EARLY HISTORY

On the abrupt left bank of the Prut the silver domes of churches as well as the conspicuous high spire of the Town Hall make themselves visible in the distance. This is the ancient town of Pokuttya-Snyatyn. The first written mention of the town in the historical chronicles dates from 1158. One of the oldest towns in the Principality of Halychyna, it was conferred the name of commander Kostyantyn Siroslavych. He was a well-known military leader and an influential figure in the court of the Halycian Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. In the text of the ancient Chronicle his name was given as Ksnyatyn or Kostyantyn. Nowadays one of the town's longest and most beautiful streets bears his name. In the year 1448 the town was granted Magdeburg Law. After that Snyatyn became an important border town and a strategic centre. It was the springboard for the raids of the Polish gentry on Moldavia. In Snyatyn our ancestors met Alexander, master of the neighboring Moldavia more than once. Here he would pledge allegence to Jagello as a vassal. While staying in Snyatyn the King had talks with the envoys of the Greek Emperor Paleologis and the Patriarch of Constantinople who were pleading for bread help to Constantinople which had been struck by famine. It was from Snyatyn via the Black Sea Port of Khadzhibey (now Odessa) that the grain was sent to Constantinople. Stephen the Great, ruler of Moldavia, having been beaten by the Turks in 1476 asked the Polish King for help. In Snyatyn he gathered his troops together and on receiving relief from the Polish King set out on his campaign against the Turks. Such crafts as cooperage, sewing, shoemaking and furriery were flourishing in Snyatyn. The fairs were held anually and the artisans, as well as yeomen tillers used to sell their products there. Things were like this at the time of peace. What did they look like in harder times? Snyatynshchyna was to endure much just the same as the whole of Prykarpattya and our long-suffering Ukraine. Here are but a few examples in proof of the tragic destiny of the people in our history. In the year 1456 some of the inhabitants of Snyatyn participated in the peasants' revolt against the landlords in Northern Moldavia which was led by Lev. It was here that one of the first insurrections of the serfs against the landlords in Ukraine burst out in the year 1490. The rebels were instigated by Ivan Mukha. In the year 1524 over 500 Turkish janizaries crossed the Dniester and went on the rampage in Pokuttya. They looted both Snyatyn and other settlements. In 1532 the town was burnt to the ground by the troops of the then Moldovan ruler. In the years 1590-1648 the Tatars perpetrated twenty-nine raids on Snyatyn. During that period the town was set on fire five times. In the course of Bohdan Khmel'nytskyi's campaign against the Polish gentry in 1648 the area adjacent to Snyatyn witnessed the activities of the rebels' detachments commanded by Les' Berezovyi, Mykyta Horbachyk and Hryhoriy Uhornytskyi. In 1656 the rebels overpowered the local garrison and captured the Snyatyn fortress. They laid the newly built castle to the ground and became a menace to the ground and became a menace to the other strongholds of the Polish gentry. The 1848 Revolution in Europe brought about the abolishment of serfdom. A new historical period in the development of economy and the spiritual revival of Snyatynshchyna set in. People used to make tumuli and erect crosses to commemorate that event. Every year on that day they worked only till the afternoon. Then they headed for the barrow or the cross which became the sight of merry-making, dancing or meetings with friends or relatives. A yearning of the people to withstand their national dignity and the language, to ensure themselves the right to education was gathering momentum. Issues like these were often raised at the people's rallies. To adduce an example, a gathering held in Snyatyn on 27 February 1892 brought together over 2,000 participants. The speakers (H. Zaparynyuk, L. Mardarevych and others) voiced their opinion to the effect that the destitute people should primarily be granted political rights as a basic remedy for the improvement of the situation. As everybody was paying taxes equally, it was only fair that any person upon reaching the age of twenty be granted equal election rights. The participants of the meeting demanded an improvement of the educational system, lower prices for salt, abolishment of the duty to repair roads, introduction of the Ukrainian language into the work of the village authorities. Several prominent people of that period - Ivan Franko, VasyP Stefanyk, Les' Martovych and Mykhaylo Pavlyk spoke at the gathering. Ivan Franko delineated the needs of the education for the Ukrainian children. Ivan Sandulyak, a peasant from Karliv, told those present that a peasant might have his only sheep-skin coat taken away from him for not paying taxes. It was felling back on this incident that Ivan Franko's "The Story of the Sheepskin Coat" appeared. In July 1875 Mykhaylo Kropyvnytskyi came to Snyatyn with the cast of the West Ukrainian theater "Rus'ka Besida" to stay there for three months. The people of Snyatyn could see the father of the Ukrainian theater in the plays by Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, Taras Shevchenko and other Ukrainian authors. In March 1881 Teofil Kobrynskyi set up a Ukrainian Reading Hall in Snyatyn which became a local branch of the Prosvita Society in 1893. In 1903 Snyatynshchyna witnessed the arrival of Mykola Lyssenko, founder of the Ukrainian musical culture. The people of Snyatyn and the neighboring villages presented Mykola Lyssenko with a garland made of flowers and ears of wheat. Speaking to those present the composer shared his thoughts with them concerning their life and work and he also urged them not to give up singing as it gives one comfort and happiness as well as the courage to stand up to the oppressors.