Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museum of Political Prisoners
MUSEUM
(vul Kopernyka 1; 10am-5pm Tue & Thu-Sun)
A block back from bul Shevchenka,
this former KGB prison is where several prominent members of UPA and OUN were
held, tortured and shot in the years of Soviet repression following WWII. The prison
only closed in 1986 and became a museum in the mid-1990s. The dank cells and other
spaces contain various chilling exhibitions but have been left in their original state com-
plete with crumbling plaster and barred cellar windows. Access is from the back of the
building.
Bul Taras Shevchenko
STREET
The town's verdant showpiece, complete with landscaping, fountains and mature trees, is
a popular hang-out and a pleasant spot for an evening corso. Heading north you cannot
fail to notice the
Shevchenko Theatre
, one of the region's grandest neoclassical edi-
fices. At the top of the facade is a bust of Shevchenko, who looks as though he has a
croissant wedged under his nose. The square in front, maydan Teatralni, is remarkable as
it must be the only sizeable piazza in all Europe not to have a single cafe table or
brewery-sponsored sun shade occupying its expanse.
Ternopil Lake
LAKE
Don your best fake D&G, grab a bottle of hop fizz and head to the lake, the place to see
and be seen on summer evenings. Created in the 16th century as part of the defence sys-
tem for the now all-but defunct castle, there are regular boat trips across it, aqua-zorbing
on it, a beer-tent strip next to it and a generally jolly atmosphere around it.
Dominican Church
CHURCH
(vul Hetmana Sahaydachnoho)
At the western end of vul Hetmana Sahaydachnoho, where it
opens up into maydan Voli, the dirty-cream and grey Dominican Church and monastery
complex hoists the city's finest silhouette. Built in the mid-18th century, its symmetrical
twin towers rise from a baroque facade and the interior has an oval nave.
Rizdva Khrystovoho Church
CHURCH
(vul Ruska)
Ternopil's most attractive ecclesiastical interior belongs to the 17th-century
Church of the Nativity. Inside this oasis of calm, the nave explodes in gilded colour,
musty murals and polished-brass incense burners. Outside stands a very visible monu-
ment to the 1932-33 famine (many are hidden in obscure locations).
Sleeping & Eating
