Acronym

OilCradle

NUMBER

PBU2/0974/18

Project type

Micro-project

STATUS

Completed

THEMATIC OBJECTIVE

HERITAGE

PRIORITY

1.1 Promotion of local culture and history

PARTNERSHIP

PL-UA

LEAD BENEFICIARY

Boryslav City Council (Lviv Oblast, Ukraine)

BENEFICIARY

Sanok Commune (Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland)

Project description

When we speak about oil extraction today, the first what we think of is the East and Persian Gulf. But when the exploration of Saudi oil reserves had only started, Galicia was called an oil Klondike. During the mid-19^th and early 20^th centuries, significant oil reserves were discovered and developed near Drohobych and Boryslav. At the turn of the century, Galicia was ranked third in the world as an oil producer. It attracted the flow of entrepreneurs and adventurers, dreamers and rascals. Oil money boosted economic development of this area and dramatically changed the face of what once had been a remote province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With time, oil extraction in the area lost its significance, and places which once bustling with activity, are now labelled as depressive. Fortunately, "the oil cradle of Europe" still has something valuable to offer – its incredible stories of adventure, extravagance, rivalry, hope and tragedy.

The OilCradle project aims to bring the former oil extraction places (Boryslav and Sanok) into the spotlight by creating a recognizable tourist brand and creating new tourist products based on their past. The project will begin with research and exploration of archive materials and sites in both cities. The findings will be used for publications, such as album about the history of the oil industry in Boryslav and Sanok, city maps with oil industry sites and for a common website with e-catalogue. It is also planned to erect the monuments to the “fathers” of a kerosene lamp and pioneers of oil refining - Jan Zeh and Ignacy Łukasiewicz. In order to increase the competencies of local cultural managers and tourist actors, training, seminars and a conference will be organized. Project activities will help to unveil the cities’ history and transform them into attractive tourist destinations.

Project activities will enhance the tourist inflow to Sanok and Boryslav, which will create greater business opportunities for these currently marginalized areas.