Borshchiv Raion (
Ukrainian: Борщівський район,
romanized: Borshchivskyi raion), historically known as Bezirk Borszczów, was a
raion (
district) within
Ternopil Oblast in western
Ukraine, in a historical region known as
Galicia and bordering
Podollia. The
administrative center of the raion was
Borshchiv, its only city. The district encompassed Borshchiv, two towns, five
hromadas and 70 villages. Mainly agricultural, its warmer climate supported a variety of crops including wheat, sugar beets, tobacco, barley, and hemp.
The district's human history dates back to the
Palaeolithic and
Neolithic periods and several archaeological sites have been dated back to the earliest human occupation of Ukraine, as well as to later
Bronze Age occupations. During the
Middle Ages, modern-day Borshchiv Raion fell under
Kievan Rus' and then
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth rule.
The raion was merged into
Chortkiv Raion on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine.[1][2] The last estimate of the raion population was 64,966 (2020 est.).[3]
History
Prehistory and antiquity
Some of the earliest traces of human occupation in Ukraine have been found in Borshchiv Raion and broader
Podollia, and several archaeological sites dating back to the
Palaeolithic and
Neolithic periods are located inside the district.[4] At
Verteba Cave near
Bilche-Zolote, traces of the
Trypillian culture (dated to
c. 5000-3000 BCE) include pottery and ceramics, tools and human and animal bones scattered around a
hearth. Nearby, traces of an associated Neolithic village, called Naddnistriansky Pompei ("
Pompeii on the Dniester River") by archaeologists, have been located. Early settlements were aided by the region's rivers, which provided ample opportunity for fishing; early humans here hunted and fished before later engaging in agriculture.[4]
Local
Bronze Age artifact assemblages and sites in Borshchiv Raion, including
amphorae, pottery and stone
cist gravesites, are associated with
Thracian and
Scythian occupation. Later cultures, including the
Romans,
Celts,
Antes,
Huns and
Goths, also left traces in the surrounding area.[4]
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Following the 1240
Siege of Kiev, Borshchiv was included within the
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. After the fall of that kingdom in the mid-14th century, Borshchiv Raion was controlled by Lithuania, then Poland, and finally by the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. This period of rule brought an influx of Polish nobles, who established
serfdoms under which the indigenous Ukrainian inhabitants worked on nobility-owned farms.[4] As part of Poland, the district was called Bezirk Borszczów and belonged to the
Podolia Voivodeship.[5]
Beginning in the 15th century, Galicia as a whole began experiencing raids from the
Ottoman Empire[4] and the
Tatars, being on the border of these civilizations.[5] These raids devastated the region, destroying entire villages, and either killing or enslaving the inhabitants. Following the
Khmelnytsky Uprising, the part of Ukraine containing Borshchiv Raion was transferred to Ottoman rule between 1672 and 1699.[4]
Poland later regained control of this lost territory, but by the late 18th century, the commonwealth was beginning to decline. During the
Partitions of Poland, Borshchiv Raion was included in a transfer to the
Austrian Empire. Serfdom was abolished in 1848.[4]
20th century–present
After the end of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I, Borshchiv Raion again became part of Poland, which reinstated
tenant farming. A second wave of Polish immigration followed, mainly of
Masurians. Simultaneously, a wave of mass emigration was occurring, heralded by extrme levels of poverty and oppressive government policies. In 1940, the Masurians in Borshchiv Raion were deported by
Bolsheviks under order from
Joseph Stalin. The district then came under Soviet rule until the
fall of the Soviet Union, when Ukraine gained independence.[4]
On 18 July 2020, Borshchiv Raion was merged into
Chortkiv Raion as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ternopil Oblast to three.[1]
The territory of Borshchiv raion was 1,006 square kilometres (388 sq mi).[citation needed]
Borshchiv Raion sits atop the
Podolian Upland, a high plateau pushed up from the ancient Sarmatian Sea by pressure exerted from the shifting
Carpathian Mountains, generating abundant deposits of
gypsum and
limestone. An ice sheet covered the area until the
Last Glacial Maximum. When this melted, rivers and streams carved out valleys, ravines and subterranean caverns. This topography has also created many
mineral springs. The local climate tends to be warmer than many areas of Ukraine, and hard frosts are rare. Although some natural forests exist, the landscape is dominated by farmland, orchards, and ranches.[4]
Demographics
In 2020, the district's population was 64,966 (2020 est.)[3]; of this, 19,621 were urban inhabitants (mostly concentrated in Borshchiv).
In 1931, 15,559 urban residents were recorded, and an additional 87,588 inhabitants in other villages and rural areas. Of these residents, 50.9% were of Ukrainian descent, 44.7% Polish, and about 4.5% Jewish.[5] In 1989, the population was estimated to be about 80,000.[4]
Economy
The land comprising Borshchiv Raion remains mostly agricultural. Supported by abundant rainfall and milder winters than most of Ukraine, the main crops included sugar beets, sunflowers, wheat, barley, tobacco, potatoes, corn and hemp; orchards of fruit and nuts; and honey from
apiaries.
Livestock farming was also popular and included chickens, geese, cows, and pigs. Historically, sheep were also reared in the district. Besides agriculture, skilled crafts also contributed to its economy and culture and included blacksmithing, weaving and
embroidery,
cobbling, and masonry. These industries were often season-dependent, being practiced more out of harvest.[4][7]
Culture
Borshchiv Raion—and the area of Chortkiv Raion comprising it today—culturally resembled
Podollia. As a rural, agricultural district, its festivals and customs heavily relied on the seasons and harvest schedule.[7]
Traditional clothing in the district depended on use and ceremony. The prevalence of manual labor called for simpler, lightly-ornamented clothing for everyday wear. However, heavily-embroidered vyshyvanky were used for important events, such as church attendance, festivals, holidays and celebrations. Vyshyvanky or sorochky, the Ukrainian folk shirt, is defined by its ornamentation; for men, embroidery is relegated to the collar and cuffs, but on women's sorochky, decoration extends to the sleeves and is more lavish. Styles can often be traced to one region and may vary between villages. Most sorochky were made of hemp,[7] but the richest residents could afford to have them made from linen. Women's sorochky for festivals contained shoulder inserts that prevented them from waving their arms.[4]: 32
Borshchiv Raion is distinct in its use of heavy embroidery made of thick black wool, thicker than the shirt material, giving the piece a raised texture. Plant and simple geometric designs were commonly used. Sometimes, smaller threats in different colors, sequins, beads, and other adornments were included. Funeral shirts in
Hermakivka were often embroidered with thread colored yellow by marigolds.[4]: 28, 32
Folklore provides several explanations for the origin of the black embroidery. One theory is that the practice originated after invaders killed almost every man in the local villages, and the women adopted the black threads in mourning.[7] Other legends alternately suggest the practice came to a local woman in a dream to end a drought, or that the black wool was used in hopes it would promote good health and protect wearers from disease.[7]
Subdivisions
Hromadas
At the time of disestablishment, the raion consisted of five
hromadas:[8]
There were over 70 villages (selo) within the raion. Names are given in
transliterated Ukrainian followed by the historical
Polish names in parentheses.[5]
Babyntsi (Babińce) is located 18 km (11 mi) south of Borshchiv. The name derives from the Ukrainian word "baba" (grandmother, woman). It was an old Rus fortified settlement with ramparts around it, which are preserved.
Berezhanka (Bereżanka) is located on a peninsula inside a narrowing of the Zbruch River.[5]
Bilivtsi (Bielowce) is a small village on the banks of the Dniester River.[5]
Bilche-Zolote (Bilcze Złote) is a village with a park of 1,800 hectares (4,400 acres), of which 11 hectares (27 acres) are planted with 400-year-old trees. Bilche Zolote is located some 16 km (9.9 mi) west of Borshchiv. The village is known for a significant Neolithic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture archaeological site dating back to the 4th millennium B.C., a small palace, and the large gypsum
karstVerteba Cave, which was used in
World War II as a hiding place for Ukrainian Jews who fled the Nazis during
The Holocaust in Ukraine, a story that was featured in the June/July 2004 issue of the National Geographic Adventure Magazine, as well as numerous other journal articles.[9]
Boryshkivtsi (Boryszkowce) has archaeological sites dating back to antiquity.[5]
Burdiakivtsi (Burdiakowce) is 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Borshchiv. It is not far from the
Zbruch river.
Dnistrove (Wołkowce nad Dniestrem), located on the Dniester River.
Dzvynyachka (Dźwiniaczka), briefly called Komunarivka between 1964 and 1990.[5]
Dzvenyhorod (Dźwinogród) has an Assumption Church (Uspenska tserkva) with belfry. It is located on the slope of a mountain next to the Dniester (Dnister) river. The church dates from 1801 but the western part was reconstructed in 1861. The village is located in the southern part of the Borshchiv district, on the bank of the Dniester river (during 1920–1939 when Dzvenyhorod was part of Poland, the river Dniester was the border between Poland and Romania's Bukovina).
Hermakivka (Germakówka) is a small village, located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Borshchiv, 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the river Zbruch. The Zbruch was the border between the Austrian and Russian empires during 1772–1918. (Hermakivka was on the Austrian side of the river). What is remarkable about Hermakivka is that there is a Trayan wall (Wal Trajana in Polish and Trajaniv Val in Ukrainian), south of the village. It stretches from Hermakivka south via Zalissia and Kdryntis to the river Dniester. The Trayan wall was built by the Romans (under the emperor
Trajan), as the northeastern border of the
Roman Empire (province of
Dacia).
Hlybochok (Głęboczek), a predominantly Polish settlement with a history dating back to about the 3rd millennium BCE.[5]
Holihrady, Goligrady (Holihrady) is located on the left bank of the Seret river, 23 km (14 mi) southwest of Borshchiv. The village has an old stone church and a cave.
Horodok (Gródek) is on the
isthmus of the Seret and Dniester rivers, 33 km (21 mi) southeast of Borshchiv, not far from the town of
Zalishchyky. Note that there is major town with the same name in the
Lviv region of Western Ukraine. The name literally means "little town". It had an old pre-historical settlement and a burial ground was also discovered here.
Ivane-Puste (Iwanie Puste) has traces of occupation dating back to 7000–6000 BCE. It has the wooden church of St. John the Evangelist[5] with a belfry. The church dates from 1775 (Polish kingdom times, two years before Ivane-Puste came under Austrian rule) and is a monument to the old Podolian school of people's architecture.
Kapustyntsi (Kapuścińce) is 22 km (14 mi) northwest of Borshchiv, on the left bank of the river Seret. The name comes from the Slavic root "kapusta" (cabbage). There used to be a Rus settlement here and there was also a medieval town.
Kasparivtsi (Kasparowce) is located 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Borshchiv, on the river Seret. Many old coins have been found in this village. It has an eighteenth-century stone church.
Khudiivtsi (Chudyjowce) has traces of occupation dating back to the first century CE.
Khudykivtsi (Chudykowce) was first mentioned in 1410.
Kryvche (Krzywcze) is known mainly because of its cave system, one of the longest in the world. It is also known for
Kryvche Castle, which dates from first half of the 17th century and is built of sandstone, representing a typical castle from that period. It is made up of the merging of two separate villages,
Verkhne Kryvche (Krzywcze Górne) and
Nizhne Kryvche (Krzywcze Dolne).
Kudryntsi (Kudryńce) also boasts a 17th-century castle. This one is located on the plateau of a steep mountain over the river Zbruch. This river was the border between the Austrian and Russian empires. Kudryntsi was on the right bank of Zbruch, i.e. the Austrian side. The original
wójts of this region were of the noble house Kudrycki z Kudrynce h. Labedz i.e. Herb Labedz; from the period predating the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, probably of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The castle was fortified about 1386 following the Kreva agreement. Legend has it the castle is linked with Kryvche via underground sandstone caves. This castle fortress is also built of sandstone, but it is non-regular in plan and has three corner towers. It was reconstructed in the 18th century. The Trayan Wall passes through Kudryntsi (from Hermakivka via Zalissia and Kudryntsi south to the river Dniester). This wall was built by the Roman emperor
Trajan, and served as the north-eastern border of the
Roman Empire.
Kulakivtsi (Kułakowce) is 32 km (20 mi) southwest of Borshchiv, on the isthmus of the rivers Dniester and Seret. The name comes from the Slavic word "kulak" (fist). The village has a 19th-century wooden church.
Lanivtsi (Łanowce) is 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Borshchiv. It has the remains of an old fortified settlement.
^
abcdefghijklmWolynetz, Lubow (1994). Borshchiv: Its Folk Art, Customs, and Traditions [Борщівщина: Народне мистецтво, побут та звичаї] (in English and Ukrainian). Translated by Baczynsky, Marta. New York:
Ukrainian Museum.
^Nicola, Christos; Taylor, Peter Lane (2007), The Secret of Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story, Minneapolis: Kar-Ben Publishing,
ISBN978-1-58013-260-2,
OCLC70265518
^Ostergard, Carey; Nicola, Chris (June–July 2004).
"Q&A: The darkest days". National geographic adventure. 6 (5). New York: National Geographic Society.
OCLC60657103. Archived from
the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2009.