Boykivshchyna is an ethnocultural region located on the northern and southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains, situated between the Limnytsia and Teresva rivers in the east, and the Uzh and San rivers in the west. It encompasses the mountainous areas of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia oblasts and covers an area of about 8,000 km². Ancient settlements in Boykivshchyna include Drohobych, Turka, Dolyna, Kalush, Borynia, Volovets, Mizhhiria, Staryi Sambir, Boryslav and Perehinske, among others.
The historical Stryi district (Stryishchyna) also spans a considerable part of ethnographic Boykivshchyna, including Skole, with its earliest written record dating back to 1397, Slavske, Sviatoslav's Grave Tract, and the Opir River. Rock monasteries close to the villages of Rozhirche and Trukhaniv (‘Dovbush Rocks’) and the remains of the Tustan fortress near Urych have been preserved to this day. Each year, Urych hosts a unique medieval culture festival at the fortress site. Tustan is a medieval rock-hewn fortress city (hrad) and customs post dating from the 11th–16th centuries as part of an ancient Rus cliff-defence complex. It is a unique monument of history, archaeology, architecture and nature, once serving as a volost (district) administrative centre and customs post on an important salt trade route leading from Drohobych to Transcarpathia and Western Europe. The first written records of Tustan date back to 1340. Salt duties and livestock transit taxes were collected here.
It is worth mentioning that the developer of our museum project, the world-renowned architect Viktor Romanynets, originates from Skole. As a student, he participated in excavations at the Tustan fortress, was an active participant in the founding of the aforementioned festival and even donated his own house, a luxurious old Boyko homestead, to the reserve for the organization of a local history museum in Urych. Therefore, we dedicate this part of our journey to his unconditional and devoted love for this land.
The Boykos are one of the Carpathian highlander ethnic groups of Western Ukraine that inhabit the largest territories. Their expansive presence has given rise to an incredible variety of traditions, customs, folklore and distinctive folk attire. Yet, at their core, the Boykos share fundamental common laws and characteristics.
A major trade and military route from Ukraine to Hungary and Western Europe passed through Boykivshchyna for centuries.
From 1772 to 1918, Boykivshchyna was part of the Habsburg possessions (later the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary) and for 20 consecutive years from 1919 to 1939 was part of Poland.
Many world‑renowned Ukrainian figures were born in Boykivshchyna. These include Hetman Petro Sahaidachny; Ivan Krekhovetsky, Chief Judge during the Khmelnytsky era (Khmelnytchyna) and Ivan Franko, the poet, prose writer, publicist, translator, polyglot and scholar of the humanities.
Boykos are considered descendants of the ancient tribe of White Croats, who played a direct role in the ethnogenesis of the Ukrainian people during the early Middle Ages and the era of Kyivan Rus.
Long rectangular houses — large residential and farm buildings constructed without a single nail and all under one thatched roof — together with the heroic hairstyles of their ancestors, seem to hint that the Boykos are a legacy of the Boii, a group of Celtic tribes who were later assimilated by the Croats. Some researchers believe this influenced the name “Boyko”. Boykos braided the front strands of their hair into small braids on both sides, similar to Celtic warriors.
Boyko cuisine, which includes dishes made from oats prepared according to ancient recipes, also hints at a connection with the Boii. Boykos believed that oat dishes provided strength and health and prevented diseases; the same belief was also held by Celtic peoples.
Boyko embroidery preserves elements of ancient East Slavic patterns and shares all the main features of Ukrainian embroidery in general. These features include ornamental motifs, compositions and colour schemes. A typical feature of Boyko national clothing is a pattern of gathered pleats, known as "embroidery on the folds." This technique is very labour-intensive, involving several stages: laying the warp threads, gathering the fabric on the threads and embroidering on the gathered fabric. The embroidery itself was worked using various methods, such as cross-stitch, low-stitch and satin stitch techniques.
Boyko craftswomen intricately decorated the shirt bodices, shoulder parts and cuffs of shirts, the waistband of skirts and belted aprons (zapaskas) and other garments. The embroidery on Boyko shirts mainly consisted of geometric shapes, including lines – oblique, straight, zigzag, broken, etc. Combining these lines, craftswomen created both complex and simple geometric patterns. Men’s and women’s Boyko shirts were often embroidered with broken curly lines, a motif called "karakuli." This motif was used to decorate men's trousers, women's wrap-around skirts (plakhtas) and vests which were later complemented with additional decorative motifs and patterns like sawtooth, relief embroidery, sprig patterns and others.
Plant motifs were less common but became more widespread in the early 20th century. These were picturesque, carefully composed in terms of colour and featured rich decorative elements. Archaic Boyko embroidery was quite subdued, but after the 1920s, more colours started to appear, making it increasingly polychrome.
Boykos are the most secluded of the Ukrainian highland peoples and are extremely self-contained, which is perhaps why they experienced the least foreign influence until the mid-20th century.
Two other Carpathian ethnographic groups – the Hutsuls and the Lemkos – developed equally vivid but contrasting identities. The Hutsuls, renowned for their vibrant folk culture, are often associated with kolomyiky (humorous Ukrainian ditties), the bartka (hatchet), the arkan (a Hutsul dance), the legendary figure Dovbush and the film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors." Lemkos, in contrast, evoke thoughts of Operation Vistula – a forced resettlement campaign, the struggle for identity among Polish and Slovak populations, the poems of Bohdan-Ihor Antonych and the drawings of the world-famous Nikifor Drovniak. But what of the Boykos? Beyond their famous wooden architecture, their traditions are less widely remembered today.
Shaped by difficult historical and climatic conditions, this highland community developed a culture characterised by frugality, reserve, caution in dealings with outsiders and a preference for muted colours over excessively bright ones. The Boyko soul is filled with the blue of the clear sky, the multicolouredness of the evergreen meadows and the restlessness of mountain streams. A constant bond with nature, seclusion high in the mountains and hard, backbreaking work have forever defined the character of this mysterious and still little-studied ethnic group.
Boykos do not flaunt their identity, they simply exist. Their God is freedom. Their philosophy is self-sufficiency. Their weapon is truth. Their life is mutual respect.
Ultimately, we can say the same is true of the entire Ukrainian nation.