Beniowa, Former village in Bieszczady County, Poland
Beniowa is a former village in the Bieszczady region of southeastern Poland, situated in a river valley along the San near the Ukrainian border. The settlement no longer exists as a lived-in place and is now covered by forest, with only scattered traces marking where it once stood.
Beniowa was founded in 1537 by the Kmita family under Magdeburg law, making it one of the older settlements in the area. In 1945, it was completely destroyed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which put an end to centuries of continuous habitation.
The Greek-Catholic Rusyn community that once lived in Beniowa left behind a protected lime tree that still stands on the site today. The old village cemetery, though overgrown, remains visible and gives a sense of how rooted this community once was.
The site of the former village is reachable on foot from the trails of the Bieszczady area, though some paths pass through dense forest. It is worth planning your route in advance, as there are no facilities on site.
In August 2006, around 500 former residents and their descendants gathered at the site for a reunion, an event that took place in the middle of what is now forest. The gathering was focused on Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation, turning an overgrown field into a place of meeting and memory.
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