Oil cradle of Europe: the forgotten history of Poland and Ukraine

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 talk about oil extraction today, the first thing that comes to mind is the East and Persian Gulf. However, when the exploration of Saudi oil reserves was just beginning, 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. This attracted a flow of entrepreneurs and adventurers, dreamers and rascals. Oil money fueled the economic development of this area and drastically transformed what had once been a remote province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Over time, oil extraction in the area lost its significance, and places that were once bustling with activity are now labeled 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 brought the former oil extraction places (Boryslav and Sanok Commune) into the spotlight by creating a recognizable tourist brand and creating new tourist products based on their past. The project began with a research and exploration of archive materials and sites in both locations. The findings have been used for publications, such as album about the history of the oil industry in Boryslav and Sanok Commune, city maps with oil industry sites and for a common website with e-catalogue. Also, the monuments to the “fathers” of a kerosene lamp and pioneers of oil refining - Jan Zeh in Boryslaw and Ignacy Łukasiewicz in Strachocina have been erected. In order to increase the competencies of local cultural managers and tourist actors, training, seminars and a conference have been organized. Project activities helped unveil the small cities’ history and transform them into attractive tourist destinations.

Project results enhance the tourist inflow to Sanok Commune and Boryslav, creating greater business opportunities for these currently marginalized areas.