ABOUT TRUSKAVETS

Truskavets is the original and most attractive balneological resort of Europe. A resort town has hidden at the foothills of the beautiful and picturesque Precarpathians. It seems, that it's necessary only to stretch your hand to reach the Carpathian mountains. The paths the boykis (people living at the foothills of the Carpathians) walk along will lead you higher and higher to the green Carpathians. The pure and fresh air will remind you what taking a deep breath means. This is the very thing you, townsmen, haven't felt for a long period of time!

By the way, Truskavets is located at the height of 450 meters above sea level. Usually the year consists of 200 sunny days, 100 partially sunny days, and the rest are rainy and snowy days. Warm days predominate, though sometimes in winter the temperature falls down to 30 degrees below zero, but it happens seldom and lasts no more than two or three days.

Look at the map and make sure that Truskavets is situated at a distance of 100 kms from the largest city of Galicia (Western Ukraine) - Lviv. It will take you an hour to get to Truskavets by modern car. Truskavets is a small city with the mayor (though we, the Ukrainians, prefer to say the head) that now is legalized. Bohdan Matolych was elected to be the mayor for the first time in 1994, and he was reelected in 1998, the citizens of the city have great confidence in him.

Historical reminiscences of Truskavets are rather ancient. They are as ancient as Galicia - the western part of the great, powerful and highly cultural state of Kievan Russ.

Our story isn't the history of Truskavets but only brief acquaintance with its past and nowadays.

One of the ancient and very interesting historical reminiscences of Truskavets is a sales contract of the rights on the eternal lease of Truskavets for the two brothers - Hnat from Tustanovychy and Andriy from Lube-nychy in 1471. The year of 1471 started in the history of Truskavets as the first year of beginning to rent something, moreover with such warranty - for the eternal lease. Truskavets was rich in salt and extraction of salt was a profitable business.

In almost 400 years we may learn from the archival materials of 1841 of two more leaseholders of Truskavets - Frantz Blank and Hnat Oblochynsky, the priest. It goes without saying that by this time some new kinds of business developed, that is petroleum (oil), ozocerite, sulfur, lead, zink ores. And this is not the full list of the mineral resources of Truskavets. May everything have disappeared? For sure, a lot of them is still hidden in the bowels of Truskavets.

A new kind of business was developing through the following years - treatment at a health resort. It began in a simple way -eight bathing-huts of hydrogen-sulfide waters were built beside one of the old inns.

Doctor Hurek was the first doctor of this resort from 1849 to 1888, and Anton Mashek, Linger, Kokh were the first researchers.

Scientific research into mineral springs started at the beginning of the 19"1 century.

The task in question was: Why and how the recovery occurs? Theodor Torosevych, a chemist and pharmacist from Lviv, was the first to investigate the mineral waters of the Precarpathians and Bukovyna in detail.

Mr. Sapega and Mr. Zholtovsky were at the head of the collective possession of Truskavets from 1892. In two or three years the new owners put a task to raise the resort up to the European level of health resorts. Time passed, there were many other holders of Truskavets. In 1911 Raymond Yarosh became a new holder of the health resort. He became the head of a joint-stock company which also promised prosperity to the inhabitants of Truskavets. Railway link with a railway station was built, electricity was introduced, new villas were designed and built, the medical basis was upgraded, a fashion-able in architecture and design club "Companionable" was constructed. Truskavets has become one of the best, prestigious Polish resorts, with unique wooden architecture in the Carpathian style.

3000 inhabitants lived here in 1931, and about 15000 people having a rest and sick people came annually here.

During the following 50 years Truskavets was the Ail-Union health resort and became a prestigious place of rest and treatment. High-altitude sanatoriums are being built in the 70s and the question of deficient passes to the sanatoriums of Truskavets is being solved. The city receives profit. Building-up of Truskavets includes a new building of mineral waters, two solid cultural centres, a new railway station and a new bus station, schools and a hospital. Anyone could feel the

prosperity of Truskavets. Stagnation being the talk of the country had nothing to do with Truskavets. The amount of the inhabitants (attendants) and those having a rest increased in 10 times.

Nowadays 150000-170000 visitors are being made healthier here every year. Today Truskavets is the largest balneal resort in the world. The joint-stock company "Truska-vetskurort" ("Resort of Truskavets") is organized on the territory of the resort. Bohdan Aksentiychuk, the Candidate of Medical Sciences is at the head of it.

Why is Truskavets so attractive for visitors from all over the world? It is attractive because of its mineral water "Naftussia" -unusual, unique, remedial water which can be found only in Truskavets.

"Naftussia " - Only in Truska vets It's no longer a secret that there is plenty of mineral waters very close in their compositions to "Naftussia", but they are only close to it, not the same. The deposit of our "Naftussia" takes only half a hectare of the slope of the resort beam, but you won't be able to find the same deposit in any other place of Truskavets. That is why this water is so special and attracts special attention.

Why and where did the name of this remedial water appear? The "black gold" which sounds like "oil" in English, "neft" in Russian, "hora naftowa" in Polish, sounds like "nafta" in the Ukrainian language. Hence the euphonious name. And really it has very subtle taste of oil and very subtle odor of hydrogen sulfide. Is it really connected with oil if it is pure and limpid as the morning dew? A lot of the Austrian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian chemists, physicists, physiologists, microbiologists and, certainly, doctors were investigating "Naftussia'1' for the century and a half. And there were explanations as a result of these investigations. The majority of the people who took "Naftussia" greatly improved their health. Where is this remedial beginning of "Naftussia"? Each research connected with the name of the scientists, gave the new facts and their explanations, but all of them agreed in one point - the active remedial beginning in "Naftussia" consists of the substances of organic nature.

The geologists established that the Truskavets deposit of "Naftussia" was formed on the place of the former congestion of oil and ozocerite. Today a green slope of the resort beam, filtering atmospheric precipitation on the depth of 30-50 meters, makes a stock of the unique water. They drink up to 20000 liters every day, and the stock is replenished by the following day.

"Naftussia" is considered to be one of the subtle mineral waters, that is the whole contents of chemical elements in it doesn't exceed a gramme per litre. The scientists of the 20"' century, being greatly interested in this remedial water, worked hard to investigate organic combinations as the main biologically active substances ensuring the remedial effect of "Naftussia". The two main groups of organic combinations are the most important. The first consists of water soluble substances which are being formed in "Naftussia" during the period of filtration of atmospheric precipitation through the depth of the rocks of the deposit of this unique water; the other part consists of organic combinations as a product of the vital activity of microflora being part of the rock of the deposit.

The Ukrainian scientists - microbiologists Khrystyna Maksymovych and Svitlana Nykolenko have established that the microorganisms being part of the rock of the deposit and using its organic combinations for maintenance of their vital activity, produce some new biologically active substances, which "Naftussia" is being enriched by. It is already natural biotechnology. By the way, hydrogen sulfide which produces peculiar, specific odor in "Naftussia" is also of microbe origin. The group of microorganisms reducing hydrogen sulfide changes an inorganic ion of sulfide, producing gas of hydrogen sulfide.

Is "Naftussia" radioactive? The radionuclides connected with Chornobyl catastrophe are, certainly, not present. Radiation of natural origin is very insignificant. K. Herus paid attention to this phenomenon in 1911.

To cut the long story short, we can say that "Naftussia" is a multicomponent system consisting of many of inorganic and organic components, which are considered to be adapters creating high immune status of human organism, which means less illnesses, length of human life for more and more years.

Millions of people were convinced that "Naftussia" is remedial water. Being saved not only from the diseases of liver and kidneys, but from a number of many other illnesses, a man feels himself healthier, that is he can work harder. That's why "Naftussia" is to be considered a valeological (improving) means.

Doctors direct patients to a resort and the latter make use of it

Most of the doctors know possibilities of different resorts and direct their patients being aware of professionalism of their colleagues who skillfully use the natural curative factors of a resort. Have you chosen Trus-kavets? It goes without saying that "Naftussia" is to be taken only in Truskavets, though you can often hear of other subtle mineral waters of "Naftussia" type such as waters from Zbruch, Skhidnytsa, Kala-Alta

or Baikal. Chemists, biologists and physiologists testify that "Naftussia" does differ from the above mentioned mineral waters in its structure and physiological activity as well as Truskavets differs from those not fully lived-in and investigated deposits by its civilized European level of service. The option is up to a patient.

Alongside with "Naftussia" two sodium-chloride waters "Maria" and "Sofia" (by the way named in honour of the Austrian emperor's nobility) are traditionally used. "Maria" - a subtle mineral water (4 grammes per litre) contains mainly ions of chlorine, sodium, magnesium sulfide, has a pleasant taste, is taken warm. Even a half of a glass of this water stimulates gastric secretion, especially when it is taken after "Naftussia".

As far as "Sofia" is concerned, it isn't so widely popular as "Maria", more probably because it is more salty, that is concentration of components in it is two times more than in "Maria". By the way, concentration of sodium and chlorine in it is very close to the contents of the blood. Because these waters are more concentrated than "Naftussia", they may cause stimulation of intestinal draining. Still more concentrated water "Bronislava" is used for rinsing one's mouth cavity and pharynx. It's necessary to note that it's necessary to consult your doctor about the expediency of this procedure.

Strong sodium-chloride brine (120 grammes per litre) after being dissolved in fresh water (to the concentration level of 20-30 grammes per litre) is used for mineral baths. Such water is very close to sea-water. After taking such baths a patient feels much better, we can especially notice this improvement in patients'joints as if they "gel younger".

They wash patients' bowels with mineral sodium-chloride waters and brews of medical herbs to recover functions of rectum.

The other remedy which Truskavets is famous for is sodium-sulfidc salt "Barbara". Its concentration of 4-8 grammes per litre is used as mineral water and if to take 20-40 grammes of it dissolved per litre, it is used for clearing gall-bladder and bowels.

To make you completely familiar with Truskavets it is necessary to mention ozocerite (mineral wax). If to translate it from the Greek language the meaning will sound like "to smell" ("ozo", Greek) and "wax" ("ke-ros", Greek) that is wax which smells. The pure sinewy ozocerite resembles bee's wax, in fact, it hasn't the smell of honey but that of oil. Deposits of ozocerite were just on the earth's surface at the neighbourhood of Truskavets and Borislav. In the age-old times ozocerite was used mainly for manufacturing candles which were delivered even to Vatican. Professor Semen Lepsky used ozocerite instead of paraffin to cure suppurative wounds and inflammatory processes at the Moscow hospitals in 1942.

During the following half of the century a great number of scientists investigated ozocerite, it was used in resort practice, especially at the resorts of the Carpathians. Borislav started to produce medicines made of ozocerite. The doctors of the Truskavets resorts worked out some new medical preparations (ozoceraffin, ozoccralinc, ozoparaffin, ozocerite napkin (towel)) and new ways of their usage.

Application of the warmed-up ozocerite to a patient's body, in other words - ozocerite therapy - is being treated as an additional means in treatment of many diseases not only at a resort, but at hospitals and at home, too.

It is necessary to mention ozocerite therapy in connection with catching cold and the like. Application of warmed-up ozocerite to one's chest (back and neck) in case of acute tracheo-bronchitis precipitate liquidation of inflammatory processes in bronchial tubes, lungs, and moreover prevents formation of complications accompanied with continuous cough.

Clinical observations have shown that application of mineral wax to patient's small of the back and sacrum as well as to lower limbs precipitate normalization of the blood circulation in them.

Alongside with application of ozocerite to the skin ozoceraline is used to bring it into vaginae in treatment of gynaecological pathologies, (inflammatory processes, sterility).

In case of gum-boil and other inflammatory processes in mouth-cavity they apply ozoparaffin to mucous membrane and alongside with it they apply ozoceraffin as a "mask" to the skin of one's face.

For treatment of different diseases of urinary ways and prostate (prostate glands) a mixture of ozocerite and oil is brought into rectum with the help of a special syringe. This procedure is to be preceded by your doctor's consultation and under his or her control.

Alongside with natural factors modern apparatus physiotherapy is used: different kinds of laser and microwave therapy, magnetic therapy and ultra-sounds, sine modulated currents. We can say that all kinds of apparatus therapy, of manual massage with the elements of manual therapy (in treatment of backbone and joints) are at the disposal of the Truskavets resorts.

Who is directed to be cured in Truskavets?

Three forms of improvement are introduced into the resort practice of Truskavets:

- resort medical rehabilitation after being operated on for bowels, gall-bladder and urinary ways.
- chronic diseases of kidneys, bilious ways, stomach, bowels, urinary ways, diabetes, obesity, gout and other disorders of metabolism.
- the so-called resort rest (which includes making visitors healthier and prevention of diseases) is used more widely.

The doctors of the resort prove correct positive effects of treatment with the help of laboratory researches. It's important that these periods of reconstruction in an organism are long-lasting - they last for half a year or even the whole year. However for maintaining normalized conditions of one's health it's necessary to visit our resort more often, though not necessarily every year. Damage your health as seldom as possible.

Modern Methods of Diagnostics at the Resort

One of the most widespread methods of modern diagnostics is ultrasonic research, with the help of which it is possible to define availability and size of stones in a gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, urinary-bladder in a fast, painless and harmless way. It's also possible to define state and size of prostate gland, uterus, ovaries, valvular disease of the heart, blood-vessels. Much can be diagnosed with the help of ultrasound but not everything.

Function of this or that organ can be defined with the help of other methods which are also present at our resort. They are as follows: electric cardiogram (ECG), phonocardiography, reography. They define hormones of thyroid gland, cancerous markers, state of immunity, acidity of gastric juice and state of stomach and bowels. Generally, you can be diagnosed using any possible methods of diagnostics.

Being treated in Truskavets a patient may be completely sure that intensity of deduction of radiocesium is increased (which unfortunately is one of the characteristic features of the inhabitants of Chornobyl area).

Two installations for subdivision of stones are established in the "Chestnut" sanatorium and at the Truskavets Military Clinical Sanatorium. The use of "Naftussia" before subdivision of stones prevents development of complications and their future formation.

They use the "Termospek-1000 TM" installation for treatment of prostate gland with the help of "Naftussia".

Doctors Know Possibilities of Resort Patients Trust Them

There are all conditions for improvement at a resort. But failures still occur. The reasons are:

- a patient arrived at a resort without his doctor's recommendations on learning exaggerated curative possibilities of "Naftussia".

a patient didn't adhere to his resort doctors' pieces of advice.

- the resort doctor was misinformed or didn't use all the resort possibilities to achieve good results and effects.

As there's no remedy for all diseases as well "Naftussia" with ozocerite are not the only panacea. But if you once visited Truskavets in time, you'll evaluate its curative possibilities in prevention of many illnesses.

Truskavets isn't a huge hospital. For those who have arrived with the preventive purposes there's a possibility to choose various kinds of rest, such as tourism, gymnasiums, pools.

Concert halls where the leading actors perform, various dancing parties, festivals, cozy cafes and restaurants are at your service.

Business meetings, scientific conferences, congresses, seminars are carried out in Truskavets.

There function:

- department of rehabilitation of the Lviv Medical University;
- experimental balneal laboratory of the Institute of Physiology named after A. Boho-molets of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences;
- biological faculty of the Drohobych Teachers' Training University named after Ivan Franko;
- the Truskavets Valeological Innovative Centre;
- International Rehabilitation Centre "Elite" for the children suffering from celebral palsy.

2500 doctors and other workers of medical staff, 54 Candidates and Doctors of Sciences work at the resort.

If you feel like visiting religious establishments, you can go and listen to any service at one of the various Christian temples: Orthodox, Greco-Catholic, Roman-Catholic, Evangelical Churches.

You won't have any trouble to leave Truskavets, as well as you didn't have any of them while coming here.

Truskavets gradually becomes one of the best and the largest European balneal resorts and a modern scientific resort centre which provides high efficiency of resort improvement.

August, 24, 1991 Ukraine was proclaimed an independent democratic state and began to develop market relations. It's not easy for the young, not experienced state to become a part of Europe, but the other way out isn't possible.

The resort of Truskavets accepted a market model of economic development. In short terms our scientists, chief people of city, businessmen and managers evaluated competitive directions of resort business:

- organization of trade services (cafes, bars, shops)
- building of cozy boarding houses (50-70 places)
- reconstruction of rooms of improved planning in large sanatoriums
- organization of small group tourism (summer and winter trips to the mountains, visits to the theatres and museums of Lviv)
- construction of pools, gymnasiums and sport grounds
- modern medical services.

The Truskavets City Council headed by its mayor Bohdan Matolych with the initiative group of scientists, economists and doctors came to an interesting solution: to justify expediency of organization of special health resort area on the territory of Truskavets. The law of Ukraine "About the Special Economic Zone of Recreation Tourist Type of the Resort of Truskavets" was put into effect since January 1, 2000.

The purpose of creation ofSEZ "The Health Resort Area of Truskavets ":

- Improving of quality and volumes of sanatorium improvement of the health;
- Acceleration of reformation of the resort and development of tourism;
- Maintenance of growth of innovative and investment activity;
- Concentration of material and financial resources;
- Solution of the problems of preservation of the unique hydromineral basis of the Carpathians and of effective utilization of the basis in conditions of the market.

»}Vho can be the Subject ofSEZ "The \fta&lth Resort Area ofTruskavets"?

The subjects of enterprise activity, branches, departments and other separate subdivisions, which are located on the territory of SEZ and realise on this territory the investment projects to the estimate valine of not less than $500000, on the grounds of the agreements concerning conditions of realisation of this investment project and registered as the subjects of SEZ by the Organ of Economic Development and Management of SEZ.

Attractiveness of SEZ "The Health Resort Area ofTruskavets":

- The state warranty of the investments for 20 years and preservation in the full volume of all the property and non-property rights of the subjects of "The Health Resort Area ofTruskavets" in case of its liquidation;

- Installation and operation on the territory of SEZ "The Health Resort Area of Truskavets" of a special legal mode of enterprise activity and granting of privileges for the subjects of SEZ.

Privileges for the Subjects of SEZ

1. Clearing of payment of the ground tax for the period of assimilation of the ground area, namely: planning of territory, building of objects.
2. Clearing of payment of the import customs duty for the import of medical items, equipment, equipment furnishing items, software of the objects of the intellectual property (except for excisable goods) for the needs connected with realisation of the investment projects.
3. Clearing of payment of the value-added tax on the import of medical items, equipment, equipment furnishing items, software of the objects of the intellectual property (except for excisable goods) for the needs connected with realisation of the investment projects.
4. Clearing from the taxation of the income for three years obtained on the territory of SEZ from realisation of the investment projects.

Order of Registration of the Investment Projects and Subjects of SEZ "The Health Resort Area ofTruskavets"

The subject of enterprise activity (investor), which is going to realise the investment project or a legal person, authorised by him, gives to the executive committee:

- The application on consideration of the investment project;
- The investment project (business -plan);
- Notarially attested copies of the certificate on the state registration of the subject of enterprise activity and institutional documents of the legal person. In case the applicant is the foreigner, the documents confirming registration of the foreign legal person (non-resident) in the country of its location (the statement from trade balance, bank or judicial register etc.). These documents should be certified according to the legislation of the country, which has issued them, are translated into the Ukrainian language and are legalised in the Consulate of Ukraine. The indicated documents can be certified also at the Embassy of the appropriate country in Ukraine and are legalised in the MFA of Ukraine;
- Reference of an appropriate organ of a state tax service about the condition of accounts with the budget (for the legal persons registered in Ukraine):

- Conclusions of the appraisal by the experts of the investment project, according to the legislation of Ukraine, including scientific and technical, ecological investigation etc.;
- The contract draft (contract) on realisation of the investment project on the territory of SEZ "The Health Resort Area of Truskavets", agreed with the executive committee and the Organ of Economic Development and Management of a special zone;
- The obligation on granting the report on the course of realisation of the investment project to the executive committee of the City Council in due form in terms established by the executive committee.

The registered documents are considered by the executive committee for definition of expediency of introduction of the investment project.

The solution of the executive committee about the statement of the investment project is the basis for registration of the applicant as a subject of SEZ "The Health Resort Area ofTruskavets".

For registration of a subject of SEZ the following documents are given to the Organ of Economic Development and Management of SEZ:

- The registration card of the subject SEZ in due form authorised by the Organ of Economic Development and Management of SEZ, which corresponds to the application of registration;
- Copy of the statement of the investment project from the solution of the executive committee;
- Copy of the concluded agreement with the executive committee of the Truskavets City Council on realisation of the investment project on the territory of SEZ;
- Notarially attested copy of the certificate on the state registration of a subject of enterprise activity;
- Notarially attested copy of the constituent documents of a legal person;
- Document on certification of entering the payment for registration of a subject of SEZ.

Certificate of registration of a subject of SEZ (given by the Organ of Economic Development and Management of SEZ) confirms the right on deriving the privileges determined by the Law of Ukraine "About a special economic zone of a recreation area-tourist type "The Health Resort Area of Truskavets".