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This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Vygoda, Ukraine, also known as Wygoda, Vigoda, Vyhoda.
Overview
Vyhoda (Ukrainian: Вигода, also Wygoda, Vigoda) is an urban-type settlement located in Dolyna Raion in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, approximately 120 km from Lviv. Vyhoda became a town in 1940 and lies on the Svicha River. Population: 2,238 (2013 est.)
History
Vyhoda's history started in the 19th century and was closely connected with the activity of Baron Leopold Popper von Podhragy. In 1873, Baron Leopold Popper von Podhragy opened a branch office in Pacykiv (a small village near Vyhoda, which since 1966 is a part of Vyhoda) after buying the domain Vyhoda which consisted of approximately 35.000 hectares. At that time, the Popper's firm (at the time the company was the largest timber industry venture worldwide) specialized in logging, processing and sale of wood. In 1880s, the Baron installed the first 18 gang sawmill in the area close to Vyhoda, many more saw mills followed.
The Baron opened the first ever College of the Timber Industry in Vyhoda which was unique worldwide and the first in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Svicha river was used by Popper's firm as the way to transport wood from mountains to sawmill. However, this way of wood transport was not perfect since river was often blocked by the wood flooding living area.
That is why in 1883 the railroad was built by Baron Popper von Podhragy from the district center Dolyna to Vyhoda. This year (1883) is the official data of Vyhoda's founding. At the end of 19th century, Vyhoda became to develop drastically and in 1895 there were water and steam sawmills, the plant of wood frames of musical instruments, mill, railway station. In 1897, the chemical plant specialized on wood alteration was built by German Peter Wergan. The Vyhoda's inhabitants took part in the First and the Second World War.
Vyhoda is located at the base of the Carpathian Mountains, approximately 120 km from the Lviv and 70 km from the Ivano-Frankivsk. The average altitude of Vyhoda is 400 m (1,312.34 ft) above sea level.
Brief History
Center for Jewish History
During the middle ages, Ukrainian lands were controlled by a loosely knit group of principalities. By the
end of the 14th century, most Ukrainian lands were possessed by either the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or the Mongolian-Tatar Golden Horde. In 1569, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and western Ukrainian lands were placed under Polish control. At that time, eastern Ukrainian lands were under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
- In 1772, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and several Ukrainian areas were made part of Galicia, a province of Austria. By 1795, Austria controlled western Ukraine and Russia controlled eastern Ukraine.
- By the end of World War I, Ukrainian lands were within the borders of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (a constituent of the USSR), Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. After the Soviet victory in World War II, the borders of the Ukrainian SSR expanded westward to include the Ukrainian areas of Galicia. Upon the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state. More detailed information about the history of Ukraine is found in Paul Robert Magosci’s Ukraine: A Historical Atlas (see below).
- For a general history of Jews in Ukraine, see “Ukraine,” in Encyclopedia Judaica. Professor Zvi Gitelman’s chapter on “The Jews of Ukraine and Moldova,” originally published in Miriam Weiner’s Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova (see below) is available online.
Courtesy of the Ackman and Ziff Family Genealogy Institute (Revised April 2012)
Further Sources
- Eastern Europe FAQ - www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/eefaq.html#UKRAINE - This article provides an overview of the availability of records from Ukraine, and explains how to access them.
- Jewishgen kehila links: http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Ukraine.html - These are web pages devoted to places in Ukraine where Jews have lived. They may contain information, pictures, databases, and links to other websites.
- Federation of East European Family History Societies: www.feefhs.org/links/Ukraine.html - Information on Ukraine family history including commercial organizations carrying out family history - www.rtrfoundation.org/webart/UK-arch-Ch1Gitelman.pdf