Гаївковий фольклор Західної України: від етнографічних досліджень Франтішека Ржегоржа до сучасного побутування

The article analyzes the existence of haivka folklore in Western Ukraine, particularly in Galicia, from the middle of the 19th century and up to today. Some of the first researchers of Ukrainian folklore were Czechs. In particular, Karel‑Frantishek‑Vladislav Zap (1812‑1871) – ethnographer, historian, publicist, educator, who during his work in Lviv in the period of 1836‑1845 studied the ethnography of Galicia, the work of Ukrainian writers, etc., as well as František Řehoř (1857‑1899) – a famous Czech academic, ethnographer, researcher into Galician antiquities, the folk life of Ukrainians in the region, and the person most involved in the study, collection, and popularization of Ukrainian haivka folklore in Europe. He is justly called the authoritative ambassador of Ukrainians in the Czech Republic, “a man with a heart of gold” “a great friend of Ukraine” who at the end of the 19th century, established close Ukrainian‑Czech cultural relations, leaving a legacy not only of ethnographic works, but also a documented haivka layer of folklore in photographs. The authors proposed historiography of haivka folklore studies in Galicia, has singled out the achievements of Polish, Czech, Ukrainian academics (mid‑19th – early 21st centuries). Analyzed have been the peculiarities of the existence of haivka folklore in the early twentieth century, its distribution and study in Ukrainian institutions of the Ukrainian Pedagogic Association «Ridna shkola», the creation of new works of patriotic sound on the example of the haivka “Verbova”, as well as emphasizing the negative impact of the Soviet totalitarian regime on the existence of spring‑calendar folklore and the peculiarities of present‑day haivka folklore in development, its importance for civic‑patriotic education, with the formation of spirituality and the fostering of Christian values amongst children, youth and adults.