Zboriv

Zboriv ( _uk. Зборів, _pl. Zborów) is a small town in Ternopil Oblast, west Ukraine. It is located in the historical region of Galicia. The population is 7,400 (2001).

The town (located 35 km northwest of Ternopil, and 85 km southeast of Lviv) lies on Strypa River ( _uk. Cтpипа). It was mentioned for the first time in a document from 1166. In 1241, during the Mongol invasion of Europe, it was ransacked and destroyed. In 1639, Zborow was granted city rights. Its present name comes from a noble Polish family of Zborowscy. Ten years later, Zborow was besieged by the Tartar-Cossack armies during the Khmelnytsky Uprising.

History

In 1913, Zborow had about 6000 inhabitants, including 1300 Poles, 2400 Ukrainians and 2300 Jews. During World War One, area around the town was the place of heavy battles between the Czechoslovak legionnaires and the Austrian Army (June 1917). After the war, it became part of Poland and was the seat of a powiat of the Tarnopol Voivodeship.

The town was completely destroyed in the summer of 1944 due to the Soviet offensive. Under Soviet rule (1944-1991), it was rebuilt and redeveloped. A hospital and a school were founded there. Construction plants and a small food processing company were built in the 1960's. A significant part of a local budget was relied on agriculture and governmental subsidies. The state farm in Zboriv was one of the greatest in the region.In the 1980's, the town became the object of serious governmental investments. New facilities were established: a cinema, an agricultural market, a secondary school, a waterbike lake station, a football stadium, a city hall and a culture hall.After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the local economy (based on collective farming and subsidies) almost collapsed. In the late 1990's (until recent time) most people left for abroad as a low skilled labour force. Nowadays, in spite of the facts, young people are not likely to quit and prefer to commute daily to the closest regional centres like Ternopol and Lviv which offer greater job opportunities.

ee also

* Battle of Zboriv (1649)
* Treaty of Zboriv (1649)
* Battle of Zboriv (1917)