The Vilia River flows by the village of Karolswalde in a
northerly direction and merges with the Goryn River on the northern edge of
Ostrog. Upstream, the river flows in a
northeasterly direction past Kunev before turning due east for about 3 miles
past the villages of Antonovka and Kamenka.
At Kamenka, the river takes a northerly turn and passes
Karolswalde. Karolswalde is about 3.5
miles by road from the village of Antonovka.
Antonovka (Russian: Анто́новка; Ukrainian: Antoniwka,
Анто́нівка; Polish: Antoniwka; German: Antonowka. Note
that there are several villages by this name within Volhynia.) according to
Russian sources may have been originally founded as early as 1462 and today sits
on an east-west orientation along the southern banks of the Vilia River at an
elevation of slightly greater than 200 meters.
Russian sources indicate the village was populated by Czechs, but Mennonite
sources list Antonovka as the second parish center of the German Mennonite
villages in the Ostrog area (in the Antonovka Parish were the villages of
Waldheim and Fuerstendorf, as well as Antonovka). The Mennonite community of Antonovka may have
been established as early as 1816, about the same time as Mennonites from near
Driesen, led by Benjamin Unruh, established nearby Mezheliski (known in German
as Waldheim). The Mennonites of
Antonovka, as the Mennonites of Karolswalde, originated from the Schwetz area
of Royal Prussia. By 1821, 38 Mennonite
families lived in the German villages southwest of Ostrog. In 1906, Antonovka was populated by 60
households with a total population of 468.
In 2001, the population was only 158.
Obviously Antonovka has grown much smaller over the years.
Abe J. Unruh suggests that the Mennonites built their houses
on the east side of the road, and presumably the fields stretched out from the
yards in a similar fashion as Karolswalde.
Maps from the 19th Century, however, as well as current
satellite views of Antonovka, indicate the main road through the village ran
east to west, with the eastern-most point intersecting the Ostrog-Kunev
highway. Obviously the village was much
larger in the 19th Century and would have needed to occupy
additional space than it does today, but satellite views don’t show remnants of
any north-south roads through the village.
Right now the idea that houses would have been on the east side of a
road looks dubious. Whatever the case, an
unfortunate lack of farmland persisted especially in the Antonovka villages,
and many residents were forced to choose vocations other than raising
crops. Many wove linen, produced lumber,
or worked at other cottage industries.
For most of the 19th Century, Antonovka was
administratively part of Kunevskoy. In 1921, after the Polish-Soviet War, the
village was placed under Zaslav County administrative control as the village
remained in the Soviet Union. During
this time, the village was part of Pluzhchnoe Township (Pluzhanskoy). The village
became dominated by Czechs after the majority of Mennonites left for America in
1874. The Czechs, who were Roman-Catholic
in their homeland of Austria-Hungary, became Russian-Orthodox, Lutherans, and
Baptists in Russia. Antonovka lies about
7.5 miles southwest from the Ostrog castle (by road).
Today the village is Ukrainian Khmelnytsky Oblast or Province
(Хмельницька область), Izyaslav Raion or District (Ізяславському районі),
Kunivska Village Rada or Council (Кунівська сільська рада).
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