Slavske
Encyclopedia
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
in the Skole Beskids
Skole Beskids
The Skole Beskids is a mountain range in western Ukraine, within the set of ranges called Eastern Beskids and the Ukrainian Carpathians of the Outer Eastern Carpathians....
range of the Carpathian mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
in western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
with a population of 3,700. It's one of the biggest Ukrainian winter sports centers. Slavske is located 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) above sea level in the Skole Raion
Skole Raion
Skole Raion is a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Skole. It has a population of 50 310.It was established in 1940.-External links:*...
(district) of Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Lviv.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 4, 1939...
, close to the city of Skole
Skole
thumb|right|200px|A church in SkoleSkole is a city in the Lviv Oblast of Ukraine. It is administrative center of the Skole Raion. As of 2001, the population is 6,742.- History :...
, 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) southwest of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
.
Location
Slavske is situated in the valley of the Opir and Slavka rivers in an area traditionally inhabited by the BoykoBoyko
Boyko or Boiko are a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands. The Boykos inhabited the central and the western half of the Carpathians in Ukraine, including the Dolynskyi and a part of the Rozhniativskyi Raions in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ,...
highlanders, adjacent to southeast Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and northeast Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. The mountains surrounding Slavske are of volcanic origin with forest cover, with an average height of about 1,200 m to 1,400 m.
The town is conveniently located on an important rail line which connects Ukrainian cities with Uzhorod as well as Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
History
According to tradition, Slavske takes its name from a band of intrepid warriors of Early East Slavs (Drevlians) led by Prince Sviatoslav Volodymyrovich, one of the ill-fated sons of Vladimir I of KievVladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
killed by his half-brother Sviatopolk I in 1015. Sviatoslav was attempting to escape to Hungary after the murder of his brothers Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb , Christian names Roman and David, respectively, were the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus' after the Christianization of the country....
when he was intercepted by Sviatopolk's men and killed in the upper reaches of the Opir River. Opir, incidentally, means "resistance."
Local lore identifying his burial site and stories connecting Danylo Romanovych, Prince of Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
and Galicia, to the Boyko
Boyko
Boyko or Boiko are a distinctive group of Ukrainian highlanders or mountain-dwellers of the Carpathian highlands. The Boykos inhabited the central and the western half of the Carpathians in Ukraine, including the Dolynskyi and a part of the Rozhniativskyi Raions in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ,...
Region suggest that the locality figured to an extent in the history of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Legend has it that the region was among those ravaged by the rampaging Mongol-Tatar horde led by Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
during its campaign to invade Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
in 1240–41. The invasion also saw Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynsky is a city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of the Volodymyr-Volynsky District, the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
and Halych
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
destroyed, thus interfering with Danylo's plans for the unification of Ukrainian territories. Material evidence of the village's existence, however, can only be traced back to the year 1483.
Records indicate that the village later belonged to the Pototsky family before being transferred to Evhen Kinsky, who then sold it to Baron Hredel.
Following the opening of the railway line between Stryi
Stryi
Stryi is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine . Serving as the administrative center of the Stryi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. Thus, the city has two administrations - the city and the raion...
and Mukachevo in 1878, Slavske became a popular stop.
Slavske’s history as a winter sports centre as well as a spa town goes back to the 19th century, when it was part of Galicia - a province of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. Austrians built hotels in the town, and by 1918, when the town became part of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, it was a very popular destination, attended mostly by tourists from nearby city of Lviv. Between 1919 and 1939 several ski lifts and ski platforms were built in Slavske and its vicinity, most of them on the Pohar mountain.
Leisure
Slavske first became known as a skiing center in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first cableways and ski jumps were built in the 1920s and 1930s. It reached the peak of its popularity during the SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
era when it became the main training grounds of the USSR Olympic team. While its pistes cannot rival those in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, there are slopes, such as the central ski track operated by the Dinamo sports centre, touted by local authorities as being of international competitive standards.
The best slopes are found on Mt Trostian, which is 1235 metres above sea level. A new resort is being built on Mt Zvorets, located two kilometres from Slavske toward Volosianka, which is expected to compete against the Slavske Trostian resort. The other mountains in the area are Politekh, Pohar, Grabovets and Krokus. The skiing season begins in late November ends in late March.
In summer, holiday makers engage in fishing as well as walking and riding excursions or berry and mushroom picking.