The first references to timber floating on the Carpathian rivers can be found in ancient written sources. In the Middle Ages, timber was transported by molly (individual logs) and in rafts along the tributaries of the Dniester, Prut and Tisza. The raft was a convenient means of transport for long-distance transportation of goods of constant demand, mostly salt.

In the nineteenth century, timber deliveries by waterways became one of the most common activities in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

The trunks of cut and cleared trees were knitted into rafts, which were connected one by one in a long line. This formed a single raft, the bokor. This daraba was managed by bokorash, extremely brave and strong Verkhovyna people. There were 3-5 people, sometimes more, depending on the size of the raft, the complexity and length of the route. A special platform was arranged on the rafts, where a fire was laid out, and a small hut was also built. The bokorashi stood in front of the raft and steered it with special stern oars to avoid shoals and large boulders in the river and to prevent the raft from being washed ashore. The work required unusual ingenuity and dexterity, was difficult and dangerous, because the rafts floated down the river very quickly. Sometimes accidents happened: someone's foot was caught between wet slippery logs, someone fell off the raft into the river because of an unexpected blow to underwater stones, etc. The bokorash also faced many dangers in the form of sharp turns and pitfalls. The cold waters of the Tereblya became the last refuge of many rafters.

Until the mid-20th century, timber from the far corners of the Carpathians was floated down fast and full-flowing mountain rivers, such as: Prut, White and Black Cheremosh, Tereblya, Rika and others.

The Tereblya River, in the valley of which the village of Kolochava is located, flowed high above sea level and was a very convenient transport artery for local bokorash. Auxiliary ponds were located in Kolochava's suburbs of Sukhary and Bradoltsi.

In 1951, the construction of a dam for the new Tereblya-Rika hydroelectric power station began on the Tereblya River. The creation of the reservoir helped Transcarpathians with electricity, but local bokorash were left without work: after the construction of an artificial sea and a huge concrete dam, it was no longer possible to float timber down the Tereblya. The hard and dangerous profession became a thing of the past.

The timber was transported by narrow-gauge railway. On the banks of the Tereblya River, in the northern part of Kolochava, a long-awaited locomotive ran on narrow tracks from the Borkut spring to Kvasovets.

But in Kolochava, history comes to life. At the Kolochava Bokorash Museum. You will visit a real logger's hut, get acquainted with authentic tools of loggers and bokorash, see recreated vestments for lowering wood from the mountains, and take a picture on a huge bokor.

In spring and autumn, the waters of the Kolochavka River, which is full at this time, flood the pond with a bokor.

The Kolochava Bokorash Museum is the only place in Ukraine where you can try to raft a bokor on a gentle stretch of a 70-metre-long mountain river. Unforgettable sensations and unrivalled emotions are guaranteed.

Only here you can watch a unique documentary about the dangerous work of bokorash.

Information note:

The museum is open every day, without breaks and weekends, from 08:00 to 18:00.

You should plan to visit the Kolochava Bokorash Museum for at least one hour.

For more information about the Kolochava railway tour, please contact the Old Village Museum in Kolochava

📍 с. Kolochava village, Mizhhirya district, 

📞 +38(031) 462-41-81, +38(067) 215-09-85

🌎 http://kolochava.com/