Bakota: Beautiful Place with a Frightening History

Editor's note: This story is one of the winning entries from the "Teach Us about Ukraine" writing contest sponsored by VOA Learning English and GoGlobal.

Hi, my name is Kate, and I am from Odessa region.

Imagine you are standing on the slope of the mountain, and a breathtaking view opens to you. The sun shines brightly and clear. The breeze is barely noticeable and warm. You see a large bay underneath. The water flows quietly and calmly. The leaves on the trees rustle gently. You feel peace. You feel happiness. No thoughts. No feelings. No worries. Only harmony of the inner and outer world. You are in Bakota, one of the most beautiful and amazing places in Ukraine.

Bakota was a village in the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of Ukraine. The name Bakota was first mentioned in writings in 1024. In the 12th century, it was a large trading port on the Dniester River with a population of about 2,500 people.

The region was ruled in succession by the Mongol-Tatars, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. Despite pressure from the invaders, Bakota managed to fight for freedom and preserve its cultural identity.

In 1972, the government started construction of the Dniester hydroelectric station in this region. And Soviet authorities decided to flood the settlement. All the buildings were to be destroyed. Trees were cut down and burned. And cemeteries were moved to new places.

The locals had to destroy their own houses - their history - and stop farming and gardening. The planned resettlement took eight years. In 1981, the village of Bakota ceased to exist. Officials spent the next six years to fill the area with water.

The only thing left of the old village is a cave monastery.

The cave is located inside White Mountain, about 70 meters above the Dniester River. The oldest archaeological finds in the area date back to the second millennium BC.

The website Blog about tours to Ukraine says the monks first came to the cave in the 11th century. There were also reports that St. Anthony, the founder of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra cave monastery, once visited the area. During the Mongol invasion in the middle of the 13th century, both monks and peasants from nearby villages used the cave as a hiding place. By the 15th century, the monks left the area as several landslides destroyed many of the caves inside the soft sandstone of White Mountain.

There are several springs on the mountain, just below the cave. The cool spring water is tasty. Locals believe that the spring water can heal and treat different diseases.

Today, Bakota Bay, the cave and the springs often draw visitors to the area, about 300 kilometers from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. And many leave behind ribbons and personal items along the path to the healing springs.

I'm Andrew Smith.

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Kate has been teaching for almost five years in the Odessa region of Ukraine. She is passionate about working with children of different ages. She strives to implement all of her knowledge about the education process.