July, 2026 

Exchange of experience tour in Ukraine in the framework of the project “Improve the visibility of the joint cultural heritage through Carpathian Cultural Route”

On July 1-3, 2026 an Exchange of experience tour of representatives of the Romanian part of the network of transnational tourist route “Carpathian Cultural Route” to Ivano-Frankivsk Region (Ukraine) took place within the framework of the project “Improve the visibility of the joint cultural heritage through Carpathian Cultural Route”, which is implemented by the Development Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Maramures (Romania)  in partnership with the NGO “Association of Economic Development of Ivano-Frankivsk (AEDIF)” (Ukraine) and Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas (Ukraine) in the framework of the Interreg VI-A NEXT Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine Programme 2021-2027 (https://next.huskroua-cbc.eu). The project is co-funded by the European Union.

It should be noted that the National Tourism Administration of Romania has recognized the Carpathian Cultural Route, which includes the Ukrainian and Romanian parts, as a transnational tourist and cultural route. It ranks 6th on the list of transnational tourist and cultural routes recognized by Romania.

The participants of the Exchange of experience tour visited:

The Geological Museum of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas, which, in terms of the richness, diversity, and representativeness of its collections of minerals, rocks, mineral resources, and fossil remains of fauna and flora, is one of the best in Europe. Over more than 140 years of the museum’s existence, numerous specimens from all over the planet have been collected, many of which are unique and arouse great interest among specialists.

The Church of Saint Panteleimon – the only surviving sacred building of medieval Halych. Most researchers date its construction to the end of the 12th century. Numerous graffiti dating from the 12th to the 19th centuries have been discovered on the walls of the Church of Saint Panteleimon, written in Church Slavonic, Latin, Armenian, and Polish, as well as various images, including several types of crosses, among them the Jerusalem Cross and the Flourishing Cross.

The Halych Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built around 1157. In the second half of the 16th century, the Church of the Assumption was built from the stone blocks of the chronicle-recorded Assumption Cathedral. The present-day Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Krylos was built in the first third of the 16th century using construction materials from the earlier Assumption Cathedral. The church was founded by the boyar Marko Shumlianskyi (1450-1535), whose tombstone is preserved in the church vestibule.

The Museum of the History of the City of Kolomyia, founded by the Kolomyia City Council in 1990 for the study, presentation, and promotion of the city’s history. A distinctive feature of the museum building is its unique stained-glass windows, the oldest in Kolomyia, which have miraculously survived to the present day. The tour participants also took part in a costumed guided tour of Kolomyia’s historic city center.

The Yosyp Kobrynskyi National Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia Folk Art, which over its century-long history has become an important cultural institution for the study, preservation, and promotion of the folk culture and artistic heritage of the Carpathian region. The museum’s collections comprise approximately 50,000 items dating from the 17th to the 21st centuries.

The world’s only Museum of Pysanka Painting, which is a branch of the Yosyp Kobrynskyi National Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia Folk Art. In total, the museum collection contains more than 12,000 works. A significant part of the collection consists of pysankas from Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia, where the ancient tradition of pysanka-making remained uninterrupted and formed the basis of the museum’s collection.

Reference:

Project “Improve the visibility of the joint cultural heritage through Carpathian Cultural Route” isimplemented in the framework of the Interreg VI-A NEXT Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine Programme (https://next.huskroua-cbc.eu). Overall objective of the Project is to improve the visibility of the existing  Carpathian Cultural Route as an instrument aimed to support the valorisation of the cultural and historical heritage in the Carpathian Euroregion. Specific objectives are: to enlarge the integrated cultural heritage product “Carpathian Cultural Route” that connect places of historical and cultural heritage with other attractions and services; to improve the skills and knowledge of cultural tourism representatives through the training and sharing experience program; to improve the visibility of the integrated cultural heritage product “Carpathian Cultural Route” at the regional and international level through the development of digital promotional materials, joint online information sources and mobile application.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the public organization “Association of Economic Development of Ivano-Frankivsk (AEDIF)” and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

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