Liubeshiv is an urban-type settlement on the left bank of the Stokhid River in the northeast of Volyn, in Kamin-Kashyrskyi Raion. About 5,600 people live here, and it is 137 km from the regional center. Liubeshiv is a true Volyn Polissia: forests, swamps, and dozens of Stokhid’s branches. It is also a town with a monastery school where Tadeusz Kościuszko studied.

Tadeusz Kościuszko
Tadeusz Kościuszko. Image: Karl Gottlieb Schweikart, public domain

The Legend of the Hunter Liubash

The tale tells that the first settlement was founded by the hunter Liubash, a servant of the nobleman Verlia from the Principality of Turiv. Verlia wanted to marry off his daughter Jadwiga to the son of a Lithuanian prince, but the girl fell in love with Liubash. The lovers fled and settled on the bank of a small river amid forests and swamps – this is supposedly how Liubeshiv came to be.

The first written mention of Liubeshiv is dated 18 September 1484: a decree on the division of estates between two nobles, preserved in the Lithuanian Metrica. The document shows that by that time Liubeshiv was already a notable settlement, so it is older than this date. In 2009, the settlement solemnly celebrated its 525th anniversary.

The Piarists and Capuchins

Two Catholic monasteries operated in Liubeshiv. The former cells of the Piarist monastery from 1684 are now the building of the monastery school where Tadeusz Kościuszko studied, who later became a hero of the struggle for independence of Poland and the USA. A memorial plaque from the 1920s commemorates this. Also preserved are the church and cells of the Capuchin monastery from the 18th century and the entrance gate of the estate.

Entrance gate of the 18th-century estate
Entrance gate of the 18th-century estate. Photo: Serhii Naumuk, CC BY-SA 3.0

Stokhid

Liubeshiv is the center of the National Nature Park “Prypiat–Stokhid.” Here, the Stokhid River breaks into many branches among meadows and swamps, making the settlement a popular starting point for kayaking trips and birdwatching. Around it are pine forests with blueberries and mushrooms.

Liubeshiv on Video

When to Visit

The best time is from May to September: in spring there are floods and birds, in summer kayaking trips, and in autumn mushrooms. Bring insect repellent.

Practical Tips

Liubeshiv has shops, cafes, and green tourism estates. For kayaking on the Stokhid, arrange kayak rentals in advance and take a map with you — it is easy to get lost among the branches. Roads to the nearby villages are partly unpaved.

Nearby

Prypiat–Stokhid National Park, Kamin-Kashyrskyi, Manevychi with the Okonski Springs. More in the article Kamin-Kashyrskyi Raion.

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How to Get There

Highway R14 passes through Liubeshiv. The nearest railway stations are Manevychi and Kamin-Kashyrskyi, 50–60 km away. Buses run from Lutsk.