Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
region in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, on the junction of the
Murafa
Murafa () is a river in Ukraine, a left tributary of the Dniester. It is long and its basin area is .Мурафа and Bushanka Rivers in
Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion
Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion () is one of the six raions (districts) of Vinnytsia Oblast, located in southwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion is the city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. Population:
History
On 18 July 2020, as part of the ...
in
Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of
History
Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...
, near the Moldovan border.
It got the status of a city in the early 17th century. In 1629 there were 2000 people living in this city.
History
Busha is known in history because of the
Peace of Busza
Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such ...
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
on September 23, 1617. During the mid-17th century, the city, situated in
Bracław Voivodeship
The Bracław Voivodeship (; ; , ''Braclavśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1566 as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Pola ...
of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was also the site of several battles between Poles and Ukrainian
Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
.
The fortress
In the second half of the 17th century, a big fortress with 6 towers, belonging to an administrative and military unit of the Ukrainian Cossack state named Bratslav regiment, was built in the centre of the village.
During the Cossack-Polish War (1648–1657) the castle was attacked several times by the Polish army. In 1654 the castle couldn't hold its ground anymore and was destroyed completely.
The only thing left is one tower that adumbrates the strengths which the city had once.
The city's end
Despite being a strong defensive backing for the Ukrainian Crossack in the war, as in March 1654, for example, an attack of 3,000 Polish soldiers was successfully staved off, in November of the same year, the fortress was destroyed by an approximately 60,000-strong Polish army during the Russo-Polish war.
About 70 women fled from the fortress with their children and sheltered in another fortress nearby. The Polish refused to chase them because they already lost many of their soldiers as the fortresses inhabitants never gave up and rather died fighting than live in capture.
After the destruction of the castle, the city soon lost its status and was degraded to village.
Social and cultural background
Historical settlements in the area around Busha date back to several ancient civilizations, including Cucuteni-Trypillian culture (from the 11th century BC),
Scythia
Scythia (, ) or Scythica (, ) was a geographic region defined in the ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic steppe. It was inhabited by Scythians, an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people.
Etymology
The names ...
(4800-3000 BC),
Chernyakhov culture
The Chernyakhov culture, Cherniakhiv culture or Sântana de Mureș—Chernyakhov culture was an archaeological culture that flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE in a wide area of Eastern Europe, specifically in what is now Ukraine, Ro ...
(2nd 5th century AD). From 400 800 AD, old East Slavic cultures arrived during the great Migration Period. In 1629, 2.000 people were living there.
The Podilla region in its entirety includes
Ukrainians
Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
,
Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
,
Romanians
Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
and
Armenians
Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...
, as well as
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
community which is, speaking about Ukraine in a whole, is the third biggest in Europe, according to the
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
and have a long history in Podolia region according to ''JewishGen Ukraine SIG''.
The cultural legacy of Busha consists of:
* 5th century
pagan
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
temple
* ruins of the castle including a town hall and an old tower
* an old cemetery of the 18th century
* four archeological sites dating from the times of the Trypilian culture,
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
,
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, and the
Scythian
The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...
period
It also includes a park with
neo-pagan
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...
sculptures. The Ukrainian government created the Buszy park historical cultural in 2000.
Furthermore, there are special caves that can be found, near the village. Until the 20th century they were covered with sand. That is why they were discovered quite recently. Even the
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
came there once and described it as a special place where Earth is connected with God and the Universe.
Today the village has around 850 inhabitants. Rural tourism in the form of
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...
has been noticeable developing over the last years.
Image Mapping project
In 2013, the regional NGOs Pangeya Ultima and Nashe Podilla organized the Image Mapping project in Busha with help of EVS volunteers. Its aim is to uncover beautiful and interesting monuments and places that are not very popular amongst tourists yet. This is tried to be done by highlighting these spots with specially produced picture frames providing information for the visitor, while showing him an unhindered view onto the object.
Logistics
Every weekend on Saturday and Sunday a bus leaving
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...
at 8:45am heads to the village of Busha. This timetable is only valid until November 19 in 2017.
Photos of Busha
File:Козацький цвинтар у Буші.JPG, Cossack Cemetery in the forest
File:Буша. Башта фортеці03.JPG, Busha Fort
File:Заповідник Буша.jpg, Ruins in Busha