This observatory is one of the most famous sights of Verkhovina. Everyone who knows about the existence of Mount Pop Ivan has heard about the «White Elephant», as it is often called by locals and visitors. This colorful, interesting and romantic structure, which rises on the top of the largest mountain in Verkhovyna, invariably attracts all the guests of the village who want to take a bird’s eye view of the beauty of the area.
Observatory was built in 1936-1938 by the University of Warsaw and the Polish Ministry of Air Defense and opened its doors on July 29, 1938. Thanks to the thorough approach and the substantial amount of money invested in the construction, the building turned out to be truly grandiose. The walls of the buildings were built of dark gray sandstone, which was delivered to the mountain on horses or by the builders themselves, who brought it on their backs or in their hands, so in the end the complex of buildings built in the Constructivist style became more like a knight’s castle, especially from afar, than an ordinary building with the strictness and geometric lines characteristic of Constructivism. The project of Polish architects K. Marczewski and J. Pogoski was successfully realized. The project of Polish architects K. Marczewski and J. Pogoski was successfully realized, and a new interesting attraction appeared in the neighborhood of Verkhovyna.
In plan the whole complex resembles the Latin letter «L», on the south side next to the main building, which had 2 floors on the east and 5 on the west, was erected rotunda — a round tower, which was crowned by a copper dome with a diameter of about 10 meters. In this dome, which opened automatically, was installed astrograph (telescope), which was the main astronomical instrument of the observatory — with the help of it observations of cosmic bodies were conducted.
Not only its appearance resembled the walls of the structure on the castle: on the basement floor their thickness reached 1.5m, on the upper floors — 1m, and the walls of the rotunda in the thickness of up to 2 meters — all like the real castles and fortresses that had defensive value, but here the thickness of the walls is explained by the protection not from the enemy, but from the ever «walking» on the mountain strongest wind. For the same purpose — protection from wind and cold — between the masonry and plaster was laid a layer of cork wood from Africa.
Together there were 43 rooms and 57 windows in the laboratory complex. On the first floor were located living rooms, conference hall and apartment of the chief. The second floor served as a hotel, dining room, also there were offices and a room for communication. Meteorological devices were installed on the upper floor, and the basement was occupied by economic premises — boiler room, battery room. The building was equipped with its own heating, power station and water supply — for this purpose two electric pumps were added on the western side.
Until 1939, when the observatory became the property of the Soviet Ukraine, rich material was collected here, which became the basis for valuable scientific works. This landmark of the Carpathians did not manage to function for long — the end of successful work in the observatory was put by the Second World War, after which the building fell into disrepair. For many years it has been planned to restore the White Elephant — so the observatory was nicknamed for the fact that in winter it bizarrely grows ice and snow — but so far the talks have led to nothing, and all those who spend their holidays in Verkhovina, can only admire the picturesque ruins of the abandoned building.