City on the water. Canals of Vilkovo

November 2019 · 4 min read · Odesa Oblast

There are many islands at the mouth of the Danube. Curious tourists come to see or admire the flora and fauna. Fishing lovers go fishing. You can get to the islands only bIt impresses me!y boat, and only with a local guide.

Earlier, I already told you about my summer trip to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe. Most of the Danube Delta is located in Romania, and a small part in Ukraine (Odesa Oblast).The most full-flowing is the Kiliysky sleeve. Along it runs the modern state border between Ukraine and Romania.

So, here, in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, the town of Vilkovo is located. This is the last settlement on the Danube coast. We visited him.

A bit of the history of the town.

At the time of its foundation in 1746, the village of Lipovanskoye, was located in close proximity to the Black Sea. The status of the city has been since 1762. Due to the constant extension of the Danube Delta, the distance from the city to the sea along the Ochakovsky Channel is more than 6 kilometers.

In the mid-18th century, Old Believers fled from persecution, and the Cossacks fled after the dissolution of the Sich. They settled in the Danube Delta, on the outskirts of the Ottoman Empire. So the Lipovansky village appeared, later the name Vilkovo. The Old Believers lived apart, kept their traditions, and abandoned civilization. The two worlds lived separately for centuries.

Vilkovo is a small town. The population of the town is about 6000 people. In the city there is practically no entertainment either for young people or for the older generation.

Vilkovo is unique for its people and their way of life on Danube water.

These are houses without a foundation, built from willow, reeds and silt.

city streets

Seashells sprinkled around the perimeter outside the house.

But, the nature surrounding the city of Vilkovo attracts creative people. Into the bosom of nature, for inspiration!

We took a walk through the local streets. Yes, it looks, at least, unusual and atypical. We had to walk along small wooden paths. Go back and forth on small bridges.

Here it is Vilkovo, a real one with many large and small channels. The city itself is quite contrasting. Conditionally divided into several parts and has several main streets - both on the shore and on the water.

Home-made wooden masonry permeates his old part of the town.

Walking along the bridges, you can go into a dead end or wander straight to someone in the yard.

The channels on which the settlement arose are called Erik. In the spring they are being cleaned

On the street where canals (Ericki), residents are guided by the number of the house on either side. This makes any navigation impossible. However, in reality this is not critical, because the city is small.