Pokrovsky Church
Покровская церковь
Pokrovskaya Church: The oldest Orthodox church in Transnistria and a view of Vadul Rashkov.
The Holy Virgin Protection Church was built about 10 years before the Great Synagogue – in 1740. Originally it was Greek Catholic (Uniate) and later became Orthodox. There is a beautiful story that one of the princes Lubomirski, who owned Rashkov throughout the XVIII century, built this Orthodox church, a Catholic church and a synagogue in the neighborhood of each other with his own money. If the story is true, it means that for humanitarian reasons, or simply as a wise master, Lubomirski helped all three communities in his locality equally. In the Soviet years, the church, like many other religious buildings in the region, was destroyed.Today of the once majestic building survived only the walls and part of the roof made of shingles. This unique church was in danger of disappearing altogether, but now it is undergoing restoration.
The hill on which the church stands offers a magnificent view of the Dniester River and the village on the opposite bank - Vadul Rashkov.
Vadul Rashkov, like Rashkov, was a Moldovan-Jewish settlement, although younger (note that Vadul means «crossing»). The first Jews, natives of Ukraine, settled here after 1812, and in 1930 they accounted for almost half of its population. The descendants of the founders of the Hasidic court of which we spoke earlier lived in Rashkiv until the early 1930s.Later, the Hasidic religious center moved to Vadul Rashkiv. This is due to atheism and the struggle against religion that was strengthening in the USSR and, in particular, in Rashkow, which was in Soviet territory. Vadul Rascov at that time belonged to Romania, where Judaism and other religions enjoyed much greater freedom.
The famous Yiddish writer Yihil Shreibman was born in Vadul Rashkov.
We have basically completed our walking tour, and we hope you enjoyed it. If yes, share information about our tour with your friends.
If you are still not tired, if you have the desire, you can still stop by the local museum.
On the way, immediately on the same left we see the stairs and go down to the building of the local rural Museum of Hero of the Soviet Union F.I. Jarchinsky (if open, but even better to arrange a visit in advance)
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