By the roads of Mykolaivshchyna By the roads of Mykolaivshchyna | Page 15
battles at the Austrian-Russian front, in
which the legion of the Ukrainian Sich
Riflemen took part.
On March 3rd, 1918, the meeting (with
about 10, 000 participants) in support of
the government of the Ukrainian People
Republic was held in Mykolaiv.
At the beginning of November 1918,
pursuant to the collapse of the Austrian
Hungarian Empire, the West Ukrainian
People’s Republic was proclaimed. At
that time, the part of Mykolaivshchyna
was incorporated in Zhydachiv political
powiat.
The Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA)
was established for the protection of
the Ukrainian lands against the Polish
government, which wanted to join them
to the renewed Polish state. Mykolaiv
was defended by Lviv brigade under the
commandment of Alfred Bisantz (born
in Dornfeld – Ternopillya; his mother
was a Ukrainian, whereas his father was
a German colonist). On May 18th, 1919,
Mykolaiv and Rozdil were taken by the
Polish troops.
In August, 1920, the units of the
First Cavarly Army entered the land of
Mykolaivshchyna. In March 1921, the
Treaty of Riga was signed under which
Western Ukrainian lands got under the
rule of Poland. In Mykolaivshchyna,
mostly, small industry – such as lime,
tiles, bricks, pottery manufacturing.
The big enterprise “Rozvadiv Lime and
Tiles Plant” was owned by a rich Jewish
capitalist Schmorack. The main bulk of
population was occupied in agriculture,
and suffered a lot from landlessness.
With the beginning of World War II, the
preparation for an uprising against rule
was gathering momentum.
Mykolaiv Rayon is rich in minerals,
such as limestone, used for manufacturing
cement and burning of lime; marl, quartz
sand, and greensand. The valley of the
Dniester is rich in the deposits of clays,
which are used for brick and cement
manufacturing.
Count Skarbek
The atmosphere of the 18th century
Lviv brought into prominence a number
of extremely brave and advantageous
personalities; but, perhaps, count
Skarbek holds the most prominent place
in the history of the city. Everything
started when Stanislaw became an
orphan at the age of four. Countess
Rzewuska, an extremely wise and strong
woman, managed the huge estate all by
herself. When Stanislaw was 20, his aunt
also died, leaving him a considerable
heirdom.
The young man got the news in Lviv,
where he studied at school. Using this
opportunity, Stanislaw Skarbek went
to continue his education in Vienna.
Youth, richness, wild life, – due to all
these, the young man lost his head.
Rather soon, nothing was left from his
former richness. But again, Fortune
held out her helping hand: the trusted
manager sent the count a letter, in which
he informed him that rich deposits of
iron ore had been found, and asked
for permission to start the extraction.
Skarbek did not hesitate to give the
manager unlimited authorities (together
with a small amount of money).
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