Hutsul Men


This image is part of an album probably published in about 1920 that contains 20 photographs of scenes in Carpathian Ruthenia, a mountainous region, most of which was part of the Austria-Hungary before World War I, but which became part of the new Czechoslovak state in 1919. Today the largest portion of it forms Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine, with smaller parts in Slovakia and Poland. This image shows a group of Hutsul men. The Hutsuls are an ethnic and cultural group who speak a dialect of Ukrainian, influenced by Polish. They have lived in Ruthenian Carpathia for centuries. Men traditionally wear a blouse with dark embroidery and a stand-up collar, fastened over the trousers usually by a woven woolen belt but sometimes by a broad red-leather belt with several buckles. The men’s hats have braided colored cords. They wear high leather boots or thick woolen oversocks and sandals.

Last updated: February 12, 2013