Ivano-Frankivs'k. The city under the name of Stanislaviv was founded by Polish magnate A. Potocki more than 300 years ago as a fortress to protect the population from the attacks of Turkish-Tatar invaders. It is first mentioned in historical chronicles in 1662. In 1962 it was renamed in honour of great Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko whose monument was set up in the city.
The City Hall, a witness of many historical events, is now an architectural monument. In its dungeons the opryshky peasant rebels were tortured. Such fate befell Vasyl Baiurak, the opryshky leader and follower of Oleksa Dovbush. In the early 19th c. the City Hall served for a prison and a storehouse of military equipment. It was destroyed many times but then rebuilt anew. After the latest restoration this architectural monument got its original appearance. Near the City Hall stand the Armenian Cathedral (18th c.) and the Collegium of Jesuits (18th c.). In the former city gymnasia, an architectural monument of the 18th c., many well-known writers and scientists studied, among them Polish poet F. Karpinski, Armenian historian S. Baronch, Ukrainian romantic poet A. Mohyl'nyts'kyi, and writer-folklorist I. Vahylevych. Several houses associated with the name of great writer and scientist Ivan Franko have been preserved in the city.
Halych. One of Ukraine's oldest towns associated with glorious pages of national history. In the 12th -13th cc. Halych was the capital of the feudal Halych-Volynian Principality. The heyday of the town was during the reign of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. After the seizure of West Ukrainian lands by Poland, the Halych wooden castle (14th c.) was built in the town. During the Tatar-Mongol invasion it was destroyed. Only its ruins have come down to our time. The town has monuments to B. Khmel'nyts'kyi and T. Shevchenko.
Horhany reserve. The reserve was organized in 1996. Its area is 5,344 ha. Almost 84% of its territory is occupied by age-old forests of 24 associations. The peculiarity of physico-geographical conditions favoured the formation of species diversity of the plants among which there is a great number of rare, relict and endemic plants. Twenty species of flora and twenty-two of fauna are entered in The Red Book of Ukraine.
Karpats'kyi national park. The first and one of the largest in Ukraine, it was founded in 1980. Its area is 50,303 ha. The park possesses forest, sub-alpine and alpine natural complexes, unique for Central Europe. There are numerous monuments of archaeology, history, architecture and culture, and several recreational centres.
Kolomyia. The town has been known since the 13th c. Its inhabitants often suffered from the Tatar-Turkish invasions. Three times Kolomyia was destroyed by the conquerors but every time it rose from the ashes and ruins.
The central square of the town has been a witness of many historical events. In the premises of the Town Hall foreign oppressors punished cruelly people's avengers opryshky. In 1745, to frighten the population the hacked body of Oleksa Dovbush, leader of the peasant uprising, was brought here, and in 1878 the last opryshky leader Mykola Drahoruk was executed near the Town Hall.
The Kolomyia Gymnasia is a monument of architecture of the 19th c. It was the alma mater of many famous writers and publicists, among them V. Stefanyk, L. Martovych, and M. Cheremshyna.
It is interesting to visit the Kobylians'kyi Museum of Folk Art of Hutsul'schyna and Pokuttia. The Annunciation Church (16th c.) is a typical example of Hutsul wooden architecture. There are monuments to A. Mickiewicz and T. Shevchenko in the town.
The Pysanka Museum is a museum of painted Easter eggs, the single in Ukraine. Its building has the shape of an egg. The museum presents Easter eggs from all over Ukraine, as well as traditions and rituals associated with them.
Krylos. The village lies on Krylos Mountain. Once there was a princely citadel of olden Halych. Krylos Mountain has preserved the traces of remote times. The spring here is still called the Princely Well. According to legend, this water has curative power.
The remainder of the foundation of the Dormition Cathedral (12th c.) can be seen in the village. The Dormition Church (16th c.) has survived to our time. Once it was an important cultural centre where books were published in the 17th- 18th cc.
Labour implements and household utensils of the Stone Age and Komarove culture can be seen in the Prykarpattia Museum of Folk Architecture and Life. The museum exhibition also tells about the feudal period in the history of Halychyna.
Maniava. The remains of the Maniava Hermitage are an interesting architectural monument of the 17th c. It was not only the stronghold of the Orthodox Church but also one of the centres of cultural activities in Halychyna. The massive South Tower has survived to the present. The tower with the entrance gate has been partially preserved, as well as remainders of the fortification walls, foundations of monastery cells and churches.
Rohatyn. First written mentions of Rohatyn date to 1390. In the late 14th century it was already a well-developed market town. The town withstood the siege of Tatar-Turkish invaders. The freedom-loving spirit of its residents became apparent during the Liberation War of the Ukrainian people of 1648-1657 under the command of B. Khmel'nyts'kyi. A stone cross stands above the steep slope in the outskirts of Rohatyn. Here 59 town residents, participants in the anti-Polish uprising, were killed in 1648. In the medieval times the town was surrounded by walls, the remainders of fortification ramparts have come down to our time. Among the architectural monuments mention should be made of St. Nicholas' Roman Catholic Church (15th c.) and the wooden Church of the Holy Spirit (17th c.) which is notable not only for its architectural merits but also for the highly artistic iconostasis (1649).
Vorokhta. The mountain settlement founded in the 18th c. At present Vorokhta is the centre of mountain skiing tourism and recreation. Here numerous tourist routes begin, including that to Hoverla Mountain (2,061 m), the highest peak of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The wooden Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is a monument of 18th-century architecture.
Oblast farmsteads