80 years ago the observatory on the mountain Pop Ivan in Czarnohora was established. White Elephant served as both astronomical and meteorological observatory (mainly for aviation purposes). Today it is a beautiful example of Polish-Ukrainian interuniversity cooperation for scientific research, ecology, tourism, mountain rescue, regional development.

- With satisfaction and appreciation I received information about such a worthy commemoration of the object, which is not only a significant trace of the past, but also an extremely important part of our cultural identification and identity - wrote the Speaker of the Sejm in a letter addressed to the participants in the celebrations of the anniversary of the observatory. - At the same time, I hope that soon, thanks to the joint initiative taken by the Centre for Eastern Europe of Warsaw University and Vasyl Stefanyk Subcarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk, the Observatory will become a place of valuable Polish-Ukrainian scientific cooperation.

Marshal Kuchciński emphasized that he follows the progress of the renovation works with great interest. First of all, out of respect for history and the material achievements of past generations, but also for more personal reasons. The Observatory is probably modeled architecturally on the castle in my hometown of Przemyśl. In turn, it is situated in the Carpathian Mountains, which I consider to be extremely important on the map of our continent and I welcome all initiatives taken to preserve and cultivate the magnificent cultural heritage of this region.

Photo: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw