Ivano-Frankosvsk, Ukraine – First Kosher Hotel in Western Ukraine

Ivano-Frankosvsk, Ukraine – The first kosher hotel and museum in western Ukraine has opened in the city of Ivano-Frankovsk. “Under the Temple” Hotel and Museum is located next to the city’s main synagogue.

The small, inn-like hotel has already passed European certification and has been rated as a three-star hotel. The hotel caters to Jewish tourists as well as businessmen. All 11 rooms are equipped with wireless internet, cable television and other comforts according to modern standards.

Regarding the museum aspect of the hotel, there are displays of various aspects of Jewish life and culture in the area designated as the museum. These artifacts are culled from centuries of Jewish life in Ivano-Frankovsk, previously called Stanislav. Before the onset of WWII, the city had been the residence of seven Chassidic rebbes.

Under the Temple also features the first kosher catering facility in western Ukraine – the Tzimmes Lounge and Bar. The food is prepared under the supervision of Chief Rabbi of Ivano-Frankovsk Moshe Leib Kolesnik. Local cuisine adapted to kosher dietary laws and traditional Jewish and Israeli favorites are served in the Tzimmes Lounge.

The city is near a number of famous resorts in the Carpathian Mountains such as Yaremcha and Bukovel. Rabbi Kolesnik, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary serving in the region, is looking into the possibility of offering kosher catering from the Tzimmes Lounge for visitors to these Carpathian resorts.