Uzhgorod is one of those unique ancient cities of Ukraine, which managed to preserve its atmosphere, beauty and many interesting sights till nowadays. If you happen to be a guest of the city for a day, it is worth walking along its beautiful streets and seeing the sights.
The first remarkable place in which guests of Uzhgorod, who arrived by train, find themselves is the railway station. The beautiful architectural complex makes the most favorable impression: its old part was built in 1903-1905 (today it is a suburban station), and the new part with a tall clock tower was built in 2004 — it was made «under the old». The old part of the station and the new part are harmoniously combined, complementing each other and presenting a beautiful sight.
From the station we will head to the Old Town, located on the right bank of the Uzh River — the main attractions of Uzhgorod, including the main treasure — Uzhgorod Castle. You can get to the other side of the river from the railway station by public transportation. We will start our walk «from afar», moving from and beginning of the Independence Embankment from the side of the People’s Friendship Square to the east.
Once on the right bank, we will immediately leave the transportation and get off at the embankment — one of the wonders of Europe. Here is the longest linden alley — more than 2 km! The linden trees bloom throughout the summer, as different varieties of linden trees are collected here. And if you are here in April, you will also see cherry blossoms — these wonderful trees, as well as linden trees, are planted on both banks of the Uzh River on the Independence and Studencheskaya embankments.
Walking along the embankment to Krylov Street, we will turn on it and walk to F.Rakoci Street past the beautiful Fountain Park, which will be on the right hand — and again we are surrounded by greenery, Uzhgorod is a very green city! If time permits, after reaching the intersection of Krylov and F. Rakoci, you can turn left and enter the Laudon Arboretum. It was established in 1886. — Here a local teacher Laudon collected a lot of exotic plants brought from different parts of the world. Today you can see a 100-year-old 20-meter-high swamp cypress and a magnolia of the same venerable age.
Turning to F. Rakoci Street, we see another ancient treasure of the city — the old building of the Owl’s Nest Brewery, also called «Rakoci Cellars», built in the XVII century. Now in the house No. 2 on F. Rakotsi Street there are organized excursions to the wine cellars and the annual wine festival «Zakarpattya Beaujolais». To the right of the Rakoci cellars is another attraction — Uzhgorod Art Museum, housed in the House of Zhupanat (Town Hall). This massive building was built for the local administration and now houses an exhibition of works by artists from all over the world.
And we move on — already along Dovzhenko Street. Dovzhenko Street, which smoothly flows into F. Rakotsi Street, then we will turn left on Fedintsa Street and reach the Mustard Lane crossing it — everyone who was lucky enough to spend a vacation in Uzhgorod should see it, it is a truly unique place! Here not individual houses, but the whole alley, which is also called «Mustard Seed», are carried back in time. The length of the alley is only 70m, but it is completely reconstructed under the old times — such alleys used to connect the city center with the embankment of the old Uzh. Passing the alley, we come to the crossroads of Koryatovicha and Luchkaia streets, turning to Luchkaia we pass along it a little and come to the magnificent old temple — Kresto-Vozdvizhenija-kresta-gospodnja cathedral XVII c. in Baroque style, it is better to look into the temple — here you can see old paintings of XVIII c. Moving from the church further along Kapitulnaya str. We come to the main building of the city — Uzhgorod Castle of the XIV century. Here you can visit not only the castle itself, but also Museum of Folk Architecture and Life, the exposition of which are old wooden houses with all the furnishings. The building of the castle itself houses the Transcarpathian Museum of Local Lore, and in its cellars there is an exposition of the «Torture Room».
After visiting Uzhgorod Castle, we will finish our walk not less interesting than it started. Along Kapitulna St. we’ll go back to the cathedral and walk past it along Dukhnovicha St. to its intersection with Korzo St., which is a favorite street in Uzhgorod. Korzo is a favorite resting place of citizens and tourists, a pedestrian street with many cafes where you can relax. Then we walk down the street and on the left we see another ancient religious building — Church of St. George, built in the early XVII century. Next to the church or below, if you still want to walk along Korzo, we turn left and come out on Teatralny Lane, ending with a beautiful Teatralnaya Square. Here you can appreciate the beauty of another Uzhgorod landmark — the former synagogue built in 1904, and now Zakarpatska Oblast Philharmonic. And on the other side of the square is another interesting building, which housed the first theater in Transcarpathia (now it houses the Transcarpathian Puppet Theater). From the square, located on the bank of the Uzh River, we will go back to the left bank of the city, admiring the surrounding beauty by the ancient stone pedestrian bridge. Here we are greeted by the Mini Statue of Liberty — the smallest operating lighthouse in Ukraine, only 17cm high. It was installed in 2011 and has become one of the symbols of this wonderful city. Having passed such a rich route, you can return to the railway station by public transport and go further, but you will definitely want to spend your vacation in Uzhgorod and stay here longer!