During the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, which took place on June 28, the Residence of Bukovynian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Chernivtsi was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Built between 1864 and 1882 by Czech architect Josef Hlavka, the residence represents a masterful synergy of architectural styles. The property includes a seminary and monastery and is an outstanding example of nineteenth-century historicist architecture. The property is dominated by the domed, cruciform Seminary Church, which is surrounded by a park and orchard with rare species of trees. The complex unites architectural and cultural influences from many eras, beginning with the Byzantium period and encompassing the presence of the Orthodox Church during Habsburg rule, symbolizing the Austro-Hungarian Empire policy of religious tolerance.
According to the website of the Theology Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate, today the central building of the Fedkovycha Chernivtsi National University is located in the residence. “Joining the UNESCO World Heritage List creates an image for our university and attracts tourists,” said the rector. “We, in turn, should provide the proper amenities for tourists: create more parking spots and open more places to dine and souvenir shops. We plan to create a tourist complex in the yard behind building number 4. But when this will happen and with what money, I still don’t know.”
By the New Year, it is also planned to move the foreign languages and pedagogical departments from the central building to a new one. The residence has a museum about the university and exhibition rooms.
Ukraine now has five sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which includes the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the Kyiv Cave Monastery, and Lviv’s historic center.