Aug. 8, 2025, 10:11 p.m.
(Collage: Intent)
Vilkovo is a city in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, in the far southwest of Ukraine and Odesa Oblast. It is the last settlement on the banks of the Danube before it flows into the Black Sea; the city's unofficial name is Ukrainian Venice. The distance to the regional center is about 207 kilometers. The city is the administrative center of the Vilkovo city community.
Intent continues to tell about the interesting cities of Odesa region, after Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Reni, Podilsk and Izmail, the story of Vilkovo.
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The city was founded in 1746 under the name of Lipovanske Posad, and received the status of a city in 1762.
The founders of the town were fugitives from the Russian Empire who did not accept the reform of Moscow Patriarch Nikon. The territory where Vilkovo is now located was wild at the time and was part of the Ottoman Empire.
These Old Believers are called Lipovans. The name "Lipovans" has several versions of origin. According to the first one, it comes from the Romanian "li pava" - they pave. The houses of the first settlers were made of bricks, which were made by bridging silt from the river bottom. Such a structure was called a "lampach". According to the second version, it was because they hid in linden forests and painted icons on linden planks.
According to yet another version, the founder of one of the most numerous and strongest Old Believer sects, a Don Cossack from the army of Kindratiy Bulavin, the Old Believer Photii Vasyliv, took the name of Philip in monasticism. His followers refused to pray for the tsar and rejected the rituals of the official Orthodox religion. The "Philipons" (derived from the name "Pilipons") were later called "Lipovans".
Monument to Ivan Lipovanin in Vilkovo. Photo: uk.wikipedia
The second wave of immigrants were the Nekrasivtsi Cossacks. The Nekrasivtsi (Nekrasiv Cossacks, Cossacks-Nekrasivtsi, Hnat-Cossacks) are descendants of the Don Cossacks who left the Don in September 1708 after the suppression of the Bulavin uprising. They are named after their leader, Ignat Nekrasov.
After the defeat of the Bulavin Uprising in the fall of 1708, a part of the Don Cossacks, led by Ataman Nekrasov, went to the Kuban, a territory that belonged to the Crimean Khanate at that time. For a long time, Nekrasov's men raided the Russian borderlands from here, the most devastating of which was the Kuban pogrom of 1717 (a campaign into the lands of the Penza region with the Circassians and Nogai). After 1737 (with the death of Hnat Nekrasov), the situation on the border began to stabilize.
Between 1740 and 1778, with the permission of the Ottoman sultan, the Nekrasovites moved to the Danube. On the territory of the Ottoman Empire, the sultans confirmed to the Nekrasiv Cossacks all the privileges they had enjoyed in the Kuban from the Crimean khans.
The city owes its current name to its geographical location, where the Danube divides into several branches, forming a kind of pitchfork.
The Belgorod Canal in Vilkovo. Photo: ukrainaincognita.com
This unofficial name is very popular. Indeed, Venice and Vylkove are on the same latitude to the minute, and they are located the same height above sea level - zero meters. Vilkovo may not have as many historical monuments as the Italian city, but according to those who have been to both, Vilkovo does not have a strong unpleasant smell of moldy water.
The main reason for the analogy is that the city is dotted with numerous canals called erikas, and watercraft are more popular here than cars or other means of transportation.
The rivers in Vylkove are not wide - only 1-2 meters, they occupy up to half of the city's territory, and you can get to any part of the city by boat. Residents of the town swim in the gullies, standing in a boat and pushing off the bottom and banks with a long pole-like paddle called a babayka. Not only men, but also women and even grandmothers skillfully steer boats with the help of such babaykas, who are jokingly called "young women on babaykas."
Another joke is exclusively vilkovian. It is said that if a man has drunk too much alcohol, he does not sway from left to right, as in the rest of the world, but back and forth so as not to fall into a gully.
Vylkove boat is very peculiar. Neither Black Sea nor Caspian fishermen have such boats, nor do they have them on the Volga or in Siberia. From time immemorial, this type of boat has existed in these places - a resin boat with a high bow (loft) and stern, with a low side from which it is convenient to cast and pick out fishing nets. This shape of the boat is caused by the specifics of local conditions. The fact is that at the mouth, where sea waters meet the Danube, the waves hit harder and more erratically than in the open sea. To avoid flooding the boat, the bow and stern are raised higher than usual.
Photo: vilkovo.info
The main estate of the Danube Biosphere Reserve, one of the four main nature reserves in Ukraine, is located in Vilkovo. The territory of the reserve is included in all possible registers of the world's most valuable landscapes. Its area: 50252.9 hectares.
By UNESCO's decision of February 2, 1999, the DBR was included in the world network of biosphere reserves as part of the bilateral Romanian-Ukrainian Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, making one of the world's largest deltas almost completely protected.
Taking into account the results of land surveying, the total area of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve is 50252.9 hectares. Given the processes of continuous delta formation, the territory of the SFD automatically includes all newly formed areas (islands, spits, etc.) of the avandelta. This unique natural process of forming a new landmass of Ukraine and Europe in the Danube Delta, which was initially granted protected status, is a special feature of the SBR.
The fauna of the reserve is represented by 1492 species of invertebrates and 417 species of vertebrates. Among the vertebrates of the Reserve, birds are characterized by the greatest species richness in relation to the fauna of Ukraine. There are 263 species registered here. This is approximately 79% of all species known for the Danube Delta and almost 64% of the total species composition of the avifauna of Ukraine.
Photo: uk.wikipedia
The main occupation of the vilkovians now, as well as two centuries ago, is fishing. The main commercial fish is the Danube herring, a Red Book species that is caught in the reserve. In the special zones of biosphere reserves, folk crafts and fishing are not prohibited by law, but under certain conditions and with the official permission of the special department of the reserve.
In Vilkovo, guests will definitely be treated to Danube herring. This type of fish has a high percentage of fat and unique taste.
The town's residents respect their signature dish, as evidenced by the unique herring monument erected within the town. Eating establishments offer up to 20 variations of Danube herring dishes. The simplest recipe is the Danube five-minute herring: fish from the boat, salt, vinegar, and onions. The Danube herring is cleaned, rinsed in water, sliced as thinly as possible, and marinated in salt, vinegar, and chopped onions.
Another authentic recipe of local housewives is the so-called Vylkove wild carp fish soup. The dish is cooked in a large cauldron: whole potatoes, whole carrots, peppers, and tomatoes. At the end, fish steaks are added, which are cooked for about 10 minutes so that they don't boil over. This dish is served in a special way: fish and vegetables are served separately on a large plate, and the soup is poured into separate cups or bowls. A special sauce, salamuri, and light local wine are always offered.
Two of the three churches in the city are Old Believers. The Lipovans ' churches are unique ship-shaped temples that are symbols of an unshakable faith that has been oppressed for centuries but has survived. These are ships that cross the sea of life and time-the churches of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
The Old Believer Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the youngest church in the city. It is located on Kalymbeka Island and was built over seven years, from 1906 to 1913. This church is typical for Lipovans - it has a large bathhouse and an attached bell tower. From a distance, it looks somewhat similar to the wooden churches of typical diocesan projects, but when viewed up close, the impression changes dramatically - a sense of antiquity and authenticity emerges.
St. Nicholas Old Believer Orthodox Church (1906-1913). Photo: ukrainaincognita
The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is the main Old Believer church in the city, and thus in the entire region. It was built in the 50s of the 19th century, and the 32-meter bell tower was added in 1873. The church is very elegant, but for some reason I liked it less than the other two churches in the city.
Lipovans have managed to preserve their identity among the numerous ethnic groups of Bessarabia and create a unique subculture in the Danube delta region. Local old-timers say that a true Lipovan is someone who was born on the island part of the Danube Delta: "My father is a real Lipovan, he was born on the island, he is a plavnevy Lipovan." The religious identity of the Old Believers and their life in difficult natural conditions have formed an interesting and peculiar subculture, unique to the residents of Vilkovo.
Zmeinyi Island is a kind of detached part of Vylkove, which is located 52 kilometers away from the main part of the city. Residential buildings on the island form the village of Bile.
Photo: uk.wikipedia
The ancient Greeks called it the "Island of Achilles" because the temple of Achilles was located there and Achilles himself was buried there. Another ancient Greek name for the island is "Levkos", "White Island"; Leuce Island. The Romans also called the island "White" - Latin Alba.
Other names (in particular, the modern Ukrainian name "Zmiinyi") are related to the fact that the island was home to many snakes (water snakes) that were brought here from the mouth of the Danube (in particular, on tree branches) and lived here in large numbers in the nineteenth century.
During the Ottoman Empire, the island was called "Fidonisi" in Greek (also "snake"). It gave its name to the naval battle of Fidonisi, which took place off the island's coast in the late eighteenth century.
Flag installation on the island on July 7, 2022. Photo: uk.wikipedia
The fighting for Zmeinyi Island began on February 24, 2022, with a rocket attack on the Ukrainian border garrison on Zmeinyi Island during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At about 6 p.m. on the same day, the occupiers' missile cruiser Moskva, frigate Admiral Essen, and patrol ship Vasyl Bykov approached the island's defenders. The island's garrison was offered to surrender. The border guards did not agree to fulfill the offer and refused the invaders with a phrase that has become legendary: "Russian warship go to ...". After that, the garrison was subjected to an intense rocket and artillery attack.
After several hours of fighting, the Russian invaders captured the island. At first, it was reported that all 13 border guards were killed.
On February 26, the Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that the defenders of Zmiinyi Island may be captured by Russian troops.
On February 27, Russian propaganda outlets broadcast a story in which they interviewed the allegedly detained defenders of the island. Later it turned out that the person who gave the interview on behalf of the Ukrainian military was a fake.
During the exchange of prisoners of war on July 23, 2025, the last defender of Zmiinyi Island, Vitaliy Hyrenko, returned to Ukraine. The border guard spent 3 years and 5 months in captivity.
Ігор Льов