“By the way, Medzhybizh”: How a Ukrainian Hromada Turns Heritage into Resilience

The answer of the Medzhybizh hromada in Khmelnytskyi Oblast is simple and uncompromising: this is also a war. A war for history, for national memory, and for the values that the enemy seeks to erase from the face of the earth.

Recently, Medzhybizh was selected among the top five Ukrainian villages and settlements (along with Opishnia, Vyhoda, Kryvorivnia, and Kytaihorod — referring to the famous village of Kytaihorod in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, renowned for its unique Silurian geological exposure and history) chosen to participate in the prestigious UN Tourism global competition — Best Tourism Villages.

About how a settlement with a centuries-old fortress is turning into a modern tourist mecca and how the war forced Ukrainian hromadas to finally get to know one another, Oleksandr Tkach, head of the Medzhybizh settlement hromada, shared in the author’s program by journalist Oleksandr Shvets "Hromada Voice" (https://www.youtube.com/live/yHC2icfSrEo?si=cC80BnGwT3PzG1wb) hosted on the Kharkiv Press Club platform.

“We are not fighting only for territories. We are fighting for our values and history — this is our greatest value,” Oleksandr Tkach is convinced.

Amid the enemy’s destruction of Ukrainian museums and monuments, preserving our identity becomes a matter of strategic security.

The Medzhybizh hromada is small: 12 settlements and about 7,000 residents. However, over 80 cultural heritage sites are located on its territory!

The heart of this land is the State Historical and Cultural Reserve — the majestic Medzhybizh Castle, as well as the tomb of the founder of Hasidism, Baal Shem Tov (Besht), which is a global pilgrimage center.

Preserving and promoting this memory is not just a “check mark” in reports, but a way to show the world and our own people the roots of the ancient culture we are defending.

Paradoxically, for a long time, the tourist potential of Medzhybizh brought almost no dividends to the local budget.

“In 2020, the tourism fee in the hromada was… 100 UAH! As funny or sad as it sounds,” the head of the hromada recalls.

Now, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of UAH, and the target for the current year is to cross the 1 million UAH mark in revenues specifically from the tourism fee.

Today, the main source of income for Medzhybizh is the agricultural sector and personal income tax (PIT). The hromada holds a leading spot among the top five wealthiest and most solvent hromadas in Khmelnytskyi Oblast thanks to transparent land lease auctions.

However, Oleksandr Tkach's ambitious goal is to make the share of the tourism fee and related services compete on equal terms with agribusiness.

A striking example of cooperation includes joint festivals, infrastructure development around the fortress, and unique social projects. For instance, with the support of the ReHeritage Foundation, an elevator is planned for installation in the Knight's Tower of Medzhybizh Castle so that wounded veterans and people with disabilities can ascend to the observation deck and see Podillia views from a bird's-eye perspective.

Moreover, the hromada has developed a unique program of direct support for the state reserve from the local budget — this is the first such precedent in Ukraine where municipal and state levels do not divide property, but combine resources for joint development.

A modern hromada should be recognizable not only by fortress walls. Together with well-known hromada branding expert Ihor Chava, Medzhybizh developed a new brand and visual identity.

The main slogan and brand concept sounds concise: “By the way…”.

Why this option? The developers consciously moved away from standard drawings of fortresses. The slogan “By the way” allows revealing a centuries-old history through flexible communication:

• ·         By the way, the paths of princes and hetmans crossed here…

   

• ·         By the way, behind every person and enterprise here lies a unique story.

   

• ·         By the way, Hasidism was born here…

The brand presentation has already taken place at the micro-level and during an international visit to Gdańsk for the URC summit, where the hromada presented its potential to foreign partners.

“The war helped us get to know Ukraine,” this phrase by Oleksandr Tkach became the main quote of the entire conversation. Previously, hromadas lived in isolation, but today strong family and fraternal ties have been built between regions.

Medzhybizh actively participates in the nationwide project “Side by Side” (Plich-o-plich) and actively collaborates with other hromadas.

Historical threads between Okhtyrka and Medzhybizh date back to the 19th century. It was in Medzhybizh Castle and its surroundings that the legendary Okhtyrka Hussar Regiment (which originates from the Okhtyrka Sloboda Cossack Regiment, founded in 1655) was stationed for a long time.

Photo: Okhtyrka City Territorial Hromada - Okhtyrka City Council

·         Okhtyrka (Sumy region): Medzhybizh Castle sheltered museum exhibits and valuables from borderland Okhtyrka in its secure vaults, saving them from enemy shelling.

·         Chornobaivka (Kherson region): Having traveled to Chornobaivka with a desire to help and lend a hand, the Podillia delegation was struck by the strength of spirit of the local residents. Having spent 9 months under occupation, not a single employee of the local administration defected to the enemy side.

·         Avangard Hromada (Odesa region): Medzhybizh adopts experience in effective management and budget growth (Avangard has increased its income tenfold since 2020).

·         Petrykivka (Dnipropetrovsk region) and Shumsk (Ternopil Oblast): Experience in preserving cultural heritage, Petrykivka painting, and developing youth policy.

The hromada also attracts powerful international assistance. Jointly with the Republic of Slovenia and within the framework of First Lady Olena Zelenska's initiative, a modern house worth about 20 million UAH was built in Medzhybizh for a family-type children's home, accommodating 10 children evacuated from the occupied area of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Meanwhile, the Polish twin city of Kostrzyn nad Odrą regularly supports Medzhybizh with fire trucks, generators, and special equipment.

In the village of Stavnytsia, Medzhybizh hromada, a family-type children's home was opened for a large family that relocated from Zaporizhzhia Oblast, escaping the war. Now, ten children live and grow up in a new, cozy home.

Instead of bureaucratic red tape, Medzhybizh chooses digitalization and speed. The hromada became one of the first in Ukraine to draft and approve a Comprehensive Spatial Development Plan for its territory.

What does this offer an investor?

·         Transparent rules: through electronic urban planning registers, every plot, its target designation, and utilities are visible in a few clicks.

·         Instead of waiting years for permits, an investor can step in and start construction within a month.

An Industrial Park near the international highway has already been registered on the territory of the hromada, along with land plots allocated for alternative energy. Currently, solar power plants are being built with the participation of American and domestic investors.

“The function of local government is not to distribute jobs, but to create equal, transparent, and comfortable conditions for business so that jobs create themselves,” emphasizes the head of the hromada.

At the end of the conversation, the head of the hromada candidly answered a series of sharp questions.

·         What do people criticize for? Lack of quick communication. The decisions made are correct, but it is not always possible to convey their essence and logic to every resident in a timely manner.

·         Unfulfilled promise: Construction of new wastewater treatment facilities. The project is extremely complex and expensive, but the hromada is steadily moving toward its implementation.

·         Should there be a limit to power? Oleksandr Tkach is convinced that serving as head of a hromada should be limited to a maximum of two terms. This allows realizing all plans, laying a foundation, and preventing authoritarianism or stagnation by making room for youth.

“Separately, I would like to thank the team of the Kharkiv Press Club and 'Hromada Group' for paying attention to the problems of hromadas,” concludes Medzhybizh Settlement Head Oleksandr Tkach. “For us, hromada leaders, such analytical platforms are extremely valuable: they allow us not only to share our own practical experience, but also to see successful solutions of colleagues across the country. It is precisely through such an open dialogue and exchange of real case studies that we build the shared resilience of Ukrainian hromadas in these difficult times.”

“By the way, this is an eco-friendly tourist mecca of Ukraine.” A place where people come not for a one-hour excursion, but stay to live and relax for 3–5 days, enjoying Podillia cuisine, history, and comfort.

…The experience of Medzhybizh proves that even a small settlement hromada during war is capable of demonstrating European management standards, protecting cultural heritage, and becoming an economic magnet. The main thing is to remember what we are fighting for and not be afraid to be first.