Travel Guide Vylkove (Вилкове)

Located on a network of canals on the border with Romania, the village of Vilkove is known as the Venice of Ukraine. Even if the comparison is a little exaggerated, this sleeping fishing village has a charm, lost among the roses on the Danube delta. Founded in 1746 by old believers fleeing the terrible repression of the Russian Empire, the village keeps a very rural and completely timeless atmosphere. In the place of the streets, there are small canals in the middle of the greenery on which one travels on board wooden boats called tchaika, "seagull". Narrow wooden bridges allow access from one side of the canal to the other. Fishing is Vilkove's main activity, added to the collection and drying of roses and the production of local wine, novak, which can be bought from any villager. Two important communities now live in Vilkove: the Gagauzes and the Lipovans, a community of old believers, the founders of the city. If the Gagauzes speak a Turkish-speaking dialect influenced by Russian, they are Orthodox Christians. The Lipovans speak an archaic Russian dialect and their orthodoxy respects the dogmas preceding the orthodoxy reform undertaken by Patriarch Nikkon in 1650-1660. In Vilkove, the Church of St. Nicholas (церковь Святого Николая) belongs to the Lipovans.