Halych

Halych gave Galicia its name: from the twelfth century it was the capital of the Galician principality and one of the major centres of Rus, though the medieval city stood at Krylos a few kilometres away and what survives there is earthworks, a church and an excavated cathedral site. In the present town a ruined castle stands on the bluff above the Dniester. The Ancient Halych reserve runs both, along with a skansen of wooden buildings.

Background

Finds from Halych go back to the Paleolithic period, 40,000 years ago, and remains of many cultures from 5500 BC onward point to continuous settlement for 7,000 years. A burial mound that locals call Halychyna's tomb, excavated in 1996, held a ritual cremation site and a gold disc. The first written mention is credited to 896 AD. In 1141 Prince Volodymyrko Volodarovych moved his capital here from Zvenyhorod. The town gave its name to Galicia and to the Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia, and remained its capital up to the early 14th century, when the rulers moved their seat to Lviv. Excavations in 1933-42, again in 1951-52 and in 1955 uncovered houses, workshops and ten churches of white stone.

Source: Wikipedia, "Halych"

What to look for

• The castle ruin - walls and a tower on the bluff above the Dniester.
• The Krylos site - earthworks and the excavated cathedral of the medieval capital.
• The Church of the Assumption - a sixteenth-century church at Krylos built from cathedral stone.
• The skansen - relocated wooden buildings in the reserve.

When to go

April to October is the comfortable season. Museum sites keep weekday and Saturday hours. The Dniester valley is at its best in autumn.

What to expect

The medieval capital is largely gone and the sites are earthworks needing interpretation. The reserve's parts are several kilometres apart and need a vehicle. Labelling is in Ukrainian.

Nearby

Ivano-Frankivsk is south, and Rohatyn is northwest.

Key facts