期刊名称：Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skodowska. Sectio B, Geographia, Geologia, Mineralogia et Petrographia
印刷版ISSN：0137-2025
出版年度：2002
卷号：LVII
出版社：Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin
摘要：The Rawa Roztocze is a subregion situated in the south-eastern Poland, in the Polish-Ukrainian borderland. It is a highly elevated area characterised by extremely varied surface features. They include remnants of Tertiary rocks (Wielki Dział 390 m a.s.l., Długi Goraj 391.5 m a.s.l.), which are the highest elevations of Roztocze in its Polish part. The Rawa Roztocze has abundant resources of surface and ground waters. Rivers which supply water to the Bug and the San basins issue from this area. A European watershed separating the catchment area of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea runs here. The structure of land management is dominated by forests.
Owing to the favourable conditions of the natural environment, the region attracted people as early as in prehistoric times, and a permanent settlement network began to form at the beginning of the Middle Ages. The largest increase in the number of settlements took place at the turn of the 16th century. Functions of the villages changed with their development. In addition to agriculture, small industry and crafts based on local material developed. In the 17th century, wars and invasions checked the rate of settlement development. It was also hampered by the partitions of the country.
The form of settlement and of the ethnic structure of the population which developed in the Rawa Roztocze makes it different from other parts of Roztocze. Large, scattered villages with numerous hamlets were set up. The rural population comprised the Polish and the Ukrainians, while cities and towns were mainly inhabited by the Jews. Huge social and economic changes were brought about by World War II and the 1940s. Extermination led to an almost total annihilation of the Jewish population. The situation of the Ukrainian people inhabiting the territory of the Polish state also changed. As a result of mass resettlement of the Polish and Ukrainian people and the "Vistula" action, the number of inhabitants of the area fell dramatically. Political changes caused the disappearance of big villages and hamlets typical of the region. Those gave way to small settlements established in the vicinity of the newly formed PGRs (state-owned land holdings). Industrial plants, service workshops and monuments to the spiritual and material culture were destroyed. Vast areas, once densely populated, underwent afforestation. The population density decreased from about 93 persons/km2 to 39 persons/km2. The bad settlement situation in the Rawa Roztocze is aggravated by the unfavourable economic situation of the country and poor accessibility of the area in terms of transport. Communities in the region are characterised by stagnation or decrease of the population. No new investments are made. The main occupations of the people include individual farming, forestry and services
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