Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless and Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
380 km
Riding-time estimate
8 h 24
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
The stops in between: Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy, Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t and back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Ukraine into Poland - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless
Matkiv is a small village in the upper valley of the Stryi river, in the Turka district of the Lviv region, high in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Its wooden church, the tserkva of the Synaxis of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was built in the first half of the nineteenth century, and it is a fine example of the Boyko tradition, named after the highland people who have lived in these mountains for centuries. The church has three log frames topped by tiered pyramidal roofs, each level slightly smaller than the one below, and the whole building is covered in wooden shingles that have weathered to a silver grey. It is part of the UNESCO listing of wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless is where the day begins. Next is Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy.
2. Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy
At the very eastern tip of Slovakia, where the borders of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine meet on the summit of Kremenec, lies a forest that has been left to itself for longer than anyone remembers. Stužica, in the Poloniny National Park, is one of the most valuable fragments of primeval beech forest in Europe, with trees several hundred years old, fallen trunks rotting slowly on the ground, and an extraordinary richness of fungi, insects and birds. It is part of the UNESCO site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a transnational listing that started with forests in Slovakia and Ukraine.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy comes up 83 km in. Next is Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t.
3. Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t
Bruno Schulz was born in Drohobych in 1892, spent most of his life here and was shot in its streets by a German officer in 1942. The writer and painter, whose strange, dreamlike stories turned this small Galician town into a place of myth, drew on the old market square, the narrow lanes and the attic rooms of a Jewish merchant family, and the town today is part of his legacy. Drohobych, with a population of nearly eighty thousand, grew rich on salt and oil, and the oil wells of nearby Boryslav gave the region the nickname of Galicia's Texas in the late nineteenth century. Ivan Franko, the great Ukrainian writer, went to school here.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless to Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy
Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless → Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy to Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t
Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy → Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t is 103 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t to back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy
Drohobych-Tserkva of Saint George\t → back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy is 103 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy to Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless
back through Stužica - Bukovské Vrchy → Matkiv-Tserkva of the Synaxis of the Bless is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.