Residence of Bukovinian & Dalmatian Metropolitans

Site visited July 2013. I stopped by Chernivtsi for two days on my way from Lviv to Moldova. I didn't know what to expect about this off the beaten track WHS.

I travelled six hours from Lviv to Chernivtsi by train. On the train I met three young Ukrainian fellows with whom I chatted and drank beer the whole journey. It was very interesting to hear their insights about life and politics in Ukraine. In hindsight, many threats and fears those young men told me about became reality in the upcoming months.

The buildings of The Recidence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans belong nowadays to Chernivtsi University. The complex is located in the centre area of the city. When I arrived to the gates of the university it was crowded by students who were enrolling for academic year. There was 100 meters long queue in front of the gate and the guards let the students in to the courtyard. I didn't find a way how to pass this crowd and the guards so I decided to explore the centre of Chernivtsi and come back later.

Chernivtsi itself is a charming city with its art nouveau and baroque architecture. I recommend to include it to an itinerary if visiting Lviv or travelling around Ukraine. The highlights include for example central square with city hall and museum of fine arts, theatre square with drama theatre, old Bristol Hotel and Kobylyanska pedestrian street with its restaurants and cafes.

In the afternoon I went …

"It's like Hogwarts!" That was the feedback my Ukrainian student helper gave me when I told him, I would go to Chernivtsi. His feedback swayed me neither this way nor that way. I was going to Suceava. And looking at the map, I noticed Czernivtsi as just being across the border, a mere 80km apart. So of course I was going.

Under the Austrians, both Suceava and Czernivtsi belonged to the same region: the Bukovina (Beech country). Czernivtsi was the capital. The population of Czernivtsi was a mix of Ukrainians, Romanians, Germans and Jewish. And probably more. Even on the fringes of the empire you find the usual template of an Austrian-Hungarian town. A theatre, a train station, squares, ... The Habsburg did a few things well.

On the outskirts of the historic town you find the Residence of Bukovinian & Dalmatian Metropolitans. Nowadays a university, it used to be the seat of the metropolitan, the bishop of the orthodox church of the Bukovina. In a way, it shows the religious tolerance of the Habsburg empire, as the emperor himself was a devout Catholic.

The ensemble combines multiple influences (local, Russian, Ottoman) using 19th century construction techniques. It's not yet an art deco building, but you can see the idea of what is to come in the colorful roof tiles, for me the best part.

When I visited, they had an open door day. There were plenty of tours running (albeit in Ukrainian) and I got …

I have visited the site just recently (July 2012). The whole residence is located at the end of University Street. Access to the place for non-students is possible with an organised group (so far Ukrainian only, costs 20 hr, 2 Euro). It last half an hour and covers short general introduction, reception hall, staircase, main assembly hall, former library, garden view from second floor and walk outside buildings.

I am not sure if it is obligatory but for sure it is the only possibility to see interiors of the buildings. As a part of complex a church (Greek Orthodox) is possible to see without any additional charge.

The whole visit should take approximately one hour.

I've been to Czernovitz (Chernivtsi) in summer 2007 as a part of a genealogical trip. The city used to be populated with by Jews and Germans and this is still evident in its traditional Austro-Hungarian architecture. The residence has been turned into a university before WWII and it is certainly one of the most fancy universities I've ever seen. Do know that a visit to the university is only possible one hour a day. This is typical of not-so-much-tourist-friendly-post-Communist Ukraine.