City Square
There were 3 main cities in the Trans Carpathian region. The Trans-Carpathian town of Uzhorod is now located in Western Ukraine. This beautiful city was the central hub for the regional railways system which departed for local provinces and to neighbouring Hungary and Slovenia. Khust is now located in Western Ukraine, 3rd largest city in the county and surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains. Mukachevo-Munkács is a city in a river valley in the beautiful Zakarpattia Oblast, now in Western Ukraine. Both my mother-in-law and father-in-law were born in a small nearby town and did all their schooling & shopping in Munkács until WW2.
In 1397, Munkács was granted by King Sigismund of Hungary to his cousin, the exiled Prince Theodor of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who used it to administer the Ruthenian region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Theodor became a vassal of Hungary and settled many Ruthenians in the territory. Note the colourful facades of Saint Nicholas Monastery.
1604-1711 was a time of continuous struggle against the expansionist intentions of the Habsburg Empire. In 1687 the anti-Habsburg Revolution started out from Munkács and the region played an important role in the War of Independence. ![]()
The medieval Palanok Castle lay above Munkács and played an important protective role during the anti-Habsburg revolts (1604–1711). It was especially important in the anti-Habsburg Revolt of 1685-8. In 1726, the Habsburgs gave Palanok Castle to the Schönborn family who were responsible for expanding the town. They settled many Germans in the territory, creating a regional economic boom.
The city came under Austrian control in the mid-C18th as part of the Kingdom of Hungary, under the Habsburg Monarchy. So most of the city’s architecture comes from the time of Austrian-Hungarian rule The Rákóczi-Schönborn Palace, for example, used to be Mukachevo rulers' home. Built in the Baroque and Renaissance styles, its elegant building is still considered one of the loveliest in town.
Top quality railways lines (Moscow-Kiev-Budapest-Belgrad; Prague-Bratislava-Vien) were established in town, meeting at the central station. Built in 1881, the station became the terminus for beer, wine, tobacco, food, textile, timber and furniture industries. And within the decade, the station needed to be expanded. ![]()
The Town Hall started in 1901, designed by a prominent architect from Budapest and was built in three years. Its bossed central tower was supported by massive carved pillars that thickened at the bottom and formed an arched entrance to the Town Hall. The towers' facades were décorated with small balconies. Lancet windows on the first floor and elegant double windows on the second floor were lovely. Sited on the main town square's centre, it was loved by architectural historians. A chiming clock was installed on its main tower in 1904. ![]()
In 1919, the American-Rusyns agreed with Tomáš Masaryk to incorporate Carpathian Ruthenia into Czechoslovakia. In mid 1920s, Munkács officially became part of Czechoslovakia by the Treaty of Trianon.
Educated and religious, the Jews of interwar Munkacs were famous for their Hasidism, Zionism and modern education. The first Hebrew-speaking primary school in Czechoslovakia opened in 1920 and the prestigious Hebrew Gymnasium was founded five years later. The first cinema was established by a Hasidic Jew, closed on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. And until WW2 broke out in 1939, half the population was Jewish, the rest being Hungarian, Slovak and others.
In Nov 1938, a part of the former Kingdom of Hungary was re-annexed by Hungary. The new authorities immediately ordered the expulsion of all the Jews without Hungarian citizenship. So Polish and Russian Jews, long-term residents of the now Hungarian-controlled Transcarpathian region, were deported to a German Einsatzgruppe commando.
In 1939 after the Hungarians annexed Subcarpathian Rus, the 30 synagogues in town were closed. In Aug 1941 some Jews were killed by the Germans. But despite the crises, Subcarpathian Rus remained a relatively safe haven for Jews, until Nazi Germany occupied Hungary in spring 1944. Then the surviving Jewish residents of the region were deported to Auschwitz by the Nazis – the last Jewish community to die in the Holocaust. By mid 1944, the city was Juden-free. [Yet my mother in law and her younger sister survived the Holocaust by moving to Budapest and living in hiding for 1944-5].
In late 1944, the Red Army liberated Carpathian Ruthenia. The territory was first given to the re-established Czechoslovakia, then became part of the Soviet Union, by a treaty in 1945. In 1945 the area was ceded to Ukraine and an ethnic Ukrainian population was transferred to the town. ![]()
Across the Carpathian mountains were tserkvas i.e churches of horizontal wooden logs, built between the C16th-19th by the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths. They represented the cultural expression of both religions and the formal, decorative and technical characteristics. Note the tri-partite plan surmounted by octagonal domes and cupolas. They featured wooden bell towers, iconostasis screens, interior polychrome decorations, gatehouses & cemeteries. ![]()
Palanok Castle
The medieval Palanok Castle lay above Munkács and played an important protective role during the anti-Habsburg revolts (1604–1711). It was especially important in the anti-Habsburg Revolt of 1685-8. In 1726, the Habsburgs gave Palanok Castle to the Schönborn family who were responsible for expanding the town. They settled many Germans in the territory, creating a regional economic boom.
The city came under Austrian control in the mid-C18th as part of the Kingdom of Hungary, under the Habsburg Monarchy. So most of the city’s architecture comes from the time of Austrian-Hungarian rule The Rákóczi-Schönborn Palace, for example, used to be Mukachevo rulers' home. Built in the Baroque and Renaissance styles, its elegant building is still considered one of the loveliest in town.
Top quality railways lines (Moscow-Kiev-Budapest-Belgrad; Prague-Bratislava-Vien) were established in town, meeting at the central station. Built in 1881, the station became the terminus for beer, wine, tobacco, food, textile, timber and furniture industries. And within the decade, the station needed to be expanded.
Railway Station
The Town Hall started in 1901, designed by a prominent architect from Budapest and was built in three years. Its bossed central tower was supported by massive carved pillars that thickened at the bottom and formed an arched entrance to the Town Hall. The towers' facades were décorated with small balconies. Lancet windows on the first floor and elegant double windows on the second floor were lovely. Sited on the main town square's centre, it was loved by architectural historians. A chiming clock was installed on its main tower in 1904.
Town Hall
Educated and religious, the Jews of interwar Munkacs were famous for their Hasidism, Zionism and modern education. The first Hebrew-speaking primary school in Czechoslovakia opened in 1920 and the prestigious Hebrew Gymnasium was founded five years later. The first cinema was established by a Hasidic Jew, closed on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. And until WW2 broke out in 1939, half the population was Jewish, the rest being Hungarian, Slovak and others.
In Nov 1938, a part of the former Kingdom of Hungary was re-annexed by Hungary. The new authorities immediately ordered the expulsion of all the Jews without Hungarian citizenship. So Polish and Russian Jews, long-term residents of the now Hungarian-controlled Transcarpathian region, were deported to a German Einsatzgruppe commando.
In 1939 after the Hungarians annexed Subcarpathian Rus, the 30 synagogues in town were closed. In Aug 1941 some Jews were killed by the Germans. But despite the crises, Subcarpathian Rus remained a relatively safe haven for Jews, until Nazi Germany occupied Hungary in spring 1944. Then the surviving Jewish residents of the region were deported to Auschwitz by the Nazis – the last Jewish community to die in the Holocaust. By mid 1944, the city was Juden-free. [Yet my mother in law and her younger sister survived the Holocaust by moving to Budapest and living in hiding for 1944-5].
In late 1944, the Red Army liberated Carpathian Ruthenia. The territory was first given to the re-established Czechoslovakia, then became part of the Soviet Union, by a treaty in 1945. In 1945 the area was ceded to Ukraine and an ethnic Ukrainian population was transferred to the town.
Wooden tserkva
Across the Carpathian mountains were tserkvas i.e churches of horizontal wooden logs, built between the C16th-19th by the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths. They represented the cultural expression of both religions and the formal, decorative and technical characteristics. Note the tri-partite plan surmounted by octagonal domes and cupolas. They featured wooden bell towers, iconostasis screens, interior polychrome decorations, gatehouses & cemeteries.
Map of the Trans-Carpathian region, now Ukraine
So the Trans-Carpathian region was Czech from the mid 1920s, Hungarian from 1938 and Soviet Ukrainian from 1946. When students went to school each day, they didn’t know what language their teacher would be teaching in.
At the last census, 94,000 people lived in Munkács, 77% of them ethnic Ukrainians, 9% Russians and 9% Hungarians.
At the last census, 94,000 people lived in Munkács, 77% of them ethnic Ukrainians, 9% Russians and 9% Hungarians.