Urochyshche “Divocha Hora” (“Divocha Hora” Isolated Terrain)

Nature conservation area of local importance.

Rivne Oblast, Zdolbuniv Territorial Community (Hromada), eastward of the Novomylsk Village.

50.50654, 26.32984

18 km

The isolated terrain is located on the Mizoch ridge with absolute marks of 250-266 m within the Mizoch hilly upland. It occupies a hypsometrically elevated area (mountain) with an absolute mark of 255 m, covered with forest. Oak-hornbeam, hornbeam-oak and hornbeam forests have formed on these picturesque hills. The researchers revealed a grouping of a rare oak-ash forest with Hedera helix, or European ivy. Considering shrubs, one can state that mostly Euonymus verrucosus, Euonymus europaeus (the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle), Corylus avellana, i.e. the common hazel, and Sambucus nigra (black or European elder) grow here. The basis of the flora consists of nemoral species, such as Viola mirabilis and Viola reichenbachiana (i.e. the early dog-violet or pale wood violet), Lamium galeobdolon (commonly known as yellow archangel or artillery plant), Asarum europaeum (commonly known as asarabacca or European wild ginger), Lathyrus vernus (i.e. the spring vetchling, spring pea, or spring vetch), Sanicula europaea (i.e. the sanicle or wood sanicle), Actaea spicata (i.e. the baneberry or herb Christopher), Galium odoratum (i.e. the sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw), Ranunculus cassubicus, carex digitata (i.e. finger sedge or fingered sedge), Brachypodium sylvaticum (commonly known as false-brome), Milium effusum (i.e. the American milletgrass or wood millet), Anemone hepatica (syn. Hepatica nobilis, also the common hepatica, liverwort, or kidneywort), lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), spring primulas, Corydalis solida (the fumewort), and Isopyrum thalictroides. There is a small amount of boreal flora species, particularly there are three types of ferns: Dryopteris filix-mas (i.e. the male fern), Dryopteris carthusiana and Athyrium filix-femina (i.e. the lady fern or common lady-fern), Maianthemum bifolium (false lily of the valley or May lily), and Oxalis acetosella (i.e. the wood sorrel or common wood sorrel). There are six species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, an official national red list of the threatened animals, plants and fungi that are protected by the law in Ukraine, namely: Cephalanthera rubra (known as red helleborine), Neottia nidus-avis (the bird’s-nest orchid), two species of epipactis – Epipactis atrorubens (the dark-red helleborine or royal helleborine) and Epipactis helleborine (the broad-leaved helleborine), Lilium martagon (the martagon lily or Turk’s cap lily), and Galanthus nivalis (the snowdrop or common snowdrop). The uncommon species include Daphne mezereum (commonly known as mezereum), Sanicula europaea (the sanicle or wood sanicle), Hedera helix (European ivy), Ribes uva-crispa (known as gooseberry or European gooseberry), and Actaea spicata (the baneberry or herb Christopher). The wildlife is rich here and the fauna includes helix pomatia (common names the Roman snail, Burgundy snail, edible snail, or escargot), the common frog (Rana temporaria, also known as the  European grass frog), grass snake (Natrix natrix, sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake), the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Eurasian blackcap, the icterine warbler (Hippolais icterina), common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita or simply the chiffchaff), European robin, the thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia, also known as the sprosser), the common blackbird (Turdus merula) and song thrush, the Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea), common chaffinch, wild boar, fox, European hare and others.

“Divocha” Mountain in Zdolbuniv Raion (district) has a long history. After all, in the 10th – 12th centuries a settlement was located here, on the western edge of the hill, now covered with forest. The ditches and ramparts of the Novomylsk Hillfort are easily recognisable in the landscape of the slopes, and the elevation above the river floodplain is 65 – 70 m.

Furthermore, according to legends and memories of the elderly residents there was an underground passage from the “Divocha” Mountain all the way up to the castle in Taikury village, and although there is currently no evidence to support the existence of such communications, the existence of underground passages is quite probable.

“Divocha” Mountain near Zdolbuniv is not the only one in Ukraine and in the world that has such a name. Particularly, there is Divych-Hora above the Dnieper River in Trypillia village and the banks of the Ros River near Sakhnivka village, “Divochi skeli” (“Divochi” Rocks) in Ternopil Oblast, a number of Devín peaks in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Devin town south of Plovdiv in Bulgaria. All these peaks have a common feature: they are associated with the All-Slavic cult of the female deity – the goddess Diva, also Živa, Živena, Żiwia, Siva, Sieba or Razivia. Given the history of this area, we can assume that the name of the mountain appeared more than a thousand years ago. However, later, in Christian times, the relevant temple on it was destroyed.

Source: Hryshchenko, Yu. M. (2008). Pryrodno-zapovidnyi fond Rivnenskoi oblasti [Nature Reserve Fund of Rivne Oblast] Volynski Oberehy, Rivne (in Ukrainian).