Vorokhta (; ) is a

rural settlement The definition of a rural settlement depends on the country, in some countries, a rural settlement is any settlement in the areas defined as rural by a governmental office, e.g., by the national census bureau. This may include even rural towns. ...

located in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

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 ...

.Vorokhta
Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia. It is part of

Nadvirna Raion Nadvirna Raion () is a raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (region). The town of Nadvirna is the administrative center of the raion. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of I ...

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

. Historically, it is a tourist spa town and later was also turned into a ski resort with several ski-jumping ramps ( Avanhard). Vorokhta hosts the administration of

Vorokhta settlement hromada Vorokhta (; ) is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement located in the Carpathian Mountains on Prut River in Ukraine.hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

s of Ukraine. Population: due to a constant flow of tourists, its population almost year-round is bigger. Located at an elevation of 800 metres above sea level, it is known for its close ties to the

Hutsuls The Hutsuls (Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administratively designated a subgro ...

– an ethno-cultural group of Ukrainians who live in the Carpathians, and is often regarded as a Hutsul capital.

Geography

Vorokhta along with the town of

Yaremche Yaremche (, ; or ) is a city in Nadvirna Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (province) of west Ukraine. The city is located at the altitude of around above mean sea level. Yaremche hosts the administration of Yaremche urban hromada, one of the hro ...

and few more villages constitute a series of enclaves within

and administered by the Yaremche city municipality. The town is located near the administrative border with

Zakarpattia Oblast Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпаття; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kárpátalja'') or Transcar ...

in the Verkhovyna-Putyla Mountains close to the

Yablunytsia Pass The Yablunytsia Pass is a pass through the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, located in the south-western part of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is one of several passes connecting Transcarpathia with the rest of the country. The headwaters of the Pr ...

and source of the

. Vorokhta is surrounded by the Carpathian National Nature Park and the ethnographic area of

Hutsul The Hutsuls (Rusyn language, Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administra ...

s. The town is surrounded by such mount peaks as Mahora, Makivka, and others.

History

According to oral legends, Vorokhta was established in the 17th century.Verbylenko, H.
Vorokhta (ВОРОХТА)
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. 2003 So claimed to be the Polish ethnographer Jan Falkowski.Vorokhta (Ворохта)
History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR. Supposedly near village Mykulychyn settled a run away from the army of Crown of Poland by name Vorokhta. The main population consisted of peasants who were engaged in growing livestock, land cultivation, handcraft industries. The local population actively supported the anti-Polish Opryshky uprising which was taking place in the vicinity until mid 19th century. Following the 1848

Spring of Nations The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, in Austria was abolished serfdom, yet big landowners remained in Vorokhta with one owning up to 800

morgen A Morgen (Mg) is a historical, but still occasionally used, German unit of area used in agriculture. Officially, it is no longer in use, having been supplanted by the hectare. While today it is approximately equivalent to the Prussian ''morgen' ...

of polonyna. Due to difficult economic situation many locals soon began finding places to earn money elsewhere immigrating to countries of the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. With construction of railway Stanislau–Worochta–Rachow over

Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at ...

ridge in 1894, there increased development of the town. In 1906–10 at times of Austria in Vorokhta was built a forest mill and started to grow population. In the beginning of the 20th century there also was activated socially political and cultural life and the town was visited by number of Ukrainian writers such as

Marko Cheremshyna Marko Cheremshyna () (pen name of Ivan Semaniuk), (born 13 June 1874 in Kobaky, Galicia; died 25 April 1927 in Kobaky) was a Ukrainian writer of Hutsul background. Biography Cheremshyna was born into a poor peasant family in Kobaky. He ea ...

and

Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky Mykhailo Mykhailovych Kotsiubynsky (; 17 September 1864 – 25 April 1913) was a Ukrainian author whose writings described typical Ukrainian life at the start of the 20th century. Kotsiubynsky's early stories were described as examples of an e ...

. In 1903 in Vorokhta was established a local branch of Galician-based Ukrainian educational organization of

Prosvita Prosvita (), since 1991 officially known as All-Ukrainian Prosvita Society named after Taras Shevchenko () is an enlightenment society aimed to preserve and develop Ukrainian culture, education and science, that was created in the nineteenth cen ...

. Already during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Vorokhta became a place of battle actions. During times of the restored

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

it became a popular mid-upland climatic resort and tourist attraction. In September 1939 Vorokhta became occupied by Soviet troops during the 1939 Soviet occupation of Poland and in November of the same year became part of Ukraine (at that time the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

). In 1960 Vorokhta was granted status of

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

. The area of Vorokhta was in the mid-14th century annexed by the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, and remained in Poland until 1772 (see

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

). From 1772 to 1918, it belonged to Austrian Galicia, and after

, the town returned to Poland. In 1928, the government of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

named it a spa. In the interwar period, Vorokhta/Worochta was part of Nadworna County,

Stanisławów Voivodeship Stanisławów Voivodeship () was an administrative district of the interwar Poland (1920–1939). It was established in December 1920 with an administrative center in Stanisławów. The voivodeship had an area of 16,900 km2 and comprised twe ...

. Until July 1939, the town was a garrison of Worochta Battalion of the

Border Protection Corps The Border Protection Corps () was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other borders were under the jurisdiction of ...

. At that time, Vorokhta was a popular tourist spa. Here, Polish Prime Minister

Kazimierz Bartel Kazimierz Władysław Bartel (; ; 3 March 1882 – 26 July 1941) was a Polish people, Polish mathematician, freemason, scholar, diplomat and politician who served as 15th, 17th and 19th List of prime ministers of Poland, Prime Minister of P ...

had a villa, here stayed popular poet Jerzy Liebert, who suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Worochta was occupied by the Soviet army 1939-1941 and by Nazi German army 1941-1944. During world war II,

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 ...

killed 653 Jewish inhabitants of Worochta. Worochta was captured by advancing

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 29 september 1944. On the new years eve of

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

local partisans of the UPA carried out a massacre of Polish population of Worochta, killing 72. Until 18 July 2020, Vorokhta belonged to Yaremche Municipality. The municipality was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast to six. The area of Yaremche Municipality was merged into Nadvirna Raion. Until 26 January 2024, Vorokhta was designated

. On this day, a new law entered into force which abolished this status, and Vorokhta became a rural settlement.

Infrastructure

The area became of great interest soon after installation of a railroad through the region in the 1880s. Since obtaining its independence after

, Poland has developed the eastern Carpathian region into a great vacation spot. Today, Vorokhta is the center of winter sports, with several ski-lifts. Beside its own ski resort Avanhard that carried the All-Union status in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, in close proximity and higher into mountains is located another sports resort Zarosliak. Number of hotels (cottage complexes) in area is relative low around 6-8 (small to medium size), however, there are several dozens of private houses that are available for rent. The town is served by rail (see Vorokhta railway station). In the town there is a forest mill, health recovering sanatoriums for those who are ill on active form of tuberculosis and bone tuberculosis. File:4ervonui mist0.jpg, Pedestrian bridge over railways File:Mist20.jpg, A railroad and a bridge (summer) File:Vorohta.JPG, A railroad and a bridge (winter) File:ЦЕРКВА РІЗДВА БОГОРОДИЦІ У ВОРОХТІ, XVIII століття.jpg, Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary File:Church of the Assumption in Vorokhta (9).jpg, Church of the Assumption File:Vorokhta 7 Prut.jpg,

in Vorokhta File:Vorohta 2005 3.jpg, Vorokhta from Mahora mountain (winter, 2005) File:Vorokhta Railway Station 3.jpg, Vorokhta railway station File:Ворохтинський залізничний міст (історичний).jpg, Railway viaduct

References

External links

Town's portal

Vorokhta
at

Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia'' () was a multi-purpose encyclopedia of Ukraine, issued in the USSR. First attempt Following the publication of the first volume of the in Lviv, then in Poland, in 1930, the ''Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia ...

Vorokhta
at yaremche.org

at Castles and Temples of Ukraine website {{Authority control Rural settlements in Nadvirna Raion Populated places on the Prut Hutsuls