley, which is also considered the longest in Europe. Historians say the architects used this method to stabilize the local, very marshy soil.

There’s another legend, according to which local residents stole the cherry trees from the Japanese while they were traveling to visit the Austrian monarch, Franz Joseph I. The Japanese themselves wanted to give the trees to the emperor as a gift, and when they stopped overnight in Mukachevo.

They couldn’t have imagined that the next morning, the cunning Transcarpathians would replace their Japanese cherry trees with ordinary fruit tree saplings. The stolen cherry trees were sold and donated to Uzhhorod. However, this legend, though quite captivating, is simply a clever local invention.

Cherry blossoms, which in Japan symbolize the fragility and shortness of life, transform Uzhhorod into more than just a paradise of delicate pink blossoms and intoxicating divine aromas. It seems as if art awakens in the city at this time: artists can often be found painting the surrounding beauty along the ancient streets.

During the cherry blossom season, Uzhhorod hosts a truly creative international festival, “Sakura Fest,” which is enhanced with new highlights each year.

During the festival, Uzhhorod hosts new cherry blossoms, launches sky lanterns, a fair and festival of Transcarpathian wine, “Sunny Drink,” flash mobs, and various art, music, educational, children’s, sports, and literary events, as well as themed quests and master classes. Cherry blossoms in Uzhhorod transform this city into a true fairy tale!