Nyzhnje Selyshche: Music, Weaving and Cheese

Nyzhnje Selyshche offers several different points of interest to consider when planning a stay: the history of the Hudaki Village Band, weaving and Christmas decorations at the local history museum, and cheese-making and tastings. The music history and museum provide cultural context; for culinary visits, tours, tastings and making arrangements in advance are important. The museum focuses on exhibits and the weaving demonstration; culinary visits combine the relevant topic with a tasting.

Music history in the village

Austrian emigrant and musician Jürgen Kreftner founded the Hudaki Village Band in 2001 together with Vasyl Rushchak and Mykhailo Shutko from Nyzhnje Selyshche. The two co-founders played their music at weddings. Their origins and a specific occasion for performing are therefore part of the band's founding story. The founding year dates the band; the weddings place the two co-founders' music in a specific performance context.

The “Selyska spivanka” festival was first held in 2000 in the village of Nyzhnje Selyshche, in what was then Khust District in Zakarpattia Oblast. Chronologically, the festival's first event took place one year before the band was founded. These dates provide two different reference points for the village's music history: the festival's first event and the founding of a musical group.

Weaving and Christmas traditions

Three looms are on display at the “Perlyny ridnoho sela” local history museum, where the weaving process is demonstrated. The focus is therefore not only on the equipment but also on the craft shown using it. The looms make the weaving process the subject of the demonstration and provide a concrete point of reference.

The museum also displays Christmas decorations, including a Christmas star and a nativity scene. The nativity scene is associated with a living tradition: it is still carried around during Christmas caroling today. The museum's two themes are therefore quite distinct: the looms relate to a demonstrated production process, while the nativity scene is also used during Christmas caroling.

Cheese-making and tastings

At Selyska syrovarnia, you can book a tour about the dairy's history and cheese-making, and sample cheese. This combines the dairy's history with its production process and a tasting. Confirm the arrangements for your visit before you travel.

The “Zelenyi hai” eco-farm offers a tour and tasting of its products by prior arrangement. The two tastings differ both in what they focus on and in how visits are organized: at the dairy, the focus is on cheese-making and cheese; at the farm, it is on the farm's products. Prior arrangements are part of a visit to the farm; for the dairy, you should confirm booking arrangements in advance.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Dubove, Uzhhorod, Vyshkovo, Vynohradiv, Bilasovytsya, Plav'ya, Shom, Izky.

For the overview of the wider travel region: Zakarpattia Oblast.