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My native town – Kolomiya

20th century

After the outbreak of the Great War, the town saw fierce fights between the forces of Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary. In the effect of the collapse of Austria-Hungary, both the town itself and the surrounding region became disputed between renascent Poland and Western Ukrainian National Republic. However, during the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919, it was seized without the fight by forces of Romania and handed over to Polish authorities. After the Polish-Soviet War it remained in Poland as a capital of a powiat within the Stanisławów Voivodship. By 1931 the number of inhabitants grew to over 41.000 inhabitants. The ethnic mixture was composed of Jews, Poles, Ukrainians, Hutsuls, Germans, Armenians and Hungarians, as well as of descendants of Valachians and other nationalities of former Austria-Hungary. With the development of infrastructure, the town became a major railroad hub, as well as the garrison city of the Hutsul Rifle Regiment, probably the only purely-Hutsul military unit in history.

After the outbreak of the World War II of 1939 the town was thought of as one of the centres of Polish defence of the so-called Romanian Bridgehead. However, the Soviet invasion from the east made these plans obsolete and the town was captured by the Red Army. In the effect of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the town was attached by the Soviet Union to the Ukrainian SSR. In 1940 most of the local Poles were arrested by the NKVD and sent to Gulag system or to various Soviet prisons. In 1941 the town was seized by Nazi Germany. During the German occupation most of city's Jews were murdered by the Germans. Initial street executions of September and October of 1941 took the lives of approximately 500 people. The following year the remaining Jews were massed in a local ghetto and then murdered in various concentration camps, mostly in Bełżec. Several hundred Jews were kept as slave workers in a work camp and then murdered in 1943 in a forest near Szeparowka.

When the Soviet Army drove the Axis forces out, the town with the area was reattached to the Soviet Ukraine and the remaining Poles were expelled to Poland. It now remains a part of Ukraine, independent since 1991.

Kolomyia's Museum of Hutsul Folk Art

The historical traditions of living and creating crafts are collected in Kolomyia's museum of Hutsul folk art. This museum represents woodworks, embroidery, carpeting and closing, ceramics, Easter eggs, glass drawing, works with metal and leather.

The idea of establish museum of Hutsul folk art appears among intelligent people at the end of XIX century. One of the biggest advocate of this idea was Ivan Franko (Ukrainian philosopher,poet, and writer second half of XIX century and begining of XX century). But only in 1926 was made plan to organize the museum, and in 1927 Bolodymyr Kobryns'kyj started to creat it. He was deepest admirer of Hutsul folk art, and he spent a lot of time and money for establishing this museum. Some exhibits were donate by Ukrainian intelligentsia from their own collection and some of them was collected from villages. Only on December 31 1934 museum was officially open.

The museum had a lot difficulties. Because museum was based on donations, there was not enough money for scientific work; museum was open only one day per week. Even in this conditions museum as a cell of Ukrainian culture was not welcome to the Polish government. ( At that time this part of Ukraine was under Polish power). Museum was closed for some time in 1937 and reopen under pressure of public. Many valuable exhibits was destroy during World War II by Nazi. But museum continue to live and develop in present days. At present time museum fills up with new exhibits from the modern artists.

You can see on the picture one part of the museum collection: interior of village house from the middle of XIX century. The house build from wood has the stove made from a ceramic tile, wood bed and cradle with carvings and covered by fabric, and household items as ceramic dishes, hat, sticks, leather bags. The museum has collections: woodcuts, works from metal and leather, ceramics, Easter eggs, glass drawing, embroidery, carpets, clothes and shows evolution of folk art from the end of XVIII century to the present time.