Drohobych is the second largest city in the Lviv region. It's a beautiful ancient city with historic buildings, monuments and classic market square.
Drohobych very little positions itself as a tourist city, and it's very strange. The downtown is a nice place to stay on the weekend. The biggest Ukrainian resort Truskavets with 25,000 hotel beds is just 10 km away. Given that Truskavets has almost no historical buildings, it would be logical to put some regular interesting transport (a trolleybus or a tram) between Truskavets and Drohobych.
Tourism is not developed in the city. There are no souvenir shops, not many places to eat and even not easy to visit the City Hall. We came there on Sunday. The guard said that a visit to the City Hall tower is possible only after registration at the office #33, and only if we have 10 people! And of course the office doesn't work on weekends :) Well, the guard appeared to be a nice person, he gave us access to the tower and even refused to take compensation.
City Hall in Dorohobych ©Yuriy Buriak
Market Square view from the City Hall ©Yuriy Buriak
Market Square looks perfect. A typical classic square, just as you expect.
Market Square ©Yuriy Buriak
Houses on the Market Square, view from the City Hall ©Yuriy Buriak
Houses on the Market Square, view from the City Hall ©Yuriy Buriak
Market Square view from the City Hall ©Yuriy Buriak
Market Square ©Yuriy Buriak
The historical center is not large, all attractions and beautiful houses are located around the Market Square. Most houses were built in the late 19th - early 20th century, during the oil boom. Yes, in the 19th century oil was found here. In 1866, the first petroleum refinery in central Europe was built in the city. And in 1872 the first train came to the town. Many luxury villas and houses appeared during that period.
Unusual house on the Ivan Mazepa Street ©Yuriy Buriak
Villa in Drohobych ©Yuriy Buriak
Interesting house in the downtown ©Yuriy Buriak
Roof in non-Ukrainian style ©Yuriy Buriak
Due to the oil boom up to a dozen universities, institutes and branches appeared in Drohobych, and it's quite unusual for a city of this size.
Right near the Market Square is the oldest building in the city, St. Bartholomew's Church. Its bell tower is a former defensive tower.
St. Bartholomew's Church (1392) ©Yuriy Buriak
St. Bartholomew's Church bell tower and a monument to Yuri Drohobych ©Yuriy Buriak
St. Bartholomew's Church (1392) ©Yuriy Buriak
Near the bell tower stands a monument to the most significant city resident - Yuri Drohobych, author of the first Ukrainian printed book, first Russian doctor of medicine, dean of Krakow University and rector of Bologna University.
There's a huge abandoned synagogue in Drohobych. Before the war, about 13.5 thousand Jews used to live in the city and almost all of them were killed by the Nazis. Now the synagogue is being restored.
Abandoned synagogue ©Yuriy Buriak
More photos of Drohobych:
Beautiful cityscape near the bell tower ©Yuriy Buriak
Small trade shops in the historic center of the city ©Yuriy Buriak
Colored houses in Drohobych ©Yuriy Buriak
In the distance you can see the Carpathians. ©Yuriy Buriak
Institute building ©Yuriy Buriak
Houses on the Truskavetska Street ©Yuriy Buriak
School ©Yuriy Buriak
Courtyard in the downtown ©Yuriy Buriak
Ivan Mazepa Street ©Yuriy Buriak
Thanks to the City Hall the central square is visible from everywhere. ©Yuriy Buriak
Bas-reliefs on a building ©Yuriy Buriak
Bas-reliefs on a building ©Yuriy Buriak
Paintings on a building ©Yuriy Buriak
House on the Market Square ©Yuriy Buriak
Pigeons are hiding from the sun. ©Yuriy Buriak
Architecture of Drohobych ©Yuriy Buriak
Architecture of Drohobych ©Yuriy Buriak
All attractions in one picture ©Yuriy Buriak
Institute building, former soviet prison ©Yuriy Buriak
Drohobych streets ©Yuriy Buriak
Kovalska Street ©Yuriy Buriak
Getting there: We got there by the Kyiv - Truskavets train. You can take either a bus or a minibus from the Lviv bus station, or a local train. The train station is located quite far from the downtown, so take a minibus.
