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Bilky Territorial Community
Zakarpattia
Population:
The Bilky territorial community is located on the territory of Khust district, Zakarpattia region.
The total area of the territory: 149.6 square kilometers
Population: 20,690 people
Men: 9,517
Women: 11,173
Children: 2,300
People of retirement age: 4,600
Internally displaced persons: 700
The community includes 6 villages, with the administrative center in the village of Bilky.
History
The origin of the name of the village is told by an old legend about a beautiful, poor blonde girl, Bilka, who did not want to marry an old man she did not love. Out of grief, she went to the stream and drowned. The stream was named Bilka in her honor, and the settlement that grew on its banks – Bilky. In the period of the Hungarian Kingdom, the name Bilke (Bilki) was first mentioned in diplomas in 1338 under the name Bylke. During this period, the settlement had a seal with its own coat of arms – an image of oak and grape branches.
After the Second World War, the collective farm “For a New Life” operated in the village. There was a vodka distillery, a knitting factory, and shops here. In Soviet times, the village of Bilky was included in the list of “Experimental villages”, where the infrastructure was more reminiscent of an urban one: high-rise buildings, clubs, modernist architecture and sometimes even airports. This project was supposed to show that villages can turn into cities.
Interesting places worth visiting here are watermills in the villages of Lukovo, Imstychovo and Bilky, the remains of the unique narrow-gauge railway Lukovo-Imstychovo-Bilky, caves (former coal mines), churches in the villages of the community, a monument to the Apostles Peter and Paul, which are guardians of the village of Bilky. So, the Day of the Village of Bilky is traditionally celebrated on their Feast Day.
The pride of the Bilky community is its compatriots. The most famous of them are Ivan Firtsak-Kroton (pseudonym – Ivan Syla (Eng: the Strength)), a world-famous Ukrainian wrestler and Stepan Giga, a composer and People’s Artist of Ukraine
Economy and Welfare
Rich natural resources are the basis for the development of the community economy. The main area is agriculture, including the cultivation of grain crops, horticulture, vegetable growing, winemaking and animal husbandry – cattle breeding, sheep breeding, beekeeping.
There are also blacksmith workshops that manufacture forged products for the household and industrial needs.
Woodworking industry is another area of activities here.
The community has deposits of minerals – stones and brown coal, which can become the basis for industrial extraction and production.
Among the registered business entities, the sphere of wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, transport (cargo transportation) and communications prevail.
A promising areas in the community are the development of rural green tourism and the field of renewable energy.
There are 11 institutions of general secondary education and 12 institutions of preschool education on the territory of the community. A school bus takes children to schools. The community also has the opportunity to obtain professional education at the agricultural lyceum in the professions of electrician, welder, plasterer, body straightening mechanic.
There is a Children’s School of Arts, libraries, football, choreography, wrestling and weightlifting clubs in the community. Young athletes participate in numerous competitions and tournaments. In every village of the community there are cultural institutions where thematic celebrations are held, for example, Christmas caroling and Easter egg exhibitions.
Medical services for the population are provided by 6 medical and preventive institutions. There is also a Community Police Officer Station to ensure law and order.
Community and War
Undoubtedly, the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine had a significant impact on the Bilky community, especially on its demographic situation. The negative impact caused a mass exodus of young people and the able-bodied population abroad, instead a large number of people arrived from the occupied regions. More than 3,500 displaced people were temporarily accommodated in the community. They were provided with housing and food. The community received numerous humanitarian goods to meet the needs of forcibly displaced people. Currently, 700 people live in the community and about 100 of them live in communally owned institutions.
In addition, the community supports and responds to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They provide military equipment (body armor, night vision devices, helmets, sleeping bags), medicine, food and cars for the needs of the military.
Currently, the community provides veteran services to individuals who need it. Comprehensive service “I am a Veteran” is available here.
People of the Community
Vasyl Zeikan has headed the Bilky community since 2020.
The Bilky community has a sister city in Hungary – Ibrany.
Under the leadership of the Head, they signed an agreement on cooperation between Bilky, Irshava, Dovhe and Zarichchia communities of the Zakarpattia region and the village of Novi Petrivtsi of the Kyiv region.
An agreement on cooperation with the USAID Ukraine Governance and Local Accountability (HOVERLA) program was signed between the Bilky Village Council and DAI GLOBAL LCC.
The Bilky Village Council is a member of the All-Ukrainian Association of Local Government Bodies “Association of Ukrainian Cities”. The Bilky community also actively cooperates with the “U-LEAD with Europe” program.
Youth initiatives are also actively supported. They involve local youth and internally displaced young people as part of the implementation of the “Youth Councils of Zakarpattia” project, which is carried out by the Charitable Foundation “Center for Community Initiatives” with the support of the USAID “Hoverla” Project.
Two youth spaces were opened in two villages of the community – Imstychovo and Malyi Rakovets, where various activities are held for active young people.
The community has an Administrative Services Center which consists of the Central Office and 4 remote workplaces. Currently, it provides more than 350 types of services and serves more than 20,000 people. It uses an electronic queue.
A community police officer’s station was also opened in the village of Bilky to ensure law and order and the safety of residents of all villages of the community.
Development Strategy
In 2023, the Development Strategy of the Bilky Rural Territorial Community for the period until 2027 was approved.
The tourism industry is considered a development priority because it has all the necessary prerequisites. It is planned to develop tourist routes, film promo videos about the community, support entrepreneurs who want to work in the field of accommodation and catering services.
A project has been prepared whose purpose is the development and transformation of the House of Culture in the village of Bilky into a large-scale sports complex named after Ivan Firtsak – Kroton. Unfortunately, a full-scale invasion makes its own adjustments, so for now this construction has been postponed.
