Transcarpathia is one of the most interesting and unusual places. It is huge and unexplored.On coming here again and again, one discovers something new and exciting every time. There are many palaces, castles and fortresses, friendly and flamboyant people, as well asbreathtaking views. Transcarpathiais absolutely worth visiting as a lot ofimpressive adventures are waiting for you there.

Sent-MikloshCastleis located inthe urban village Chynadiyevo,nearbyMukachevo. It is one of the most unusual and impressive castles with a rich history as well as numerous legends and stories pertaining to it.

The first mentioning about this unusual place dates back to the year 1450. At this time,baronImrePereni got permission to build a fortress to provide shelter for travelers. However, the fortress was never finished, and later it was bought by prince Mihai Telegdi. It was he whoerected the palace and lived in it. In course of time, the ruler of Transylvania Francis I Rakoczi became the owner of the castle, and after his death, it passed into possession of his wife Ilona Zrini. Many stories of love, devotion, and sacrifice are connected with her.

There is no doubt that years and events have left their imprints on the castle, but it is still the place with many attractions whereyouwill definitely not get bored.

Nearby Chynadiyevo, there is another magnificent mansion –Shenborn Castle. A former hunting palace is situated in the territory of a picturesque park. Today, it issanatorium Carpathians.

This castle, together with other estates of Prince Francis II Rakoczi, passed into possession of the royal treasury after the defeat in the Liberation War in 1703-1711. In 1728, the caesar presented the castle and the whole Mukachevo-Chynadyievo dominium to Archbishop LotharFranz von Schönborn in a lifetime property.

Nowadays, the museum is open to the visitors so thateverybody can see the palace with such an interesting history. A fireplace room and a library are open for daytime excursions. The interior still maintains partially preserved grand staircase and chimneys.

The episodes of such popular movie as “Seventeen Moments of Spring” and the famous fairy tale “The Snow Queen” were filmed in this castle.

In Transcarpathia,there is a lovelycity of Mukachevo. It is known to many travelers and is famous for its beauty and culture. This city has been known since 896, and it is one of the largest ones in the region. Mukachevois very cozy and wonderful place.

The most mysterious and legendary Castle Palanok is situated in the northwestern part of Mukachevo. This castle is one of the most valuable landmarks of Transcarpathian historical and military architecture of the XIV-XVII centuries. Palanokis located on the hill of volcanic origin which is 68meters high,and covers the area of 13 930 square meters. The date of the foundation of this amazing castle is unknown, but the records of it appear in the documents of the XI century.

Nowadays, the castle is open to visitors. It represents the restored medieval military architecture, middle-aged courtyards and galleries, and the exhibitions of contemporary art of sculpture.

The expositions of the museum cover the area of more than 2 500 square meters. One can find there rare weapon and iron tools, as well as the items of Stone, Bronze,and Copper Ages.

There is an art gallery in the castle, which contains a collection of icons of the XVI-XIX centuries. In the castle territory, you can enjoy aromatic coffee or refreshments.

Another unusual and interesting place nearby Mukachevo is “Celtic Yard”. What does this unusual and intriguing name hide? Celtic yard under Lovachka isan old 45 meters longbasement. It is situated at the foot of Lovachka Mountain that towers above Mukachevo. Interestingly, long time ago,the plantations of exotic fruit trees and bushes were planted in this placeas a part of the experiment. Out of all, only tea tree stroke roots, however, many different exotic plants have found their place in the territory of Celtic yard under Lovachka agromanor. Here you may find European olive trees, pomegranates, persimmons, figs, barberry, bamboo, and ginkgo, among others. Agromanor includes tasting cellar, where you will have a choice of three drinks. Here you may taste three types of ale: ginger, Celtic, and corn. The beverages are made of exclusively organic products without filtering or pasteurization. You can also taste homemade cider there.

Another attraction of tasting cellars is vermouths. They are made of 10 European grape varieties with addition of more than 50 species of medicinal herbs. Among famous branded beverages, there are red vermouth “Svyashchennyi Hai” (“Sacred Grove”) and white vermouth “Boudica”.

Another group of drinks are organicliquors made of wild fruits and roots. The most popular drinks are“kedrivka” (cedar liquor), “kyzylivka” (cornel liquor), “hrenivka” (horseradish liquor), “ternivka” (blackthorn liquor), “dychkivka” (pear liquor), “slyvovytsya” (plum liquor), and “chereshnivka” (cherry liquor).

Those who enjoy aged and exclusive drinks will be offered schnapps, gin, orujo, grappa, and rakia. All drinks are made offruits grown in this agromanor.

Another Transcarpathian city which is worth visiting is Berehove. It is possible to talk about the history and legends of this city endlessly, however, nothing compares to the impressions one getson coming there! The first thing that surprises visitors is that the locals still call it Beregsaz, because once it was the name of the city. There are architectural and historical landmarks, thermal pools, tasting rooms where local wine is served, and restaurants of authentic Hungarian cuisine.

Berehove region is famous for its wines and huge grape plantations thatcannot be found anywhereelse in Europe. For this reason, here are numerous wine cellars and tasting rooms where you can taste real wine made in different methods and of different grape varieties.

“Zhaivoronok” (“the Lark”) is one ofthe famous tasting rooms with a wine cellar. Here you can taste local wines, which are well-known not only in the local area but also far beyond it.You can also try smoked snacks prepared by local chefs. Apart fromthe wine room,you can visit the wine cellar. It was cut in the rock back in the XVI century. The length of the cellar makes 50 meters. At the end of it, there is a source of crystal clear water. The tasting includes seven types of wine and cellar tour.

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Another place in Berehove that is certainly worth visiting is “Staryi Pidval” (“the Old Basement”). It is a place where great aged dry wines made of exclusively historical grape varieties that grow in the area are produced. The traditional technologies are used for wine production and the wine is aged in oak barrels. The basement itself is relatively small, however, it is over 300 years old.

If you find yourself at the tasting in StaryiPidval, you will be told the secrets of winemaking, and given the opportunity to try 5 varieties of dry wine. There you can appreciate the flavor, taste, and greatness of true Transcarpathian wine!

We offer you to visit afamily tasting cellar of Carlo Shosh. This wine roomhas been hosting visitors since 2006. Before Carlo Shosh decided to open his plantations for tours and tastings, he had been taking part in various festivals and exhibitions, enrichinghis knowledge at seminars and forums, as well as studying different innovative technologies. Carlo Shosh possesses many awards as he has won numerous contests related to winemaking. Carlo has devoted much time studying the rules and culture of wine production and consumption of this beverage.For this reason, the tastings at his place are held in an incredible atmosphere with all necessary explanations and stories about this interesting and subtle business. Family Tasting Room of Carlo Shosh is one of the most unusual and picturesque places we recommend you to visit.

Apart from wine tasting, Berehove region is famous for its festivals. If you go on a journey at the end of summer, you can find yourself at the spectacular festival of “lekvar” (plum jam). The festival of plum lekvar is held in Hecha village. Transcarpathian residents compete with each other in preparinglekvar, which is a very interesting event for everybody who decided to come here. What is lekvar? It is a thick jam usually made of plums. There are a lot of plum trees in the area that is why the teams compete in cooking plum jam. Besides, visitors can watch all stages of the process from the initial preparation to the end result. They can even take part in the cooking process which is really exciting. Not only lekvar is cooked at the festival.You can tastenational and local dishes that include plums. They are varenyky (dumplings), vertuny (egg rolls), pancakes, kalachi (buns), and slyvyanka (plum liquor).

Besides, the visitors can watch the cooking process oftraditional Hungarian dishes – local holubtsi (cabbage rolls) and bograc sgulyas (Hungarian goulash soup). There are also many other entertainments at the festival.The festival of plum lekvar is a real traditional culinary feast of which you will never regret.

It is impossible to be in  Transcarpathia without visiting Uzhhorod. It is a beautiful city with a rich history, which will definitelyfascinate every visitor. Uzhhorod is located in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, on the river Uzh, at an altitude of 120 meters. The city is not very big in terms of its area. When one tells about thecity’s history and events, the listener gets a feeling that the concentration of events per one square meter exceeds the norm. For this reason, it is so interesting there. Uzhhorodis an extremely green city. Despite being surrounded by forest, green areas in the city make more than 1574 hectares! You will never regret visiting Uzhhorod!

Ungvar Castle is a must-visit place in Uzhhorod. This edifice is the most ancient Transcarpathian fortress. Such an unusual and mysterious name can be easily explained: Ungvar is the old name of the city. Uzhhorod Castle has witnessed the change of many rulers, it also underwent four destructions. However, each time it was restored becoming more and more beautiful and mysterious. Like every castle, Ungvar has its own interesting and exciting legend. Long time ago a brave knight Drehent lived in the fortress together with his daughter. One day, Polish military man, who dreamed of conquering the castle and becoming its owner, dressed in casual clothes and made his way to the castle. It happened that Drehent’s daughter fell in love with the Polish spy and told him all her father’s secrets. After Drehent found out about his daughter’s betrayal, he immured her in one of the fortress walls. Now, whenever the weather is bad, one can hear the crying of a young girl begging for freedom.

Nowadays, many tourists come to visit the castle; a variety of festivals and knightly tournaments are held there annually.

Apart from what has been already told about Transcarpathia, it is important to mention the picturesque and bright festivals that take place there. In autumn, one should necessarily visit Rakhiv  village. This wonderful and lovely place holds one of the most interesting culinary events–Bryndza Festival(sheep’s milk cheese). A lot of tourists from different regions of our country, as well as guests, seek to come to the festival aiming at tasting the real home-made cheese cooked according to the ancient technology by caring hands of local housewives. Tourists from other countries enjoy visiting this kind of festivals because in addition to delicious and exotic, even to Ukraine, dishes made of sheep’s milk, one can hear the sound of trembita, see real Hutsuls, and feel all the colors of the local feast. Indeed, there is nothing more impressive than watching people wearing national clothes with a friendly smile on their faces and incredibly deep eyeswho cook local dishes on an open fire and treat everyone with them. Most Bryndza festival tours include visiting Dilove village, which is the geographical center of Europe. Therefore, these tours are quite intense and informative.

In the middle of November,one should visitthe festival of new wine “Beaujolais”. Thisevent is for all enthusiasts of good Transcarpathian wines made by true experts. The best and the most famous winemakers gather here to present their beverages, conduct tastings, and discuss theirprofessional skills. This festival has become a traditional one because its celebration has ancient roots. Visitors, who come to the festival for the first time, cannot believe that new wine is so different from everything they have tried before, as new Transcarpathian wine has a unique flavor, aroma, and lightness. Apart from aromatic drinks and tasty snacks, one can have a great time, because the festival holds many entertaining and exciting activities. Everyone who has been there at least oncedefinitely liked this event.

So, that is what Transcarpathia looks like. It isa magical, mysterious, and very beautiful place. It is possible to talk about it for a very long time. There are many places here that hold a variety of events andwonderful people. The local coloring and the atmosphere of Transcarpathia is unmatched that is why it beckons to come back there again and learn all its secrets.