Ternopil Oblast

Ternopil Oblast
Тернопільська область
Ternopilska oblast
Oblast
Flag of Ternopil Oblast
Flag
Coat of arms of Ternopil Oblast
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Тернопільщина (Ternopilshchyna)
Country  Ukraine
Administrative center Ternopil
Chortkiv[1] (1944)
Government
  Governor Stepan Barna (Petro Poroshenko Bloc)
  Oblast council 120 seats
  Chairperson Vasyl Khominets (Svoboda)
Area
  Total 13,823 km2 (5,337 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 22nd
Population (2006)
  Total 1,107,294
  Rank Ranked 23rd
  Density 80/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code ?
Area code +380-35
ISO 3166 code UA-61
Raions 17
Cities (total)
 Regional cities
14
1
Urban-type settlements 17
Villages 1019
FIPS 10-4 UP22
Website www.adm.gov.te.ua

Ternopil Oblast (Ukrainian: Тернопільська область, translit. Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna - Ukrainian: Тернопільщина, Polish: Obwód Tarnopolski) is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Ternopil, through which flows the Seret River, a tributary of the Dnister.

One of its natural wonders of what the region is proud are its caves.[2] Although Ternopil Oblast is among the smallest regions in Ukraine, there are over 100 caves.[2] Scientist however think that it is only 20% of all caves possibly in the region.[2] The biggest cave is Optymistychna Cave.[2] Measuring 240 m (790 ft) in total length, places the cave on the first place among caves of Eurasia and the fifth in the world ranking (see list of longest caves).[2] Some caves are used for scientific research.[2]

Ternopil Oblast is accounted for some 34 castles.[2] The most beautiful one is the Zbarazh Castle.[2] Its fortifications alone expand over 16 ha (40 acres).[2] In the summer of 1649 the castle appeared to be in the epicenter of a standoff between troops of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These events were later described in the novel "With Fire and Sword" by Polish Noble Prize recipient Henryk Sienkiewicz.[2]

Twenty percent of land in the region is chernozem soil.[2] Here is located one of the biggest agro-holding company in the country occupying an area of over 320,000 ha (790,000 acres).[2] In the 19th century the city of Zalishchyky was associated with the best peaches, plums and grapes in the Austrian Empire.[2] And even without tasting its fruits, people were able to see an unforgettable panorama of the city that decorated hundreds of holiday cards and calendars.[2] It is here where Dniester Canyon passes through.[2] One of the wonders of Ukraine is its picturesque 250 km (160 mi) stretch.[2]

Geography

The oblast is located in the West Ukraine and has an area of 13,800 km². It is situated at the western part of the Podilian Upland which is known for its quite rocky terrain. Among noticeable mountains there is the Kremenets Mountains. The oblast is also famous for its caves.

One of the major rivers in the country Dniester forms southern and southwestern borders of Ternopil Oblast with the adjacent Chernivtsi Oblast and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Its tributaries that flow through the oblast include Zbruch, Seret, and Strypa among just few of them. The Seret River (not to be confused with Siret nor Seret) is a left tributary of the Dniester flowing through the oblast administrative center, i.e. Ternopil.

Ternopil Oblast is one of the two in the West Ukraine that do not have an international border. It is surrounded by five other oblasts of Ukraine: Chernivtsi Oblast - to the south, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast - to the southwest, Lviv Oblast - to the northwest, Rivne Oblast - to the north, and Khmelnytskyi Oblast - to the east.

History

The oblast was created during the Second World War when both Nazi Germany and later the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Due to the Polish national policy in the area (Pacification action), many people favored the Soviet invasion of Eastern Galicia at first. However, soon thereafter, the Soviet security agencies started a witchhunt among nationally oriented members of Ukrainian resistance who emigrated to Poland after the Soviet-Ukrainian War as well as other reasons. Many people of local population regardless of their ethnic background were exiled to Siberia. On December 4, 1939 the voivodeship division in the West Ukraine was abolished and replaced with the existing Soviet administrative division oblast. Ternopil Oblast (originally Tarnopol Oblast) was established based mostly on the Tarnopol Voivodeship and southern portions of the Volhynian Voivodeship.

Tarnopol Voivodeship, September 17, 1939.

During the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, Ternopil became an object of fierce fighting between Soviet and German forces because of its importance as a rail transportation hub. During German occupation, the region (except for its Volhynian portion) became part of the District of Galicia and transferred to administration by the General Government. After the war, a destroyed residential section of Ternopil, near the river, was turned into an artificial lake rather than being rebuilt. Additionally, upon annexation to the Soviet Union's Ukrainian SSR, most ethnic Poles in the region were forcibly relocated to Poland, whose national borders had shifted far to the west. The area of the former Polish voivoideship was expanded by adding territory in the north, though the western-most parts were transferred to the Lviv oblast. After 1945 Soviet authorities also encouraged ethnic Russians to settle in territories newly annexed to the Soviet Union, including the Ternopil oblast, though western Ukraine remained considerably less Russian than eastern Ukraine.

As Ukraine achieved independence in the 1990s, western Ukraine remained the heartland of Ukrainian political and cultural nationalism, and the political affiliations of Ternopil voters reflected that viewpoint. In the first elections after independence, the People's Movement of Ukraine was the leading party in the oblast. A majority of oblast voters supported the Ukrainian nationalist-oriented Electoral Bloc Yuliya Tymoshenko in the Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2002. Over 88% of voters supported Yulia Tymoshenko of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" in the Ukrainian presidential election, 2010.

By 2005, the population of the oblast had grown to roughly 225,000, consisting primarily of ethnic Ukrainians with a large Russian or Russian-speaking minority. The city of Ternopil has important institutions of higher education, including two teacher's colleges, an international medical school with instruction in English, and one of three economics institutes in Ukraine.

Pochaiv Monastery

The religion of the majority is Eastern Rite Catholic (Uniate), though there is a notable Orthodox presence and a small Protestant minority. Many churches which were closed or destroyed under Soviet rule have rebuilt since independence. The local Jewish community, which was very large before 1939, was not reestablished after 1945. There are no active synagogues in the oblast and only a few isolated individuals affiliating with the Jewish faith.

Points of interest

Vyshnivets Palace
Dzhuryn Waterfall, one of the highest in Ukraine.

The oblast is known for its castles and fortresses. Alas, due to underfunded state program in preservation of the cultural heritage, many of objects of historical significance are in a poor conditions. The following historic-cultural sites were nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

Population

National composition

The population is predominantly Ukrainophone and about 98% consider themselves Ukrainians. Among the biggest minorities are Poles and Russians who combine 1.6% of the total population. Most of the population is bilingual and the Russian language is accepted in daily communications. The estimated population is 1.1 million people (as of 2004).

In historical comparison, it should be noted that before the World War II national composition was very different and according to the 1931 Polish Census Ukrainians were a slight majority in the Tarnopol Voivodeship at 54.8%, while there was almost no Russians. On the other hand, the Polish and Jewish population decreased drastically from 36.6% and 8.4% respectively.

Age structure

0-14 years: 15.7% Increase (male 86,309/female 81,940)
15-64 years: 69.0% Steady (male 360,305/female 381,271)
65 years and over: 15.3% Decrease (male 53,364/female 110,887) (2013 official)

Median age

total: 38.6 years Increase
male: 35.8 years Increase
female: 41.4 years Increase (2013 official)

Economy and Transportation

Bridge near Terebovlia

The economy is predominantly agriculturally oriented. Among industries, there is a well developed food industry particularly sugar production, alcohol, and dairy (such as butter). There is also number of factories such as "Vatra" (lighting equipment), Ternopil Harvester Plant, "Orion" (radio communication) among a few.

Ternopil Oblast has an adequate network of highways, while the city of Ternopil is located at the intersection of main European corridors along the E50 and E85 highways. There is a small airport in Ternopil (Ternopil Airport) which however mostly is used for charter flights. There is a well developed railroad network which is a part of the Lviv Railways. Water transportation is very limited and mostly along the Dniester River.

Subdivisions

The Ternopil Oblast is administratively subdivided into 17 raions (districts), as well as 1 city (municipality) which is directly subordinate to the oblast government: Ternopil, the administrative center of the oblast. The average area of a raion is around 808 km2 (312 sq mi), the biggest one is Terebovlia Raion covering 1,130 km2 (440 sq mi) and the smallest one - Pidhaitsi Raion with 496 km2 (192 sq mi). The average population number is around 50.6 thousands which is just below the national average.

Map of Ternopil Oblast
Raions of the Ternopil Oblast
In English In Ukrainian Administrative Center
Berezhany Raion Бережанський район
Berezhanskyi raion
Berezhany
(City)
Borshchiv Raion Борщівський район
Borshchivskyi raion
Borshchiv
(City)
Buchach Raion Бучацький район
Buchatskyi raion
Buchach
(City)
Chortkiv Raion Чортківський район
Chortkivskyi raion
Chortkiv
(City)
Husiatyn Raion Гусятинський район
Husiatynskyi raion
Husiatyn
(Urban-type settlement)
Kozova Raion Козівський район
Kozivskyi raion
Kozova
(Urban-type settlement)
Kremenets Raion Кременецький район
Kremenetskyi raion
Kremenets
(City)
Lanivtsi Raion Лановецький район
Lanovetskyi raion
Lanivtsi
(City)
Monastyryska Raion Монастириський район
Monastyryskyi raion
Monastyryska
(City)
Pidhaitsi Raion Підгаєцький район
Pidhayetskyi raion
Pidhaitsi
(City)
Pidvolochysk Raion Підволочиський район
Pidvolochyskyi raion
Pidvolochysk
(Urban-type settlement)
Shumsk Raion Шумський район
Shumskyi raion
Shumsk
(City)
Terebovlia Raion Теребовлянський район
Terebovlanskyi raion
Terebovlia
(City)
Ternopil Raion Тернопільський район
Ternopilskyi raion
Ternopil
(City)
Zalishchyky Raion Заліщицький район
Zalishchytskyi raion
Zalishchyky
(City)
Zbarazh Raion Збаразький район
Zbarazkyi raion
Zbarazh
(City)
Zboriv Raion Зборівський район
Zborivskyi raion
Zboriv
(City)

Personalities

In town of Buchach was born a Noble Prize recipient, writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon.[2] The prize was given for works about fate of Galician Jews.[2] Agnon worked for a Lviv newspaper, but after refusal to serve in the army he moved to Palestine.[2] In Ukraine he published over 70 of his early works.[2]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ternopil Oblast.

Coordinates: 49°23′35″N 25°33′35″E / 49.39306°N 25.55972°E / 49.39306; 25.55972

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