Near Vyzhnytsia, in Rostoky, on the banks of the Czeremosh River, the natural border between Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi oblasts, there is a monument to the soldiers from the region who died in the Second World War. It was erected during the Soviet period.
The monument consists of several parts. At the top of the obelisk is a slightly modified version of the Ukrainian national emblem - the trident - which is said to have various symbolic meanings. It is said to represent a bird of prey falling from the sky, or to contain the letters that form the word “freedom” in Ukrainian. Originally, the trident was replaced by a red star, but after the Maidan in 2014, this symbol of the Soviet Union was banned as part of the decommunisation process. The dates “1941-1945”, representing the period of the war, can be attributed to the Soviet wartime script. Next to it is a slightly smaller cross, which is common in western Ukraine. Behind the two towering elements is a wall on which the names of the soldiers can be seen next to a symbolic portrait.
Text: Marit Haferkamp
War memorial near Rostoky
War memorial near Rostoky
War memorial near Rostoky
War memorial near Rostoky
Tscheremosch (former border between Bukovina and Galicia)
