Bukovyna is the discordant, bright and very original territory of Western Ukraine. This territory always gave shelter to those people who needed help. We invite you to take a tour to the village of Bila Krynytsia located on the border with Romania, the place where persecuted Old Believers found their home. In XVII-th century those who did not accept church reforms were forced to escape from the Russian Empire. In 1783, the Austrian authorities allowed them to settle in Bukovyna. Among Russian Old Believers exiles there was a legend that they will get a new home next to the «white spring». In Bukovyna there was such a place: a source of whitish lime water that Romanians called «Fantana Alba.» Old Believers named it Bila Krynytsia, based their village and in the middle of the nineteenth century it became the capital of Old Believers in Europe. Since 1846 local metropolis devoted Old Believer priests all around the world here. Today there are about 170 inhabitants, two churches and the acting convent in Bila Krynytsia. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in 1908 on the funds of a wealthy Moscow merchant- old believer Gleb Ovsyannikov in memory of the dead son stands out. The Cathedral was built by Viennese architect Klick, all the building materials were imported from Moscow and were mounted on the place. Glazed brick and tile steadfastly resist the onslaught of time, the cathedral shines with solid paints, as a century ago, causing genuine admiration. |
