Where the Uzh begins: the breathtaking Uzhok Pass

On the border of Transcarpathia and the Lviv region, at an altitude of 889 m, lies the remarkable Uzhok Pass, which has witnessed historically decisive events. In medieval times an important trade and strategic route ran through here from Kyivan Rus to the countries of the Danube lowlands. Later it was the border between Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria-Hungary. It was right here that the famous defensive Árpád Line stretched out, and some of the most important and fiercest events of both world wars unfolded here. The Uzhok Pass is even mentioned several times by the famous Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek in his novel about the good soldier Švejk.

At the same time, the Uzhok Pass - a beautiful corner of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Popular tourist routes of the region run here, and it is also Ukraine’s most scenic mountain transport artery. At the start of the last century the engineers of the Hungarian Royal State Railways laid a railway line here that connected Budapest and Galicia, and today links Uzhhorod and Lviv, drawing tourists with its landscapes, numerous tunnels (14 in all) and viaducts.

The Uzhok Pass: unique and precious landmarks

The Uzh River rises at the Uzhok Pass, and on its banks lies the ancient city of Uzhhorod. It was this small, winding little stream that gave the pass its name. Nearby lies the village of Uzhok, home to unique wooden churches, in particular the famous Church of St Michael the Archangel of the XVII century, which is inscribed on the UNESCO heritage list. In Uzhok itself there once operated a balneological resort famous throughout Austria-Hungary.

The Uzhok Pass lies amid beech forests, in the astonishingly beautiful Uzhanian National Park, which belongs to the world’s only trilateral International Biosphere Reserve “Eastern Carpathians”. Within the Uzhanian National Nature Park many eco-trails and more than twenty tourist routes have been laid out, including ones to the Watershed Ridge and to the summit of Mount Pikuy (1408 m).

The Uzhok Pass became a witness and direct participant in two world wars. During the First World War this place saw fierce fighting between the Austro-Hungarian troops and the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. Over 650 soldiers of the armies of Austria-Hungary and Russia are buried on the pass. As a mark of respect, a commemorative pyramid monument was erected on the site of the soldiers’ mass grave on Mount Cheremkha.

No less hard and bloody battles took place here during the Second World War, too. In particular, the famous 600-kilometre defensive Árpád Line, built by Hungarian forces in the Carpathians in 1943-1944, ran through the pass. In those days 30 concrete and 60 timber-and-earth bunkers were constructed on the pass. Today, on the mountain peaks of the Carpathians and in the dense forests, remains of trenches, fortifications and dugouts can still be seen here and there, and weapons or cartridges have even been found. Those events on the pass are still recalled by an obelisk to the soldiers of the Soviet army who fell here in 1944.

Today the Uzhok Pass offers incredible and breathtaking views of the Ravka meadow in the Eastern Beskids and Mount Hostra in the picturesque Polonyna Carpathians. And from the local viewing platform the Uzh Valley lies - as if in the palm of your hand: the beauty before you takes your breath away.

You can admire the beauty of the Uzh Valley from the Uzhok Pass and discover all its secrets during our excursion.