This southwestern Ukrainian town has the world's only Pysanka Museum, shaped like a giant Easter egg, and a historic tram line dating back to 1912.
Kolomyia, a city in western Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, draws visitors to its giant Easter egg-shaped Pysanka Museum, 19th-century Austrian buildings, and traditional Carpathian craft collections. Walk through the Market Square to see the 1877 Town Hall's clock tower, explore the Museum of Hutsul Folk Art's collection of mountain crafts, or step inside the wooden Church of the Annunciation from 1587.
Transportation to Kolomyia
Kolomyia lies on the Prut River, 65 kilometers from Ivano-Frankivsk and halfway between Lviv and Chernivtsi. Direct trains connect the city to Kyiv, Lviv, and Chernivtsi, with the Ivano-Frankivsk route taking about one hour. Local buses leave every two hours from Ivano-Frankivsk's central station, while marshrutkas (minibuses) run throughout the day once they fill up with passengers.
The World's Only Easter Egg Museum
The Pysanka Museum's 14-meter-high egg-shaped building houses more than 6,000 pysankas (decorated Easter eggs) from across Ukraine. You'll learn about the meanings of traditional patterns and symbols used in egg decoration, and watch demonstrations of the wax-resist technique artists use to create these intricate designs.
Market Square and Historic Streets
The 1877 Town Hall rises above Market Square with its prominent clock tower. When you walk along Teatralna Street, you'll see late 1800s buildings with stone carvings, wooden doors with detailed patterns, and decorative metal elements. The neighboring streets contain well-preserved Austrian-era buildings where you can spot original window frames and iron balconies.
Hutsul Folk Art and Crafts
Inside the three-story Museum of Hutsul Folk Art, built in 1902 by L. Becker and N. Krvchovskyi, you'll find over 50,000 artifacts from Carpathian mountain culture. The collection includes wooden household items, traditional mountain clothing, beadwork pieces, hand-woven carpets, and carved wooden crosses that tell the story of daily life in the Carpathian mountains.
Historic Churches
The Church of the Annunciation stands as an example of Hutsul wooden architecture from 1587, with multiple roof tiers built using traditional mountain construction methods. Its grounds include the original bell tower. The 1855 Cathedral of St. Michael displays stone walls with rounded arches and tall spires typical of both baroque and classical church architecture.
