Bohorodchany
Encyclopedia
Bohorodchany is a small town in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. As is the case with most other oblasts of Ukraine this region has the same name as its administrative center – which was renamed by the Soviets after the Ukrainian writer, nationalist...

, several miles from Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....

. It is the administrative center of the Bohorodchanskyi Raion
Bohorodchanskyi Raion
The Bohorodchany raion is a district of the Ivano-Frankivsk Region in Ukraine. A town of Bohorodchany is the administrative center of the district.-Geography:...

.

It is located in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, although it has previously belonged to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and Austro-Hungary. The town was first mentioned in 1441 as a property of certain Jan of Buczacz, the starost of Trembowla. Since the second half of 15th century the local estate belonged to the Potocki family. In 1691 Konstancja Potocka née Truskolaska
Konstancja Potocka
Countess Konstancja Potocka was a Polish-Lithuanian szlachcianka. She married Jan Potocki in 1798 and Edward Raczyński in 1817....

, widow of the owner of the village Dominik Potocki
Dominik Potocki
Dominik Potocki was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman of the Potocki family and politician, Treasurer of the Crown Court. He was married to Konstancją Truskolaską, daughter of Mikołaj Truskolaski, chamberlain of Halicz. His son was Jakub Potocki.-References:...

, established a Roman Catholic church and a parish there. In 1742 the wooden church was replaced with a more permanent construction, founded by Stanisław Kossakowski and devoted to the cult of Holy Mary. In 1765 the new church was donated to the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

, whose friars established a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

 there.

Later in 18th century the town's area acted as a base for a local band of outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

s led by Oleksa Dovbush
Oleksa Dovbush
Oleksa Dovbush was a famous Ukrainian outlaw, leader of opryshky, who became a folk hero, often compared to Robin Hood.-Biography:...

, a semi-legendary Hutsul folk hero, who according to a local legend took the town by force in 1744. In 1786 the town had 314 permanent buildings and 1134 inhabitants.

Following the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

 the town became part of the Habsburg Empire and then Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. In 19th century the town was a scene of intense social and economic activities by all three major groups of inhabitants - Jews, Ukrainians and Poles. Already in 1770 a Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

 grammar school was established, followed by a Jewish Hertz Homberg school in 1785 and a state-sponsored German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 grammar school in 1789. In 1848 a local branch of a Russka Rada (Ruthenian Council) was established by 29 local Ukrainians. Around the same time numerous Jewish social and educational facilities were established, including a Hebrew School of the Union of Hebrew Teachers of Austria (1908-1914), a local branch of Ezrat Israel zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

 union (1896), a Torat Haim yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 (1908) and a grammar school for girls (1909). By the end of 19th century the town grew to 4597 inhabitants, including 2009 Jews, 1788 Greek Catholics and 800 Roman Catholics. The largest estates in the surrounding area belonged to Count Rudolf Stadion.

In the aftermath of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the town briefly belonged to ZUNR, but in 1919 was taken over by reborn Poland. The local life continued to flourish until World War II. The town was made a seat of a commune
Gmina
The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...

. In 1929 a Gmilut Hasadim welfare association was founded in the town.

Following the joint Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland, on September 19, 1939 the town was seized by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and soon afterwards attached to Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...

. Since 1991 it is a part of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

.

Jewish culture

Bohorodchany is also known by its Yiddish name, Brotchin. A first-hand description of Jewish life in Bohorodchany pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 can be found in the autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

of Mark Hasten, who grew up there.
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