olechko

Yesterday I visited the photo studio of Kyiv top advertisement photographer Aleksey Abramov. He boasts in his portfolio with tons of Ukrainian celebrities pictures and can make you look much more better in a photo then you really are :). Even though he has shown us the ins and outs of the classical studio portraiture, I would be much better of hiring him for the shoot. The mass of skill and equipment necessary is overwhelming.

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Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies has put out a comparatively good resource on art, history etc.

Great place to get the feel of end XVIII Century Kyiv! Full of artifacts, old photos and all kinds of trinkets, well designed and presented. They even have their catalogue published soon, the pleasant cashier lady informed us.

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The National Art Gallery in Kyiv has put out a good exhibit, covering the early 19th Century in the lives of gentry, peasants and city folk in Ukraine. It’s a shame that the museum presents no catalog of the artwork, and the presentation lacked the luster associated with the major museums of Europe. But nevertheless, its the art that counts! Well-known Pymonenko, Levytski, Kostandi, Murashko paintings carry a wealth of information on the period lifestyle. Little-known watercolors and etchings of great estates and interiors add to the picture.

National art museum

2 Grushevskogo St.

228-6482

I sneaked a peak at this prize possession of the National Art Gallery — the classical Odygirdiya image, dated XIVth Century and originally from Volyn, at Pokrovska church in Lutsk!!!

The National gallery itself did not inspire me much.  It seems like they do not use half of the small space they have on Hrushevskogo 6. The ladies-attendants at the gallery are artworks into themselves, xexe, and the modern art exhibited there is just scary… Noteworthy are the few rooms that have been donated by rich local philanthropists, including one guy you bought up tons of Ukrainian artifacts in Russia and brought them back to donate to the gallery - very pleasant trend.

National art gallery

6 Hrushevskogo St.,

Phone: 38-044-2286429

This artist was one that hit me most from the National Gallery collection in Kyiv. He was aligned with Peredvizhnik (see info on the Ukrainian representatives here.) The quality of this work sets him apart from the mass, if only I could dig up some of his interior paintings of his- he is similar to Edward Hopper in some sense, except much softer and impressionistic…

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The image of the Lutsk castle graces the 200 hryvnias bill. This is second smallest olbast center in the coutry. It’s quiant and provintial, lovely and clean. There is a live web-cam of the main square in town. A bit of history/introduction on the municipality site and an expected wiki page. The most happening place with frequent live music gigs is Maidan.

Maidan

Boiko, 2
Тел. 0332 72 48 41, +38050 100 27 51

another two presentable local restaurants (besides Crown of Vitovt in front of the Lubart casle) are:

Kraj
2 Vynnychenka Street

Staryj Zamok (Old Castle)
24 Lesi Ukrainky Street

The current remains of the castle built by prince Lubart stand on the remains of the stone walls of the XIIth Century, archeologists say. The earliest signs of habitation on the site date back as far as 3,000 b.c. In the X-XIIth Century there was a wooden castle by the Romanovych dynasty of Kyiv Rus. Lubart was an independent prince, as well as Vitovt and Svydrygailo untill the territory succeded to the Lithuanian kingdom in XV.Another major attraction on the castle grounds is the church of Ioan Bogoslov; its bishop always held a great deal of independence and shared the castle grounds with the princes. Only it’s foundations remain there now. Currently the castle hosts two exhibits: of church bells and of fine art. Both are worthwhile once you make the trip.

Old city spread around the main castle, also once surrounded by the extended castle walls. What remained of it is very quaint. I will write more on it in another post.

There is a decent restaurant called Korona Vitovta (The Crown ofVitovt) on the square in front of the castle. It’s got knightly interior and the local stylized menu.

Korona Vitovta

Volyn region, Lutsk,
Zamkova Ploscha (Plytnytsa, 1) Street
Phone: (0332) 72-71-14, (0332) 72-62-05, 8 097 390 8688
E-mail: info@kvrestoran.com

image by http://luck.iatp.org.ua

Touring castles around Western Ukraine is a real treat. Olesk is one of the better kept ones and can be seen with least four more great castles within a day. I remember talking my husband to sleep on the fifth site with my interpretation of a very chatty guide’s grand tour.

This site has a good deal of information on the castle’s history museum contents, etc. It’s Ukrainian-language only, though you can see the pics of some of the objects on display. The lovely medieval-themed restaurant Hrydnycia in the basement of the casltle has a brief historical intro, the hours and directions all listed in English.

on Google earth it looks like this.

Hrydnycia

Phone: 8 067 6711303

Visited there this past fall - the place is amazing! This pic is of St. George’s church from late XVIIth Century. St. Michael’s church in the monastery complex dates back to the XIIth Century. It’s a functional men’s monastery. They say the monks cook the food at the fabulous restaurant on the premises. The food is great indeed, local fare, served with a shot of something pink and very strong to bring up your appetite.

The trip up there is useful to combine with a stroll around the Kyiv botanic gardens…