Please be acquainted with Truskavets. A resort town has
hidden at the foothills of the beautiful and picturesque Precarpathians. It seems, that
it's necessary only to stretch your hand to reach the Carpathian mountains. The paths the
boykis (people living at the foothills of the Carpathians) walk along will lead you higher
and higher to the green Carpathians. The pure and fresh air will remind you what taking a
deep breath means. This is the very thing you, townsmen, haven't felt for a long period of
time!
Look at slideshow
 By the way, Truskavets is located at the
height of 450 meters above sea level. Usually the year consists of 200 sunny days, 100
partially sunny days, and the rest are rainy and snowy days. Warm days predominate, though
sometimes in winter the temperature falls down to 30 degrees below zero, but it happens
seldom and lasts no more than two or three days.
Look at the
map and make sure that Truskavets is situated at a distance of 100 kms from the largest
city of Galicia (Western Ukraine) - Lviv. It will take you an hour to get to Truskavets by
modern car. Truskavets is a small city with the mayor (though we, the Ukrainians, prefer
to say the head) that now is legalized. Bohdan Matolych was elected to be the mayor for
the first time in 1994, and he was reelected in 1998, the citizens of the city have great
confidence in him.
Historical
reminiscences of Truskavets are rather ancient. They are as ancient as Galicia - the
western part of the great, powerful and highly cultural state of Kievan Russ.
Our story
isn't the history of Truskavets but only brief acquaintance with its past and nowadays.
One of the
ancient and very interesting historical reminiscences of Truskavets is a sales contract of
the rights on the eternal lease of Truskavets for the two brothers - Hnat from
Tustanovychy and Andriy from Lubenychy in 1471. The year of 1471 started in the history of
Truskavets as the first year of beginning to rent something, moreover with such warranty -
for the eternal lease. Truskavets was rich in salt and extraction of salt was a profitable
business.
 In almost 400 years we may learn from the archival materials of
1841 of two more leaseholders of Truskavets - Frantz Blank and Hnat Oblochynsky, the
priest. It goes without saying that by this time some new kinds of business developed,
that is petroleum (oil), ozocerite, sulfur, lead, zink ores. And this is not the full list
of the mineral resources of Truskavets. May everything have disappeared? For sure, a lot
of them is still hidden in the bowels of Truskavets.
A new kind of
business was developing through the following years - treatment at a health resort. It
began in a simple way - eight bathing-huts of hydrogen-sulfide waters were built beside
one of the old inns.
Doctor Hurek
was the first doctor of this resort from 1849 to 1888, and Anton Mashek, Unger, Kokh were
the first researchers.
Scientific
research into mineral springs started at the beginning of the 19th century. The task in
question was: Why and how the recovery occurs? Theodor Torosevych, a chemist and
pharmacist from Lviv, was the first to investigate the mineral waters of the
Precarpathians and Bukovyna in detail.
Mr. Sapega
and Mr. Zholtovsky were at the head of the collective possession of Truskavets from 1892.
In two or three years the new owners put a task to raise the resort up to the European
level of health resorts. Time passed, there were many other holders of Truskavets. In 1911
Raymond Yarosh became a new holder of the health resort. He became the head of a
joint-stock company which also promised prosperity to the inhabitants of Truskavets.
Railway link with a railway station was built, electricity was introduced, new villas were
designed and built, the medical basis was upgraded, a fashionable in architecture and
design club "Companionable" was constructed. Truskavets has become one of the
best, prestigious Polish resorts, with unique wooden architecture in the Carpathian style.
3000
inhabitants lived here in 1931, and about 15000 people having a rest and sick people came
annually here.
 During the following 50 years Truskavets was the All-Union health
resort and became a prestigious place of rest and treatment. High-altitude sanatoriums are
being built in the 70s and the question of deficient passes to the sanatoriums of
Truskavets is being solved. The city receives profit. Building-up of Truskavets includes a
new building of mineral waters, two solid cultural centres, a new railway station and a
new bus station, schools and a hospital. Anyone could feel the prosperity of Truskavets.
Stagnation being the talk of the country had nothing to do with Truskavets. The amount of
the inhabitants (attendants) and those having a rest increased in 10 times.
Nowadays
150000-170000 visitors are being made healthier here every year. Today Truskavets is the
largest balneal resort in the world. The joint-stock company "Truskavetskurort"
("Resort of Truskavets") is organized on the territory of the resort. Bohdan
Aksentiychuk, the Candidate of Medical Sciences is at the head of it.
Why is
Truskavets so attractive for visitors from all over the world? It is attractive because of
its mineral water "Naftussia" - unusual, unique, remedial water which can be
found only in Truskavets.
Look at slideshow |
