Busha ( uk, Буша) is a village situated in
Podolia region in
Ukraine, on the junction of the
Murafa and Bushanka Rivers in
Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion
Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion ( uk, Могилів-Подільський район) is one of the six regions of Vinnytsia Oblast, located in southwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion is the city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. Population: ...
in
Vinnytsia Oblast, 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
The Peace of Busza (Busha, Bose) also known as the Treaty of Jaruga was negotiated by Stanisław Żółkiewski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Iskender Pasha of the Ottoman Empire in Busza ( Busha or Bose) near the Jaruga and Dnie ...
that was signed in this village between the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Ottoman Empire on September 23, 1617. During the mid-17th century, the city, situated in
Bracław Voivodeship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was also the site of several battles between Poles and Ukrainian
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
.
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
Crossack-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 (4800-3000 BC),
Chernyakhov culture (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,
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
,
Romanians and
Armenians, as well as
Germans. Besides Greek and
Orthodox Catholics there is also a
Jewish community which is, speaking about Ukraine in a whole, is the third biggest in Europe, according to the
World Jewish Congress and have a long history in Podolia region according to ''JewishGen Ukraine SIG''.
The cultural legacy of Busha consists of:
* 5th century
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", 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 Judaism. ...
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,
Iron Age, and the
Scythian period
It also includes a park with
neo-pagan
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
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 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 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 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
References
External links
Photos of BushaMap of Busha village
{{Vinnytsia Oblast
Villages in Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion