JEWISH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE TERNOPIL REGION: CURRENT STATE AND POSSIBILITIES OF ITS USE IN TOURIST ACTIVITIES
Authors: Rudakevych Ivan , Havryshok Bohdan , Flinta Natalia 
Published: December 2024

The article describes the geospatial features and location of Jewish cultural heritage in the Ternopil region. Its current state and possible use in tourist activities are described. Information about the multiculturalism of the population of the Ternopil oblast during the Second World War and the rich Jewish cultural heritage in the region has been updated. The latest scientific publications on the Jewish heritage of the Ternopil region and its use in tourism are characterized. The historical and geographical features of the appearance of Jews on Ukrainian lands and on the territory of the Ternopil region are described. The peculiarities of the resettlement of the Jewish people during the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian and Russian empires are analyzed. The number of Jews grew the most in the 16th century after the Union of Lublin thanks to the development of "new lands" in the territory of Western Podillia. The Jewish communities in the Ternopil oblast reached their greatest prosperity and numbers in the 20-30s of the 20th century. According to the ethno-national research of the national composition of the population of Galicia by the Ukrainian scientist V. Kubiyovych, the share of Jews among the population of the cities and villages of the Ternopil region as of 1939 was calculated. According to these calculations, a map of the Jewish population of the region was drawn up. At that time, the largest number of Jews lived in Ternopil, Kremenets, Chortkiv, and Buchach. In terms of share among the entire population, there were the most Jews in the towns of Vyshnivets, Shumsk, Mykulyntsi, Pidvolochysk, Pidhajtsi - more than 50%. The large number of Jews in the towns of Vyshnivets, Lanivtsi, and Shumsk is explained by their location in the "settlement strip" during the times of the Russian Empire. A significant number of the Jewish population also lived in some villages. After the Second World War and the Holocaust, only a few hundred Jews remained in the Ternopil region. The main monuments of Jewish culture (synagogues, prayer houses, kirkuts) were mostly destroyed or repurposed. The article presents a table of the current state of monuments of Jewish heritage in the Ternopil region. Most synagogues are in ruins or have been converted for other needs. Kirkuts have survived mainly in the form of several matzos or abandoned cemeteries. In the Ternopil oblast there are ten Jewish cemeteries left in a preserved condition. In several cities and villages of the region, memorial signs have been erected, primarily at the sites of the mass extermination of Jews. An example of such places is the memorial monument at the site of the extermination of the Jewish population on the outskirts of Ternopil and the village of Petrykiv. Four groups of Jewish heritage centers in the Ternopil region are also distinguished according to the degree of their preservation. Most of such centers in the region are represented by separate fragments or remnants of elements of Jewish culture. The authors have created a map that reflects the current state of preservation and geospatial localization of monuments of Jewish culture. Of the savings in the Ternopil oblast of synagogues, only one in Husyatyn is used for religious needs. Others synagogues are in desolation at the station or are engaged in local business (bus stations, warehouses, sawmills, etc.). However, most synagogues in the Ternopil region are in a dilapidated and ruined state. The article also analyzes the main tourist destinations in the Ternopil oblast based on Jewish cultural heritage. For example, in the Buchach, a famous tourist attraction is the house where the Jewish writer Shmuel Agnon was born. The inner part of the building has an art courtyard where various mystical and public events are held. In the Budaniv village, the Terebovlya society has built a monument to the Jewish writer Sami Morgerstern, who was born there. Nearby in this settlement are the ruins of a synagogue and Jewish trading houses. In the Tovste village the founder of Hasidism, Tzadik Besht, lived and preached here in the 18th century, and his mother is buried in the local kirkut. Only a part of the kirkut remained in Ternopil from the heritage of the Jewish people. In general, the Ternopil region has a rich Jewish cultural heritage, which serves as a basis for the development of ethnic and sentimental tourism.
Keywords: cultural heritage, Jews, kirkut, monument, synagogue, Ternopil region.