Slavic Dept to host walking tour of Ukrainian Village
October 17, 2025
Walking Tour in the Ukrainian Village – Saturday, October 25
Ukrainian Pysanky artist Janet Hundrieser will lead NU students on a walking tour of the Ukrainian Village in Chicago.
The group will visit the Ukrainian National Museum to explore Ukrainian History, Culture and Folk Arts in Ukraine and among the diaspora. We will also visit Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, renowned for its golden splendor and Byzantine architecture amid Chicago’s gridded urban landscape. We will stop in gift shops, stores and bakeries to peruse imported housewares, clothing, books and foodstuffs. The tour will round out by enjoying a traditional Ukrainian meal at a nearby restaurant.
The primary purpose of the tour is for NU students to connect what they will hear (the Ukrainian language spoken by native speakers), see (vibrant color and complex designs in unexpected places), smell (church incense), touch (textiles, clothing, ceramics, wood), and taste (robust, hearty cuisine), to what they will learn and make in the Ukrainian Folk Arts workshops hosted by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and taught each quarter (pysanky, wheat weaving, motanka dolls). Students will learn a bit of Chicago history and its architectural legacy too!
Some questions to reflect upon are:
- How is this community similar or different than other neighborhoods?
- What has allowed it to remain cohesive?
- What and who are its anchors?
- Visually, what colors and designs do you see most often? What do they represent?
- Why are common housewares decorative?
- Who teaches the community how to make and maintain their traditions?
- What foods dominate the restaurant menu and why?
The tour will be relaxed and fun, there are no quizzes or tests, just observe, learn and enjoy.
The dress code is casual but we will be going into a church with parishioners present.
And as a sacred space, any visible clothing or outerwear needs to be modest.
Please exercise decorum, reverence and turn off cell phones while in church.
Visitors are not permitted on the marble stairs or in front of the icon screens.
Be sure to wear comfortable shoes!
This event requires advance registration and is currently capped at 20 NU students. Please email slavic@northwestern.edu to register no later than 5pm on Thursday, October 23rd. Further details will be shared after registration.