Stilske

Stilske Town Limits Sign

Here's what the tourist website I use for day trip outing suggestions had to say about the Stilske complex - a day-trip we went on earlier this week - "That is definitely a unique place, as its' origin comes from VIII – middle XI centuries. Despite of the magnificence and historical value, this place isn't so popular among tourists. The capital of the Great (White) Croatia was located right in this area. The city was really huge at that time: fortified square came up to 250 ha, length of the arbor and defense walls – about 10 km. To compare, Kyiv of that time was only 9,8 ha in square. The difference is gigantic."

 I'm not exactly sure what that all means - or meant ... but the pictures looked something like these pictures we took. Finding this remote, off the beaten tourist path, location was a bit of an outing in and of itself. If you have a map, Stilske is located near Mykolayiv some 40 km from Lviv. 

getting directions

Once we made it to the town Stilske, we stopped to ask direction - of course all I had was a tiny picture on the website of the place we were looking for. Ella and Anne had a ball chasing geese and playing on old school-yard structures.

former capital of "Great (White) Croatia."

Finally, we found it - Hurray! Turns out the caves are currently used to store potatoes and other vegetables during winter months ... no wonder it's not a major tourist attraction. The locals were a bit confused as to why we wanted to find the caves. But, with a little imagination the capital of the "Great White Croatia" still has a majestic aura. The village that stands there now is perhaps not as grand as the ancient capital, but the charming gardens lining the hillside do have a certain magnificence about them.