Dovhe Territorial Community

History

The administrative center is the village of Dovhe. The first mentions of the village date back to 1383.

The most famous landmark of the village of Dovhe is an architectural monument of national importance – the palace-fortress of the Counts of Teleki, built in 1712-1798. The palace was built in the Baroque style and is a unique monument of manor architecture.

A large number of objects of material cultural heritage are located on the territory of the community, namely: the Saint Seraphim Convent in the village of Pryborzhavske, the ruins of the Bronka castle in the village of Bronka, the Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Dovhe, a water mill in the village of Pryborzhavske.

The Borzhava narrow-gauge railway, which was put into operation on December 23, 1908, passes through the territory of the community. The railway was primarily used to transport wood from the Polonyna Borzhava and Velikyi Dil mountain ranges to the Zakarpattia lowlands for further transportation and processing.

Economy and Welfare

A number of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the field of manufacturing or service provision operate on the territory of the community. The main lines of business are logging and woodworking, construction and service provision. On the other hand, agricultural production is poorly developed.

On the territory of the community, 205 individual entrepreneurs operate in various areas of service provision. They also engage in manufacturing industry, in particular they own workshops for the manufacture of products from wood, granite and concrete, and a bakery.

The main employers are enterprises, institutions and organizations of state and communal forms of ownership, in particular educational and medical institutions, forestry enterprises.

On the territory of the community there are naturally protected objects of national and local importance:

– Zacharovanyi Krai National Nature Park,
– Richanskyi Zoological Reserve,
– Rika Fish Reserve.

About 150 business entities operate on the territory of the community – usually, these are small enterprises with up to 25 employees. Most of the enterprises are engaged in construction, production of construction materials, agriculture, woodworking, forestry, trade, catering, and hotel services.

The largest enterprises operating on the territory of the community include as follows:

1. Borzhava Balneological Resort

2. Dovhe Forestry branch of the Forests of Ukraine

3. Staf-Dovhe (sawmill and planing production)
4. Pryborzhavske plant of building materials (production of lime and gypsum mixtures)

In 2023, the Village Council started the “Participatory Budget” practice, thus public institutions and community assets have the opportunity to take an active part in decision-making and join the development of the community. During this time, 5 public budget projects were successfully implemented.

In the Dovhe Territorial Community, the field of education works effectively, for which the largest part of funds is allocated from the community budget. There are 5 institutions of general secondary education, 4 institutions of preschool education, 1 educational institution in the field of culture (Dovhe School of Arts) operating on the territory of the community.

Great attention is paid to children with special educational needs who receive psychological, pedagogical and correctional services in educational institutions. Specialists of the Inclusive Resource Center of the Dovhe Village Council work with the children. They are tasked with helping each child integrate into society.

The restored Borzhava People’s Choir founded in 1954 is the calling card of the community. The group gained the greatest popularity under the leadership of the famous Ukrainian poet and composer Mykhailo Mashkin.

Community and War

From the first days of the war, residents of the Dovhe territorial community stood up to protect their Motherland from russian aggression. Currently, more than 300 men defend Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To date, 10 soldiers from the community have died, 9 are considered missing, and more than 20 are seriously injured.

From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, a humanitarian headquarters was organized in the village of Dovhe.

A lot of attention in the community is given to helping internally displaced persons. Since the beginning of the war, the Dovhe territorial community has received over 2,500 internally displaced persons. A shelter for internally displaced persons operates on the territory of the village of Dovhe, in which 18 people lived as of July 1, 2024.

People of the Community

Dovhe Village Head Viktor Symkanych was first elected to the post in 2015. Since then, he has been re-elected 4 times and has been the permanent head of the village since the establishment of the Dovhe United Territorial Community.

A number of important projects were implemented by the authorities of the Dovhe territorial community in 2023. Among them is the renovation of the facade of Vasyl Nimchuk.Dovhe Lyceum

Major repairs were made to the Bronka preschool.

A passport station was opened in the village of Dovhe.

Development Strategy.

The basis of the effectiveness of the Dovhe Territorial Community is the strategic planning of its activities. The development strategy of the Dovhe territorial community of the Zakarpattia region for 2021-2027 was prepared with the support of the Frankfurt Zoological Society as part of the International Climate Initiative of the Government of Germany.

The main tasks of local authorities are as follows:

1. Increasing the economic capacity of the community
2. Creating conditions for harmonious development of human and social capital
3. Preserving historical and cultural heritage

List of Sources

• Official website of the Dovhe Village Council – dovzhanska-gromada.gov.ua
• Official Facebook page of the Dovhe Territorial Community – facebook.com/dovzhanskagromada
• Wikipedia– wikipedia.org