Cherry blossom in Uzhhorod, or a visit to the Garden of Eden
Every spring the ancient Uzhhorod is awash in the incredible, astonishing soft-pink colour of Japanese ornamental cherry trees. Cherry blossom in Uzhhorod - is a truly stunning and amazing spectacle that turns the city into a real Japanese garden, and to see such beauty you do not need to fly to Japan at all. It is right here, among the Carpathian Mountains, that the cherry trees have chosen the largest area in Ukraine - and in Europe: in Transcarpathia there grow the most. And every year thousands of tourists come from every corner of the world to admire this wonder of nature - the cherry blossom. We invite you on May tours to the Carpathians!
A visit to the Garden of Eden
The cherry trees in Uzhhorod usually blossom in the second or third ten days of April (it all depends on the weather) and flower for about two weeks. Most of them are in the old part of the city - on Pushkin Square, on Druhetiv, Dovzhenka and Rakotsi streets, where truly incredible panoramas of pink clouds open up. A few beauties also grow on Svobody Avenue, in the Masaryk park near the transport bridge, and there are plenty of them on the side streets too. Today the city on the Uzh even has a whole cherry blossom avenue a kilometre and a half long, located on the Pravoslavna and Kyivska embankments. It is the longest in Europe: thousands of trees grow here. Strolling along the avenue, it feels as if you have entered a real pink kingdom - this is definitely worth seeing at least once in a lifetime! 
Uzhhorod - is just about the only city where Japanese ornamental cherry trees grow in Transcarpathia. Although in smaller numbers, they also blossom in Mukachevo, in Vynohradiv and Berehove.
Tourists and the Transcarpathians themselves are happy to be photographed with the pink trees. What is more, there is even a whole guide circulating online that describes in detail how and in what pose you should be photographed with the cherry blossom. And almost everyone in the country keeps a close eye on the day when the first cherry tree blossoms in Transcarpathia. Whoever is lucky enough to catch the first opening bud on camera is even awarded the title of “Person of the Year”!
Cherry blossom in Uzhhorod: where the city’s Japanese cherry trees came from
As for when the very first cherry tree appeared in Uzhhorod , there are several theories. According to one, it happened back in the 17th century, and the tree was brought from the beautiful city of Vienna by Count Druget himself. Another version says that the cherry trees appeared here in 1923, when Transcarpathia belonged to Czechoslovakia and the Halahov neighbourhood was being actively built in Uzhhorod. In particular, lime trees were planted on the famous lime tree avenue, which is also considered the longest in Europe. Historians say that in this way the architects wanted to strengthen the local, very marshy soil. And later a fashion even arose in the region for giving every guest to the house a cherry sapling.
And there is one more legend, according to which the local residents … stole the cherry trees from the Japanese as they were travelling to the monarch of Austria. The Japanese themselves wanted to present these trees to the emperor. Stopping for the night in Mukachevo, they could not have imagined that by morning the cunning Transcarpathians would replace their Japanese cherry trees with the most ordinary fruit-tree saplings.
The stolen cherry trees were sold and gifted to Uzhhorod. That said, this legend, however captivating - is nothing more than a witty local invention.
Cherry blossoms, which in Japan symbolise the fragility and brevity of life, transform Uzhhorod not only into a paradise garden of soft-pink blossoms and heady divine fragrances. It seems that it is precisely at this time that art awakens in the city. On the old streets you can often meet artists painting all the surrounding beauty. During the flowering of these trees, Uzhhorod hosts the creative international festival “Sakura Fest”, which is supplemented year after year with ever new highlights. During the festival, new cherry trees are planted in Uzhhorod, sky lanterns are released, and a fair and a festival of Transcarpathian wine “Sunny Drink” are held, along with flash mobs and various artistic, musical, educational, children’s, sporting and literary events, as well as themed quests and master classes. Cherry blossom in Uzhhorod turns this city into a real fairy tale!
3D tour: Cherry blossom in Uzhhorod
But it is not only for its cherry blossom that Uzhhorod is famous. At the same time, for a hundred years now magnolias have been blooming in the city - in white, pink and lilac shades - around 2 thousand trees in all! Lime trees, Japanese quince and Japanese ornamental “paradise” crab apples all blossom - the amazing spring weather works real wonders here. And it happens that, because of abnormally warm weather, the cherry trees bloom even at the end of winter!
Cherry blossom in Uzhhorod - we invite you to enjoy this unforgettable spectacle during our excursion around the ancient city of Uzhhorod
