Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy and Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
401 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 41
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Rohatyn it runs 401 km to Rohatyn; allow about 7 h 41 of riding. It goes by way of L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr, Roztochya, Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity and Potelych-Tserkva of the of the Hol. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy
Local tradition says that Roksolana, the girl who became the wife of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, was born in Rohatyn. Whether or not that is true, the town in the Galician foothills of western Ukraine has been telling the story for centuries, and a statue and a museum keep it alive. Rohatyn sits on the small river Hnyla Lypa, east of the Carpathians, in a country of low hills, orchards and wheat fields, and its pride is a small wooden church dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit, built in the late sixteenth century and still standing near the old market square.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy is where the day begins. Next is L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr.
2. L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr
Few city centres in Europe have had as many names as this one. Lviv to Ukrainians, Lwow to the Poles who ruled it for centuries, Lemberg to the Habsburg officials who governed Galicia, and Lvov to the Soviets, it is a city that was built by many hands and still shows every one of them. The old town, a UNESCO listing, is a dense tangle of streets around the Rynok, the market square, where the houses are tall, narrow and ornamented with carved stone, each with its own character and its own story.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roztochya.
3. Roztochya
Roztochia is a low, wooded ridge that runs like a spine from southeastern Poland down to the outskirts of Lviv, and on its Ukrainian end, between Ivano-Frankove and Novoyavorivsk, lies the Roztochia nature reserve. Its old beech woods were added in 2017 to the UNESCO listing of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a chain of forests that tells the story of how beech recolonised the continent after the Ice Age. The ridge is also a watershed: rain that falls on one side ends up in the Baltic by way of the Vistula, and on the other in the Black Sea by way of the Dniester. Standing on a hilltop and knowing that is oddly satisfying.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 108 km into the recorded legs you reach Roztochya. Next is Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity.
4. Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity
Zhovkva was designed as an ideal Renaissance town. In the late sixteenth century, Stanisław Żółkiewski, a Polish nobleman and military commander, founded it north of Lviv with a castle, a market square, churches and fortifications laid out according to the principles of the time. Later, the town was a favourite residence of King Jan III Sobieski, who defeated the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683. The Tserkva of the Holy Trinity, a wooden church built in 1720, stands on the edge of the town, and it is part of the UNESCO-listed Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine, inscribed in 2013.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity, about halfway. Next is Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol.
5. Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol
In the village of Potelych, in western Ukraine near the Polish border, a wooden church has stood since the early sixteenth century. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is one of the oldest wooden churches in Ukraine, built of logs with a tall roof covered in shingles, and its interior holds wall paintings and an iconostasis from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine, inscribed in 2013.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 401 km.
Leg by leg
Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy to L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr
Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy → L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr to Roztochya
L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr → Roztochya is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roztochya to Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity
Roztochya → Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity to Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol
Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity → Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol to back through Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity
Potelych-Tserkva of the Descent of the Hol → back through Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity to back through Roztochya
back through Zhovkva-Tserkva of the Holy Trinity → back through Roztochya is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roztochya to back through L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr
back through Roztochya → back through L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr to Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy
back through L'viv - the Ensemble of the Historic Centr → Rohatyn-Tserkva of the Descent of the Holy is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.