Berezne Territorial Community

 History

The administrative centre of the Berezne Urban Territorial Community is the town of Berezne. It is located on the left bank of the Sluch River, 66 km away from the city of Rivne and 20 km away from the Malynsk railway station.

The first written mention of Berezne dates back to 1445. Before 1700, along with this name, the town had the name of Andriiv, was part of the Lutsk County and belonged to the Golovniov – Ostrozhetskyi princes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Berezne witnessed a rapid development of its economy. A paper factory on the Sluch River, a distillery in the town of Berezne, a brick factory, two steam mills, a church, an Orthodox church, and a synagogue were built.

During the fascist occupation, the routes of partisan units passed through the area.

While traveling through the Berezne area, it is worth visiting the arboretum located in the territory of the Berezne Forestry College. It was founded in 1979 on an area of 30 hectares. The arboretum was created over 20 years ago as a result of the hard work of enthusiasts, students and teachers of the Berezne Forestry College. About 900 species and forms of woody plants, the best examples of vegetation from different regions of countries and continents have been collected. Today, the park has 7 km of observation paths.

Economy and Welfare

The Berezne Community is represented by industrial enterprises producing: matches, paper, food products, light industry goods – sewing products, production of building materials (lumber, metal tiles, corrugated board), craft beer, charcoal.

The largest enterprises of the Community:

UKRAINIAN MATCH FACTORY, which manufactures matches, household and industrial candles;

BIMOL is one of the largest enterprises producing goods from dairy raw materials;

Berezne Forestry, which produces products of the wood processing industry;

Dahbud, which produces building materials, such as corrugated board and metal tiles;

ULENKO, a joint Ukrainian-French enterprise of light industry specializing in producing womenswear,

Zirnenskyi Distillery, which produces alcohol-containing liquids and vodka products and

Volyn Brewery, which produces craft beer from local vegetable raw materials. 

All of the aforementioned enterprises, apart from the local market, export their products to EU countries.

140 legal entities operate in the territory of the Community, including one legal entity with foreign investments.

The Community runs twenty-three general secondary education institutions, twelve preschool education institutions, two institutions of extracurricular education, and two inclusive resource centres.

The Community actively cares about the cultural development of its population. It has a municipal culture centre, twenty-eight clubs, a local history museum, a music school, a municipal library, which includes thirty-four branch libraries.

A significant part of the funds is allocated for the development of medicine. The Community runs a central municipal hospital, eighteen outpatient clinics, twenty-six paramedic and midwife centres, a dental polyclinic and private dental offices, as well as a private hospital. 

Community and War

With the beginning of the war, the representatives of the Berezne Community stood up for the defence of the Motherland. Unfortunately, the war brought a lot of sad news to the homes of the Community residents as since 2022, more than 80 families have lost their relatives who served in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Every resident of the Community has been an active participant in the collection of humanitarian aid for Ukrainians in the Armed Forces since the beginning of the war.

The Berezne Urban Territorial Community has been actively involved in evacuation processes and provision of assistance to those in need. In May 2022, 2,700 people who acquired the status of internally displaced persons were registered in the territory of the Community. The Berezne Forestry Technical College became a place for a compact residence of internally displaced persons where, as of 2023, about 100 people are living.

Nongovernmental organizations, volunteers, representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora from different countries have created a live “chain of invincibility” that allows timely response to the challenges caused by the war. One of the most active local representatives of non-governmental organizations trying to resolve various humanitarian aid issues, among others, include: I Care charity fund and BEREZNE GATE nongovernmental organization.

People of the Community

Ruslan Pylypchuk is the head of the Community.

A recreation area near the Kohannia Lake has also been arranged: gazebos with swings have been installed and playgrounds for kids have been restored, Nezalezhnost Square has been overhauled.

The water tower has been replaced and the system of treatment facilities has been reconstructed with the equipment of the iron removal station being renovated.

Development Strategy

Currently, active work is underway to prepare a community development strategy.

The main priorities of the development strategy, which will ensure economic growth and raise the standard of living in the Community, are:

• Construction, reconstruction and overhaul of communal roads;
• Creation of an industrial park;
• Establishment of a modern rehabilitation centre for war victims using the existing medical infrastructure facilities;
• Support of the communal sphere, implementation of energy-efficient measures, thermal modernization, insulation of facades;
• Garbage processing (if possible, installation of a sorting line);
• Arrangement of public leisure areas such as parks and squares;
• Creation of modern ecological routes through the picturesque places of the Community.

List of Source

• Officila website of the Berezne Town Council of the Rivne District of the Rivne Region
• Official Facebook page of the Berezne Town Council
• Official website of the Berezne District Local History Museum