Lost Europe in Ukraine: Exploring Polish mansions and German settlements
Where in Ukraine you can find Polish manors and German colonies (photo: Wikipedia)
In remote Ukrainian villages, traces of past eras remain: abandoned cemeteries, remnants of Polish manor farms, and German colonies. Each such place is a living page of history waiting for researchers and curious travelers. What monuments of ancient history have survived, what has disappeared, and what is worth preserving?
German colonies: Stones that remember another language
Settlements of German colonists appeared in Western Ukrainian lands in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their names sounded foreign to the local ear: Deutschbach, Neudorf, Kaiserdorf. Today, these are Ukrainian villages, but if you look closely, you can still feel an unfamiliar hand in their churches and planning.
In the village of Makhlynets in the Lviv region stands a church built by colonists in the 1860s. After decades of neglect, it was restored by the descendants of those who once left these lands. And when you step inside, you feel something strange, as if history has not vanished but only sleeps.
Abandoned church in the village of Makhlynets (photo: Churches and chapels of Ukraine)
Polish estates: Abandoned luxury
Volyn preserves another layer of history, in particular, Polish estates and manor farms from the interwar period. They appeared after a land reform, when veterans of the Polish army were given plots of land in Ukrainian territories.
Now only the walls of those houses remain. Empty windows look out onto fields, and stairs lead to nowhere. Some estates became victims of war, and others are victims of indifference.
Old Polish estate in the village of Holonevychi (Volyn News Service)
Forgotten cemeteries
The most touching places are abandoned cemeteries. They are lost among hills and forests, where grass grows through cracks in the stone. Crosses lean, inscriptions are erased, but you can still read Polish, German, and Ukrainian surnames.
Such cemeteries can be found in Volyn, Galicia, and along the Polish border. Some date back to the 18th century. They remind us that we live on land where dozens of people once lived and died side by side. And each left its mark.
Volunteers from Volyn arrange the graves of Ukrainians in the village of Modryn (Poland). (photo: Government Courier)
Military burials: Modern memory
Other places bear witness to the 20th century. In 2012, a military cemetery for World War II soldiers was created in the forest near Kovel. This shows that even after decades, history finds a way to remind us of itself.
Mass grave of Soviet soldiers in Kovel (photo: Wikipedia)
Journey that changes you
A trip to a small village can become an unexpected journey through time. It is easy here to forget about everyday life and feel that beneath your feet is not just earth but a great book with so many unread pages.
You may be interested in:
- Where in Ukraine you can feel the atmosphere of authentic history
- Which places in Ukraine have become symbols of pilgrimage
Sources: Institute of National Memory, Ukraina Moloda, Wikipedia, Churches and chapels of Ukraine, Government Courier, Volyn News Service.
