Greetings everyone! We are in Uzhhorod today
We are in the local open-air museum (skansen), " the museum of folk architecture and life"
This is a museum without a roof, but we have plenty of roofs out here
Here we've got 36 examples of a local Subcarpathian architecture, from all over the place
We even have that one famous wooden church in the back, that was originally constructed without a single nail
But in the majority, these are just houses of common folk, technical buildings, and even the smithery
A classy house with a porch
And smashed plums of course
- Good day!
- Greetings!
As we are in such a place, we can greet each other accordingly, ladies - "praise the Jesus" (Slava Isusu Chrystu)
Eternal glory to God! (Slava naviky Bohu)
This is the house of a wealthy man  from the Khust district, Vyshkovo
Circa 1879, a classy three-part house that was reconstructed afterward with expanding one of the walls
Notice the wardrobe, it's pretty much the same as the one old Sabelko made for your grandma
You remember the story of that priest that lived in our home, right? He made that wardrobe
We throw it away though while moving to the other house
Someone was spinning the wool right here
Film the plates on the wall
Our grandma had pretty much the same
It was a way to decorate your place
Easy logic, the bigger plates -  the reacher the house
They have two holes on the back specifically to be hanged like this
We've got this interesting construction right here
The sun is not letting me show it properly from this perspective
It's a pretty narrow thing as you see
So, mom, tell me what's that
This is a "кӯш" (kush)
It's meant for the corn to be stored in. You harvest the corn and throw it under the porch
Then you peel it
Peeled corn goes here
So you dry it out here, and wind can blow through it
It was drying well
Keeping it here helps to preserve it from fungus as it is on a fresh air
This corn was used to feed the livestock
Pigs, chicken, etc
Also, you made flour out of it
You use it to make bread and tokan (corn porridge),
But in the majority, it was for the bread
So this thing had a purpose
The fence
.... from this side to the other
You take a thicker end of the stick and put it through...
You see, you have to have paling standing already
Then horizontal one by one, switching the direction
And you can climb it, your foot fits between  these things
Not a challenge for you to climb over it
We had a special climbing spet on it on the way to my uncle, the one that lived below the hill
It was made not a long time ago, somewhat in the 90s as I recall
It was made by your older brother actually, yes
I remember that was a special climbing rope as well
The best thing to assure safety
I remember I wasn't even using it much, I climbed it up on my two
That safety rope was for me
It was easier for me to get down btw
Getting upward was actually harder
Hello there, sheriff
Guarding the place, right?
Answer me, mister Cat
He's probably hunting mice here
For sure, have seen how much corn they have here? (joking)
This house is from Synevyr
It's not far from Kushnytsia in general, but around 600m higher
Where was that old house in Luzhok?
Right behind the bridge?
Yanchiov's house of what do you mean?
The house you was born in, grew up in
Behind that bridge in Luzhok, the third house to the left after the bridge
It was roofed with shingles (lathering)
I was growing up in there, and I was like 12 when I moved away to the Grandfather's house
Moved where? Here, under the hill?
No, I mean Myter Yvantuv (the lastname was Sniozyk, but no one actually used that much)
They called him Myter Yvantuv
People called my mother Polania Mytra Yvantovoho
They used these names, although they know her last name was Sniozyk
Although this surname was exclusive to Kushnytsia that time
It spread around from here
The only Sniozyks in the Czech Republic is a family of my uncle
He stayed there after the WWII, so his kids are your relatives
This surname originates in Kushnytsia
You told me the previous house was located up in the forest on the mountain spring
Yes, the direction you go on Danukha
You follow the stream upwards to the Afiia's Laz (the name of the field)
Then on the one hill lived Stytsko family
Then Prodan's family after them
Prodans were actually living there the longest
When they moved down the village they placed the house in the center, near the bridge
They actually had like 9 kids or so in the family, they were Adventists
So after Prodan's place, there was another hill
There lived Siurka, but I have no idea whether this was the Surname or the family name
- There's not much difference now
- Well, talking of Prodan's that was a Surname
So after the Siurka's place was the house of my family
And I was actually born in the Siurka's garden
She went to the church on the Easter
And the very next day, she was trying to get to the midwife but managed to reach the neighbors garden only
I was born there under the apple tree
My father, may he rest in peace, wrapped me in his overcoat
And he carried me downhill to the hospital
The hospital was located not where it is today, it was the other side of the river
People were asking my mom where she got the kid from if she was in the church just the day before
How far it was from today's village borders approximately?
Oh, Jesus
I can assume around 12 kilometers if my estimations are correct
Might be, if not more
My mom, may she rest in peace, told me that it was not good that people made houses that far away from the village
But like, they didn't need to carry bricks over there, you know
You cut the tree right where you want your house to be and use that exact tree to make a house
You have stones fro the foundation right there as well
But my mom pointed out that it was quite hard if you, let's say, bought yourself some flour or salt
Any kind of stuff you need to buy
You'd need to put it onto your shoulders and climb the hill those 12km up!
She told me it was hard to live like this in the forest
As far as I know, it was a long time tradition to live
From the time when you was not able to buy pretty much anything, so you don't need to carry on anything (partly joking)
Of course, you didn't have much to buy, but salt or oil for example
But you could have more livestock if you live in a valley, you can have more land for agriculture
People were farming more potatoes, beans, and lots of corn
Jews, for example, lived only there in the village so they were trading with us, they took advantage of this
Everyone was trying to do what he could, right
And meanwhile we, Rusnaks, as they called us, were living up in the forest with sheep
We've got cows and goats, milk and cheese
You trade it for something or sell something because you have to buy at least some things that you can't produce yourself
Shoes and some clothing
Also down in the village, you can plant hemp
That hemp was soaked at the Mochar', where gypsies are living now
There were huge Mochala (places to soak the hemp for further production of clothing)
A big part of the clothing at home was made from that hemp
And your shirt was made out of it as well?
Yes, that shirt I have a photo is, it was made out of that hemp
So that hemp wasn't growing well on the hills
So the hemp is a picky plant
It was easier to have sheep up there
You were making Koshara (cote) for your sheep
And that exact part of the land was really good for planting potatoes after a while
Shep fertilize the place pretty good
Potatoes, beans, and corn mostly
I recall we had sheep as well, till I was maybe 4-5 y.o. Then we had them no more.
Were we giving them to the Salash? (a place in the mountains where shepherd take care of your sheep)
Sheep were at home during the summer, because your brother was taking care of them
We were giving them to the Salash from September 1st to the st. Myter's day (November 8)
Because my brother had to go to school, right?
Yes, correct. And sheep were there till November 8
And after it, you had to take your sheep back home
Not only sheep but goats as well btw
You were receiving some cheese as a payoff for, let's say, renting them your livestock
So usually you gave them to Salash and take them back home for the winter after November 8
DId shepherds stay there for the winter as well?
No, shepherds were going down to the village for the winter
Sheep were the property of a collective farm (колгоз)
Sheep used to be down on the farm during the winter
So the shepherds, during the summer, was taking the private sheep and goats as well, in addition to the herd they took care of from the collective farm
They got their benefits from it of course
Remember I sent you the video the other day
The one circa 1983 from the Polonyna
And they met a shepherd there
The man with awesome hat and mustaches
Now I have to find the hat like that
Since now, my life has no meaning if I don't have that hat!
I don't even know where to find such a hat today
It won't be that hard I believe
Being a shepherd is hard labor I tell you what
No matter the weather! Sun, rain, or even snow sometimes! You have to be there 24/7
Unlike cows, that don't move around much, sheep are very mobile and like long walks
And you need to keep up!
And you can see that the whole Polonyna is stamped with their hooves
They shaped their environment
I remember one funny thing from childhood. After years with cows, I've realized one thing -
Most of those forest walk paths were made not by people, but by these cows walking in front of me
Those cows were walking there every single day, and they were good at understanding the place
Cows needed me only to make them fire in the afternoon
So they can peacefully process the grass they ate during the day
Yes, but taking care of sheep is much harder
They like walking a lot
And they are pickier when it comes to the grass they eat
And fresh water is also important
Cows, on the other hand, will be back home in the evening to have their final meal
Sheep in Salash don't have this advantage
Shepherd is taking care of them 24/7, and he needs to milk all of them every day
He used to bring all of them to the sheepfold to milk them one by one
And he gets that sheep to the other sheepfold after milking
And then goes a long process of filtering that milk and fermenting it to make a cottage cheese
You strain the cheese to get rid of the unwanted liquids
It's so much work!
It's not easy to be a shepherd, and you need to be a skilled one
I'm not surprised why not much people are willing to do such a job today
One more thing
As I can trace it back by my only memory
We used to use an agrimotor to plow the yard, or sometimes horses, but rarely
But in the early XX century, an ox was the main tool for that
It's just stronger. Do you recall such a thing during your life?
I was quite a child back then, but I do remember one pair of those
There was a pair of bulls on my street, I don't remember who was the owner
But my family used to plow with horses mostly
It was definitely a thing back then, but I barely remember them myself
But it was the case, for sure
Yes, I do remember it
I wasn't that lucky though
There are also these carpathian buffalos, that almost got extinct for now
Their population is on the rise again
Michael Jakobi is working hard for their revival
So as I know, until the beginning of the XX century, people used to have buffalos along with cows as well
Because a buffalo is way stronger
It was more suitable for such hard tasks as plowing and carrying wood
And look what we end up with today while plowing with a tractor
Tractor is pressing the land too much
You have oil and the fuel dripping from it
It's not as clean as plowing with horses
Or those buffalos, it doesn't matter. There was just a plow that was out if iron and that's it
- If not the wooden one
- Well, no in these times, an iron one mostly
But it was eco friendly, you know
But all these tractors and other things, it's gross!
They use quadricycles to climb the Polonyna!
They are destroying the environment!
And local people don't see a problem with that!
They destroy the soil with their weels
And the water is destroying the place after that, erosion comes
No one is taking care of the place
I recall that a collective farm was taking care of it, because they used this way to Polonyna
They were trying to take care of the path, they were doing strengthening on the way to help handle the water
And to have easier access to sheep on Polonyna
Usually, only horses were used to get there, before we've got ГАЗ-66 (google for the reference)
You remember that bulky car
But it's way different today
This is just an ecological disaster
Think about it
You know what's happening when those cycles go through the mountain stream
Once again we have oil and fuel that ends up in the water
How can we expect fresh water and healthy fish from it?
They like "I am cool, I have a quadricycle, I climb the Polonyna to put a flag on it"
It has nothing to do with the flag
Take your flag, take your backpack, and carry it uphill with your feet!
But please! Use your legs!
Czechs have a saying
"What you took to the forset, you should bring back with you"
No trash should be left after you visit the place
Please, don't pollute the place
We want to be cool with the place we live in
We should be people of culture and good manners
Let's preserve not only the language we speak but also the place we live in
Thanks for sharing these stories with us! It was quite interesting for me
You see that our life is changing quite rapidly
You need to take care of yourself
Take care, stay healthy!
