Chernivtsi
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Chernivtsi (Russian:Chernovtsi, Romanian:Cernauti, German:Czernowitz) is a city in Western Ukraine.
[edit] Understand
Ukrainian is nowadays the only official language in all of Ukraine (apart form Crimea) and it is also spoken by most of its population (about 70 percent speak it as their first language). Western Ukraine is also the part of Ukraine in which Ukrainian is indeed the strongest language in everyday life. Notwithstanding most people you will come across in Chernivtsi will also speak Russian. If you leave to the surrounding villages this situation may change. Everyone understands Russian, but some may respond in Ukrainian, a language they feel more comfortable with. Ukrainian is only partially intelligible with Russian. If you speak Polish or Slovak you may try it as well since these languages are relatively similar to Ukrainian. There is also a Polish minority in Chernivtsi. As the entire Bukovina used to belong to Romania prior to WWII a large Romanian population in Northern Bukovina (about 20 percent!) still speaks Romanian. This is true mostly for the areas near the Romanian border, rather than the regional capital. As with other Romanian speakers they can also understand Italian to a certain extent. English and German are the two most common foreign languages in Ukraine (except Russian) although you should not expect finding many speakers of these languages around. Some Jews in Chernivtsi may speak Yiddish which is intelligible with German and there are some elderly native German speakers.
[edit] Get in
By Plane
Chernivtsi has its own small airport serving flights to Kiev, Athens, Istanbul and Naples among others. Other nearby airports are Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Lviv and Suceava (Romania).
By Train
You can get to Chernivtsi by train either from Romania or from the Ukraine.
[edit] Get around
The city centre is small and you can manage it all by foot.
[edit][add listing] See
The old town is mainly of Baroque style. Most of Chernivtsi's attractions are located within the historical centre. Some of the centre is a pedestrian zone.
- Main Square The town hall, the Museum of Arts, Shevchenko monument, the old post office.
- The German House [1]concentrated cultural activities of the German speaking inhabitants of the city. Now although their number decreased signifigantly it is still active.
- Theatre Square
- Old Synagogue now a cinema.
- Old Bristol Hotel now a medical student dormitory
- New Synagogue still active
- Old Court of Justice now a seat of state administration
- University used to be a regional Bishoporic, then the palace of the Governor of Bukovina. It is now open for visitors only in the after noon. You can also visit its garden and two churches.
- Roman Cathedral
- Russian Orthodox Church at the Russian Street
- Monument of the Red Army in WWII Nearby is the Regional Museum and Chernivtsi biggest Orthodox Church.
- Railway Station
- Armenian Church now a concert hall
- Saint Nikolay Orthodox Church, with twisted towers
[edit][add listing] Do
- Chernivsti Museum of Arts near the town hall. Exhibits local art from the 19th and 20th Centuries as well as regional applied arts.
- Chernivtsi Municipal Museum dedicated to local history and natural history.
- Ethnological Museum documenting rural life in Bukovina. This museum is located out the city centre.
- Museum of Ukrainian Diaspora This museum focuses on the Ukrainian emmigration from Bukovina, but also shows some cultural exponents from the German diaspora in Chernivtsi.
- Armenian Church. edit
[edit][add listing] Buy
[edit][add listing] Eat
- Videnska Kava (Вiденська кава), vul. Kobylyanskoi. A coffee house with impressive dessert selection and wide variety of coffees and teas served. edit
There is a good Sushi bar near the theatre.
[edit][add listing] Drink
[edit][add listing] Sleep
- Bukovina Hotel.
- Hotel Turist.
[edit] Get out
Kamenets Podilskiy Used to be a county Capital and still has a well preserved castle. It is about an hour away from Chernivtsi.
The Painted Monasteries in Southern Bukovina a Unesco heritage in Romania. It is geographically only about a 100 km from Chernivtsi, however crossing the border may be very time consuming.
the Carpathians
Kolomyia a typical Gallician town which is now a centre of local crafts.
Khotyn is a fortification on the Dniester river.
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