Verkhovyna
Encyclopedia
Verkhovyna is a town
located in the western Ukrainian
oblast (province
) of Ivano-Frankivsk
. Originally established as Żabie in 1424.
The city is located in the Hutsul region of Carpathian Mountains
called Pokuttya
, upon the Cheremosh River, a tributary of the Prut
. Verkhovyna is currently an important tourist center in Ukraine. Coincindently or on purpose, Verkhovyna carries the meaning of the highland city.
In 1918-1939, Żabie belonged to Poland
and was located in the Kosów Powiat
(county
) of the Stanisławów Voivodeship. Back then, it was one of main tourist centers of the country, attracting people from as far away as England
. It was also the biggest rural community in Poland (in terms of territory).
After years of Soviet rules, the village itself does not resemble a picturesque mountain spa that existed in the 1930s. There is an interesting Orthodox church, a Hutsul museum and a Polish cemetery with monuments of soldiers of the Polish Border Patrol who died while protecting the pre-1939 border. Another important attraction in Verkhovyna is the museum of Roman Kumluk.
Urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...
located in the western Ukrainian
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...
oblast (province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
) of Ivano-Frankivsk
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...
. Originally established as Żabie in 1424.
The city is located in the Hutsul region of Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
called Pokuttya
Pokuttya
Pokuttya or Pokuttia is a historical area of East-Central Europe, between upper Prut and Cheremosh rivers, in modern Ukraine. Historically it was a culturally distinct area inhabitated by Ukrainians and Romanians on the previously unpopulated borderlands between the lands of Lviv and Halych...
, upon the Cheremosh River, a tributary of the Prut
Prut
The Prut is a long river in Eastern Europe. In part of its course it forms the border between Romania and Moldova.-Overview:...
. Verkhovyna is currently an important tourist center in Ukraine. Coincindently or on purpose, Verkhovyna carries the meaning of the highland city.
In 1918-1939, Żabie 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 was located in the Kosów Powiat
Kosiv
Kosiv is a city located in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kosivsky Raion ....
(county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
) of the Stanisławów Voivodeship. Back then, it was one of main tourist centers of the country, attracting people from as far away as England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was also the biggest rural community in Poland (in terms of territory).
After years of Soviet rules, the village itself does not resemble a picturesque mountain spa that existed in the 1930s. There is an interesting Orthodox church, a Hutsul museum and a Polish cemetery with monuments of soldiers of the Polish Border Patrol who died while protecting the pre-1939 border. Another important attraction in Verkhovyna is the museum of Roman Kumluk.