Transcarpathia, which must not be forgotten (PHOTOS)

This is Jozsefa Hulkova with her son Rudolf (first from the left) and probably other family members in the city of Jindřichův Hradec. The photo dates from 1920s.

Jozsefa Hulkova raised nine children and provided quality education for some of them. After the death of her husband Jakub, younger children, including Rudolf, were raised in a monastery.

Our time, XXI century – an important event for the region in the art space "Ilko" gallery – opening of the exhibition "Vanished world of Carpathian Ruthenia in the photographs of Rudolf Hulka."

You can wander here for hours, looking at the large collection of unique historical photographs from the territories of modern Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. It is kept in the Prague Slavonic library (Department of the National Library of the Czech Republic). The photos date from the first half of 1920s, ie the period when the region in 1919-1939 was a part of Czechoslovakia as Carpathian Ruthenia. The author of the historical pictures is photographer Rudolf Hulka (1887-1961). 

Here is a photograph of Gypsy boys in Irshava. The photo is dated 1921.

A photograph of the Bodnaruk family in Yasinya. Photo not dated.

Here is the photo taken near Perechyn, a hut with a thatched roof. Photo not dated.

And here is Uzhgorod. Rudolf Hulka captured a moment with a Jew near a mailbox.

 The whole collection of Hulka contains approximately 4,400 photographs on glass and large format plates and 158 ​​films. Those are pictures of Carpathian Ruthenia, Slovakia, Moravian Slovakia, Croatia and other regions of Central and Southern Europe and Africa.    

Hulka also did translations of Ukrainian literature into Czech. He published translations of stories by Stefanyk, Kotsiubynskyi and other authors. Hulka was interested mainly in those authors, who often wrote about Hutsuls and Carpathian region, in particular Ivan Franko, Olga Kobylianska, Les Martynovych, Oles Honchar, Mark Cheremshyna and others. Hulka also for many years was corresponding with representatives of Ukrainian culture and public life: Volodymyr Hnatyuk, Olena Kulchytska, Vasyl Kasian and others.

All that can be found in the "Ilko" gallery. In addition to the photos, you can also learn about the biography of Hulka.

As for the exhibition itself, the official opening was attended by distinguished guests, including the participants of the "Erdelyi readings" which are taking place in the region.

See the photos for a bit of the atmosphere of the exhibition, which runs until May 31.