You can determine the colors for your ideal palette thanks to two assistants from Sadolin. The first is actually the Sadolin Visualizer App mobile application itself. It can be installed on IOS or Android systems. Among the features is the ability to choose a color from Sadolin paints by turning on the camera and pointing it at the object of interest. Thanks to a special moving brush, you can point to a specific element on the image with your finger, after which the application will determine a special color code and offer you paints from different series. Similar manipulations can be performed with photos already saved on the phone.
The Sadolin Visualizer mobile application tries on the color on the wall with the help of augmented reality technology. Image: Sadolin
The second assistant is the compact Color Sensor color scanning device. Its working principle is the same: you need to apply the scanner to the surface of a wall, furniture or textile, and it will determine the color without fail. The received data will be displayed in the pre-installed Sadolin Professional Expert App. You can save all the information and create your own palette in the future.
A special compact device Color Sensor from Sadolin that scans the color of any surface. Image: Sadolin
International charm
Uzhhorod became the most distant point on our research map. A kind of corner, sandwiched between several countries, that sounds with many voices, smells of young wine and hazelnut filling of Stefano's cake, and pleases the eye with abundant cherry blossoms. It is worth noting that this city is really ancient - the first written mention dates back to 1154, although archeological finds testify to the first settlements here as early as the XNUMXth century. It was part of the Old Russian State, Hungary, Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the Ukrainian SSR. And today there is a joke among local residents that only a Transcarpathian could visit five different countries without leaving the borders of his region.
Goryan Rotunda is one of the monuments of national importance. Photo: Getty Images
People who grew up, formed, found themselves and simply lived there can tell the best about Uzhhorod. Sculptor and artist Andriy Voznytskyi, who has been living in Uzhhorod for almost 25 years, speaks about the city as follows: "It is spread between the Carpathians and the Pannonian lowlands, on the banks of the Uzh River. Proximity to the borders with Slovakia and Hungary adds to the city's multicultural charm. Among the main advantages of Uzhhorod is the almost complete absence of large industrial enterprises, which preserves clean air and contributes to a measured, calm atmosphere.
Andriy Voznytskyi, artist, sculptor and interior designer
Regarding the stereotypes about the leisurely rhythm of life compared to other Ukrainian cities, this is indeed one of the outstanding features of Uzhhorod, which should be preserved. The historical heritage of the city also makes it special. Uzhhorod became part of the Soviet Union only in 1945, and before that it was part of such countries as Hungary and Czechoslovakia. This cultural influence is clearly reflected in the architecture of the city and the formation of its mentality." It should be noted that it was during the period of the Czechoslovak Republic that the city received modern architectural perfection.
Korzo Street in Uzhgorod. Photo: Getty Images
The geographical location also created an absolutely unique, almost maritime climate in this area, unusual for western Ukraine. All because of the protection of the Carpathians from the cold northern winds. Artist Aleksa Mann, who chose Uzhgorod to live in 2015, notes: "It has, strangely enough, a completely Mediterranean flair for me, where the winds from the Adriatic through the Pannonian valley brought to the Carpathians a medieval Italian-French atmosphere, exquisitely mixed with interwar Czechoslovak modernism: functionalism, streamline, rondocubism and art deco".
Aleksa Mann, artist, essayist and illustrator. Photo: Tomi Bodov
The Mediterranean character of the Transcarpathian city was also influenced by the fact that for 360 years (1318–1691), Uzhhorod was ruled by the Italian family of the Drugets counts. They received such a privilege thanks to the fact that they contributed to the ascension to the throne of the Hungarian kingdom of the representative of the Anjou-Sicilian branch of the Capetian family. It was they who began to grow European grape varieties on the outskirts of the city, giving birth to the wonderful winemaking tradition of the region. Italian trends can also be traced in the city's architecture. Yes, the modern appearance of the Uzhhorod castle is thanks to the Italian craftsmen who rebuilt the fortress. Today, a street with interesting historical objects is named after the Drugets.
Uzhgorod Castle on the slope of Zamkova Gora. Photo: Getty Images
In general, the compactness of Uzhhorod allows you to get to know its important places within a few hours of walking. Uzhgorod urbanist and researcher of modernist architecture Lina Degtyareva offered two routes that cover these points: "Short, for two hours: it is from the castle, the monastery of St. of the Basilian Fathers (now the Faculty of Physics of the Uzhgorod National University) and the cathedral through several important points in the center - the former Jewish school, the Philharmonic (the former Orthodox synagogue), the former city cinema with a library, the House of the Legio Society, Petefi Square and further back to the right bank, across the embankment to the post office, which is the beginning of the Maly Galagov administrative and residential quarter. A longer route would cover the same points, but it would be a deeper dive. For example, the view from the highest point of the quarry on Nevytskyi Castle, Little Prague, the houses of the artists Kotska and Manayla, the "Prosvita" building and others. On the left bank, in addition to Petefi Square, the excursion would take over the Orthodox embankment with several branching streets, and on the right it would lead to PADIUN and would definitely show the monumental painting of Kyrylova-Hulyn. And this is a route for two days, with possible visits to the interiors. Because facades and views are not everything."
The Mediterranean character of the Transcarpathian city was also influenced by the fact that for 360 years Uzhgorod was ruled by the Italian family of Drugets counts
Lina Degtyareva, researcher of the history of architecture, co-founder of the Uzhhorod Modernism initiative
There are many locations that are not obvious to the average tourist, such as Zamkovi schady street, which was also called the "place for kisses". Oleksa Mann draws our attention to the outskirts of the city as well: "As a result of studying the city, I began to appreciate its surroundings, areas far from the tourist center. For example, the lake popularly called Kirpichka, with the silhouette of an abandoned factory, or the area of the Czechoslovak power plant of the 1920s with an iron bridge paved with cobblestones. They inspire me."
Sakura alley in Uzhgorod. Photo: Uzhhorod City Council
Color feature
From the sights alone, it is probably difficult to determine the characteristic color feature that we try to find in each already mentioned city. The entrenched culture of repainting facades in the colors of the rainbow can completely mislead us: who remembers what the baroque church of St. Yuri was like and why it is now pink? So Therefore, we will focus on the main iconic architectural periods, pay attention to the details and consider the interiors. Lina Degtyareva singles out two such periods: "This is the Austro-Hungarian era with its types of historicism and secession, and the period of interwar modernism, when Uzhhorod was part of the First Czechoslovak Republic. The so-called styles of national revival that exist in Transcarpathia due to geopolitical circumstances are not as iconic as they are rare and special for the map of Ukraine. And in our case, it is the Hungarian Secession, or, as it is also called, the Lechner style, and the "national style" of the first Czechoslovak republic — Rondocubism."
The building of the "Prosvita" society on Drugetiv Street. Photo: Lina Degtyareva
The Austro-Hungarian era includes, in particular, the Reformed Church, the savings bank of the Uzhan District, the "Korona" hotel, an orphanage-boarding house, a preparandia, a railway station, etc. As for the latter, it is about the building of the suburban station, and not the expansion in the form of a fairy-tale castle with a tower, which was added at the beginning of the zeros. The ocher color of the brick facade of the building, which first welcomes guests, will continue to be traced in the outlines of the city. Yellow and red ocher is also highlighted by Lina Degtyareva.
Uzhhorod railway station, built in 1904. Photo: Getty Images
"But for me, the textures of the city are more important than the colors. At the turn of the 1920th and XNUMXth centuries, it was fashionable to create a contrast between smooth plaster painted in its mass with facing bricks, tiles or reliefs. At the beginning of the XNUMXs, modernism brought a new fashion: the plinth was very often strengthened with the so-called "artificial stone", decorative elements of exteriors and interiors were also made in the same technique. The color of the tin was mixed in the mass. In some places, mica was added to this mass - in the sun, the authentic plaster of Uzhhorod buildings still shines noble. Painting with new paints, especially acrylic-based paints, is extremely damaging to most historic buildings. After all, you cannot paint natural or artificial stone. It's like buying a diamond to have its face polished. And if in these cases we lose the richness of the building, then in the case of painting clinker or other types of facing bricks with acrylic, we literally lose the building. Historical plaster and precious brick "suffocate" under a film of paint and begin to crumble. This is what happened to the building of the Uzhhorod Philharmonic. What the textures and colors of this luxurious building should be, we can see only from the southern facade, which, fortunately, was not painted," says the architectural researcher.
The building of the Transcarpathian Regional Philharmonic. The former Uzhhorod Synagogue. View from the southern facade. Photo: Lina Degtyareva
Architect Volodymyr Pavlyshyn associates Uzhgorod with the warm gray color of artificial stone: "This material was often used to finish basement floors of buildings, especially in the interwar period. Its texture and color add coziness and natural harmony to the buildings of the city." This material is characteristic of the development of Mali Galagov, a completely modernist quarter designed by the Czechoslovak architect Adolf Liebscher.
Volodymyr Pavlyshyn, architect, founder of the MOKFORM studio
"The architecture of this period raised Uzhgorod to a qualitatively new level, and to this day Maly Galagov is considered one of the best examples of modernist planning in Ukraine," says the architect. The Uzhhorod Modernism initiative, whose founders are Lina Degtyareva and Oleg Olashin, is promoting and researching this unique object. Until 2025, they released an architectural calendar with images of 12 structures located within the block. In particular, it is the building of the former Zemsky government of Subcarpathian Rus, several residential buildings and several administrative buildings. For example, the post and telegraph government building, designed by the famous Czech architect Josef Gočar, has an authentic gray color. The building attracts attention not only with the shape of the rounded facade, but also with the sculptural relief on the attic.
Post and Telegraph Government (1928–1930, architect Jozef Gochar, Postova Square, 4). Photo: Lina Degtyareva
Within the quarter, there are also houses in the unique style of Rondocubism, or in Czech Art Deco, which was characterized by red and white colors. It is represented by a residential building for military personnel on Nezalezhnosti embankment, 17. Semicircular elements are recognizable in its elements, although triangular elements and elegant decorativeness are also characteristic of this style.
Czech Art Deco residential building on Nezalezhnosti Embankment, 17. Photo source: wikimedia
Moving a little further from the center, we will see the cozy area of Little Prague, where in the early 20s of the last century, wooden houses were actively built for the families of employees. It was a temporary solution to provide housing for a large number of people, but the houses still stand. Therefore, the brown, brown color of wood occupies a special place in the architecture of Uzhgorod.
A wooden house in the Mala Praha neighborhood. Photo: "Little Prague" Facebook page
"In researching the old architecture of the city, I noticed that many elements, such as metal gates, wooden shutters, flagpoles and window frames, used to be painted in a special green color. It can still be found under layers of modern paint, and it is with this color that I associate Uzhgorod," Andriy Voznytskyi shares his impressions.
Kateryna Morgental, designer and founder of the MORGENTAL brand
Designer and researcher of subject textiles Kateryna Morgental advised to look inside the philharmonic hall that had already been mentioned. Initially, it was a neo-Moorish style synagogue, but after the persecution of the Jews in 1944, there was no one to go to the shrine anymore. In the Soviet Union, the synagogue was turned into a philharmonic hall, followed by a rough reconstruction. All the religious symbols of the Soviets, of course, were destroyed, but the incredible multi-colored decoration under the ceiling remained unchanged.
Decoration of the Transcarpathian Regional Philharmonic. Photo: Serhiy Denysenko
"I once lived in an old house on Dukhnovich Street, which is also called the "House with chimeras", where the spirit of a completely different era of Uzhgorod was felt. Every detail of the interior of this house spoke volumes about its rich history, the wooden oak staircase that led up to the second floor with a view of the cathedral, the antique patterned tiles and jacquard textiles pasted into the wooden wall panels, and those tall brown doors, like portals in another time - this is all about Uzhgorod, which I love very much. This house is definitely worth paying attention to," adds Kateryna Morgental.
"Researching the old architecture of the city, I noticed that many elements, such as metal gates, wooden shutters, flagpoles and window frames, used to be painted in a special green color." — Andriy Voznytskyi
Dukhnovycha, 19, Sandor Virani's house. Wooden stairs. Photo: DIM. RIA
For her, the city is associated with several colors: it is brown, green and pink. "Brown - because it's about coffee, ancient wooden elements of architecture and the Uzhhorod cake from Stefano." Green is the color of the surrounding mountains and the color of the embankment. Pink is the color of the Philharmonic and the color of cherry blossoms," concludes Kateryna.
A single ensemble
The unhurried pace of life in Uzhgorod, the tandem of its architecture and nature inspire fruitful creative work. This is confirmed by the number of artists among the speakers of this material. So, in her designer textile brand MORGENTAL, Kateryna Morgental has developed a special collection inspired by the colors of the Carpathians. "Living in Transcarpathia means living surrounded by nature and mountains, and these colors very organically affect creativity. For me, color is never only about color, it is also about its vibration, and about the emotional impression of a certain moment. Yes, while I was in the Carpathians, I watched a beautiful sunset over the fog that descended on the mountains after a heavy rain, and I saw a special greenish-gray tone, which I called "Foggy in the mountains." Next to it are the colors "Rain in the forest", "Blue moss", "Ash leaf" or "Red sun"... There are many such colors in my own palette, and not only those inspired by the Carpathians. For me, such an approach in working with color is also a moment of metaphysics: on a subconscious level, products embodied in these "colors of nature" provide grounding, peace of mind, remind of time spent in nature," adds Kateryna.
The color range of MORGENTAL brand textiles is inspired by the Carpathian rainforest. Photo: morgental.ua
In Oleksa Manna's large-scale project "The Black Period", Uzhgorod appeared as "both a character and a texture". The author created the project, exploring the urban space, immersing himself in remote Soviet areas. Using only black and white, he captured "a city explosively disintegrating into atoms of microdistricts," as Oleksandr Mykhed described the project. "And all the projects I do while living here are in one way or another related to this city, because the environment influences me a lot. Even the abstract works I've been doing recently are still a reinterpretation of the surrounding landscape, rhythms and colors of the city. So for me, the city is both figurative and abstract in a tight connection," Oleksa explains.
The work of Oleksa Manna from the series "Black Period". Photo: zaborona.com
Like every city, Uzhhorod has its "dark" side, which is also worth talking about. One of the main problems of the city is insufficient attention to the preservation of historical heritage. "Uzhhorod is very unlucky with mayors. And, accordingly, with people who make decisions that affect the appearance of the city. I don't understand at all how such a stupid and simply uneducated jerk like now can be the mayor of such a historic city with such a rich culture as Uzhhorod. This is a colossal and simply criminal dissonance. All his actions are aimed at destroying the city, Oleksa says. "Uzhgorod is just a few dozen buildings that represent something and form a single ensemble that must be preserved and not be allowed to be destroyed by these thoughtless, but very insolent rascals."
Uzhgorod Passage Bati. Photo: Viktor Talashuk
Lina Degtyareva complains that, bypassing any logic and legislation, permits are issued for the construction of cyclopean structures, as for the format of the city's historical zones, with the almost complete approval of the city's urban planning council. "Developer greed is growing in proportion to prices in a relatively safe city," she says. — The war reaches the westernmost point of the country and destroys it in this way far from the front line. And in the city council, just as with our colleagues on the advisory board for the protection of cultural heritage at the OVA, there is not enough unanimity in blocking these unacceptable processes. The city catastrophically lacks a strong-willed solution in the form of a new historical-architectural master plan, which would take into account the very nature of the city."
"Uzhhorod is very unlucky with mayors. And, accordingly, with people who make decisions that affect the appearance of the city," — Oleksa Mann
According to the LUN, for almost three years of the war, the Transcarpathian region broke records for the pace of bringing residential construction projects to the market. Unfortunately, the news about the alleged restoration of the pre-war capacities of big business goes hand in hand with scandals about "black developers", raiding and speculation about housing for the military. And if we often hear about similar problems in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, etc., only echoes are reported about Uzhhorod. Oleksa Mann says that Uzhhorod now consists of several dozen active people who are resisting its destruction. Their voice can become even more visible if the majority of citizens join it.
