Paryshiv Village

Paryshiv is a quiet village tucked away on the left bank of the Pripyat River. It holds a very long and surprising history. While the 1986 disaster forced most people to leave, this village did not stay completely empty like others in the zone. You might be interested to know that life has actually returned to these old wooden houses in a very unique way.

People have loved the land around Paryshiv for thousands of years. Archaeologists found remains of settlements here from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. Long before the Soviets built this nuclear plant, ancient Slavic tribes also called this area home. By the year 1900, it was a thriving community with nearly 1,000 residents. The village was quite modern for its time. Featuring a school, a hospital, a small chapel, and even two large windmills that turned in the breeze.

The Great Relocation
When the accident happened at Chernobyl, Paryshiv was home to more than 1,000 people. On May 3, 1986, buses arrived to take everyone away to safety. Interestingly, Paryshiv was actually one of the cleanest villages in the entire zone. Because it was so far from other safe areas, the government decided to build an entirely new version of the village outside the contaminated zone. In 1999, the old site of Paryshiv was officially taken off the map, but the story did not end there.

The Return of the Self-Settlers
Despite the rules, some people simply could not stay away from their homes. These residents, known as “self-settlers,” moved back to the village to live off the land. By 2006, about seven families were living in Paryshiv again. They survive by growing their own vegetables, keeping cows, and fishing in the nearby river. They also spend their days gathering mushrooms and berries in the thick forests that now surround their homes.

Protecting the Forest
Because the village is so deep in the woods, the risk of fire is a major concern. During the hot summer months, a group of firefighters stays at an active station in the village. They watch over the area to make sure forest fires do not destroy the remaining houses. Today, the village is a strange mix of abandoned ruins and working gardens. It shows that even in the heart of the Exclusion Zone, some people still prefer the peace of their old village to the noise of the city.

The smoke rising from the chimneys in Paryshiv proves that the bond between a person and their home is hard to break.