On the last day of February, the Drohobychchyna Museum hosted a presentation of a book about the Drohobych Saltworks by a young researcher and historian Nazariy Yurchyshyn. The extraordinary event brought together lovers of the written word, students, representatives of the Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University and city officials.
The event was opened by Nazariy Yurchyshyn, who presented the history of the region’s salt industry and told interesting facts about the Drohobych Saltworks, the oldest industrial gem of Ukraine from the time of its first mention to the present day.
The author emphasised that the enterprise with authentic medieval salt evaporation technology today requires considerable investment to continue to develop and preserve it as a unique tourist attraction. The report was rich, interesting, thorough, with illustrative material and positive feedback from the audience.
Volodymyr Khanas, Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism Development, welcomed the audience and emphasised that the historical heritage reflects the cultural code and identity of the entire nation, a particular region, and a community. Tourism development based on historical and cultural heritage can help preserve Ukraine’s historical and cultural values.
The event was moderated by Iryna Partyka, Head of the Department of Tourism, Promotion and Creative Industries, who introduced the audience to the personality of a talented and promising historian and researcher, author of the brochure Nazariy Yurchyshyn, and spoke about the uniqueness of the saltworks. According to Iryna Partyka, the author graduated from the History Department of the Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University of Donetsk with a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Three years ago, he entered full-time postgraduate studies at the Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University of Donetsk and is a PhD student at the Department of World History and Special Historical Disciplines. He is working on his dissertation research. At the same time, Nazarii Yurchyshyn is a curator of funds at the Naguyevychi State Historical and Cultural Reserve. The young local historian also leads excursions, gives lectures and reports at various events about the history and prominent figures of our region.
When Vasyl Ilnytskyi, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of History of Ukraine at the Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University, took the floor, he said that the university’s historians have been researching the salt industry in our region for a long time. As a result, last year, the monograph “Drohobych Saltworks: An Outline of History from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the 21st Century” was published, a powerful comprehensive study that is significant for the development of not only Ukrainian but also European culture.
Oksana Bunda, Chief Technologist of Drohobych Saltworks, who has been working at the plant for decades and is passionate about its future and prosperity, was also invited to speak. Oksana Bunda spoke about the unique technology of boiling the most delicious Drohobych salt and how she sees the company in the future, and invited everyone to take a tour of the Drohobych Saltworks.