The Brooding Brigand, original artwork by Harnas Dragoslav
Welcome to the offical page of The Oprishki! We are a small but enthusiastic bunch of folks who dearly want to help preserve this interesting and culturally important chapter in the history of the Carpathian Mountain Cultures.
What chapter of history you may ask….well let’s discuss our name for a second before we go further.
Oprishki is the plural form of Opryshok which means brigand. The Oprishki were bands of brigands in the Carpathian mountains but they were also freedom fighters. More of a Robinhood than Billy the Kid. These heros live on in song and story of the region. Armed with the trusy mountain axes, muskets and other arms they fought against the oppression of their fellow Carpathians.
So what we are doing is trying to preserve the memory of these Oprishki an in the process trying to restore the martial axe culture that hung over the entire Carpathian range since the Bronze Age.
This is all abit romantic, I will admit. Reality is often more harsh than we like to admit…moreso when we are dealing with subjects such as freedom fighting and brigandry. As a friend in another organization once said…I paraphrase…We are righteous brigands now. Not a bad way to put it.
Yes we swing axes at one another and sometimes dress in silly clothes but we are not a re-enactor society, not that there is anything wrong with that…just not our cup of tea.
If you spot mistakes either in history or anything else, do not hesitate to point it out.
We are always looking for like minded folk to join us. If you think you might be interested in working with us please write harnasandrij@gmail.com and we can discuss this further with you.
well, well some interesting material on our common Carpathian heritage
apparently my my relatives from the Ukraine are brigands the origanal spelling of my name taken from my grandfathers grave is oprishko I have been told a little about the story and or /history of my family but not alot I here there is also a book written about these patriots can you tell me more
Hi Tim, that is an awesome name !!! Does it make you want to take up brigandry or at least axe training?:)
Probably the book you are thinking of is called “On the High Uplands” Relatively easy to find used copies of on the net.
I will be visitng the Carpathian Mountains in August 2012, and the cities of L’viv, Prezymetsl, and Nyzhankovichi, to search for my family’s ancestry and culture. My father, Jaroslav Dobrianskyj, was born in Lipa, and lived in Nyzhankovichi (now Ukraine). My grandfather, Nicholas Dobrianskyj, was a Greek Catholic priest, who lived in the Carpathian Mountains to avoid persecution. My father left in 1944 and immigrated to the US, and would not reveal his history, except to say that his life was a tragedy. My grandmother, Angela Komar, was Romanian. I am about to make my travel plans, and after searching for several months, I am saddened that I cannot find any living relatives. My father said he had a cousin who lived in L’viv, but would not give me her name. If you have any tips about where to look,I would greatly appreciate your help!
Christina Dobriansky Griffin