Dvinogrudok is a small, picturesquely situated village in the ravine of the Dniester. It is dominated by a manor house built in the interwar period. It is situated in Podolia in a narrow wedge between the Dniester and Zbruch rivers, not far from the Holy Trinity trenches and the former junction of the Polish, USSR and Romanian borders. The landed estate there belonged to the Kęszycki family from the first half of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century, and later passed to the Jewish Kimelman family.

History of the manor house in Dźwinogród

The old manor house, built by the Kęszyckis in the first half of the 19th century, was destroyed during the First World War. In its place, in the late 1920s, the Kimelmans built a relatively small, two-storey building in classicist style, resembling more a villa than a typical landowner's residence. The author of the design was the well-known Lvov architect Jan Bagieński.

The manor house is situated on a high hill overlooking the Dniester ravine, close to a steep escarpment descending to the river. It is surrounded by a small forest to the west, separated from the village to the north by an old park and a fruit orchard, and to the east, a wooded cemetery and an Orthodox church adjoin the former manorial territory.

Manor House on the Dniester River

The upstairs terrace offers a beautiful panorama of the meadows on the other side of the Dniester. The layout of the manor house was designed so that the view beyond the river was limited on the sides by two more than 200-year-old oak trees growing in the manor park.

Jewish manor house

The last owners of the estate were representatives of the Jewish landed gentry, who formed a large community in Eastern Galicia until 1939, vividly described in Oskar Kofler's memoirs "Jewish Manors".

Between the wars, the Kimelmans established one of the largest vineyards in Galician Podolia. It was cleared during the Soviet era, but traces of it can still be seen on the slopes descending towards the Dniester. The manor also served as a guesthouse for tourists during the summer season.

The last owner of Dzvinogrod, Dr Oswald Kimelman, a lawyer and city councillor of Lviv, was a member of the Judenrat during the Lviv ghetto period. He was executed by the Germans in early 1943.
Dvinogrudok today

Today, Dzvinogród in Podolia is a dying village with a population of just over 200 (compared to around 500 before the outbreak of World War II). Until recently, the manor house housed an elementary school, so the building was not devastated during the Soviet period.

A lot of traditional Podolia village architecture is still preserved in the village. By the stream flowing into the Dniester, you can also see the ruins of a watermill, one of several operating in Dvinogrod before World War II.

Ruins of the water mill in Dvinogrudok

On the slopes of the Dniester ravine, numerous communities of steppe vegetation have been preserved, delighting with their colours and aroma, especially in late spring and summer.