Vylkove / Novo Vilkovo Ukraine
Old Believers - Orthodox
The first settlers in Vilkovo were Russian Old Believers (Lipovans) who came in the 17th century to the Danube delta marshes to escape religious persecution. Some clung to old ways when changes were introduced to the Russian Orthodox liturgy, breaking away from the Patriarch. Severely persecuted by both church and government, many Old Believers committed suicide.
Some came to the marshes, establishing the town and building St Nicholas Church, with the first service in 1913. To create dry land for building, mud from trenches and canals was used to form a grid of plots. Shells around the foundations help rainwater drain away. Houses slowly sink into the mud, so must be rebuilt every few decades. Services were held throughout the Great War and all the years during Soviet rule.