Traveling West--Ukrainian Jews

Part of our trip in Western Ukraine was stopping at Jewish sites.  Igor Podduby has enjoyed finding these places as he travels frequently throughout Ukraine.  The first place was Brody which had been a center of commerce and in 1880 was almost 75% Jewish.  This lovely large "Choral Synagogue" served them but is now in ruins.  (I am guessing about the "choral" title, thinking that the remains of a domed ceiling that we could see on the open side provided lovely acoustics for signing/chanting.)

Medzhybyzh is a place of pilgrimage for Hassidic Jews to visit the Baal Shem Tov burial area  He was the founder of Hasidism and his ashes rest in the large central crypt inside the small building.  Graves of other persons are also there, inside and outside.  

This is the modern synagogue nearby for worshippers.  

Jewish settlements can be traced back to the 8th century in areas of Ukraine.  Most of western Ukraine's area was part of Poland/Lithuania at a time that Jews were welcome citizens and so Jews became one of the largest and most important ethnic groups.  Russia also admitted Jews in its western areas under certain circumstances.  Thus about 1/3 of Europe's Jews lived inside current Ukrainian borders before WWII.  Brataslov was a Polish settlement dating from 1392 and Jews began settling there in 1506.  We were driving east from Vinnitsia to Uman and sidetracked a bit south to see this cemetery on a hill.  This is the guard house at the parking area and you can see the fence boundary on top of the hill.

We climbed well-maintained steps with planted flower beds on either side.

We arrived at these small buidlings which contained the tombs of special people and marked the beginning of the cemetery grounds.

We began our walk in a brief light shower; then the clouds cleared for evening sunshine and a rainbow. 

Igor said these gravestones that look like tree trunks are for children or young people who have died and thus the limbs of their progeny are cut off.

We saw one more-recent headstone where the father survived his two sons who both died in the 1940's.

This is the view of the lovely river valley where this cemetery is located.  The buildings house a hydro power plant, older to newer, r - l.

Traveling West in Ukraine--Castles

 

We left Kyiv with Igor Poddubny driving, heading west Friday afternoon, June 1, and needed to be at Rivne by 6:30.  The road was very good, double wide, mostly rebuilt because it is the main highway connecting Warsaw, Poland and Kyiv, Ukraine.  It was just before the Euro 2012 soccer tournament began and it was obvious that crews were finishing up construction that was promised and necessary to the month-long soccer tournament.  We traveled through rolling agricultural land interspersed by forest and rivers.  Ukraine is a very beautiful fertile country.

We stayed the night at the main hotel in downtown Rivne, nicely remodeled and comfortable.

Saturday we drove further west towards L'viv and stopped to see the castle at Oles'ko set nicely on a commanding hill.

We had to wait until the gates were opened and took a few pictures of buildings outside the palace grounds including this Roman Catholic Church and monastery complex.  I have no information about this modern statue outside the walls.

The castle on a steep hill was the site of an ancient Russ fortress from 1347.  It was  destroyed by the Tatars in 1519 and rebuilt in Italian Renaissance style by Ivan Danilowicz with a gateway tower and a lovely park outside the southern walls.   This area of Ukraine was often part of Poland so there was a strong Catholic religious influence.  

Outside at this corner is the entrance to a basement restaurant which has been created in the former dungeon.  You can see the lovely furnishings and one can dress up in period costumes!

These are part of the gardens outside with some older statuary and some newer.  We are standing at the bottom of the stairs that lead down to the garden and embellished with Lions

Here is a buggy for hire!  Olesko was the birthplace of Jan III Sobiesky.  His mother was the daughter of Danilowicz.  This Sobiesky family became owners of Zolochiv, the next castle we visited south and on the road back towards Ternopl'

Though the castle is much smaller, Jan III's father reconstructed, fortified and made this castle an unassailable fortress with bastians as seen here.

Rooms are on two levels with the more public but less restored ones on ground floor

A small private chapel

Upstairs are lovely living spaces.  There were seven lavatories in the palace, unique for that time.

Jan III became a famous Polish king and further constructed this palace for his bride adding the  oriental-looking building, the Chinese Palace and a lovely garden.  

The entrance building is less restored

This lovely Catholic church is outside another palace nearby that we did not visit for lack of time.

The last castle we visited was at Medzhybizh past Khmel'nyts'kyi towards Vinnytsya.  Set at the confluence of 2 rivers a fort was mentioned as early as 1146.  Lithuanian overlords built a fortress in the 1400's and the Tatars failed to conquer during the 1500's.  In the 1700's it became property of the wealthiest Polish princes. 

The castle is under reconstruction and we just stepped inside the gate to take a couple of pictures because it was closing time.

This is outside the far end.

Chapels in the Kyiv Mission

On our recent trip we were able to visit three more chapels.  This small one is in Rivne, west of Kyiv.

This branch building in Odessa is also constructed near the end of an apartment building like the previous one.  Obviously the branch is larger, with a second story and basement available.

This historic building in downtown Odessa was bought by the church.  It is located just a block from the beautiful opera house and is also walking distance to the port with a park nearby.  The shell of the building had to be maintained but the inside was completely remodeled to fit the needs of the large branch.  The ground floor is primarily the chapel

Here is a group of institute graduates and you can see the lovely windows to the back side of the building which is a park on the interior of a city block.  Here is a photo of that outside of building.

You will recognize the dormer windows in this photo of the upper story open lounge area for gatherings. This was the refreshment time after the seminary/institute graduation.  Classrooms on the left for institute/seminary/youth groups and a small kitchen finish out the top story.

The second floor is classrooms including one with family history computers.  The basement has a baptismal font, dressing rooms/restrooms.

In Chernigov, north of Kyiv near the Byelorus border, the branch now meets in part of a building that was a bank.  This is the exterior of the building.

The branch occupies the first floor space.  Windows looking out onto the street are in classrooms. On the back side of the building is the area of the chapel/multi-purpose room.  This was our last Sunday there and the branch always wants to take a picture.

Then there was food and conversation.  The wide tiled hallway provides place for tables of food 

to be set up buffet style.  

These are the children of the branch Primary.