Ternopil Oblast – Castles, Caves and a Rich Ancestory
If there is one place in Ukraine - away from the more popular regions of Kiev, Lviv and Odessa - that you simply have to visit, it must be Ternopil. This stunning oblast is roughly 13.8 thousand square kilometers in size and it enjoys a wonderfully moderate continental climate. Summers here are warm and moist while winters are relatively gentle compared to other Eastern European regions. Winter temperatures may average –5º C while summer temperatures may average 19º C. These relatively mild temperatures have not only made the Ternopil Oblast wonderfully green, but they have made the region an excellent source of sanatoriums and health spas.
The Ternopil Oblast in Ukraine is thought to be the place where most Ukrainians have their roots. Archaeological evidence points to the fact that there were once a number of early Paleolithic settlements here. The region must have proved to be good for habitation since people continued living here right up until the Pre-Slavic era. It is thought that sometime during the 4th century, a number of Eastern Slavic tribes living in the region started to unite, forming a sort of national identity for themselves. Historians presume that these people were the ancestors of most Ukrainians alive today.
Today you will find the Ternopil region in the western part of the Podil Plateau. It is bordered by the Rivne Oblast, the Chernivtsi Oblast, the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and the Lviv Oblast. There are currently more than one million people living in the region – the majority of which live in villages. There are 16 cities, 19 urban settlements and 1013 villages in the Ternopil Oblast and most of them are great places to spend at least a few hours of your day. The administrative center of the region is, of course, the city of Ternopil and roughly 230 000 people live in this large city.
People visiting the Ternopil Oblast can expect to find plenty of activities worth pursuing. Culture buffs will enjoy a trip to the city of Ternopil where they will find attractions such as the Drama Theatre, the Philharmonic Society, the Museum of Regional Geography and the Museum of Arts as well as a number of excellent art galleries. Those that prefer natural attractions will find that the region is filled a great number of excellent natural wonders, such as the Kremenets Mountains, the Medobory, the Gypsum Caves, the Kasperive Landscape Reserve, the Dnister canyons and the Galileo Country-House Forest Reserve. Of course there are many, many more natural attractions, but there is simply not enough space to mention them all here. Other great attractions in Ternopil include old castles in Skala-Podilsk, a number of archeological monuments and settlements and a variety of health resorts and sanatoriums where you can make good use of the local nutrient rich mud baths and mineral water. So visit the Ternopil Oblast and explore the many excellent attractions which can be found here.