Truskavets (, ; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Drohobych Raion, western

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 ...

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. The capital city, capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is History Name The region is named ...

(

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

), near the border with

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 hosts the administration of Truskavets urban hromada, one of the

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. The population is approximately Truskavets is famous for its mineral springs, which have made it one of Ukraine's great resorts. For most visitors the primary goal is consuming the various 'local waters.' The most famous is the naphtha and sulfur-scented, slightly saline 'Naftusia.' The town lies in an attractive little valley in the Carpathian foothills and is easily reached from

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

by bus or train. The vast majority of tourists who come to Truskavets are Ukrainian or Belarusian. The modern coat of arms of the city depicts a goose with raised wings and a branch in its beak. According to history, it symbolizes vigilance, kindness and health. In 2000, a

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

(SEZ) was established in Truskavets for the period of 20 years. Known as "Kurortopolis Truskavets", the SEZ offered various tax privileges for businesses and investors. Some 13 investment projects were approved under its framework, with the majority focusing on health and medical treatment.

Name

The origin of the city's name is still debated by historians. Most researchers believe that the word 'Truskavets' comes from the Old East Slavic name Trushko, or Trusko, which derived to Truskovich, and eventually to Truskavets. According to another version, the name of the city was influenced by the Lithuanian language. In Lithuanian, druska means salt, and

Prykarpattia Prykarpattia () is a Ukrainian term for Ciscarpathia, a physical geographical region for the northeastern Carpathian foothills.Vortman, D. Prykarpattia (ПРИКАРПАТТЯ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. Located at the outer foot of ...

is a well-known center of salt production. In favor of this option, the close interstate relations of the Galicia-Volhynia Principality and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 12th–15th centuries testify. The third version traces the origin of the word to the dialect word trusok or trusk (small brush, dry wood chips) — cf. a Polish toponym Truskolyasy (forests where coniferous needles attacked), which refers to several villages in Poland. There is also a popular but erroneous version that Truskavets is a modified form of the Polish word truskawka (strawberry, Latin '' Fragaria ananassa''). Strawberries of this type appeared in Europe only after 1714 and were brought from Chile by the French officer Fresier, while the name of the city first appears in the 15th century. Instead, the Polish name for the European strawberry species '' Fragaria moschata'' is poziomka.

History

Truskavets, then known as ''Truskawiec'', was first mentioned in 1469. The Polish royal doctor Wojciech Oczko was the first to describe local waters in 1578. At that time the village was the property of the Kings of Poland, and was located in the

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

in the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown until the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

in 1772, when it fell to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. First baths were opened here in 1827. In 1836, Józef Micewski, with support of Agenor Goluchowski, initiated construction of the spa complex. In 1853, the village was visited by

Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Archduke Karl Ludwig Josef Maria of Austria (30 July 1833 – 19 May 1896) was the younger brother of both Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, and the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863–1914), whose assassinat ...

. In the mid-19th century, a Catholic church was built, financed by visitors' contributions. Thanks to the

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...

of Austrian policy towards minorities, including

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 ...

, in 1880 the spa became the property of a company whose chairman was Adam Stanisław Sapieha, and then it was expanded. In 1898, a monument to Polish

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, in the 100th anniversary of his birth, was unveiled in the spa park. In 1911, a rail station was opened here, and by 1913, the town was receiving around 5,000 visitors per year. The spa was not destroyed 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 ...

, however, the number of visitors dropped significantly.Jasiuk, ''

Op. cit. ''Op. cit.'' is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase ' or ''opere citato'', meaning "the work cited" or ''in the cited work'', respectively. Overview The abbreviation is used in an endnote or footnote to refer the reader to a cited work, standing ...

'', p. 234 Following the collapse of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, the

Polish–Ukrainian War The Polish–Ukrainian War, from November 1918 to July 1919, was a conflict between the Second Polish Republic and Ukrainian forces (both the West Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic). The conflict had its roots in ...

and the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

, Truskawiec became part of Poland again. Administratively it was the seat of Gmina Truskawiec, located in the Drohobycz County of the

Lwów Voivodeship Lwów Voivodeship () was an administrative unit of interwar Poland (1918–1939). Because of the Nazi invasion of Poland in accordance with the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, it became occupied by both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in Septem ...

. As the spa was not destroyed in these conflicts, activity resumed quickly, as early as 1920 and Truskawiec soon emerged as a popular spa destination. In the 1920s and 1930s, almost 300 hotels, villas and guest houses were built here. The town was awarded three gold medals as the country's best spa resort. Next to

Krynica-Zdrój Krynica-Zdrój (until 31 December 2001 Krynica, Rusyn language, Rusyn: Криниця ) is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in Pola ...

, it was the most visited and most popular resort in Poland. A number of notable Polish personalities visited Truskawiec during that era, including politicians (

Stanisław Wojciechowski Stanisław Wojciechowski (; 15 March 1869 – 9 April 1953) was a Polish people, Polish politician and scholar who served as President of Poland between 1922 and 1926, during the Second Polish Republic. He was elected president in 1922, followi ...

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos (; 21 or 22 January 1874 – 31 October 1945) was a Polish statesman, prominent member and leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), who served three times as the Prime Minister of Poland in the 1920s. He was a member of the Pol ...

Ignacy Daszyński Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński (; 26 October 1866 – 31 October 1936) was a Polish socialist politician, journalist, and very briefly Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic's first government, formed in Lublin in 1918. In October 1892 he cofo ...

), artists ( Eugeniusz Bodo,

Adolf Dymsza Adolf Dymsza (born Adolf Bagiński; 7 April 1900 – 20 August 1975) was a Polish comedy actor of both the pre-World War II and post-war eras. He starred in both theatre and film productions, mainly before World War II. He and Kazimierz Krukowski ...

Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym Oldlen as a lyricist, was a Jewish-Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied ...

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (; 24 February 188518 September 1939), commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period. ...

Bruno Schulz Bruno Schulz (12 July 1892 – 19 November 1942) was a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish writer, fine artist, Literary criticism, literary critic and Art education, art teacher. He is regarded as one of the great Polish (language), Po ...

Zofia Nałkowska Zofia Nałkowska (, 10 November 1884 – 17 December 1954) was a Polish prose writer, dramatist, and prolific essayist. She served as the executive member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature (1933–1939) during the interwar period. ...

Marian Hemar Marian Hemar (1901–1972), born Marian Hescheles (other pen names: Jan Mariański, and Marian Wallenrod), was a Polish poet, journalist, playwright, comedy writer, and songwriter. Hemar himself stated that before the outbreak of World War II he ...

Hanka Ordonówna Hanka Ordonówna or Ordonka (born Maria Anna Pietruszyńska; 4 August 1902 in Warsaw – 8 September 1950 in Beirut) was a Polish singer, dancer and actress. Life She began her career at the age of 16 in a Warsaw cabaret named Sfinks and then ...

, Jan Kiepura, Zofia Batycka,

Antoni Słonimski Antoni Słonimski (15 November 1895 – 4 July 1976) was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justic ...

), athletes (

Stanisława Walasiewicz Stanisława Walasiewicz (3 April 1911 – 4 December 1980), also known as Stefania Walasiewicz, and Stella Walsh, was a Polish-American track and field athlete, who became a women's Olympic champion in the 100 metres. Born in Poland and raised ...

Halina Konopacka Halina Konopacka (full name Leonarda Kazimiera Konopacka-Matuszewska-Szczerbińska; 26 February 1900 – 28 January 1989) was a Polish athlete. She won the discus throw event at the 1928 Summer Olympics, defeating American silver medal winner ...

Janusz Kusociński Janusz Tadeusz Kusociński (15 January 1907 – 21 June 1940) was a Polish Sport of athletics, athlete, winner in the 10,000 meters event at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Warsaw into the family of a railroad worker, Janusz Kuso ...

) and Generals

Stanisław Maczek Lieutenant General Stanisław Władysław Maczek (; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the ...

and

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in particular for his contribu ...

. Numerous guests from abroad came there as well. In 1935, the Prime Minister and future president of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts ( – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president from 1938 to 1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades p ...

visited the spa. Rajmund Jarosz, who was the owner of the spa since 1911, founded the Museum of Natural History (''Muzeum Przyrodnicze'') and a salt-sulfur pool, later destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

On August 29, 1931, Vasyl Bilas and Dmytro Danylyshyn, two members of the

Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN; ) was a Ukrainian nationalist organization established on February 2, 1929 in Vienna, uniting the Ukrainian Military Organization with smaller, mainly youth, radical nationalist right-wing groups. ...

, assassinated

Tadeusz Hołówko Tadeusz Ludwik Hołówko (September 17, 1889 – August 29, 1931), codename ''Kirgiz'', was an interwar Polish politician, diplomat and author of many articles and books. He was most notable for his moderate stance on the "Ukrainian problem" fac ...

, a Polish cabinet minister and known advocate of Polish-Ukrainian rapprochement vacationing in Truskawiec. This caused an increase in Polish-Ukrainian tension, which culminated in the Ukrainian genocide of Poles in 1943. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

in 1939, the spa was transformed into a sanatorium for

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 ...

soldiers. From 1941 to 1944 it was under

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, and after 1944 under Soviet occupation again. Under the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

of 1945, it was taken from Poland and annexed by 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 ...

. Under Soviet rule, most of the historic buildings were destroyed and replaced with typical Soviet architecture. In 2008, the Adam Mickiewicz monument, which survived World War II and Soviet rule, was renovated. Until 18 July 2020, Truskavets was incorporated as a city of oblast significance. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Lviv Oblast to seven, the city of Truskavets was merged into Drohobych Raion. Truskavets is part of the

European Route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central ...

of Historic Thermal Towns.

Notable people

* Taras Bobanych (1989–2022), Ukrainian lawyer and soldier

Twin towns

Truskavets is twinned with: *

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

, since August 2005 ' *

Limanowa Limanowa is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County and had a population of 15,132 in 2012. History Mentions of the town date back to 1496, when it was documented as Ilmanowa, a rural es ...

Dolný Kubín Dolný Kubín (; also known by #Names, other names) is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is the historical capital and the largest settlement of the Orava (region), Orava region. Names The name is derived from the archaic Slov ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Gallery

File:Truskavets. Trading House..JPG, Trading House File:Truskavets3.JPG, Old Town Hall File:Truskavets77.jpg, Spa Rehabilitation Center File:Truskavets 045.jpg, Downtown File:Truskavets 046.jpg, City hall File:Truskavets 134.jpg, Residential building File:Truskavets 099.jpg, St. Nicholas Church File:Трускавець Шевченка 7 Анастасія 1.jpg, Villa Anastasia File:Трускавець Вілла Гопляна.JPG, Villa Goplana, housing the City Museum File:Mickiewicz Truskavets.JPG,

statue in Truskavets city park File:Курортний парк 009.JPG, Church of the Assumption and

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

statue File:Vasily Bilas and Dmytro Danylyshyn Monument in Truskavets.JPG, Monument to Vasyl Bilas and Dmytro Danylyshyn

References

Sources

* An account of the town and neighborhood including

Drohobycz Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it was ...

along with its relationship to this author and his friends like other Polish writers such as

and Witkacy.

External links

Official websiteHotels (spa) in TruskavetsMap of TruskavetsThe hotel is named after the main builder and reformer of Truskavets - Raimond YaroshDrogMedia
{{Authority control Cities in Lviv Oblast Spa towns in Ukraine Cities of regional significance in Ukraine