Ghost Signs in Uzhhorod, Transcarpathia

Uzhhorod (Ungvár / Užhorod / Ungwar), a city in Transcarpathia (Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine), which is near the borders of Slovakia and Hungary, has a multicultural history. For a long time the region around Uzhhorod was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After WWI, it was annexed to Czechoslovakia. In 1938, Uzhhorod was transferred to Hungary, and in 1945 it was annexed by the Soviet Union. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the city became a regional capital in Ukraine.

                                     

Before the wars, Hungarians made up the majority of the inhabitants, followed by Slovaks, Germans, Rusyns (Ukrainians), Czechs. Today Ukrainians make up the majority of the population, but there is still a Hungarian population.

On a visit to Zakarpattia last year, I found two great ghosts signs in Uzhhorod. Both of them are probably from the 1930s, when Uzhhorod was part of Czechoslovakia. During those years, both Hungarian and Czech would have been used for signage. It is possible that in the second image, the Czech translations were below the Hungarians signs on the sides but were painted over during the Hungarian period 1939-44.

In the middle, first in Czech and then in Hungarian it says: FRESH Roasted coffee, tea, butter, Prague ham, cheeses. On the sides it says: Beer, wine, liqueurs, mineral water.

On the top is the name of the store’s owner. On the left side it says in Hungarian: Retail sale of wine, beer and all kinds of burnt and sweetened spirits in sealed containers. On the right side it says: Sale of methylated spirits in sealed bottles.

Thank you Studiolum for help with translations and information.