If you move to the southeast from Uzhansky National Park, you can get to one of the most beautiful and interesting corners of the Ukrainian Carpathians — Uzhoksky (Uzhotsky) Pass. This place beckons and attracts tourists not only by its natural beauty, but also by its interesting history — important events for the whole country took place here.
Uzhoksky (Uzhocky) Pass is located near the village of Uzhok in Velikobreznyansky district of Zakarpattya region, on its border with Lviv region and not far from the Polish border. The height of the pass above sea level is about 900 meters, from the observation platforms located on the pass you can enjoy stunning views of the surrounding areas. To the north of the pass towards the Lviv region flows the San River spring, and to the south towards Uzhgorod — the Uzh River spring.
In the XX century Uzhok Pass twice became a place where fierce battles took place: during the First World War Russian and Austro-Hungarian armies fought for the pass, and during the Second — Soviet soldiers and Hungarian-German troops, who built here the Arpad line with many kilometers of trenches, wooden-earth and concrete bunkers. The tourists are told about those tragic events by the memorials erected on the pass — the monument to the military men who died in the First World War, the monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, who liberated the Carpathians in 1944, the memorial sign dedicated to the Ukrainian Sechen Sagittarians, who fought with the Kuban Cossacks, the first battle with whom they fought here in 1914 on the side of Austria-Hungary. There is also a military cemetery where Russian and Austro-Hungarian officers and soldiers who died during the bloody battles for the pass were buried. It is interesting that on the second monument to the fallen in 1944 during the liberation of the Carpathians previously hung a plaque on which it was reported that Leonid Brezhnev served in the tank battalion that stormed the pass, today this bronze plaque is no longer there, but the information it reported continues to be passed from mouth to mouth.
In addition to military history Uzhotsky Pass is also known for the fact that here run the most picturesque mountain railroad and highway in Ukraine, connecting Lvov and Uzhgorod and stretching serpentine on steep slopes almost parallel to each other. A total of 14 railroad tunnels have been laid on the pass, and the tracks continue to transport passengers and various cargoes to this day since 1872, when they were put into operation.
The beauty and rich history of this place was the reason why several tourist routes were laid here. Traveling here tourists can not only admire the nature and picturesque pictures of the neighboring mountain peaks Konchik Bukovsky and Galich, but also see the line of trenches and in general the remnants of the Arpad defense line of the early XX century, monuments to the people who died here. From the pass you can descend to the village of Uzhok and take water in one of the two mineral springs flowing here, as well as see one of the ancient monuments of religious architecture — the wooden St. Michael’s Church, erected in the early XVII century.
Having visited the pass, tourists remember this place as one of the most beautiful and the most tragic — memorial signs erected in several places, a cemetery, the remains of military facilities remind about what hard and cruel events can happen on earth. However, thanks to the splendor of the local nature, the natural treasures that the Carpathians and the whole Ukraine are so rich in, there is no heaviness and sadness in the heart, only the understanding that one should live in peace, not only with other people, but also with this very world as a whole, loving and protecting it.