Brody Territorial Community

History

The Brody territorial community was formed on October 25, 2020.

Brody is an ancient settlement of the Lviv Region, located on the historical border of Halychyna and Volyn. Archaeological finds indicate that people have lived in the vicinity of the modern town since the Late Paleolithic period (more than 10,000 years BC).

The first written mention of the population center is associated with Brody mentioned in Grand Prince Volodymyr Monomakh’s Instruction to His Children. Here, in the spring and winter of 1084, meetings between Chernihiv Prince Volodymyr Monomakh and Volyn Prince Yaropolk Iziaslavych took place.

The town owes its name to the swampy area and crossings that existed here (“Brody” translates as “fording sites” in English).

During the war, the town suffered significant destruction – the central and western parts of the historic center were destroyed. During the Soviet period, Brody was an important military center – several military units were located and large industrial enterprises worked here.

Brody is a town on the historical route of Via Regia.

The town of Brody is included in the List of Historical Population Centers of Ukraine as a settlement in which the planning system of the ideal town of the 17th century and a significant number of assets of historical and cultural heritage of the 18th – early 20th century have been preserved.

On the territory of the town there is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine which occupies approximately 10 hectares. According to the conducted research, it was found that there are more than 8,000 burials in the cemetery, 547 of which have intact stelae.

Important historical and cultural monuments are preserved in Brody, such as the Brody Castle, the Great Brody Synagogue, the Jewish Cemetery and the Tyshkevychs’ Palace.

The famous Austrian writer Joseph Roth was born in Brody. Zygmunt Freud’s mother, Amalia (Malka) Nathansohn, was also born here. Brody was visited by Honore de Balzac, who in 1847 stayed in the “Russian Hotel” in Brody when he was on his way to the Ukrainian countess Evelina with whom he was in love.

In 2019, a grand concert was held in Brody near the ruins of the Synagogue: “In memory of Joseph Roth”

Economy and Welfare

There are 1,330 business entities operating in the community, including 558 legal entities and 772 individual entrepreneurs. A significant part of business entities is engaged in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

Today, Brody is the center of the Brody urban territorial community of Lviv region. Several industrial enterprises operate in the town. Also, there are the Markiyan Shashkevych Pedagogical College, the Ivan Trush Gymnasium, three secondary schools, a school of aesthetic education, a sports school, centers for children’s and youth creativity, adult and children’s libraries, and the Brody General and Local History Museum.

One of the largest taxpayer enterprises is Hjort Knudsen Ukraine (furniture and textile production) employing 670 people.

The community has at its disposal land plots that are potentially attractive for investment. This is especially relevant given the short- and medium-term expectations of good transport accessibility. A significant number of international and other roads pass through the territory of the Brody community.

The Brody community has a significant potential for the development of tourism and recreation. The most valuable assets of historical and cultural heritage are the Brody Castle, the Great Synagogue and the new Jewish Necropolis in Brody, the church of St. Yuriy and others. In the structure of inbound tourism, there is a small number of domestic tourists and a predominance of foreign tourists. Most often, tourists come for the purpose of educational and religious tourism.

The community also has a strong recreational potential and is characterized by natural attractiveness: forests, reservoirs, mountainous terrain (landscapes). The nature reserve fund of the community includes such objects as Leshnivsky nature reserve of national importance, Northern Podillia national nature park, Kempa and Ponykivskyi nature reserves, and protected tracts of Lahodivske and Pisky.

The Brody community is popular as a hunting center – the State Enterprise “Hunting Entity “Styr” (Zbrui village), as well as 2 private hunting entities of “Nadbuzhzhia” (Sasiv village) and “BION” (Kovpyn Stavok village) operate here.

Brody actively promotes tourist events, such as the Christmas fairy plays, the Vyshyvanka festival, the honey festival, and others. Concerts, festivals and various sports events are also held in the town.

The development of the tourism industry is one of the operational goals included in the Development Strategy of the Brody Town Community until 2027. The Town Council stimulates the development of tourism and recreation – it works on the development of tourist infrastructure, restoration of tourist facilities and promotion of the community. Also, there are a number of hotel and recreation complexes on the territory of the community. The Brody community has 8 historical monuments, 46 architectural monuments, 16 archeological monuments, and 4 monuments of monumental art. The Northern Podillia National Nature Park with developed excursion routes operates on the territory of the community.

Alternative energy is developing in the community: with the assistance and financing of the town government and the support of the ECOCLUB NGO, solar power plants have been installed in the communal town hospital and at the water intake. A solar power plant with a capacity of 100 kW has been installed as a backup power source at the water intake.

In 2017 the “Public Budget” was introduced, the regulations on which are regularly reviewed and improved. Starosta-headed districts were involved in the initiative. More than 20 projects were successfully implemented. Over 3,000 residents were involved in voting. A total of 70 projects were submitted, thus activating the community and its influence on territory beautification and decision-making. In 2022, the initiative was suspended until the end of the full-scale invasion.

There are 12 kindergartens attended by 1,196 children, 22 schools seating 4,558 students, and 625 educators and teachers working in the field of education in the Brody community. The community has 47 medical institutions, in which 550 employees work. There are 38 cultural institutions in the community, including a music school, a historical museum, libraries and cultural centers.

Community and War

The war greatly affected the economic sector due to a reduction in the number of enterprises as a result of emigration and mobilization, a significant decrease in demand, and the destruction of logistics routes. Tax revenues decreased significantly, which had an impact on the maintenance of community infrastructure, educational and cultural spheres. The community suffered 4 rocket attacks with partial destruction of property. Currently, 3,746 IDPs are registered in the community, and there is 1 relocated enterprise.

A significant part of the residents is in military service, as, since the first days of the war, the residents of the Brody community have rushed to defend their Motherland against russian aggression. Currently, more than 1,070 men are defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To date, 145 soldiers from the community have died, 44 are considered missing, and more than 115 are seriously injured.

Since the first days of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, the volunteer movement in the Brody community has activated. The activity was noted in the project “Local Leaders” and Mayor Anatoliy Beley was included in the top 10 managers-local leaders who showed themselves heroically and proved that being an official means being a person of great rank.

At the beginning of the Great War, the Town Council became the main coordinator of volunteer support for defenders and internally displaced persons. The central stadium of Brody has turned into a large point of distribution of humanitarian aid.

Community artists also rallied to support the Armed Forces. Charitable events are constantly organized by the Creative Group “Svoi”, the Cultural and Art Center “Era”, the communal institution “Boyan Music Society”. The associations cooperate with the Town Council.

Periodic joint volunteer trips to the combat zone are organized here. More than 30 volunteer visits to defenders were made by representatives of the executive committee of the Brody Town Council with the head of the community alone. More than 50 meetings with foreign partners were also held.

More than 100 cars were given to soldiers by sworn brothers from Norway. Dozens of off-road vehicles were sent to combat positions from friends in Ireland. Humanitarian goods came from partner cities in Germany and Poland.

People of the Community

Local deputies are among those who, by their own example, motivate residents to stand up for the defense of the country and joined the Armed Forces: Taras Shapoval, Ihor Klym, Mykola Haba.

Unfortunately, Mykola Haba was killed.

Development Strategy

The Brody Town Council has prepared and approved the Development Strategy of the Brody Urban Territorial Community until 2027.

Its main goals include:

• Improving the investment attractiveness of the territory
• Business support
• Development of the tourist industry
• Innovative education
• An effective network of public health and social protection institutions
• The newest cultural space
• A healthy lifestyle
• Sustainable development of the territory
• A safe environment
• A transparent and effective government
• Active citizens

List of Sources

• Website of the Brody Urban Territorial Community – mrbrody.dosvit.org.ua
• Official Facebook page of the Town Council facebook.com
• Collection of photos of the information and analytical department of the Brody Town Council.
• Website of Krai NGO brodyhistory.org.ua