Zakarpattia Commemorates Its Mailman

The Transcarpathian village of Turya-Remeta, in Perechyn district, is famous for being the home of the world’s only bas-relief dedicated to a mailman half a century ago. A local mailman by the name of Fedir Feketa served the people with integrity and devotion. Recently, on the 215th anniversary of Feketa’s birth and the 165th anniversary of his death, the residents of the district center of Perechyn unveiled a bronze monument in his honor.

Born in 1789, Fedir Feketa lives on in local legends. Every day the “ambassador,” as mailmen were known in those days, would walk fifty kilometers from Turya-Remeta to Uzhhorod and back, carrying mail and postal money orders. A steel mill built in the village added an ever-increasing volume of business correspondence. To cut down on delivery time, Fedir would take shortcuts through mountains, rivers, and creeks. On one such trip during the winter he caught a severe cold and died soon after. Grateful citizens hung an iron plaque on the local church with the mailman’s bas-relief.. The plaque reads: “In remembrance of the cordiality, integrity, and service of Ambassador Fedir Feketa.”

The bronze monument by sculptor Mykhailo Belen, just unveiled in Perechyn, depicts Fedir Feketa in a folk costume of his time, stepping from stone to stone while crossing a mountain river. For the unveiling ceremony the town fathers, who donated most of the funds for the monument, invited Fedir Feketa’s great-great grandson, the philologist Dr. Ivan Feketa, who is a former docent of Uzhhorod University. This is Perechyn’s first monument, and Mayor Ivan Pohoriliak says that it has been a pilgrimage site since day one. It attracts newlyweds from everywhere, who bring letters containing their most cherished dreams and wishes.

The Zakarpattia headquarters of the Ukrposhta postal service also raised funds for the monument. Nearly 200 villages in Zakarpattia are mountainous settlements, and every day local mailmen face a fifteen-mile hike up steep mountain paths. Of the nearly 1,000 Zakarpattia postal workers, only a few are men. There is only one male postman in Perechyn district. One can only hope that with the unveiling of the monument more representatives of the stronger sex will seek to duplicate the feats of Fedir Feketa.