City Lake Banske (Kosiv)

There are also lakes of man-made origin in the mountains of Hutsulshchyna. This is the case with Lake Banske (near the former Hutsulshchyna factory) in Kosiv. It emerged in the eighteenth century on the site of salt mines, is quite deep and rich in fish. Nowadays, not only locals, but also numerous guests of the city like to relax on its picturesque shores.

In the southwestern part of Kosovo, between the Church of St. Nicholas and the Guk Waterfall, there are valuable salt deposits in the form of silt, stone and salt water (raw material) on an area of 3 square kilometers. These deposits, together with layers of soft sandstone, red lupac (shale) and heaps of exotic boulders and piles of jasper, belong to the Subcarpathian salt formation, formed before 25 million years ago in the early Neogene, when the territory of Kosovo was under the waters of the Carpathian Sea. In the arid climate of the Carpathians and Predkarpattya, shallow bays, whose bottoms gradually sagged and the inflow of sea water was slowed, eventually deposited salt rocks and salt, while the sea slowly disappeared.

In historical times, a zhupa, or mine, was built on the basis of these salt deposits. It was first mentioned in 1472, almost half a century after the earliest mention of the "village of Kosiv with a manastery " and about a hundred years before the appearance of "Kosiv, the town," which emerged and developed thanks to the local zhupa, which was one of the largest in Pokuttia. The zhupa was located right behind the manastry, on the site of the present-day Banske Lake, stadium, swimming pool, and the Hutsulshchyna Production and Art Association; its territory of more than 15 hectares ended in the south near the Banske Bridge, which leads across Rybnytsia towards the mountains, and in the north it reached beyond Lisna Street, which runs along the crest of Horb. Since salt was produced both from rock and from salt, the zhupa included both mines (the so-called shybas, wells, and salt windows) and cooking facilities or towers, which is why the zhupa was also called a bathhouse or saltworks, or simply slatina (in Old Ukrainian), salina (in Polish), or solarnya (according to the new Ukrainian terminology).

In the period between the world wars, salt production decreased, and in 1938 it was completely stopped. The authorities decided to close this most important industrial enterprise in Kosovo, which had served for almost half a millennium, because it employed almost exclusively Ukrainians who were prone to anti-government activities; and because the Kosovo saltworks was a competitor to the salt mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka near Krakow.

A medical and salt bath facility was founded on the site of the liquidated zhupa. To do this, the previous bathhouse was significantly expanded; the icehouse was rebuilt into an inhaler, equipped with foreign equipment; the office building was adapted into a casino with a restaurant, coffee shop, library, and reading room; the very beautiful but neglected park was put in order; and two tennis courts were built.

In the period between the world wars, salt production was decreasing, and in 1938 it was completely stopped. The authorities decided to close this most important industrial enterprise in Kosovo, which had served for almost half a millennium, because it employed almost exclusively Ukrainians who were prone to anti-government activities; and because the Kosovo saltworks was a competitor to the salt mines in Bochnia and Wieliczka near Krakow.

A medical and salt bath facility was founded on the site of the liquidated zhupa. For this purpose: the previous bathhouse was significantly expanded; the icehouse was rebuilt into an inhalator, equipped with foreign equipment; the office building was adapted into a casino with a restaurant, coffee shop, library, and reading room; the very beautiful but neglected park was put in order; two tennis courts were built.

In September 1939, a Red Army regiment encamped on the territory of the former solarium, and during the retreat in the summer of 1941, they blew up ammunition depots and specially placed explosives, destroying many buildings.

All that remains of the saltworks is the neglected area with the Banske Lake and several buildings housing the workshops of the Hutsulshchyna factory; the only remaining parts of the health resort are the entrance, which was distorted by reconstruction, and the abandoned swimming pool. But even in this form, the territory of the former salt mine with its surviving remains constitutes a particularly valuable ensemble of geological, archeological, historical, industrial, and resort architecture monuments, on the basis of which it is advisable to create a reserve, and at the reserve - a museum of salt mining, a research department, and a medical salt facility verified by pre-war experience.

There are many mineral springs with various healing properties in the Kosiv region, including sanatoriums and resorts that have all the necessary medical and diagnostic rooms. These resorts treat mainly respiratory diseases. As for the sources of treatment, there is a well-known healing spring "Berkut" in the upper reaches of the Black Cheremosh in the Carpathians. In the summer of 1901, the famous Ukrainian poetess Lesia Ukrainka stayed here to improve her health, and Ivan Franko and Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi rested here.

Legends of Kosovo: About Lake Banske (Source: Kosiv Central Library)

Once upon a time, there was a monastery under the mountain of Osyka. It was founded by monks of the Kyiv Cave Monastery who came here to escape from Mongol invaders. They brought with them a gospel in a jeweled frame, a silver cross, and a golden chalice, which they placed in the newly built church. The monastery and its entire neighborhood began to be called Monastyrske, and the stream that flowed nearby was named Monastyrchyk. Over time, the monastery brethren became more and more numerous. And because the monks led a truly pious life, prayed fervently, helped the poor, orphans, and widows, they became well known. And princes, boyars, and townspeople brought generous gifts to the monastery and the church of St. Nicholas, so the monastery accumulated considerable treasures to the glory of God and to help the Christian people.

But one day the quiet, peaceful life of both the monks and the citizens of Kosiv came to an end. The city was attacked by the Tatars and destroyed to the ground. It happened on Easter. Only those who hid with their children behind the monastery walls survived. Both the monks and the townspeople fought fiercely. And the bellman Mykhalko on the bell tower did not stop ringing in the glory of the Resurrection of Christ. The forces were unequal. The attackers broke into the monastery and began to fiercely kill not only the armed defenders, but also women and children. Blood poured out in streams. Only the bell did not stop. The enraged Tatars set fire to the bell tower and the monastery and began to loot its treasury. And then a miracle happened! The monastery with the Tatars and the dead and living defenders went underground. Water began to gush from the ground, and in a moment a lake was formed.

...If you come over the lake on Easter night, you can hear the music of flooded Easter bells and the cries and moans of people killed by the enemy. The cries of innocent children can be heard, like strange gentle music... The water in the lake became salty from the tears of the tortured. And the lake was named Banske because the few surviving Kosiv residents were mourning for their dead relatives. In memory of the bell ringer who died but did not stop performing his sacred duty, people named the highest peak near Kosiv Mikhalkov. Later, Hasidic Jews liked to gather on Mikhalkov, singing their songs, admiring the scenery, and praising God for this earthly beauty.

And some say that Lake Banske was formed on the site of a saltworks. Once upon a time, salt was as expensive as gold. In their thirst to get rich, the owners of the saltworks forced the cooks not only to cook salt from the raw materials that flowed out of the ground, but also to drive them deeper and deeper underground to extract expensive rock salt. The spirit that reigns in the underworld was very angry with those who invaded his domain. One day, when the owner of the bathhouse came to feast his eyes on the blocks of precious salt he had extracted from the ground, the ground above the mine suddenly sank, and a lake was formed. Since it was formed on the site of a saltworks-bathhouse, it was called Banske. This lake still warns that lust for underground treasures, like any other treasures, is severely punished.