By the roads of Mykolaivshchyna By the roads of Mykolaivshchyna | страница 14

Tarlu. So, the town was named after its
founder – Mykolaiv.
At those days, the main occupations
of the population were farming, cattle
breeding, crafts, and trade. In accordance
with the privilege, granted by the king,
twice a year, fairs were held in Mykolaiv,
and once a week, a market functioned
(on Tuesdays) there. At the end of the 16th
century, the artisans of Mykolaiv started
teaming up into guilds; for example,
among others, there were guilds of
potters, tailors, bakers, and butchers.
Social and national oppression
notwithstanding, the population of the
area struggled against oppressors. In the
year 1599, the resurrection of Mykolaiv
residents started. Rebels held a council
at the edge of the nearby forest. Later, at
this spot the settlement named Radiv was
set up. Rebels attacked the town council,
captured town foremen, together with
nobleman Adam Rzecki and cut off
their heads. From that time, at the town
outskirts, one can see a grave with the
memorial cross, where the nobleman is
buried.
During the 15th-18th centuries, the
area suffered a lot from the attacks of the
Crimean Tatars, who burned Rozvadiv,
Drogovyzh, Veryn, and other villages in
1498.
In 1620, when Polish army was
destroyed at the battle of Cecova
(Moldova), Tatar units robbed Galicia,
thus causing huge damage to those
lands. In 1772, the territory of Rayon was
incorporated in the Austrian Empire.
The government encouraged German
colonist to get settled at the Galician

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lands; thus, in the area of the village of
Dobryany German colony Gornfeld was
set up (now Ternopillya), and in Krasiv,
colony Reinchenbach was founded.
In the year 1773, the starostvo
of Drogovyzh (Mykolaiv with nine
surrounding villages) was put on the list of
state property. In 1820, this starostvo was
acquired by count Stanislaw Skarbek for
178,630 gold Roman coins, who, in fact,
became the landlord of Mykolaiv. (Skarbek
was one of the richest people of the
Austrian Empire. He founded a shelter for
orphans and the elderly, and later provided
that institution with considerable funds).
Since then, town residents were taxed
not only by the state but also by Skarbek.
Almost half of the land, significant part of
forests, pastures, hay lands were owned by
landlords, mostly, by the Poles.
The situation of peasantry was very
difficult, and in 1846, the uprising
burst out. Also, at that time Velyka
Gorozhanka became one of the centres
of Polish uprising against Austria. In
1848, the compulsory service for the
landlord was abolished; till nowadays,
most villages of the area have memorial
crosses which commemorate that event.
However, peasantry was not satisfied
with that, and hoped to get also lands,
forests, meadows, and pastures.
Before the World War I, Austrians
started the construction of fortifications
along the line: Rozdil-Veryn-MykolaivDrogovyzh. However, those works were
suspended once they had been revealed
by the Russian intelligence.
At the end of August, 1914, Myko­
laivshchyna became the place of heavy