Olchowiec, Podkarpackie Voivodeship
Olchowiec [ɔlˈxɔvʲɛt͡s] (Ukrainian: Вільховець, Vil’khovets’) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dukla, within Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) south-west of Dukla, 26 km (16 mi) south-west of Krosno, and 69 km (43 mi) south-west of the regional capital Rzeszów.[1]
Olchowiec | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Greek Catholic church | |
  Olchowiec | |
| Coordinates: 49°28′21″N 21°36′12″E | |
| Country |  |
| Voivodeship | Subcarpathian |
| County | Krosno County |
| Gmina | Dukla |
| Population | 60 |
Prior to World War II, this village was populated primarily, if not entirely, by Lemkos. During the Battle of the Dukla Pass in September–October, 1944, the village was totally destroyed by military operations.[2] In the ethnic cleansing of the Lemkos by the Communist government of Poland in Operation Vistula in 1947, Olchowiec was one of a very small number of Lemko villages - perhaps only two, the other being Komańcza - from which the Lemko population was not deported to northern or western Poland.[3]
The village has a population of 60, mostly Lemkos. The Kermesz Łemkowski, an annual festival of Lemko culture is held in the village.
References
- "Central Statistical Office (GUS) – TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
- "R. Vladimir Baumgarten "The Carpatho-Dukla Operation" The Friends of Dukla Pass".
- Rieger, Janusz A. "The Lemkos (Rusyns) in Poland." In Sven Gustavsson and Harald Runblom, eds. Language, Minority, Migration. Uppsala: Uppsala University Centre for Multiethnic Research, 1995, pp. 134-140.
