Brzuska
Encyclopedia
Brzuska ' is a village
in the administrative district of Gmina Bircza
, within Przemyśl County
, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately 9 kilometres (6 mi) north of Bircza
, 21 km (13 mi) west of Przemyśl
, and 46 km (29 mi) south-east of the regional capital Rzeszów
.
Brzuska (Berezka/Bereska in Ukrainian) was a large village 10 km (6.21 mi) north of Bircza with approx 1500 inhabitants before World War 2.
The inhabitants were mostly originally Rusyns, who then became Ukrainian. There were also some Poles (80) and Jews (50) who lived in the village. All were farm workers.
The main land owner was a Jewish family, surname Ringel, who was taken away by the Russians during or after the war.
Originally, a Greek Catholic church once stood on the hill - Saint Nicholas the Miracle Worker, which was destroyed. There was also a masonry church called Transfiguration of Our Lord. It was erected in 1868, renovated in 1920. It was also destroyed.
During the 1944-1947 expulsion of the Ukrainian inhabitants, approximately 250 were killed including Rev. Oleksa Bilyk (1892–1944) and his family. It is reported the killings were a revenge attack for the massacre of Poles in Volhynia. After the expulsion, it is reported the UPA burned the village so they could not be inhabited by the Polish population.
A Ukrainian cemetery still exists on the hill in the village, but the access road has been removed and it can only be reached by foot. Rev. Oleksa Bilyk's grave is there and is still tended to. A local Ukrainian lady, who still lives in the village, sold a cow to pay for a headstone.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the administrative district of Gmina Bircza
Gmina Bircza
Gmina Bircza is a rural gmina in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. Its seat is the village of Bircza, which lies approximately south-west of Przemyśl and south-east of the regional capital Rzeszów....
, within Przemyśl County
Przemysl County
Przemyśl County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998...
, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...
, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately 9 kilometres (6 mi) north of Bircza
Bircza
Bircza is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Bircza. It lies approximately south-west of Przemyśl and south-east of the regional capital Rzeszów...
, 21 km (13 mi) west of Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, and 46 km (29 mi) south-east of the regional capital Rzeszów
Rzeszów
Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...
.
Brzuska (Berezka/Bereska in Ukrainian) was a large village 10 km (6.21 mi) north of Bircza with approx 1500 inhabitants before World War 2.
The inhabitants were mostly originally Rusyns, who then became Ukrainian. There were also some Poles (80) and Jews (50) who lived in the village. All were farm workers.
The main land owner was a Jewish family, surname Ringel, who was taken away by the Russians during or after the war.
Originally, a Greek Catholic church once stood on the hill - Saint Nicholas the Miracle Worker, which was destroyed. There was also a masonry church called Transfiguration of Our Lord. It was erected in 1868, renovated in 1920. It was also destroyed.
During the 1944-1947 expulsion of the Ukrainian inhabitants, approximately 250 were killed including Rev. Oleksa Bilyk (1892–1944) and his family. It is reported the killings were a revenge attack for the massacre of Poles in Volhynia. After the expulsion, it is reported the UPA burned the village so they could not be inhabited by the Polish population.
A Ukrainian cemetery still exists on the hill in the village, but the access road has been removed and it can only be reached by foot. Rev. Oleksa Bilyk's grave is there and is still tended to. A local Ukrainian lady, who still lives in the village, sold a cow to pay for a headstone.