Sosnove is an urban-type settlement on the left bank of the Sluch River, the center of the Sosnove hromada in Rivne Raion, 25 kilometers from Berezne. About two thousand people live here. Until 1946, the settlement was called Ludvypil. It received its new name from the pine forests surrounding it, and the most beautiful place nearby is the granite cliffs over the Sluch, which are called Sokolyni Hory.

Ludvypil of the Biezynski Family

The settlement was founded in the second half of the 18th century by Onufrii Biezynski. His father Feliks received the neighboring Selyshcha from the Potocki family, where back in 1720 the center of the estate was moved from Hubków, which had been destroyed by the Swedes and devastated by typhus. The name Ludvypil was given in honor of Onufrii's wife, Ludwika née Poninska.

Ludvypil stood on trade routes from Korets to Berezne, Stepan and Pinsk. A cloth manufactory, a paper mill, and a distillery operated here, and timber was floated from the wharf on the Sluch: in 1850 alone, 89 rafts with goods were dispatched. The town held three fairs a year and weekly markets.

The 20th Century

Between the wars, Ludvypil belonged to Poland and was the center of a gmina. During the occupation, more than 1,300 residents of the district were shot here, and the Jewish community was destroyed. On March 28, 1943, a major battle took place near Ludvypil between the UPA and German punitive detachments numbering over fifteen hundred men. The insurgents repelled four attacks and held the town. In 1946, it was renamed Sosnove.

Sokolyni Hory

On both sides of the Sluch near Sosnove lies the Sokolyni Hory landscape reserve with an area of 510 hectares, part of the Nadsluchanskyi Regional Landscape Park. Here, granite cliffs up to 25 meters high are covered with forest or sparse trees. Among the rare plants are the yellow azalea, feather grass, and *Silene lithuanica*. This is one of the most picturesque places in Rivne Polissia.

Sosnove on Video

Nearby

Berezne is half an hour to the west. More can be found in the article Rivne Raion.

How to Get There

Buses run to Sosnove from Berezne and Rivne. The nearest railway stations are Mokvyn and Malynsk.