Tomb of Prince Sviatoslav, Skole

Sviatoslav Volodymyrovych (982-1015 ), the son of the Baptist of Rus, Grand Prince Volodymyr Sviatoslavyn of Kyiv, died in the foothills of the Carpathians in the modern city of Skole. Sviatoslav Volodymyrovych was one of the sons of Prince Volodymyr Sviatoslavych from Princess Malfrida of Bohemia or an unknown "Czech woman." Around 990, he was appointed by his father to the Drevlianian principality.

Today, only an 18-meter high cross reminds us of the burial place of Grand Prince Sviatoslav. It was installed near the town of Skole in the Sviatoslav tract in 2012. Every year, on the way to the Skole Beskydy, hundreds of tourists stop to pay their respects to the son of Volodymyr the Great.

Historians claim that the cross was erected on the site of the prince's alleged death at the hands of his brothers. According to the legend, in 1015, after learning of the death of his brothers Borys and Hlib, Sviatoslav left his capital and tried to flee to the Borzhava principality in the direction of the Veretsky Pass. Sviatopolk caught up with the prince on the banks of the Opir River near the present-day town of Skole. The legend tells of a fierce battle between Sviatoslav's and Sviatopolk's army near the towns of Skole and Hrebeniv. The entire valley along the Opir River was covered with the bodies of the dead. Sviatopolk's forces were large and he gave the order: "Cut them all down". Legend connects the name of the town of Skole with this episode. Prince Sviatoslav was killed in this battle, and his vigilantes refused to join Sviatopolk's service and settled in the Beskydy, laying the foundation for the village of Slavske.

It is noteworthy that the historical events associated with the death of Svyatoslav gave the name to many nearby geographical objects. The origin of the name of the town of Skole, as well as other local place names Slavske, Sviatoslav (a suburb of Skole), Slavky (a tributary of the Opir), Opir, the tract Sviatoslavle, the stream Sviatoslavchyk and Sviatoslav's grave are connected with these events. In 1964, the famous archaeologist A. Ratych excavated the mound of this name. These excavations showed that it was the burial place of a noble vigilante of the early eleventh century. Therefore, there is no doubt that this is the grave of Prince Sviatoslav Volodymyrovych. E. Holubynskyi reasonably attributed his death to the period between July 15 and 24, 1015.

Most researchers place Sviatoslav after Yaroslav in the list of Volodymyr Sviatoslav's children. The order of seniority of Volodymyr Sviatoslav's sons remains conditional. But, if Sviatoslav was the son of Malfrid, then he most likely could have been born in 982. On this basis, N. Baumgarten and some other researchers considered Sviatoslav to be older than Yaroslav.

After the death of Prince Volodymyr the Baptist, Sviatopolk, who had been imprisoned by him, was released by his supporters and seized power in Kyiv. According to the established historical tradition, it was Sviatopolk who, wishing to protect himself from the claims to the Kyiv throne by other heirs of Volodymyr, sent assassins to his brothers, princes Borys and Hlib.

After the death of Sviatoslav and his army, Sviatopolk's vigilantes climbed the mountain and killed his relative (according to another version, she threw herself off the top to avoid being caught by the enemy). Realizing that she had been discovered, the mountain has since been named Paraska in her honor, according to legend.

In honor of Paraska, a memorial stone with a plaque stands on the eastern slope of the Parashka River: "In 1015, the daughter of Prince Sviatoslav of Derevliansk, Paraskovia, died and was buried, and this mountain was named Paraska.

The death of Sviatoslav and the struggle for power between the sons of Volodymyr Sviatoslavych deprived the Carpathian Croats of their last ally, and the valleys of Borzhava and Latorytsia were annexed by the Hungarians.

Numerous place names (Skole, Slavsk, Sviatoslav (a suburb of Skole), Slavky (a tributary of the Spyras), Semyhiniv, the Opir River, the Sviatoslavle tract, the Sviatoslavchyk River, Sviatoslav's grave) testify in favor of the legend of Sviatoslav's death.

Theexcavations of the mound called Sviatoslav's Grave, even with a critical approach to their results, showed that it was the burial of a noble vigilante of the eleventh century. It is possible that it was Prince Sviatoslav. Now a monument by the famous Lviv sculptor T. Bryzh is erected on his grave.