Velykyi Bychkiv

Velykyi Bychkiv lies east of Tiachiv, at the confluence of Sopurka River and Tisza River. It is located in the historical region of Hutsulshchyna. ==History==

The village was first mentioned in 1358, by the name Buchku. Its name is derived from a Slavic word meaning "bull". Before 1556 Bosckai family owned the village. From 1556 it belonged to the Báthory family. By 1711 a mansion already stood here. After the failed revolution led by Francis II Rákóczi, Germans settled in the area. The village had three parts: Nagybocskó and Kisbocskó ("Greater" and "Smaller" Bocskó), which form today's Velykyy Bychkiv, and Németbocskó ("German Bocskó") across the river (this forms today's Bocicoiu Mare in Romania). In 1910 the village had 5955 inhabitants: 3078 Ruthenians, 1646 Hungarians and 1177 Germans by the primary language, or 3374 Greek Catholic, 1266 Roman Catholic and 1163 Jewish people by religion. It belonged to the Hungarian county of Máramaros. After World War I it belonged to Czechoslovakia, where it was an important centre of the Ukrainian national movement. ==Economy==

Velykyi Bychkiv has a chemical, sulfuric acid and table salt factory, as well as a sawmill. In 1930 a forest railway line was built. ==People from Velykyi Bychkiv==

• János Balogh, biologist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was born here on 19 February 1903 • Ottó Korvin, politician, a founder of the Communist Workers' Party, was born here on 24 March 1894 • Theodore Romzha, Greek Catholic bishop of Mukačevo, was born here on 14 April 1911 • Ivan Yaremchuk, Ukrainian and Soviet football player, was born here on 13 September 1962 • Rose Weingarten, Holocaust survivor, was born here on 27 September 1918, while it was still part of Czechoslovakia • Helen Gancz Zigmond, Holocaust survivor, was born here October 27, 1927 while it was still part of Czechoslovakia. Her family was transported during the Holocaust first to Auschwitz Birkenau death camp, and then Bergen Belsen, from which she was liberated in 1945. She married an American soldier and settled in Cheyenne, WY. ==References==