Conference “Hutsul Region: History, Ethnoculture, Tourism and Nature Conservation, Personalities”

On November 19, 2024, in the village of Kosmach, Kosmach rural territorial community, Kosiv district, Ivano-Frankivsk region, an All-Ukrainian conference with international participation “Hutsul region: history, ethnoculture, tourism and nature protection, personal studies” was held, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, leading specialist of the Educational and Scientific Institute of History, Ethnology and Archaeology of the Carpathians Petro Stepanovych Sirezhuk. The co-organizers of the conference were the Educational and Scientific Institute of History, Ethnology and Archaeology of the Carpathians and the Central Center for Mountain Tourism of the PTTK Republic of Poland.

The conference began with greetings to Petro Siredzhuk. Many guests from Ukraine and abroad arrived with such an honorary mission: scientists, relatives and friends. Among the guests present were the Chairman of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council Vasyl Hlady, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Ethnology and Archeology Mykola Kuhutyak, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Political Institutions and Processes Vasyl Marchuk, Doctor of Art History, Professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management named after Bohdan Stuparyk Bohdan Kindratyuk, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Organization of the National Union of Local History Scholars of Ukraine Mykhailo Kosylo, General Director of the National Museum of Folk Art of Hutsul and Pokuttya named after Y. Kobrynsky Yaroslav Tkachuk and others.

Petro Siredzhuk was congratulated by the First Deputy Chairman of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council, Vasyl Gladiy, presenting the jubilee with the highest regional award “For Merit to the Carpathians”. High awards were also received by guests from the Republic of Poland, Jerzy Kaplon and Piotr Kozlowski, who are credited with publishing the collective monograph “Hutsul region; history, ethnoculture, tourism and nature protection, personal studies” at the expense of the Central Center of Mountain Tourism of the PTTK, which, in fact, contains the materials of the conference, including articles by Andriy Korolko (“The “Hutsul Industrial Union” in the city of Kolomyia at the end of the 19th century”) and Oleh Yegreshy (“The Priestly Family of Siretsky from Dora”).

The scientific conference was held in the format of a plenary session. The moderator of the scientific event was Dmytro Dzvinchuk, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Public Management and Administration, Director of the Institute of Humanitarian Training and Public Administration of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas. At the plenary session, the reports of the Head of the Central Center of Mountain Tourism of the PTTK of the Republic of Poland Jerzy Kaplona (“The Role of the Chornohirsky Department of the Tatryansky Society in the Tourism Management of the Eastern Carpathians”), Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Ethnology and Archaeology of the PNU Mykola Kugutyak (“Ancient Spiritual Monuments of the Ukrainian Carpathians”), General Director of the National Museum of Folk Art of the Hutsul Region and Pokuttya named after J. Kobrynsky Yaroslava Tkachuk (“Typology and features of Hutsul jewelry”), graduate student of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts Oleg Danyshchuk (“Hutsul folk clothing as a national factor of object design in Ukraine (on the example of furriery in the village of Kosmach)”).

During the presentation of the publication “Hutsulshchyna; history, ethnoculture, tourism and nature protection, personal studies” in a poignant atmosphere, the hero of the day presented copies of the collective monograph to the relatives and friends of the fallen soldiers – Heroes of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war, natives of the Galician Hutsulshchyna. It is noteworthy that Petro Siredzhuk also included brief information about the Heroes in his book.

After the conference, a meaningful and informative excursion was held for its participants and guests at the Museum of Carpathian Lumberjacks-Butinars, which is part of the eco-estate “Butinar” in the village of Kosmach. The basis of the open-air museum exposition (open-air museum) is a recreated wooden hut of the butinars, in which they lived while working in the mountains. In the hut you can see the working tools and household items of the loggers: saws, axes, wooden utensils, etc. On the porch of the Hutsul hut there is an exhibition of miniatures that demonstrate the everyday life of the butinars. Another exhibit of the museum complex is a tavern. In the courtyard there is an old Kosmach cart and wooden sculptures of mythical creatures from Hutsul folklore. The stands display samples of Carpathian wood, old maps, and other tourist attractions of Kosmach.

We should also note that the Department of Local History Literature of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Ivan Franko contains an exhibition of scientific and historical and local history publications by Petro Siredzhuk on the occasion of his 75th anniversary.