Robert Neil wrote: > > Is the town or village of Drohobych, Poland near the city of Przemysl in > Poland. I can not find it on my maps of Poland. Could you give me some > idea of where it is located. > > Thanks in advance, > > Robert Neil > Chatham, Ontario, Canada > rneil@ciaccess.com Hi Robert, My family is originated from Drohobycz and nearby Borislav. Town's geographical location: 49.21N 23.30E. Town is located in Western Ukraine (Zakhidnia Ukraina). Prior to the end of WWII this town has been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and area has been known as Western Galicia in Polish (Galitzien in German or Halychyna in Ukrainian). From 1918 till 1939 Drohobych has been under Polish administration. Drophobych is part of the Lviv Oblast' (province). Drohobych (Drogobicz in Russian, Drogobycz in Polish) is an old town going back to 11/12 century. Town is located in one of the loveliest places of Ukraine, called Verkhovyna or Prikarpatie, (the western foothills of the Karpatian mountains). About 25 years ago town use to have 65 000 poulation, I guess that is grown up since. The largest industry in town used to be an oil refinery, processing oil and natural gas from the nearby gas and oil fields of Boryslaw and Schodnica. There some machining industry and pipe manufacturers for local oil and gas business. There several technical colleges again geared for the oil and business, and the local University or rather teacher training higher education college. I recall the local etnographic museum, where I have beeen extremly amused seeing for the first time an ostrich's egg. Nearby Drohobych is also located world famous spa called Truskawiec (name has something to do with the strawberries), where the local mineral waters like Naftusia (literary the oil water), which posses disgusting smell of a rotten eggs (Hydrogen sulphide = H2S) and apparently helps people with some digestive system poblems. Water cannot be bottled for some technical or health reasons, hence spa is attracting lots of people who are consuming this stuff locally. Nearby rivers, Bar and Tysmiennica are extremly polluted by carrying some heavy oil bottoms (mazut in ukrainian) to the dniestr river. I could catch a smallest damn fish in those waters. South of Drohobych near town Skole a highest peak of this area called Parashka (4 000') is located. Area is really beutifull, rolling hills are covered with the evergreens, small river in mountains are crystal clear, there plenty of wild mushrooms and variety of a wild berries. Dovbush, the legendary Robin Hood of Prikarpatie has been robbing rich landowners of their possesion and managed to hide his loot somewhere in the mountains. We (the local boys) used to search for his golden dukats (money) treasure every summer. Local writer Ivan Franko has been famous for his novels about the lives of the local oil workers ("Borislav smiyetsya"- "Borislav laughing" and other books). Many people from this area very extremly poor and they have immigrated, mainly to Canada, the last immigration ended just prior to the WWII. Jewish population of Drohobych and surrounding towns has been completly anihilated during WWII, especially in hands of German Nazi Sonderkommando (death squads) or transported to the Belzhetz Nazi death camps. Following end of WWII, local ukrainian partisans (guerillas) were fighting communists regimes on both sides of the border (Polish regular army and Soviets NKVD). Many local young Ukrainian people were killed by the communists forces or send to the Siberian concentrantion camps (Gulag). Sorry Robert for writing so much about my childhood paradise. My kids do not want listen anymore to my stories, and I am glad that I could write to you and other guys about it. Alexander Sharon Calgary, Alberta, Canada (I am still in the oil and gas business!)