Bilky, Khust Raion
Bilky
Білки | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Bilky Location within Zakarpattia Oblast  Bilky Location within Ukraine | |
| Coordinates: 48°19′46″N 23°08′23″E / 48.32944°N 23.13972°E | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Zakarpattia Oblast |
| Raion |  Khust Raion |
| Established | 1245 |
| Area | |
• Total | 44 km2 (17 sq mi) |
| Elevation /(average value of) | 175 m (574 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 8,064 |
| • Density | 180/km2 (470/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 90132 |
| Area code | +380 3144 |
| Website | селище Білки, райцентр Іршава (Ukrainian) |
Bilky (Ukrainian: Бі́лки; Hungarian: Bilke) is a village in Khust Raion of Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine. The village covers an area of 4.4 km2.[1] The population of the village is about 8 064.[2]
Geography
Bilky is located in the center of the Transcarpathian region (Zakarpattia Oblast) on the altitude of 175 metres (570 ft) above sea level, that is situated in the river valley Borzhava.
It is at a distance 93 kilometres (58 mi) from the regional center of Uzhhorod, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Irshava, and 52 kilometres (32 mi) from Mukachevo.
History
The first written record of village Bilky dates back to the 17th century. By King Béla IV of Hungary, King of Hungary and Croatia, was made a present and gave royal charter in 1245.
But there have been found remains of three settlements in of the Neolithic (IV-III millennium BC) in the village. It has preserved remains of the Slavic of the settlement 8th-9th century AD.
During the period of Hungarian rule, the village was known as Bilke and belonged to Bereg County.[3]
In the interwar period, Bilke had a substantial Jewish community. A memorial history of the town describes a population of about 10,000, including approximately 2,000 Jews in more than 200 families. The community maintained a large synagogue and several other places of worship, including a beit midrash.[4]
In 1929, the Autonomous Israelite Community of Bilke elected Naftali Tzvi Weisz as its chief rabbi. The yeshiva he led subsequently attracted students from elsewhere in Carpathia and beyond.[5]
Following the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Jews from Bilky were forced into the Beregszász transit ghetto at Berehove. They were deported from there to Auschwitz-Birkenau on May 24, 1944, arriving two days later.[6]
Religious organizations
In the village, there are religious communities of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There are two temples.
- Church of Saints Peter and Paul of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (1939).
- Holy Assumption church of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches (UGCC) (1838).
- A Jewish cemetery also survives in Bilky. It contains about 500 gravestones, with the oldest preserved tombstone dating to 1846.[7]
Notable people
- Stepan Hiha (born 1959 - died 2025), composer and singer
References
- ↑ Село Білки (Закарпатська обл.): карта вулиць (in Ukrainian)
- ↑ Білківська сільська рада (in Ukrainian)
- ↑ "Sub-Carpathia RD: Bilke". www.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2026-08-30.
- ↑ Avital Doft-Lipschitz, Moshe. "Our Home Town Bilke". JewishGen Yizkor Book Project. pp. 653–655. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ Reisman, Isidore. "Memories of Shtetl Life: Election of our Chief Rabbi". JewishGen Yizkor Book Project. pp. 661–664. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ "The Auschwitz Album (The Lili Jacob Album)". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ "Jewish cemetery in Bilky". cja.huji.ac.il. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
External links
- Про село Білки з енциклопедіїї міст і сіл УРСР, Закарпатська область (in Ukrainian)
- weather.in.ua/ Bilky (Zakarpattia (Transcarpathian) region)
- Друга проща закарпатських журналістів пролягла Боржавською долиною (in Ukrainian)
- Церква Успіння/Білки Іршавський район (in Ukrainian)
- Церква св. Петра і Павла/Білки Іршавський район (in Ukrainian)