Ternopil region occupies 13.8 thousands of square km in the western parts of Podilska Hill which is often called Plato because it has flat surface and considerable absolute altitudes. Medium height of the region is 326 m, maximum 334 m (near the town Berezhany). Obliquely from the village Panasive of Zboriv district to the town Gusyatyn on Zbruch river the region is crossed by the so called Tovtry mountain-ridge or Medobory which rises as a rather picturesque spit over the plain of Ternopil Plato.
Spreader are carst forms of the relief: caves, craters and others. One of the longest caves is Optymistuchna (198 km) which occupies the second place in the world ceding only such giant as Mamouth in the USA (about 500 km).
Among mines prevail mineral building materials: lime, brick and tiled clays, quartz sands, sandstone, gyps, chalk, marl, gravel, pebbles. There are also peat-beds, brown coal (Brykivsk field), betonite clays (Pochaiv, Bereshany, Smykivtsi fields), phosporite, brimstone, copper, iron ore and manganese, mineral waters and medical mud.
The climate is temperature continental. average temperature in January is -5.5°C – -4.5°C, in July +18°C – +19°C. Precipitation is 520-700 mm per year, about 75% in warm period.
Rivers of Ternopil region belongs to the two rivers basins: Dnister, which occupies 82% of the territory and Prypyat – 18%. There are more than 10000 km in the region and their tributaries with the total length not more than 10 km.
The main river of the region is Dnister with its tributaries: Zolota Lypa, Koropets, Strypa, Seret, Zbruch, Dzhuryn with its waterfalls.
There are 1700 weirs for water-mills and hydro-electric stations. The largest parts of weirs were built on Seret. For the surface waters of the region belong also lakes and storage ponds. Their total area is more than 8 thousand hectares. The most of them are in the Seret basin. All storage ponds are used mainly for fish farming and rest.
Different kinds of chernozems prevail in the earth covering: gray and dark-gray podsol soils. Turf and marshlands are spreads mainly in the north part of the region.
Ternopil region is situated in the forest-steppe region. Forests covers approximately 12% of the territory mainly in the valleys of the rivers in Tovtry, Krements Hills and in watersheds. Broad-leaved forests are mostly spreads (oaks, horn beams, elm-trees, lime-trees) sometimes beech forests, oakgroves, pine and oak-pine woods.
The main animals are roe, wild pig, fox, badger, marten, hare, weasel, otter, squirrel. Birds: sea-gull, snipe, white stork, quail, chaffinch, thrush, owl, hawk and others. There are a lot of cheiropters in carst caves.
Among 373 places of nature protected by the law are 9 state forest reserves, nature relict caves, old relics of park art, as well as reserve "Medobory".
The population of Ternopil region is 1.177 million peoples. Ukrainians comprise 96%, Russians – 2.3%, Polish – 1.3%, Jews – 0.3%. The highest density of the population is in the central and south parts of the region. Urban population is about 40% of the total number. The largest cities are Ternopil (231 thousand people), Chortkiv (40 thousand), Kremenets (35 thousand), Zbarazh (30 thousand), Bereshany (30 thousand).
Region is divided into 16 districts. The total number
of settlements – 988, 959 from them are rural.
The territory of the contemporary region was inhabited from the middle paleolit. In IX-XII centuries these lands were the members of Kiev Ruse and later they were the part of Galitsko-Volyn principality. During the centuries the population of the country couragely beat off devastating attacks of tatar-mongols and polovtsians. The stone castle was built on Seret in 1540 in order to protect lands from these attacks. Later it became a beautiful cozy town Ternopil.
Profitable placing of Ternopil further the development of industry and trades. In 1548 the town got Magdeburg low.
From XIV to XVIII century Ternopil region was under the rule of Poland. These were pooples uprising under the leadership of Severin Nalivaiko, liberation war of Ukrainian people in 1648-1654 under the headership of outstanding politician and military leader Bohdan Khmelnitsky.
In 1772 the main part of the territory which is occupied nowadays by Ternopil region was captured by Austrian-Hungarian empire.
Publishing and art was developed in Ternopil region during XVI-XVIII centuries. Publishing houses in Kremenets, Rokhmanov and Pochaiv are rather known. A lot of castles were built at that time. Number of them are architectural relics, such as Old Castle in Ternopil built in 1548, Troitsk Cathedral of XVII-th century in Bereshany and castle in Terebovlya built in XVII-th century in the place of old one ruined by tatars, town hall in Buchach and a complex of cathedral of the cloister in Pochaiv (it appeared in 1771-1794).
From the very beginning of the world war I the territory of Ternopil region became an arena of blood battles between the armies of Austrian-Hungarian empire from the one side and Russia from the other side. Detachments of volunteers of Ukrainian sitch strilets fight on the side of Austrian-Hungarian empire are appeared at that time.
Western-Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR) was proclaimed in 1918. But from July 1919 Poland again established its domination on the territory of Eastern Galytchyna. Poland estates stretches till the borders on Zbruch. social-economic oppression of the population was strengthened by their enfranchised status. All these were the cause of mass emigration to Canada, South America, USA. More than 80 thousand people emigrated from Ternopil region.
In September 1939 Red Army crossed Zbrych and the reunion
of Western and Eastern Ukraine took place.
The present day economy of region is characterized by industry represented by the branches based mainly on local agricultural, mineral-raw and forest resources and also labor-intensive branches with highly-intensive agriculture of such directions as wheat, sugar beet, milk and meat. Ternopil region produces sugar, butter, tinned fruits and vegetables, raw spirit, beet-harvester combines, lighting equipment, textiles.
Industry of region has multi-branch structure: food industry (55%), light (11%), machine-building and metal-working (16%), building materials (4%), wood-working (2%) and others.
Food industry is represented by such branches as beet, milk butter, cheese, meat, alcohol and tobacco.
Developed are textile, closing, footwear, leather branches of light industry.
The largest enterprises of machine-building and metal work are industrial amalgamations "Ternopil combine Plant" and "Vatra" (lamps, starting-regulation devices). There is a number of other factories: repair-mechanical, household goods, autorepair. the industry of building materials (reinforced concrete constructions, asphalt, brick, dale) is formed on the bases of local fields of non-metallic minerals.
Charmacentical plastic porcelain, glass and glass table-wear factories also work.
Furniture is the most important branch among wood and wood-work industry.
Art trades are also very popular, in particular, weaving, embroidering and others.
Agriculture of the region is specialized on the growing of wheat (11%), sugar beet (12%), live-stock – milk (21%) and meat (27%). The main agricultural cops are wheat, barley, maize, buck wheat, millet. Sugar beet and tobacco are the most important among technical cultures. Gardening is also very popular (apples, pears, cherries).
Live-stock occupies a very important part in agriculture (pig-breeding, poultry-keeping and others). Bee-keeping, fishing, sheep-breeding are also developed.
Ternopil region has good transport communications. Operating length of railways of general usage is 574 km, developed is team navigation on Dnister, built are new airport and highways (5100 km).
Observed is the lowering of total volume of output which is characteristic feature of most enterprises and amalgamations in connection with non-stability of raw base, weakened interrelations between different branches of economy.
Scientific-technological inventions were applied in industry.
In 1996 total volume of a external economic turn-over has made 185,2 million of US dollars, including export – 123,5 with a positive balance of 61,8 million of US dollars.
On countries of former USSR has 68,8% of the general business volume. On foreign countries has 31,2% of trade operations.
In a commodity structure of export deliveries of such kinds of production, as sugar and confectionery products (38,9%), alcohol and non-alcohol drinks (26,8%), meat (8,7%).
The basis of a commodity structure of import is made by machines, equipment and means of transport (14,4%), cotton (9.5%), pharmaceutical preparations (11,7%), mineral fuel, petroleum and products of oil processing (6,4%).
The joint ventures, which works in Ternopil region more
than 100, have produced in 1996 productions on 17 million gryven.
Life and activity of many outstanding people who have contributed heavily into the development of culture is connected with Ternopil.
Taras Shevchenko visited Ternopil in early autumn in 1846. Here lived such polish poet as Yuliush Slovatski, scientist and ethnography Volodymyr Hnatiuyk, writers Markiyan Shashkevitch, Olga Kobylanska, Osyp Makovei, Vasyl Stephanyk, Marko Cheremshyna, composer Denys Sichynsky, Mykhailo Verykivky, painters Olena Kultchitska, Anton Monastyrsky.
Well known Ukrainian singer Solomia Krushelnitska was born in small village near Ternopil. Italy and America, France and Poland, Austria and Spain admired her voice. Ternopil musical college was named after Solomiya Krushelnitska.
The first professional theatre was opened in Ternopil in 1915. It was called "Ternopil theatrical evenings". The town remember the performances M.Sadovski, M.Zankovetska, S.Krushelnitska, Y.Yura, A.Buchma.
The musical and drama theatre works today in Ternopil.
There is a puppet show, good sport facilities, palace of culture, a lot of cinemas and libraries in Ternopil.
Newspapers the "Vilne Zhuttya", the "Western Ukraine", the "Svoboda", the "Ternopilska Gazeta", the "Ternopil Vechirniy" review the latest events.
There are four higher educational establishments in Ternopil – medical academy, pedagogical institute, technical university and academy of national economy.
There are also such establishments as design technological institute of illuminating engineering, research institute of live-stock, veterinary station and Ukrainian tobacco research station.