Kolomyia is a small provincial Ukrainian city with a rich, interesting and ancient history. Tourists come here with a desire to see its wonderful architecture, incorporating different styles from Art Nouveau to Secession, to relax away from the hustle and dust of big cities, to get acquainted with folk art, thanks to which the main cultural center of Pokutia has been considered Kolomyia for centuries.
Since ancient times Ivano-Frankivsk region has been famous as a center of cultural heritage of the peoples inhabiting it — Hutsuls, Moldavians, Poles and others, but here it is especially brightly represented — in this small town with a population of only about 70 thousand people there are several museums, and the number of architectural treasures reaches several dozens.
Kolomyia is located in the southeastern part of Ivano-Frankovsk region in a beautiful valley on the left bank of the Prut River. This city has a very rich history going back to the depths of centuries. It is believed that the first to inhabit the current territory of the city were the Antes, who founded a settlement here in the IV-V centuries AD, but officially Kolomyia has existed since 1241, when it was first mentioned in the Galicia-Volhynia Chronicle.
The settlement played the role of one of the four guards of the south-western border of the Old Russian Galician state — it was guarded by fortresses built here, as well as in Oleshkov, Chernivtsi and Snyatin. But Kolomiya, standing on an important trade route — the Berlad road, was destined to become not only a warrior city, but also the most important cultural and trade center of Pokutia. Military events of those times made their own adjustments in the development of the city — it was repeatedly burned and plundered by the Turks and Tatar-Mongol hordes, but each time, like a Phoenix, it was reborn from the ashes. And now it stands on the bank of the Prut, quiet, calm and beautiful — it seems that it has finally waited for those calm times, of which it has always dreamed. Numerous tragic events, the transition from one state to another — all this is a thing of the past.
The difficult fate of Kolomyia is reflected in its architecture. The ancient fortress, from which the city began, was unfortunately lost in the middle of the 13th century during the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols, but many other interesting buildings have survived, together forming the Austro-Hungarian character of its development. Basically, the architectural sights of Kolomyia are the constructions of XIX-XX century, but there are among them and «old-timers», counting several centuries. First of all, it is Blagoveshhenska (Spasskaya) Church («Monastyrok»), erected in 1587 in the Hutsul style entirely of wood, in which according to legend once prayed Bogdan Khmelnitsky himself — one of the oldest wooden churches in the Carpathian region. Other ancient buildings in Kolomyia include the Greek Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary from the middle of the XVIII century, the Church of St. Josaphat from the end of the XVIII century. There are also many other architectural treasures in the city, but they belong to the XIX — early XX centuries — they are the building of the Gymnasium, the Cathedral of St. Michael, the Cathedral of St. Michael, People’s House and Ratusha and many other buildings forming the most beautiful architectural face of the city. Small cobblestone streets, one- and two-story houses in Art Nouveau, Secession, Baroque style, intricately trimmed trees — Kolomyja seems like a fairytale, representing one of those quiet provincial European towns where you just want to relax from the rest of the world.
Attract tourists and museums of Kolomyja — it is Museum of Folk Art of Hutsulschina and Pokutia, which has the largest exposition of folk art in the region, the Museum of History of the city. Especially famous is the Museum of Pisanka, which is impressive not only for its exhibits, but also for its appearance — it is the only museum in Europe built in the shape of the thing it is dedicated to (in the form of a pisanka). It has become a visiting card of the city and often becomes the first reason for tourists to come here, who later discover other attractions of this wonderful city and fall in love with it forever.