“The man who awoke Galicia” turns 202

In the village of Novosilky in Lviv region they commemorated Markian Shashkevych on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of his reburial and presented his complete works published in Ukraine for the first time. The village of Novosilky of Busk raion, Lviv oblast was the last perish of the Greek-Catholic priest and famed Ukrainian writer, “the man who awoke Galicia” Markian Shashkevych. There he passed away and was buried in other person’s grave. Fifty years later Markian Shashkevych was reburied at Lychakivske cemetery in Lviv.

On this occasion the village of Novosilky held a celebration with the participation of numerous admirers of the writer, the authorities, intelligentsia from Lviv and people from the neighboring villages. The local priests accompanied by the village choir served the memorial service in St. Nicolas Church and a requiem next to the monument at the first burial place of this outstanding person.

Later the participants of the event gathered near the museum of Markian Shashkevych in front of which the members of the Shashkevych commission and the district authorities planted a momentous oak tree brought from Kaniv. After that all the present saw the exhibit of the museum opened in the village two years ago on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Markian Shashkevych. It is the 5th museum of Shashkevych in Lviv region that accomplished the Shashkevych complex whose parts are the mansion museum in Pidlissia, Rusalka Dnistrovaia Museum in Lviv, the museum room of Krushynskys family (Shashkevych’s wife Yulia originated from that family), the museum in the village of Derevnia in Zhovkva raion, the museum complex in the village of Nestanychi in Radekhiv raion and the museum in the village of Novosilky. The last one specializes on Shashkevych’s last years of life and his reburial. The copies of photographs presented in the exhibition remind about that event. An interesting exhibit, found in the archives of the historical museum attracts attention: the reburial announcement distributed in the then villages of Halychyna. There are the copies of documents recreating the preparation for that event.

“He was buried in someone else’s tomb. When it was opened, there were five coffins there. The one of Markian had a wax navicula and a wooden cross on it,” head of Rusalka Dnistrovaia museum, candidate in history Halyna Korneieva told The Day. “His rests were carried on hands and bullocks. In the village the procession passed by the erected crosses as the ones to commemorate the abolition of serfdom…”

On the same day the complete works by Shashkevych, arranged by the unsurpassed expert, professor of Franko Drohobych Teaching College Mykhailo Shalata were presented in the People’s House of Novosilky. The complete works by Shashkevych were published in Ukraine for the first time.

Lviv also commemorated “the man who awoke Galicia” on his birthday, October 6.