Kamianets-Podilsky is an ancient Ukrainian city. It still has the same town hall clock that rang in the year 1884. But that year is gone and a new generation, including natives of the city and guests from practically the entire world, are seeing in the year 2008 according to “Kamianets time.” Listening to the same bells and looking at the old stone structures, they make secret wishes and think about the distant and recent past as well as the future.
Every building in Kamianets has its own history, secrets, and legends. The inimitable atmosphere of this ancient city, where the Smotrych River flows in a deep canyon, helps people perceive the light of the Bethlehem Star in a special way and excites the imagination.
These days the square with its restored City Hall, a monument from the 14th-18th-centuries, is crowded. Tourists photograph themselves against the backdrop of the town’s main Christmas tree and the ancient building. They make cell phone calls to their relatives and friends to recount their unforgettable impressions, and send them New Year and Christmas greetings. They mingle with the Snow Maiden and Grandfather Frost, who recently paraded down the city streets and won a competition to be able to welcome people at the place that has been the hub of Kamianets-Podilsky for centuries. The members of the city magistracy and the court used to hold their sessions here, where they handed down their rulings. Today it houses the Magdeburg Law and Money Museum. In the underground gallery of the same building visitors can see an exhibit called “Justice in Medieval Kamianets.”
It is a short walk to the Old Fortress over the Castle Bridge, believed to have been built by the Romans in the 2nd century. Each of the 11 towers is strikingly illuminated by recently-installed lighting. The tallest of them is called the Papal Tower, because its construction was funded by Pope Julius II. It is also called Karmeliuk’s Tower because the famous brigand Ustym Karmeliuk, Ukraine’s Robin Hood, served three prison terms there.
The Black Tower was excavated by archeologists in 2007. Summarizing the work done in the city last year, the Kamianets city fathers named the 50 most successful projects. “There was quite a choice in both the social and the economic sphere,” said Valerii Klymenko, head of City Council’s organizational and control department.
The organizers of the Christmas in Our House competition also had much to choose from. The city’s restaurateurs competed for the best kutia, a ritual Christmas dish made of wheat, nuts, poppy seeds, and honey.
With its wealth of landmark sites, the city is becoming a tourist Mecca known for its excellent service. New European-type shops and restaurants are popping up on the shores of the river, where the ancient past is being harmoniously united with the present and the future.
