Where is Vilkovo located? Vilkovo

It seems that I have never seen such a strange city either before or (so far) after. Small (9 thousand inhabitants) and lost in the floodplains of the Danube Delta just 15 kilometers from the Black Sea, Vilkovo essentially never became a city, remaining a real Old Believer settlement. One of the largest enclaves of the Old Believers civilization, scattered from of Eastern Europe to Transbaikalia, a miraculously surviving corner of the Transdanubian Sich and just a city in the Danube Delta, nicknamed “Ukrainian Venice” in guidebooks for the abundance of canals and boats. And at the same time, it is perhaps the most inaccessible city in Ukraine.

The first thing you need to understand is that Vilkovo is far away. Having left Odessa at 9 am, we arrived here at 3 pm - however, largely due to our mistakes. But the bus to Vilkovo takes about 5 hours, despite the fact that 3 hours is enough to explore the city itself. At the entrance there is a checkpoint with border guards and environmental police, since there is a border and a nature reserve, but they did not inspect us. IN last years Vilkovo has become quite popular tourist destination, and too much here is geared towards tourism to create obstacles for guests.
The bus station is that booth at the foot of the church:

There are three churches in the city, and two of them, including this one, are St. Nicholas, and two of them, not including this one, are Old Believers. St. Nicholas "Ukrainian" (and non-Old Believers here are mostly Ukrainians) church was built in 1867 (that is, when Vilkovo belonged to Romania), the farthest from the center, and differs unfavorably from Old Believers churches due to the abundance of beggars. Of course, it’s also about the bus station and the market - and yet when three people immediately rush at you from the road and start, almost grabbing you by the hand, begging for money - it’s unpleasant, to say the least.

St. Nicholas Church stands in the so-called New Town. Halfway from St. Nicholas Church to Rozhdestvenskaya in the Old Town there is a small Soviet cultural center:

Behind which is a monument to the Fisherman:

When the Old Believer settlement arose in the Danube Delta, now only God knows. The first Old Believers fled here, most likely, back in the 17th century, immediately after the Schism. In these parts, the Old Believers are still called “Lipovans” to this day - either this is a distorted word “Filippovtsy” (one of the non-priest confessions), or a reference to these very floodplains with their linden forests. Be that as it may, by the beginning of the 18th century there were Lipovan villages throughout Moldova. In 1709, after the defeat of the Bulavinsky uprising, the Nekrasovites were added to the Lipovans - Old Believers Cossacks who rebelled and then left under the leadership of Ignat Nekrasov. The Danube Delta was apparently simply the most remote place west of Russia. In 1762, Vilkovo became a city, the capital of Plavni.

In 1775, another wave of those who did not want to live “under Russia” came to the Delta - the Cossacks from the defeated Sich. Here they founded the Transdanubian Sich, which existed until 1828, which, again, the Nekrasovites were not very happy about - not only were the Cossacks not Old Believers, not only were the Don Cossacks always loathe the Cossacks, but there wasn’t enough fishing grounds for everyone . In 1794-1806, a real war broke out in the floodplains between the Nekrasovites and the Zadanubians, which ended with the latter having to go upstream, and many fled back to Russia. However, by that time there was little left of the Nekrasov community: back in 1791 most of Nekrasovtsev went south, gradually settling in the depths of Turkey, from where only in 1966, on one ship, the Cossacks returned to the Soviet Union.

However, under Russia, the fate of the Vilkovo Lipovans turned out to be not as difficult as that of their many brothers. The distant periphery, the borderland, which at any moment could fall to other countries - in general, the imperial authorities preferred not to aggravate relations with the Lipovans. And even the Nativity Church was built in 1850, that is, under Nicholas I, when the persecution of Old Believers intensified throughout the empire.

Church of the Nativity opens Old city, its “dry” part - endless huts with tiled roofs along the winding streets. It was a very strong impression - a deserted, non-Russian-looking city, women in headscarves hurrying to church, and the bell ringing over the tiled roofs:

A typical landscape in the “dry” part of Stary Vilkov. And the foreign landscape is combined with a much more Russian spirit than in other Russian cities- the old faith, primordial Rus'... If it were not for the tiles and white clay, in some places Vilkovo would be very reminiscent of the Russian North.

Gradually we came to the main “street” of Vilkov - Belgorod Erik:

Eriks here are the canals that form a network between the two branches of the Danube. As I understand it, the Belgorod erik is natural, and the side ones are mostly dug by hand. The bridge over the main river is the center of city life, and for tourists it is notable for the fact that here you can arrange a boat excursion - officially on one bank (Pelican travel agency), and on the other - directly with the residents:

On average, an hour's sailing on a motor boat through the Old Town and the floodplains costs about 200 hryvnia - and it seems to me that without it the impression of Vilkovo would not be complete. But for now let’s go further overland and admire the erik some more. As you can see, there are really a lot of boats on it, and the traffic is active. Most of the boats are the so-called “gulls”, the main watercraft of the Ukrainian Cossacks - light, spacious and maneuverable:

And this is what the landscapes of that very “Ukrainian Venice”, the inner part of the Old Town on Erik look like:

An ordinary erik looks like this - a narrow and perfectly straight channel, where two boats can barely pass each other. It should be noted that we arrived when the flood had already ended - and during the flood the water rises to the sidewalks:

The sidewalks here are simply called “masonry”. They are usually 2-3 boards wide, and it is no coincidence that the locals joke - “a drunken Vilkovite staggers not left and right, but back and forth”:

Someone parks boats on the side of the rivers:

But often short ditches under the masonry lead directly to the courtyards:

However, in recent decades, “Venice” has suffered greatly - shops have become a more reliable source of food than the river, and in Big city It's easier to get there by bus. Many eriks were no longer looked after, and they quickly became overgrown with silt, turning into ordinary dirty ditches. In addition, the eriks dug for a reason - they formed a real hydraulic system, and therefore the clogging of even one erik affects all the others. They say that Vilkovo is rapidly becoming shallow and silting.

Behind the Belgorod Erik there is another St. Nicholas Church - Old Believer, and (although I did not find the date of construction) probably built in the first Romanian era (1856-78), like the “namesake” in the New Town. Lipovans in Vilkovo make up about 70% of the population, but due to the abundance of tourists, the local Old Believer churches are perhaps the most open in the world. Nobody prevents you from taking photographs (although I haven’t tried it directly in the church), you can calmly go to the service... a service in an Old Believer church leaves an indelible impression - the abundance of ancient icons (and the Old Believers always had more icons than the few churches could accommodate), a different manner singing and a strong feeling as if it were the 16th century. But the main thing is that there are not many places where anyone can see this, and not just those who seemed trustworthy to the Old Believers.

Not far from the church we saw the Danube. I saw it here for the first time:

The Danube turned out to be a huge river. In terms of water flow, it is only a quarter smaller than the Volga, and its width at Vilkovo is almost 800 meters, that is, quite worthy of Siberian rivers. Powerful current, muddy water. Beyond the Danube is Romania. Like Izmail and Kiliya, Vilkovo stands on the Kiliya arm - the largest of the three large branches that form the delta.

Coming to the Danube bank, we realized that we had wandered into a reed factory. Harvesting reeds, which are exported from here to Europe, is Vilkov’s main economic specialization. In the middle of the reed factory there is a hut like this, and behind the hut - try to guess what.

This is a completely rusted barge - we saw about five of these in the city, off the banks of the Danube and the main river. Industrial fishing was probably once carried out in the delta:

Now fishing nets are dried here on fishing boats:

From the board there is a beautiful view of the reed harvesting:

This whole walk took us less than an hour, and overall it left us with an ambivalent feeling. On the one hand, I was very impressed by the atmosphere of Vilkov, but on the other, there was a feeling of some kind of disappointment: “And that’s all?!” But it is no coincidence that I mentioned just above the boat excursions that are conducted both by the official Pelican company and by ourselves local residents. At the bridge over the main erik, a fisherman-looking guy approached us and offered us a ride on a motor boat around the Old Town and the floodplains for 200 hryvnia. We agreed.

Actually, the entire voyage consisted of two parts - first along the main river through the entire city, and then to the Danube and into the floodplain. And I must say, from the water Vilkovo looks completely different, many things that are invisible from the shore clearly appear:

Embankment - fences, masonry, boats on the water, bridges over the necks of the rivers. Someone's boat is coming out of the erik - now it will start the engine and drive:

Traffic on the canal is really active - oncoming and overtaking boats come across almost continuously. Motor:

Oaring:

And even kayaks - either some kind of club, or a physical education lesson at a local school:

Apparently, there is also an ethics here. So, our helmsman, seeing one of his peers, accelerated his speed and tried to splash them a little, and when he met a boat with women or elderly people, on the contrary, he turned off the engine and passed them by inertia. The main difference between a boat and a car is that it creates waves behind it, which will certainly shake and toss the oncoming boat - therefore, a “polite boatman” will first of all strive not to create a wave on the oncoming boat.

We walked the canal almost from end to end - about 10 minutes after the bridge, deserted floodplains begin, and then the boat goes out into an almost motionless backwater, behind which five-story buildings can be seen:

Here is an abandoned windmill:

Then we returned to the bridge and headed for the Danube:

We go out into the open river, where, I must say, there is a rather strong wave and a piercing wind:

At the mouth of the canal there is a border outpost with a turret resembling a tower, and a couple more rotten barges:

And although Romania is on the other side, the islands opposite Vilkov are quite inhabited. The fact is that here the Kiliya arm forms its own “delta within a delta,” which has turned into the outskirts of Vilkovo. These floodplains are very densely populated:

Half of Vilkovo residents have vegetable gardens here. Many make homemade wine, which they sell to tourists during the season:

Some areas in Lately were replaced by recreation centers - despite the wilderness and inaccessibility, Vilkovo has recently become one of the most tourist cities in Ukraine. From these bases, during the season, excursions are carried out to the “zero kilometer” - the place where the Danube flows into the Black Sea, and deep into the floodplains, to look at the birds (and if the Volga delta is famous for its flamingos, then the main bird of the Danube delta is the pelican).

On one of the islands there are two golbets - Old Believers often used such columns with icons instead of crosses. As the helmsman explained to us, here they perform the same function as Orthodox crosses at the entrances to cities:

Well, it’s not yet the season, and the floodplains are mostly empty. A very impressive view - and it is not clear what century it is.

And finally - people. Perhaps the most amazing thing I saw in Vilkovo were its inhabitants. In general, I usually don’t photograph people, primarily because, in general, the people in different parts of the East Slavic world are not so visually different. But here I could not resist. People in Vilkovo look completely folkish - be they pious old women:

Or quite modern women:

For the most part, the residents of Vilkovo are not too different from the inhabitants of the Slavic hinterland in general - and yet there is something infinitely their own, Lipovan, about them. It seems that despite the openness and cordiality, despite the expectation tourist season, despite drunkenness and silted eriki, they still keep some special, ancient times a Russian secret that people from outside cannot understand.

In conclusion of the story about Vilkov, I simply cannot help but provide links to two more of my posts that are related to the topic.

In tourist brochures, the town of Vilkovo in the Kiliysky district of the Odessa region is called “Ukrainian Venice.” In fact, we will see a living illustration of the labor feat of thousands of fugitive Old Believers.

There are many amazing places in Ukraine, both from an architectural and natural point of view. And there is also one where the natural beauty of the Danube estuary miraculously combines with simple human labor in almost inhuman conditions.

In tourist brochures, the town of Vilkovo in the Kiliysky district of the Odessa region is called “Ukrainian Venice.”
In fact, we will see a living illustration of the labor feat of thousands of fugitive Old Believers who managed to settle in the Polesie swamps and Danube floodplains. We have long wanted to see these places with our own eyes, because getting to those places is not easy even with a good crossover. And that's why!

Vilkovo is located in the very corner of our country, in the southwest of the Odessa region near the border with Romania. The E-95 route is known, perhaps, to every motorist - the road to Odessa leads like an arrow from Kyiv. And if anyone goes to Vilkovo from other regions, they will still have to pass through Odessa. It is best to make a pit stop here at the 21st kilometer (+400 m) of the ring road near the village of Usatovskoye at the OKKO gas station. The point is that he was with us Small child, who needed to change his diapers . This was another reason for choosing this gas station, since there is a changing table in the restroom, which my wife found out about on , planning our route in advance.

For the rest of the crew (there were four of us), who were pretty hungry on the way, the main “bonus” was the presence here the already familiar cuisine of the restaurant of the A la minute chain, which we trust, because we have tested it more than once. By the way, a note to parents traveling with children - these restaurants even have dishes on the menu that are recommended for little guests (at the table next to us, the little one eagerly devoured children's pasta). The wife preferred the Caesar salad and Mille-feuille dessert, her sister preferred steamed buckwheat with goulash, and the male half each took borscht and a juicy pork steak. We didn’t have to wait long for our order, but while we were having lunch, we managed to get our car washed at a good discount using the points accumulated on our Fishka card - nice!

After a hearty lunch, I really wanted to take the short road along the sea that was offered google maps. But after Belgorod-Dnestrovsky it became clear that it was simply terrible, it was difficult to drive above 40 km/h without damaging the suspension and riders, so we turned onto the notorious M-15 road (Odessa-Reni), which partially coincides with the European E- 87.

By the way, if you have time, then along the way you can stop by the fortress in Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, this will take an hour and a half. The area there is quite large, there is where to climb and what to see.

While I was driving, my wife was reading the history of “Ukrainian Venice” from her phone. It turns out that Vilkovo was originally the village of Lipovanskoye, which was founded in 1746 (according to other sources in 1762) by the so-called Old Believers or Lipovans. They fled religious persecution after the Nikonian schism of the Russian Orthodox Church. These were the Don Cossacks who first settled in the Danube floodplains in the 40s of the 17th century. It was then that the settlement of Lipovanskoye appeared on Russian military maps.

Monument to the Old Believer pioneer - the founder of Vilkovo

At the same time, this territory was being populated by Zaporozhye Cossacks, who fled persecution after the destruction of the Zaporozhye Sich. To this day, Lipovans represent the majority of the city’s population. They have preserved many of their religious traditions.
There are three churches in the city: Orthodox and two Old Believer Lipovan churches. Since 1812, after the signing of the Peace of Bucharest, Vilkovo has been a district town in the Besarabia province.

The first residents of Vilkovo began to develop the floodplains, but in order to build a house and set up a garden, they first had to build an artificial island. Construction material was taken right there, digging a canal around the island. And today the population of the old city continues to live on these same islands, each of which is surrounded by a canal or “erik”.

Roads from house to house are laid along masonry and bridges. Every family has its own boat, and that's the main thing vehicle residents of Vilkovo Actually, that’s why Vilkovo received the fame of “Ukrainian Venice”. Fortunately, in Vilkovo not only canals act as transport arteries, but there are also ordinary roads. Moreover, mainly in the form of concrete blocks, the asphalt is concentrated at the entrance.

Photo: shutterstock

Vilkovo is an illustration of a labor feat. Not for the sake of a medal or victory in a social competition, but for the sake of life. Not something invented by the Soviet regime (although, of course, not all exploits were invented then), but the real thing, one that can still be seen and touched. The titanic labor of thousands of fugitive Old Believers raised this city above the waters of the Danube floodplain. And even if this is not Venice (“Ukrainian Venice” is the name given to a town in travel companies), although there are no extraordinary architectural monuments here, but it doesn’t stink either, like on the streets of an Italian miracle during the period of sewage disposal...

Mykolayivska Old Believer Church at the Bilgorod Girl

0th km of the Danube at the Kiliyskiy girt

Erik

Ivan Lipovanin

Terrible and incomprehensible (in particular, to me personally) processes that Greater Russia not at all uncommon, they drove these people from their homes into the taiga, into the sparsely populated Polessk swamps, into the Danube floodplains. And how did they get here? How did you transport your goods? On their backs, or on horses, or on oxen? But where do oxen come from in Muscovy? It was in Ukraine that there were once so many of these working creatures that the Ukrainians themselves began to be compared with these madly strong and calmly phlegmatic children of cows... I remember my father-in-law’s stories about working with oxen, about their measured reblinking in the middle of a starry night.. But this is from a different story.

Christianity appeared in Rus' in the 10th century. It came from Byzantium and held firm until the 17th century. Although Constantinople fell under the onslaught of the Seljuk Turks, and Kyiv was captured by the Tatars, Lithuanians, and Poles. The Kiev Metropolis first moved to Vladimir on the Klyazma, then to Moscow, and then completely split into two and settled in Moscow and Vilna (the capital of Lithuania). Later, the “third Rome” appeared, and even later it was headed by Patriarch Nikon, who decided to carry out a reform... Instead of a two-pointed cross - a tripartite one, Jesus instead of Jesus, circumambulation of the temple against the sun, instead of in the direction of the sun, and such little things that are funny to list. I remember the comedy with Eddie Murphy: “... they have McDonald’s, and we have McDowell’s, they have golden arches, and we have golden arcs...” But to Nikon’s innovation, which he adopted from Catholic Europeans, opposition arose with the archpriest Habakkuk at the head. These people were unable or unwilling to accept reforms in unshakable religious traditions. And terrible repressions began... Exiles, torture, executions - all this, on the orders of Nikon and with the full support of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, had to be endured by people who preserved the old traditions and received names - Old Believers, Old Believers, “schismatics”. Some of these people emigrated outside Russian Empire, and stopped on the Turkish territory of Bessarabia. The floodplains in the Danube Delta became their new homeland.

Tipova Suchasna vulitsa

"Typova Stara Street" - Bilgorod Canal

Prayer from Muslims

Typical channels

It is interesting that in the 18th century the Old Believers split into two parts. Since priests had to be appointed by bishops, and there were no such priests at the disposal of the Old Believers, some began to profess the non-priest direction, while others began to choose priests on their own or to agitate for priests from the majority, which they called “Nikonians.” The Orthodox majority is still called “Nikonians” (although Nikon’s reforms were not carried out on the territory of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian religious elite did not want to join the Russian church in 1654).

Most of the Old Believers adhered to the “priestly” branch - they had their own priests, and in 1846 they even received their own metropolitan. He became Metropolitan Ambrose of Bosno-Sarajevo, who joined the Old Believer Church and publicly confirmed his commitment to it. For this, official Orthodoxy discredited the Metropolitan.

In Bukovina and Bessarabia, the Old Believers of the priestly persuasion were called Lipovans. One version of the origin of the name is that the Old Believers loved to settle in linden groves. Although there is a version of the origin of the name from some Philip, whose followers were the Old Believers (probably from Metropolitan St. Philip (Kolychev) - the hero of the film "Tsar"), therefore another name for the ethnographic group is Filipons.

On the Danube

The development of the Lipovan branch is closely related to the Bukovinian one. It was here that the first and largest Lipovan monastery was created, which became the basis of the hierarchy of Old Believers. Later, a majestic temple was built in Belaya Krynitsa, which is now a symbol of the Old Believers in Ukraine.

In Vilkovo, on the banks of the Danube, there is a monument to Ivan Lipovanin - this is a memory of the first settlers who founded a settlement in the Danube delta in the mid-18th century.

Throughout the 19th century, Old Believers were persecuted in the Russian Empire. The weakening occurred only in 1905 - then representatives of the old faith received permission to processions and church bells. And in 1918, the Bolsheviks completely equalized the rights of the Old Believers with the powerless “Nikonians” (patriarchal Orthodox believers). But the patriarchal church did not recognize the rights of the Old Believers. It was only in 1971 that the Russian Patriarchal Church acknowledged the mistakes that led to the schism in the 17th century and pointed to the “equality of integrity” of the Old Believers Church. This is how the connection happened.

Until recent years, marriages with Nikonians were prohibited among the Lipovans (permission appeared after a significant deterioration in the demographic situation). Lipovan women do not have the right to enter the church through the main entrance. Men after 60 years of age do not shave (although 20 years ago a beard was the companion of Lipovan men throughout their lives). This is only part of the differences in Lipovan religious rituals - I don’t remember the rest. Now the Lipovan-Vilkovo residents are increasingly allowing civilization into their lives, but back in 1746, when Lipovansky Posad was founded on the site of modern Vilkovo, the life of the residents was close to the life of hunter-gatherers. Hunting and fishing were the main activities of the Lipans. They also rowed silt from the Danube and built themselves a solid earth. It’s hard to even imagine the complexity of such work, but it was precisely this that made it possible to turn a remote swamp into a town. True, instead of streets in this town there were canals, and movement was carried out by boats. Later, they began to pour silt outside the city - this is how vegetable gardens appeared, which are still in operation today. The main horticultural crops of Vilkovo residents are strawberries and grapes. Strawberries appear here first in Ukraine - they are immediately bought up by intermediaries. Grapes are the raw material for the production of local dry wine “Novak”. I tried it - it was delicious, I especially liked the strawberry flavor.

Now Vilkovo - tourist centre Ukrainian Danube region. But the road here is scary. The last 30 km is a horror flying on the wings of the night. Therefore, there are significantly fewer tourists than the city could receive.

One of the four main natural reserves of Ukraine. The territory of the reserve is included in all possible registers of the world's most valuable landscapes. Tourists can see the beauty of the Danube and its landscapes during a boat excursion (they are very popular in Vilkovo).

The main occupation of Vilkovo residents now (as two centuries ago) is fishing. The main commercial fish is the Danube herring, a Red List species, which is caught in tons in the reserve. In special zones of biosphere reserves, folk crafts and fishing are not prohibited by law, but within certain standards and with official permission from a special department of the reserve.

The Danube Biosphere Reserve is unofficially part of a larger biosphere reserve, most of which is located in Romania. But Danube herring is the unofficial main souvenir of the city - it is sold salted and smoked. This is a very fatty, delicious fish, which is officially called the Azov-Black Sea anadromous herring. It does not live in the Danube, but only spawns (rising upstream 600 km). In addition to the Danube, it comes to spawn in the Dniester, Dnieper and Southern Bug, but much less frequently.

The first Vilkovo-Lipovans lived for a long time in reed huts (kurens). Houses built from reeds and mud began to appear in the 19th century. Such buildings are still the majority in Vilkovo. Many erik canals were filled in during Soviet times - they were made into real streets, but in the old part of the city the eriks are still the main transport arteries. The largest among them is the Belgorod Canal.

Mykolaiv Orthodox Church (1899-1902)

At the end of the 18th century, Zaporozhye Cossacks came to the town from the Sich, destroyed by Muscovites. They became the basis of agriculture in the vicinity of the town and further - they voluntarily took on the burden of agricultural work (the Russian Old Believers categorically refused them). Now the descendants of the Cossacks - Ukrainians - make up about a quarter of the city's population (in total, about 9 thousand people live in Vilkovo). Lipovans call them crests. For more than two centuries, marriages between Lipovans and crests were prohibited.

Ukrainians in Vilkovo have their own temple - a church dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It was built in 1899-1902. This is a majestic and luxurious temple, with five domes and a bell tower. It was built in a mixture of neo-baroque and modern. They say that Faberge was directly involved in the project of the temple iconostasis, but I personally don’t understand how.

Lipovan churches are inferior in external luxury to the Ukrainian church, but this makes them no less interesting architecturally. These are unique ship-temples (in plan they have the shape of a ship), which are symbols of an unshakable faith that was suppressed for centuries, but survived. These are ships that overcome the sea of ​​life and time - the temples of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Nativity of the Virgin.

Mykolaiv Old Believers Orthodox Church (1906-1913)

The Old Believer Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the youngest temple in the city. It is located on the island of Kalimbeika and was built over seven years - from 1906 to 1913. This temple is typical of Lipovan - it has a large dome and an attached bell tower. From a distance it looks a bit like wooden churches typical diocesan projects, but when you look up close, the impression changes dramatically - a feeling of antiquity and authenticity appears.

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is the main temple of the Old Believers of the city, and, accordingly, the entire region. It was built in the 50s of the 19th century, and the 32-meter bell tower was added in 1873. The temple is very elegant, but for some reason I liked it less than the other two temples in the city.

Old Believers Orthodox Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary (1857, 1873)

There are more than three thousand boats (large and small) in Vilkovo - this is almost the largest percentage in Ukraine. The shuttle replaces both the car and the cart for the Vilkov resident. It is used to get to vegetable gardens, strawberries and grapes are transported on it, and herring and other fish are caught on it. The canoe is indispensable in housing construction, because it is used to transport reeds and silt for construction. They also carry fragments of mollusk shells, from which they construct a pile. After spring floods (and this is a common occurrence in Vilkovo), such rubble is cut off and the house dries out. Later they fill it up again.

Vilkovo is a unique city, unlike other cities in Ukraine. Everyone should visit here before this monument to human titanic labor has not yet been completely filled up and paved over.

Text and photos by Roman Malenkov

Vilkovsky dachas on the Danube

To the Black Sea. wonderful, mysterious place, where the beauty of nature and the creations of human hands merge together - this is Vilkovo. Ukrainian Venice- this is what residents and guests call this place. The old part of the city is located in the water, so you can only get here by boat, and instead of streets, we have canals. Let's find out how it happened that people founded this town on the river, and what kind of vacation in Vilkovo, judging by the reviews, can await us.

Nikon's church reform. Its consequences

Three centuries ago, Old Believers fled here from church reform. As a result of Russia's victory in the Russian-Turkish war, its position strengthened. They united and became a single center of Rus'. There was a need to create a centralized church, because the Orthodox faith was the single core of the state. It was decided to come to a single prayer, the same forms of worship and rituals. For this purpose, the Nikon reform was carried out, the basis of which was the church practice of Byzantium.

It turned out that in the years that have passed since the baptism of Rus', a lot has changed in the rituals. decided to eradicate this disunity, enlisting the support of the king. But in reality, everything turned out to be more complicated - not everyone accepted the changes with enthusiasm. There were many who disagreed: a significant part of the boyars, merchants, representatives of the clergy and peasants. Thus began the split. The confrontation intensified, there were many casualties, and the Old Believers realized that they had no chance to survive and win. Some considered the solution to the problem to go on the run, others staged self-immolations in protest, and still others went underground. It was these Lipovan Old Believers who fled and came to the swampy banks of the Danube.

The foundation of Vilkovo and the feat of Lipovan

The founders of Vilkovo in 1746 literally rebuilt and took out “the land from under the water,” namely, they extracted silt and laid it at the base of future houses and streets, fencing artificial islands with chopped reeds. The town was literally reclaimed from the river.

During the Russian-Turkish War, the Lipovans made their invaluable contribution to the victory. Their services were highly appreciated and noted in Kutuzov’s reports. Without the help of Lipovan it would have been impossible to achieve one of the most striking victories in history - the capture impregnable fortress Ottoman Empire, city of Izmail. As Suvorov said, personally inspecting one of the most powerful fortifications in Europe before the assault, “this fortress has no weak points.” The Lipovans themselves did not participate in hostilities for religious reasons, but agreed to help Suvorov in organizing the transfer of troops along the Danube. They provided their boats with excellent performance, maneuverability and spaciousness. Still, over the years of living on the river, the settlers took into account all the nuances of navigation. Their long, narrow boats had bows on both sides, which saved time on turns.

The victorious commander, as a reward, gave the Lipovans the right to own the waters of the Danube, which was recorded on paper and sealed with the appropriate seal. In the 20th century, Romania tried to deprive them of this right, but the Hague International Court of Justice retained the right received from Russia for the rulers of the Danube. The act of lipovan is not only a military feat, but also a Christian step of good will. These people have shown that they do not remember old grievances, put the common cause above their own interests and know how to help without hoping for bribes.

Population

The majority of the population of Vilkovo is Russian. There are 70% of them in the town, and most of them still profess the ancient Old Believer faith. 25% are Ukrainians, as well as Romanians, Moldovans, Bulgarians and representatives of other nationalities. The population of the city of Vilkovo, according to the 2001 census, was 9.4 thousand people. Also, according to the same census, Russian is the native language for 84% of the population.

Religion

There are three churches in the city - one Orthodox and two Old Believers. There are also three Baptist churches located here.

Geographical features of the region

The Vilkovo map gives an idea of ​​the location of the town.

The Danube flows into the sea through several divided channels, “sleeves” that resemble a fork, which explains the name of the city. The parts of this fork were connected manually by numerous canals - “eriks”, and now it is a town on 72 islands. Together with river channels, man-made canals created a single water system in Vilkovo. Photo settlement clearly demonstrate channels alternating with small islands. And if you look at a map of the city from the air during the Danube flood, we will see neat rectangular islands of land among the endless water.

Amazing nature of Vilkovo

Ukrainian Venice has every right to be called a paradise. All nature lives here at the junction of sea and river. The region is characterized by rare species of plants, birds, and animals. There are also lakes nearby. As in Ancient Egypt, silt gives plants strength, being the best fertilizer. Standing in the water, residents take out the silt, lay it out to dry, and then transport it in wheelbarrows to the desired location. The land created with your own hands always turns into a wonderful, neat vegetable garden with beds of vegetables or a garden with fragrant flowers. The small reed houses of the inhabitants are surrounded by fragrant gardens and vineyards. Basically all vegetable gardens are located on the islands. Just imagine - to get to visit your neighbor, you will have to walk across a bridge or sail a boat! Indeed, Vilkovo is the Ukrainian Venice. A photo of an ordinary street, along which traffic is carried out by boat, makes it possible to imagine the ordinary everyday life of Vilkovo residents.

Local business

In addition to farming, local residents also engage in fishing. Moreover, this town is rightly called the capital of the Danube fishermen. Fish farming in the sea and river is the main occupation of the population here. Also recently, reeds have been in good demand for export. Vilkovites sell fish, local strawberries, grapes, homemade wine and other products to tourists.

Attractions

What can you see on vacation in Vilkovo? Ukrainian Venice is the only city in Europe that is located on the territory Biosphere Reserve"Danube flood plains". This is a state-protected area where natural complexes unique to the area are located and is carried out in conjunction with scientific research. Nature here is full of life, many species of plants, animals, birds, waterfowl and even aquatic invertebrates are listed in the Red Book.

At the place where the Danube flows into the Black Sea there is a symbolic sign “0 km”. They say that visiting here and walking under it is considered a good omen - it will bring good luck and health. Just think - more than 2.5 thousand kilometers is the path of the Danube, which flows into the sea right here, in the small man-made town of Vilkovo.

Ukrainian Venice. Rest

There are several recreation centers, a hotel and mini-hotels. Judging by the reviews, this perfect place for a holiday as a couple, a large group or a family with children. By the way, in many courtyards there are children's playgrounds with swings and slides. During the day you can take a boat ride along the picturesque river delta, go fishing, or visit the best fish market in the region. From national dishes It is worth trying, as experienced travelers say, real fish soup, the famous Danube herring, smoked bream, Salamur sauce, Lipovan herbal tea and, of course, a glass of local Novak wine. Vilkovo is the Ukrainian Venice, it’s definitely worth a visit!

In our article we will talk about a small town, which is located at the very confluence of the Danube River into the Black Sea. A mysterious, enigmatic, bewitching place where reality and fiction, natural beauty and products of human affairs are intertwined, all this is Vilkovo, the very Ukrainian Venice. That's what they call it amazing place not only visitors, but also the city residents themselves.

The old part of the city is located on the water, so you can only get here by boat. Here you will not see standard transport, because instead of streets there are canals, like in Venice.

Let's figure out how it happened that people created this city right on the river, and what kind of recreation Vilkovo can provide, judging by people's reviews.

Church reform: consequences

Several centuries ago, representatives of the Old Believers fled to this place from the imposed church reform. As a result, after Russia's victory in the Russian-Turkish war, Russia's position increased noticeably. Many lands were united, and Moscow absorbed the single center of Rus'. There was a need to create one central church, since the Orthodox religion was the only core for the state.

It was decided to come to one ritual, one form of worship and one prayer. For this purpose, the Nikon reform began to be implemented, at the center of which was Byzantine church practice.

It turned out that many years after the baptism of Rus', traditional rituals underwent changes. Patriarch Nikon rebelled against fragmentation and disunity and on this wave enlisted royal support. But in fact, everything turned out to be much more complicated - not everyone wanted to accept the changes.

Those who wanted to live the old way there was a record number, their number included: part of the boyars, the clergy, peasants, and merchants. Thus began the process of splitting. As a result of the confrontation, many people suffered, and the Old Believers realized that there was practically no chance of winning and surviving.

Some self-immolated in protest, others fled, and others went underground. In this way, the escaped Lipovan Old Believers ended up on the swampy banks of the Danube and Ukrainian Venice began to emerge.

The feat of Lipovan and the birth of Vilkovo

Since 1746, this city on the water was literally rebuilt and “land was taken out of the water”, namely, they found silt inside the waters, laid it in the foundations of houses and streets, and fenced off the islands with chopped reeds. It was as if the city was being torn from the tenacious hands of the river.

During the days of the Russian-Turkish war, the Lipovans made a contribution to the victory. Their services were highly appreciated in Kutuzov's reports. If the Lipovans had not made their contribution, it would have been simply impossible to imagine one of the most notable victories on a historical scale - the capture of the city of Izmail, a fortress of the Ottoman Empire. According to Suvorov, who personally inspected the fortress before the assault, this structure is one of the strongest fortifications in all of Europe.

The Lipovans themselves did not take part in hostilities for reasons of religion, but they agreed to assist Suvorov in organizing the transfer of troops along the Danube. They provided their own boats with high performance, spaciousness and maneuverability. Over the years of living on the river, the settlers had provided for everything. Their narrow boats had sharp edges on both sides, which greatly saved them time when turning.

The commander, as a reward, gave the Lipovans the opportunity to own the water of the Danube, and this was recorded in a document and sealed. In the 20th century, Romania attempted to deprive the Lipovans of this right, but the Hague International Court recognized the right of the Lipovans to be masters of the Danube.

The act of lipovan is not even a military feat, but also a good Christian deed. The people showed that they do not remember any grievances, put the common cause above their own interests and know how to help, without hoping for any benefits.

Population of Vilkovo

Most of all in Vilkovo there are Russians. There are about 70% of them here, and most of them today profess an ancient religion and support the Old Believer faith. 25% are Romanians, Moldovans, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, as well as representatives of other national minorities.

In total, about 9 thousand people live in Viloko (according to 2001 data). Russian is the native language for most of the population here.

Religion in Vilkovo

There are only three churches in the city - two churches that support Old Believer traditions, one is Orthodox. In addition, there are several Baptist churches in Vilkovo.

Geography of the region

From the map of Vilkovo you can get a clear idea of ​​the location of the town.

The Danube flows into the Black Sea with several “sleeves”, separating channels that resemble a fork, this explains the name of the city. The parts of this fork were manually joined by “eriks” - channels. And on this moment There are more than 72 islets in the city.

Together with river channels, the canals created one large water system in Vilkovo. The photo of Vilkovo well demonstrates the channels that alternate with small islands. If you look at a map of the city from the air when the Danube is flooding, you can see clear rectangles of land islands among endless water.

Nature of Vilkovo

Vilkovo is real paradise, which can rightfully be called Ukrainian Venice, because here all nature lives at the junction of the river and the sea. In this region you can find rare species animals, birds and plants. And nearby there are lakes and a pine forest. Silt gives plants strength, as in Ancient Egypt, by fertilizing them.

Residents take out the silt with their own hands, stand in the water, then let it dry and deliver it in wheelbarrows where they need it. The land that you create with your own hands can always be turned into a vegetable garden with beds of vegetables or a garden with flowers.

The small houses of the inhabitants are surrounded by fragrant vineyards and gardens. All vegetable gardens are mainly located on the islands. Just imagine: to get to visit your neighbor, you need to sail a boat or walk along a bridge. What can I say, this is truly Ukrainian Venice. In the photo you can see simple streets along which boat traffic takes place. This is how the everyday life of Vilkovo residents goes.

Business in Vilkovo

In addition to cultivating the land, residents catch fish and sell it. It’s not for nothing that the city is sometimes called the capital of the Danube fishermen. They fish here both in the river and in the sea. This is the main industry of the population. In addition, reeds are also in great demand here.

Residents of Vilkovo sell local strawberries, fish, grapes, homemade wine and other products to tourists, who happily buy local delicacies.

Sights of Vilkovo

Why come to Vilkovo? Ukrainian Venice is an exceptional city in Europe, located on the territory of the Danube Plavni Nature Reserve. This is an area that is carefully protected by the state. The most unique natural complexes are located here, monitoring is carried out environment along with the research of scientists.

Life is in full swing in Vilkovo. Many birds, animals, fish and plants are listed in the Red Book. At the place where the Danube flows into the Black Sea there is a “zero kilometer” sign. According to some rumors, if you visit here at least once, you can forget about illnesses and failures. I can’t even believe that the path of the Danube is 2.5 thousand kilometers, and it flows into the sea right here, in Vilkovo.

Holidays in Ukrainian Venice

This beautiful place has several hotels, mini-hotels and recreation centers. Based on the reviews, we can conclude that it is ideal to visit here as a couple, with children or a large group or family. In the courtyards there are playgrounds, slides and swings.

During the day you can go sailing on a boat or boat, go fishing or even visit the fish market, which, by the way, is the best in the region.

We recommend local cuisine. It is worth trying real fish soup, smoked bream, Danube herring, Salamur sauce, Lipovan herbal tea, and, of course, local wine Novak. It’s definitely worth coming to Vilkovo. It's delicious and interesting here!