Walking through Shevchenko Park, you can immerse yourself in the life of the mountainous regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia region, which are ethnologically known as Boikivshchyna. According to the most common version, ‘boiki’ comes from the name of the Celtic tribe of Boii. Some consider them to be descendants of the White Croats, who participated in the formation of the Ukrainian people about a thousand years ago.
Boykivshchyna is famous for its wooden buildings, in particular single-storey rectangular houses with a special architectural design and layout, featuring galleries on one or more sides.
The huts of Boikivshchyna are of considerable cultural value and are part of the region’s cultural heritage, both in terms of architectural composition and log construction skills. Using only axes, the folk craftsmen of the Carpathians built huts with galleries, water mills, churches and bell towers, which we now appreciate as masterpieces of folk architecture. The massive shape of the building’s roof is particularly impressive, often resembling a mountain with its repeating contours.
Boiko buildings are ancient Carpathian estates consisting of farm buildings and stables separated by a ‘boishche’ (barn), and there is also an unusually decorated well. All buildings are carved.
The Boiko family wears traditional Carpathian clothing, which is comfortable, light, richly ornamented and elaborately crafted. The girls wear embroidered shirts, white skirts with embroidered edges and aprons, whose ornamentation resembles that of a rushnyk; they also wear headscarves. Married women knit scarves for their headdresses.
If you are interested in this painting and would like to purchase it, please fill out and send the feedback form on the home page. You can also purchase this painting at the online galleries linked on the home page. Dispatch from Kiev (Ukraine)
TITLE: Visiting the Boiki
YEAR: 2025
ARTWORK TYPE: Original Art/One of a kind
DIMENSIONS: 60х60cm
TECHNIQUES: Oil on acrylic undercoat
RELATED THEMES: Landscape, History, Folk Architecture
SUPPORT OR SURFACE: Canvas on the canvas-stretcher
FRAMING: No
CATALOGUE N: Kovalska138