The story of the richest village in Ukraine, located on the border with Romania. The paradox of the castles of Nyzhnia Apșa
On the edge of Ukraine, right next to the border with Romania, is Nyzhnia Apșa, considered “the richest village in the country”, a settlement where the houses no longer resemble ordinary homes, but real palaces.
House/castle in Nyzhnia Apsa. PHOTO: TikTok capture/@polinashtern
If you cross the border from Romania towards Transcarpathia and proceed through the villages in the area, the countryside seems, at first, an ordinary one. But after a few kilometers, a place appears that completely breaks the monotony.
Nyzhnia Apsha, which many say is “the richest village in Ukraine”, immediately stands out with its huge houses, decorated with towers, columns and facades that are more reminiscent of palaces than rural dwellings. Some even have 30, 40 or 60 rooms, and in the courtyards you can see greenhouses, manicured gardens, swimming pools and saunas, a striking contrast to many of the villages in the area.
The history of the castles on the border with Romania
But the paradox appears as soon as you get past the initial impression, because many of these huge buildings are almost uninhabited.
“The village looks as good as Concha-Zaspa. Each house has several floors and 30, 40, sometimes even 60 rooms. In the yard there are greenhouses, gardens, swimming pools and saunas. But there is a nuance: people live there in 1-2 rooms. The rest are closed.
It happens that these houses are completely empty, and the owners live in the old cottages. The reason is expensive heating. Therefore, such palaces are usually rented to tourists or new residents of the village”according to a video shared on TikTok by @polinashtern and then on YouTube.
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house Nyzhnia Apșa 02 capture TikTok/@polinashtern
Such imposing buildings began to appear since the 1980s, when many Romanian-Ukrainians from the village went to work abroad or managed to make real fortunes from the alcohol and sunflower trade.
Opulence and poverty
Although the architecture of the village experienced a veritable explosion of height and pomp, the contrast between luxury and everyday reality remains striking. Huge houses with spiers and sumptuous facades coexist with obvious signs of a modest rural life that never really disappeared.
Thus, on many streets, among the imposing buildings, one taller than the other, creep old households with modest roofs, used cars and gardens that seem abandoned.
“Old cars can still be found there, hay is sticking out of the windows of unfinished buildings, and yards are overgrown with grass. However, building taller than your neighbor is a local trend.” according to the same source.
The resulting landscape is an unusual interweaving of ostentatious prosperity and discreet poverty, a mix that tells the story of an ambitious community determined to flaunt its success, even if daily life remains, for some residents, a simple and often difficult one.
