Fifteen kilometres southwest of Rakhiv lies what Ukraine contends is Europe's geographical centre, just before the village of Dilove. Ukraine is not the only country to declare itself the continent's centre: Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia have all staked rival claims. Furthermore, Austrian experts claim the pillar erected by Austro-Hungarian geographers in 1887, in what is now back-country Ukraine, was never intended to mark Europe's middle; its Latin inscription was mistranslated.
None of this has dented official Ukrainian aspirations to the honour, although some locals are more sceptical. A Soviet-era spire joined the Austro-Hungarian pillar at the 'geographical centre of Europe' in the 1980s – a restaurant complex and souvenir stalls are more recent additions.
