Find out about Edmonton's “Chucks” – the Ukrainians who played such a big role in making Alberta what it is today.
Less a museum, and more a step back in time, one of the most fascinating aspects of Edmonton's history comes vibrantly alive at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. It evokes a time – at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th centuries – when families from the far reaches of Ukraine founded farming communities on the wooded steppes west of Edmonton. The village places you right in the beating heart of those old-time communities, having rebuilt period properties and filled them with authentic furnishings, tools, foods and even the people from that era.
The men and women who you'll meet in this Ukrainian community dress, act and speak exactly as they did 100 years ago – even down to their Ukrainian Canadian accents. You'll get to see a working blacksmith, watch the children at play at a traditional school, smell the fresh-cut wood scent of the sawmill and hear the train being loaded at the towering grain silo. And these are just some of over 30 traditional buildings dotting this rambling site.
Perhaps the most bizarre-looking is the sod-house (or Burdei), a type of dug-out home popular back in the Ukrainian hills. These part-timber, part-turf covered homes were once a common sight around here, as the Ukrainian settlers scrambled to make a living from the soil. They were quick to build, and although small, were warm and comfortable during the long Alberta winters.
At the other end of the spectrum is the church, perhaps the most beautiful building in the village. The St. Vladimir Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church has a magnificent white-washed wooden dome and finely painted murals. You'll be ferried around these various sights of the village in a horse-drawn wagon, and you could get to see milking in action, a quilting circle sowing or to help the farm hand feed the chickens scurrying around the farm yard.
You can even sample some of the local delicacies, imported all the way from Eastern Europe – perogies and borscht, seasoned sausages and cabbage rolls. It all adds up to a fun and uniquely Ukrainian experience, one sure to be both surprising and enlightening.
