Putyla Territorial Community

History

In the very center of the Bukovyna Carpathians, above the Putylka River, there was an ancient Hutsul town, now the settlement of Putyla, which was once called Storonets-Putyliv or simply Storonets. Linguists explain that the name of the settlement comes from the Latin “puteus”, that is, a well. Others say that it originates from the Slavic word “put” (English “path”). And the popular version claims that the name of the settlement comes from the names of the Putyla and Storonets streams.

From time immemorial, hunters and herdsmen settled in this area seeking refuge in the mountains and forests from persecution and oppression.

Putyla was first mentioned in written sources in 1501. It, together with other settlements, was transferred by the Polish king to the feudal lord Ion Teutul for his services in the cause of peace building between Poland and Moldova. Thus, we can conclude that the settlement was founded much earlier. A treasure of Roman silver coins of the 2nd century, found in the village of Ploska, can evidence that the road along Putyla is very old.

Historians claim that these lands were part of Kyivan Rus as far back as the 10th-11th centuries and then belonged to the principalities of Galicia and Galicia-Volhynia in the 12th- early 14th century. The Putyla area suffered both the oppression of the Hordes and Hungarian rule.

During the Second World War, Putyla was almost completely burned down.

In the post-war period, Putyla residents joined their efforts for a common goal. First of all, the inhabitants of the settlements worked for the revival of the economy. A forestry and a wood industrial husbandry started their operations receiving a significant amount of equipment from various towns of the country.

Putyla has quite large collections of artistic, scientific and professional literature, which are stored in the central district library.

The pride of the people of Putyla is the ancient architecture. The building that housed the court until recently was built during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is located next to the current administration of the state treasury service. According to the testimonies of the old residents, the building where the treasury office is now located once housed the town hall when the town was under the Romanian rule, and the former courthouse housed a prison. Both spaces are connected by a solid basement. In the basement room, metal torture hooks have been preserved on the ceiling until now.

The St. Nicholas Church which was founded in 18th in honor of St. Nicholas stands in the center of Putyla. It was a very small church that could hold 60 people. So, in 1885 it was rebuilt to a larger one. A spacious courtyard, surrounded by an ancient fence, where the family house of the writer Yury Fedkovych is located, became the “pilgrimage” destination of Putyla’s guests.

The interior reproduces the atmosphere of the first half of the 19th century. Among the exhibits are copies of editions of the writer’s works, his personal belongings from different periods of his life, such as his childhood in Putyla, service in the Austrian army, work and life in Chernivtsi. The original family estate of the Fedkovychs did not survive – it burned down. However, in 1974, it was restored exactly as shown in the photograph and according to the author’s works, but without the outbuildings. A museum was opened in the estate at the same time.

The traditional literary and artistic holiday “Shovkova Kosytsia” gathers local residents and guests of the area every year at the family house of Yuriy Fedkovych on the occasion of his birthday. The event has been held since 1974 on the first Sunday of August and is one of the most prestigious.

In the Krasnyi Dil mountains of the village of Serhii, a wooden house has been preserved, in which the popular leader of the anti-serf peasant uprisings, Lukian Kobylitsia, was born and grew up. He was a national hero, the first Hutsul deputy in the Austrian Reichstag from the Vyzhnytsia district, which then included the village of Serhii and all the population centers of the Putyla area.

The house is more than 200 years old. The exposition presents ancient Hutsul household items. A cellar, a well and a storeroom have been preserved on the premises of the house. Ancient tools have been preserved in the storeroom. There is also a garden near the house.

Economy and Welfare

The main components of the economy of the Putyla territorial community include energy, agriculture, production, construction, education, culture, health care and tourism.

Forestry is also developing here. There are business structures that export sawn timber and wood in round form. Furniture can be made from this wood, and pallets and chipboards can be made from waste. This product is in demand by both internal and external consumers.

There is potential for the development of sheep breeding, cattle breeding and pig breeding on the territory of the Putyla community. From time immemorial, these activities have been the main business of the Hutsuls. The natural potential of the Carpathians contributes to the production of environmentally friendly products: milk, cheese, meat, leather, organic fertilizers. It is also possible to resume the work of the meat processing plant in the village of Maly Dykhtynets.

Mushroom picking is also quite developed in the community. Boletus mushrooms always carry a price, and local residents do not waste time during the mushroom season and replenish their stocks or sell their mushroom harvest to buyers.

There are 9 educational institutions, 2 art schools and extracurricular educational institutions in the community, in which more than 1,800 students receive their education.

There is a communal institution “Centre of Culture and Leisure” on the territory of the Putyla community which includes 9 libraries, 5 clubs, 4 houses of culture and the folk amateur theater group “Kolyba”.

Adult and children’s groups of different age work in the Center of Culture and Leisure. In the current conditions, the priority task of culture is the patriotic upbringing of children and youth. Pupils of the Center of Culture and Leisure are multiple laureates and winners of the grand prix of charitable international and all-Ukrainian festivals.

Community and War

The full-scale invasion significantly affected the economic situation in the community as it is currently still impossible to determine the consequences of the russian aggression and make a real forecast of the community’s development.

The community lost 17 residents who protected the territorial integrity of Ukraine at the cost of their own lives. At the moment, the community is setting up an Alley of Glory to Heroes on the central square in the settlement of Putyla.

Since the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, the Putyla territorial community has provided shelter to more than 1,100 people, some of whom live in the community to this day. Internally displaced persons who have forcibly moved to the territory of the community attend educational and cultural institutions, including schools, kindergartens and after-school institutions and centers of culture and leisure.

People of the Community

During his tenure, the road surface in the community was repaired;

A shelter was set up;

A dispensary of general practice of family medicine was built in the village of Dykhtynets.

Also, the community established relations with charitable foundations for receiving charitable aid. A gasoline generator was granted by the International Charitable Foundation helping military and displaced persons “Idu na VY” and three more generators were received from the public organization “Chernivtsi Business Group” and installed in the administrative buildings of the community.

The community also received an ambulance from the Austrian Charitable Foundation through the Red Cross Society of Ukraine, which was handed over to the Putyla Hospital.

Medical equipment in the Putyla hospital was updated, video gastroscopy was launched, a modern laparoscope was purchased for the operating room, and high-quality lighting was installed in it.

Development Strategy

The community has approved a development strategy until 2027. Creation of conditions for rational use of community resources and development of entrepreneurship and manufacturing industry, as well as development of education, sports, culture, health care and community security were determined as the main development goals.

The community plans to build a sports football town and green tourism estates, as well as reconstruct the dams on the Storonetskyi Potik River and restore the full cycle of production of meat and dairy products.

The community population centers have a powerful and interesting historical past which should be used for further strategic development of the community.

List of Sources

• putylska-gromada.gov.ua/news
• putylska-gromada.gov.ua