READING ROOM OF THE PROSVITA SOCIETY IN URICH
Prosvita Society is a public organization founded in 1868 in Lviv for the purpose of cultural development, consolidation of the national community and raising the national consciousness of the Ukrainian people.
A one-storey building of Prosvita in the village of Urich stood at the foot of the church hill. It was built after 1913 from wood of a dismantled village church of the 17th century. According to Stepan Yarosh's memoirs, there was a reading room in the smaller Prosvita hall and a school in the larger one. The corridor led to a room where the Polish authorities placed people under arrest for minor offenses.
The choir at the Prosvita reading room sang at concerts for solemn events, religious holidays, during services. The repertoire consisted of folk songs and works by Ukrainian composers. The educational drama group was very popular. "28 young men and women gathered in the reading room and rehearsed for the performances: “The Courtship at Honcharivka”, “Natalka-Poltavka”, “The Master”… - there were 15 stage performances" (from the research work by local historian R. Schur).
Youth associations Dorist began to emerge at the Prosvita reading rooms at the beginning of 20s of the 20th century. They were established to organize self-educational groups to combat illiteracy. The girls and boys worked under the guidance of adult members of Prosvita and were involved in the traditional annual celebration of dates associated with prominent cultural figures, Prosvita holidays, and the organization of Ukrainian ceremonies. Young people joined drama groups and children's choirs, conducted physical education.