The area occupied by my forefathers in western Ukraine lies
at the crossroads of the eastern European regions of Volhynia (Ukr: Volyn, Воли́нь; Russian: Volyn, Волы́нь; Polish: Wołyń; German:
Wohynien), Podolia, and Galicia. Volhynia (to the northeast),
Podolia (to the south) and Galicia (to the southwest) meet near Teofipol, about 30 miles due south from
Antonivka. The area is bordered by
Poland to the west and north, Belorus (White Russia) and Ukraine (Ruthenia) to
the north and east, Moldava and Bessarabia to the south and Hungary to the
west. In the 19th century,
not only was the area inhabited by native Volhynians, Podolians, and Galicians
(these 3 nationalities being Ukrainians), but also by Russians, Poles,
Bessarabians and Moldavans (Romanians).
Germans, Czechs and Swiss later formed colonies in the area as
well. Muslim Tatars inhabited some areas,
leftover from the days of conquest of the Mongols and Turks. Furthermore, the area sat right in the middle
of the Pale of Settlement providing areas of inhabitation to the Jewish peoples
of Russia. Finally, occasional Rom
(Gypsy) camps also occupied the countryside and the occasional Finn, Latvian,
Lithuanian or Frenchman could also be found.
Geographically, the northern areas of this region are part
of the Polesia (Ukr: Polissya, Полі́сся) lowlands, an area of northern
Ukraine/southern Belorus including the Pripyat (При́п'ять) River marshes which is characterized
by large expanses of swamps, with many marshes and streams. This swampy area generally extends from a
line north of Lusk-Rovno-Zhytomyr-Kiev.
South of this line the Volhynian Uplands rise and the landscape gains
many hills and becomes generally much dryer.
South of the Volhynian Uplands are the Podolian Uplands. With the Podolian Uplands, the area becomes
almost mountainous as far south as Kremenets, as the ground gives rise to the
Outer Eastern Carpathian foothills. Grassy
flatlands, steppe or prairie-lands are not to be found in this region that is
covered with large expanses of forest.
The majority of the trees are pine and oak, with spruce, beech, birch
and locust also forming a percentage of the forest. Animals found in the area are similar to
those found in any wooded region of Europe; deer, boar, marten, beaver,
muskrat, hare, fox, and even an occasional wolf, as well as pheasant, quail,
ducks and cranes, make their homes here.
The forest at the end of the 20th century still covers a wide
expanse of land; creating an almost unbroken chain of woods 75 miles long and
10 to 15 miles wide through the heart of Volhynia.
The main river (річка) in the area is the Gorin (Ukr: Гори́нь; Rus: Горы́нь, Horyn; Pol: Horyń; German: Horyn; Yiddish: Horin, האָרין), itself a tributary of the Pripyat, whose headwaters lie in the hills south of the city of Kremenets and which flows in a northerly direction through
Iziaslaw (Zaslaw) and Slavuta, westwards towards Ostrog and then sharply to the north
and on past Rovno. The Gorin joins the
Pripyat in southern Belorus. The Pripyat-Gorin system forms one of the most westerly of the river systems comprising the Dneipr River
basin (Басейн Дніпра) which covers most of Ukraine and Belorus.
Tributaries of the Gorin which flow through the area include
the Vilia (Ukr: Ві́лія, Russ:
Вилия;), which flows in a
northeasterly direction from its source near Pidlisne (Ukr: Підлі́сне) and joins the Gorin just to the
west of the town of Ostrog and the Zbytynka
(Ukr: Збитинка) which flows
easterly from its origin east of Dubno, and joins the Gorin at Mezhyrich. A little farther south, the Huscisko (Riska)
flows in a northerly direction from its headwaters south of Husk until it joins
the Vilia at Kamenka. The Zluzie is
formed near Pluznoe and flows in a northerly direction to join the Huscisko
near Martynie. In the 19th
Century, before the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant cooling reservoir was
built, the Gnili Rig (Rotten Horn), (Ukr: Гнили́й Ріг, Czarna; Pol: Gnily Row) flowed in a
northerly direction through the forest to join the Gorin to the northeast of
Ostrog, from it’s headwaters near Markzec (Mokrets), but it no longer exists today. Many marshy, swampy areas surround these tributaries, just as they do the Gorin and the Pripyat.
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