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Buchach Territorial Community
Ternopil'
Population:
Created on December 11, 2020, the Buchach urban territorial community, Chortkiv district, Ternopil region is located in the western part of Ukraine.
The community includes 37 population centers – the town of Buchach as its administrative center and 36 villages united into 23 starosta-headed districts.
The community has an advantageous transport and geographical location. The town of Buchach is located 30 km from the district center of Chortkiv and 70 km from the regional center of Ternopil. The area of the community is 531.2 km².
As of January 1, 2022, the population was 37,323 people.
Urban population: 12,171 people
Rural population: 25,152 people
Internally displaced persons: 982
History
The first written mention of the town of Buchach dates back to 1260.
The Town Hall in Buchach is a world-famous building and the pride of the people of Buchach. It is one of Ukraine’s most exquisite buildings and is rightfully considered one of the best in Europe. It was built in the middle of the 18th century in the Rococo style (architect Bernard Meretin, sculptor Johann Georg Pinzel, founder Mykola Vasyl Potocki). The legend tells that the founder of the Town Hall wanted it to be taller than the Lviv Kornyakt Tower.
One of the main highlights of the town are the ruins of the Buchach Castle of the 14th century, which are located in the south-western part of the town, on top of a high rocky plateau with steep slopes that descend to the Strypa River and an unnamed stream.
The Parish Church of the Assumption of the Virgin was built in 1761–1763 at the foot of the castle hill on the site of the old Gothic church at the expense of Mykola Potocki. It was here that the outstanding sculptor Johann Georg Pinzel married Mariana Keitova. His two sons were also baptized here. There is a defunct organ of the 18th century in the church.
The Buchach Basilian Fathers monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord was built on Mount Fedir in the town of Buchach. It was founded on December 7, 1712 on the basis of the tycoon’s charter published in Lublin by Stefan Alexander Potocki.
A castle built in the 14th century is the oldest building in the village of Yazlovets. It is located on a narrow ridge of the plateau, which is surrounded on three sides by the bend of the VIlkhovets River. In terms of strength and defensive means, the castle above Vilkhovets was one of the best fortresses in the region, but over time it lost its functions as a defensive structure and was abandoned by its owners at the end of the 18th century.
Next to the castle there is a monastery, which began to operate in 1863. People come here to pray to Blessed Marcelina Darovska.
Solomiya Krushelnytska, a world-famous opera singer, is a.well-known figure of the Buchach community.
Solomiya Krushelnytska was born on September 23, 1872 in the family of a priest in the picturesque village of Bilyavyntsi, Buchach area. In 1878, they moved to the village of Bila not far from Ternopil and stayed there.
Johann Georg Pinzel, a mid-18th century sculptor, representative of the late Baroque and Rococo, is also a native of Buchach. Modern Buchach with its magnificent architectural monuments is hard to imagine without the figure of the brilliant sculptor Johann Georg Pinzel and his glorious creations.
The sculptor left behind masterpieces of stone and wood sculpture on the territory of the Buchach area. He is the author of stone roadside statues of Jan Nepomuk (1750), Our Lady (1751), biblical and mythological sculptural groups on Town Hall which became one of the most outstanding buildings in Europe.
He worked on the altars in the Church of the Intercession, the Assumption Church, and left one of his best works – the sculpture of St. Onuphrius – in the village of Rukomysh, near Buchach.
Economy and Welfare
Agriculture, food production, retail and wholesale trade, hotel and restaurant business and household services of the population are actively working and developing in the Buchach community.
The largest number of enterprises are representatives of small business, mainly micro-businesses and private entrepreneurs. More than 260 legal entities are registered and operating on the territory of the Buchaсh Town Council, including one legal entity with foreign investments. The total number of individual entrepreneurs registered in the community is about 1,200. There are 5 communal enterprises and institutions.
Agriculture is the main sector of the economy of the Buchach urban territorial community. In general, agricultural lands occupy 63% of the community’s lands, which indicates a high level of agricultural land development. The main fields of crop production are aimed at the cultivation of grain and oil crops, vegetable growing, horticulture, and berry growing.
The community has 37 agricultural companies of which 17 are farming enterprises.
There are 5 farming enterprises engaged in the livestock industry, of which 3 farms breed pigs, 1 farm breeds cattle, and 1 farm breeds other animals.
There are 5 industrial enterprises that produce food and other household items in the Buchach urban territorial community. The community supplies ethyl alcohol, wood, food products and animal feed to 65 countries of the world.
There are 32 institutions of general secondary education operating within the territorial community, including 29 preschool education institutions, 1 out-of-school educational institution “Suzirya”, 1 inclusive resource center and 1 sports school.
Also, the cultural sphere is actively developing in the community – there are 30 different club establishments.
Medical assistance to the population of the community at the primary level is provided by the Center for Primary Health Care which includes 7 outpatient clinics of general practice of family medicine.
At the secondary level, specialized medical care is provided to the population of the Buchach community by the Buchach Town Hospital, which is the only medical institution in the community that provides such services.
All the necessary conditions for sports have been created on the territory of the community . It has the central stadium “Kolos” in the town of Buchach where a number of local, school and regional level events are held.
On the territory of the community there are many sports grounds for various sports, football fields, sports grounds with a synthetic surface.
Community and War
With the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 800 residents of the Buchach community stood up to defend their Motherland. To date, 21 soldiers from the community have died and there are seriously wounded, missing and captured defenders.
Those residents of the community who cannot fight at the front today join various volunteer organizations and help the Ukrainian military by working in the home front.
The Buchach territorial community received more than 7,000 internally displaced persons. 3 centers for the temporary stay seating 470 internally displaced persons were created. About 1,000 such families were accommodated by community residents.
A center for providing humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons was established at the town council. They issued food and hygiene products among other things. Cooperation was organized to provide humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons through international charitable foundations.
They supported and helped in organizing the work of the KorridorUA Czech charity hub.
Since 2014, the volunteer center “Volunteers of the Buchach Area” has been working continuously in the community, which coordinates the volunteer work of all starosta-headed districts of the Buchach community.
Autonomous sources of electrical energy were provided to all critically important areas of community activity.
Shelters were set up in 32 schools and preschools.
The community is working on creating a rehabilitation center for soldiers and their families on the basis of the Yazlovets Monastery and a rehabilitation center for victims of the war between russia and Ukraine in the village of Barysh together with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. They established cooperation with the Swiss branch of the Red Cross, representatives of Japanese business, the Lutsk Consulate General of the Republic of Poland, and the creative intelligentsia of Lithuania.
People of the Community
On October 25, 2020, Vitalii Freiak was elected Head of the Buchach urban territorial community.
From the first days, large-scale work aimed at supporting our compatriots who are defending Ukraine from the occupiers has been launched. The main hub engaged in volunteer activities is the public organization “Volunteers of the Buchachch Area”, which has been coordinating the collection of aid for Ukrainian defenders since 2014. Volunteers regularly visit the military at all frontline positions and deliver supplies and collect orders.
Today, the public organization has about 20 official members, but since February 24, hundreds more of caring people have rallied around it, helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine in every possible way. Village starostas, employees of cultural, educational, and medical institutions, schoolchildren, and active community residents organize the collection of products, things, and funds for the needs of the army. The main collection point operates in the Buchach cinema, where aid is sorted and distributed.
The youth organizations of the town did not stay away either. They include the “Youth Portal of Buchach” and the Buchach Plast. Every time they organize charity races, marathons, fairs, quests, where they collect money to buy the most necessary things for soldiers and make energy bars.
The Department of Youth and Sports of the Buchach Town Council is also actively involved. Employees of cultural institutions in the Buchach community also directed all their efforts to be useful to the Ukrainian army. Camouflage nets are woven in club establishments in the villages. Also there are local aid collection points there. During art events organized by cultural representatives, considerable sums of money are collected which volunteers use to prepare packages to soldiers.
Similar events take place in the educational institutions of the community. Schoolchildren, together with teachers, regularly donate money to the volunteer center so that they make their contribution in the Ukrainian victory.
The Administrative Services Center of the Buchach Town Council worked in enhanced mode. Its employees were engaged in the registration of new arrivals and provided them with all the necessary administrative services. In total, about 7,000 people were received.
During the war, local business actively participated in the approaching Ukrainian victory. Private entrepreneurs help with funds and resources, provide military essentials, deliver humanitarian aid to those who need it most.
The Social Services Center of the Buchach Town Council actively cooperates with international organizations that provide financial assistance to people affected by the war.
From the first days of January, the communal institution “Buchach Town Utilities Multi-Unit Enterprise” ensures the functioning of critical infrastructure on the territory of the community in case of emergency situations. At the beginning of spring, they installed generators that keep the hospital and water pumping stations running in the event of a power outage.
Development Strategy
- Development of the economy and businesses of the community
- development of spatial, planning and land management documentation
- creation of favorable conditions for business development in the community and investment attraction
- modernization of tourist facilities and creation of tourist products
- Development of the human potential of the community
- support of public initiatives and stimulation of the development of public activity
- development of the “Digital Community” system
- development of an optimization plan and provision of educational services
- improving standards of medical care
- provision of cultural needs. Creation of cultural and artistic centers of the community
- preserving the historical heritage of the community.
- development of sports in the community
- development of the system of providing social services
- implementation of effective energy management and energy monitoring
- liquidation of spontaneous waste disposal sites. Development and implementation of the waste management system
- increasing security measures and public order. Creation of police stations in the community
- increasing the quality of the provision of utilities, as close to the needs of the population as possible
- branding of the community territory
- establishment of inter-municipal cooperation and partnership relations with other communities and municipalities of other countries
- Development of comfortable living conditions and raising the standard of living of the community population
- modernization, repair and strengthening of the material and technical base of educational institutions
- modernization, repair and strengthening of the material and technical base of sports institutions and facilities
- construction and reconstruction of public service institutions
- capital repair of the road between populated centers
- capital repair of the sidewalks
- construction of new and reconstruction of old water supply systems in the community population centers
- modernization of street lighting in populated centers
- development and implementation of a program of beautification and greening of the community populated centers
List of Sources
- Official website of the Buchach Town Council
- Official Facebook page of the Buchach Town Council
- The collection of photos by Ivan Vynnychenko was taken on the territory of the Buchach urban territorial community and provided to the executive committee of the Buchach Town Council for free use.
- Photos from the collections of the Buchach Museum of Local History.