Rohatyn Community

History 

The community is located on the territory where the ancient and unique Lypytsk culture developed and reached its peak in the 2nd century B.C. Since then, Rohatyn has always remained at the epicentre of important historical events.

The town of Rohatyn received Magdeburg rights earlier than Kyiv, back in 1415.

Here was born legendary Roksolana (Anastasia Lisovska), the legal wife of Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and one of the most influential women in the history of the Ottoman Empire.

Numerous architectural monuments testify to the rich historical past. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Located in the town of Rohatyn, the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin of the 12th-14th centuries is an architectural monument of national importance. It is the oldest and most valuable church building of the Rohatyn area, which has been almost completely preserved from the times of the Galician principality. The first written mention comes from the location act granted by the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło in 1419. The structure is a three-part traditional temple with two pillars and a Gothic ribbed vault. The church burned three times and was rebuilt with alterations which resulted in the creative combination of the elements of Gothic and Baroque architecture.

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the village of Chesnyky is an architectural monument of national importance. Some researchers date the beginning of construction to the 14th-16th centuries. The three-part, limestone-built church with smooth plastered walls and deep niches of rectangular window openings is covered with a pyramidal shingle roof. Fragments of the wall, several white stone crosses, a figure of the Mother of God, and a tombstone have been preserved in the church yard.

The Catholic Church of St. Nicholas and Anna is an active church in the town of Rohatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region. It is an ancient spiritual centre, a model of Gothic and Renaissance architecture of the 15th-17th centuries, a valuable monument of cultural and sacred heritage.

Fire tuck from Sindelfingen

Thanks to cooperation with Cities 4 Cities | United 4 Ukraine platform the city of Sindelfingen has delivered a firetruck to Rohatyn as part of the PHOENIX4UA project, initiated by the city and its mayor Dr. Bernd Vöhringer with the support of German federal ministry.

Mayor Serhiy Nasalyk says:
“Thanks to our partners this firetruck will serve in the volunteer firefighters brigade of Verholypestk district of the municipality. Especially in rural areas, it is of utmost importance to react quickly and effectively to safe people’s lives and property”

Economy

The community’s economy is primarily based on the agricultural, food, mining and woodworking industries. There are factories for the production of soft drinks, soap and detergents, polymer containers, a meat processing plant, and a brick factory in the community.

More than 100 agricultural enterprises are registered in the community. Rohatyn farmers carefully grow grain, industrial, fodder, vegetable crops, and potatoes. Horticulture (raspberries, blueberries, etc.) is actively developing here. Wheat, corn, sunflower, soy, and rapeseed are the leading crops in agriculture.

Craft products

The community has a dairy agricultural service cooperative, EKOM. It was founded by Oleh Zhuravinskyi who produces Chesnyky cheese in the village of Chesnyky.

In the village of Chesnyky, the Rosolovskyi family is engaged in the production of natural oils, and they started their own brand, Opillya Oils. The Rosolovskyi family produces 7 types of oils: linseed, mustard, pumpkin, walnut, hemp, thistle and sesame oils. Each of them has its own useful properties and helps with various health problems.

Rohatyn Opillya (Eng. – High Plains)

The community is located within the picturesque Rohatyn high plains. A natural centre of meadow-steppe vegetation unique to Prykarpattia has been preserved here.

The tourist will find the following sights especially interesting: Roksolana Monument (Rohatyn), Chortova Hora (Pukiv village), Rey Manor (Pryozerne village), Rohatyn Local History Museum Opillya, pottery workshop of the Rohatyn Local History Museum Opillya.

In Rohatyn, Songs of Opillya, a regional open folklore festival is traditionally held. Its purpose is to identify, preserve and popularize the best examples of the intangible cultural heritage of the Opillya area.

Since 2018, the Zalizna Bartka (Eng. – Iron Chip Axe) festival has been held in the village of Lypivka. Its purpose is to preserve, revive and popularize the military traditions and cultural heritage of the Carpathian region; develop physical qualities in children and young people when working with a chip axe; improve professional skills in children and adults. 

Community and War

In connection with the Russian military aggression in the territory of Ukraine, the Rohatyn urban territorial community became a temporary shelter for more than 3,000 Ukrainians from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

IDPs live both in the private sector and in equipped shelters. In particular, such a shelter operates on the basis of Rohatyn Infant School No. 2 Dzvinochok, where there is also a social dining room. About 60 people eat daily in this dining room, one third of them are children.

The community is preparing additional shelters for the comfortable life of temporarily displaced persons in case of a new wave of IDPs. Several communally owned assets were selected (Klishchivna- and Zhuriv-based branches of Rohatyn Lyceum No. 1, Obelnytsia and Dolynyany primary schools) where IDPs will be able to live provided that current or major repairs are done.

A humanitarian aid delivery point has been created at the Rohatyn Town Council. During the operation of the point, more than 4,300 requests for help (mostly food and hygiene products) were recorded.

In total, the humanitarian aid delivery point sent more than 30 tons of aid for the Armed Forces and the civilian population to the war zone. Thanks to cooperation with partner municipalities, international organizations, businesses, local farmers, and the diaspora abroad, the community actively helped cities and villages in the east and south of Ukraine that were affected by shelling, as well as neighbouring communities receiving displaced people.

People of the Community

Mayor Serhii Nasalyk

He was born on January 14, 1974 in the town of Rohatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region. He is a family man. They have three daughters together with his wife Viktoriya Nasalyk. He was elected as Mayor of the Rohatyn Town Council twice based on the results of local elections in 2015 and 2020. 

Volunteer movement

During 2022, the Rohatyn Town Council thanked 4 volunteers for their assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 10 foreign partners and 3 business entities for their humanitarian aid. Also, the Rohatyn public organization of the Ukrainian Union of Veterans of Afghanistan – volunteer wing received 2 awards from the Kharkiv Regional State Administration of Ukraine.

Development Strategy 

The Rohatyn urban territorial community aims to develop as a logistics and industrial centre, with a focus on the processing of agricultural products, in particular, the development of ecologically clean products and biofuels, and the development of the construction industry.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Radlin

Biecz

Gmina Krapkowice

List of Sources

• Official website of the Rohatyn Town Council
• Facebook page of the Rohatyn territorial community
• Facebook – Velyki spravy malenkykh rohatyntsiv
• Interviews with community representatives
• Carpathian Mountains travel guide