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This is a project for Jewish Families of Budzanow, currently located in the Ternopil Oblast of Ukraine at Latitude: 49°10'00 Longitude: 25°43'00 and formerly known as Budanov in the Tarnopol Wojwodwatze of the Galician province of the Austro Hungarian Empire.
Please help us to build up the towns and shtetls in Gesher Galicia. There are far too many for only a handful of users to complete. Do add information about the "place", profiles, a story of your family. You will first need to Join the Project (become a collaborator), if you need help contact curator Pam Karp or Seth Morgulas
Background
The settlement was founded in 1549 on the banks of the Seret River. The village was named after a Polish nobleman, Jakub Budzanowski, Halych nobleman. Mountainous terrain of the region always attracted new settlers and about 1550 a wooden castle was built up on the peak of one of the hills. The castle was rebuilt in the beginning of 17th century. The castle was ruined by the Turks in 1675. In 1765 Maria Potocka, a Polish countess, founded a Catholic church on the castle's ruins.
The Cemetery project
BUDANOV I: US Commission No. UA19140101
Alternate name: Bizinev (Yiddish), Bizinov (German), Budzanov (till 1945) (Russian) and Budaniv (Ukraine).
The earliest known Jewish community was in 18th century. 1939 Jewish population (census) was 1156. The Hasidic (Chortkovskaya) Jewish cemetery was established in 18th century. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds the site. 1-20 common tombstones, with more than 75% toppled or broken, date from the 19th century. Location of removed stones is unknown.
The cemetery has no known mass graves. The municipality owns the property used for recreation (park, playground, and sports). Adjacent properties are residential. The cemetery boundaries are unchanged since 1939. The cemetery is visited occasionally by local residents.
The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and frequently in the last 10 years. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem, disturbing stones. Serious threat: uncontrolled access (There are many broken tombstones), uncontrolled access, and vandalism (Small percent of tombstones exist because of vandalism).
The last known Jewish Hasidic (Chortovskaya) burial was 1940. the Cemetery is used only by Budanov Jews. Only a handful managed to escape the Gestapo. And many of these Jews were caught in the forests by Ukrainians and murdered. A few managed to return to Budzanow and hid in the homes of their Polish friends, or in the Klashtor (monastery).
Of a total Jewish population exceeding 1,500 before the war, only 18 survived by the time the town was liberated by the Russians on March 23, 1944. There are no Jews living in the town now.
Tabula Krajowa (Legal and Notary) Records from Budanov
There is a little-known resource for Galician researchers held in the Lviv State Historical Archive in Ukraine — the "Tabula Krajowa," or Tabula Registers (Fond 166, 1780-1891).
There are about 300 volumes of various indexes to these records, covering towns from across Galicia, and none of these records have yet been microfilmed or put online. They hold a wealth of information -- the purchase and sale of real estate and land, property leasing, testaments, deeds, money-lending agreements, promissory notes, public sale for debts, powers of attorney, etc. Gesher Galicia advisory board member and Ukrainian researcher Alexander Dunai has written an excellent article about Tabula records, with a listing of towns for which they are available. Check the bottom of that page to see if records survived for Budanov.
Research
The JRI-Poland / Polish State Archives lists Births, Marriages, Deaths records and the estimated cost of Indexing and the current status at
Archives
Birth Records 1867-1875, 1877-1896
Marriage Records None
Death Records 1877-1889
The People of Budzanów:
- Lee Starsberg (Israel Strassberg)
- Arnold Weinfeld
- Moise Weinfeld
- Brauna Weinfeld (Schutzmann)
Source
Photo of Weinfeld house in Budanov, taken by David Weinfeld.