IDEAL PROJECT
Ivano-Frankivsk is a city in the Western Ukraine, which was firstly planned as a perfect town Stanisławów with a private fortress of the Polish Potocki family. Back in 1662, when it received Magdeburg rights, it was the mono-functional South Eastern outpost to rule the Carpathian region and protect the borders of the country. Obviously, the city was dwelled mainly with soldiers and the portrait of Stanisław «Rewera» Potocki (military leader) after whom the city was named firstly was common for most of them.
Mock-up of Stanisławów fortress
«A fortress was erected to protect Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth from tatar invasions and to reinforce the region in case of some other Khmelnytsky uprising would occur» - Wikipedia Stanisław «Rewera» Potocki
COMMERCE As many other border towns, it had also become a good place for the commercial development, because numerous Armenian people, well known for their trading skills, were invited and given promotion for living and working there. By 1772, when it had become a property of Habsburg Empire, the fortress had been dismantled and transformed into one of the most prominent cities in the Carpathian region Stanislau, inhabited by Polish, Ukrainian, Armenian and Jewish people, it had been not only military, but also retail and multicultural. Of course, each of ethnic groups built their own churches, schools and other cultural places. That intercultural impact produced a wonderful mixture, bringing interesting diversity to the city canvas which nowadays forms the historic core of the city which a lot of people appreciate.
«Armenians were skillful traders, growing livestock in the mountains and selling it all over ther world, as well as wood, starting a fruitful tradition of international cooperation» - Taras Prohasko, writer, ethnographer
Armenian man CULTURE & HERITAGE / FIELD TRIP / 141