Vylkove — the town on the water
A town without streets in the Danube delta: canals, boats and Old Believer churches.
The first written mention dates to 1746; until 1775 the settlement was called Lypovanske and was founded by Old Believer Lipovans on land under Ottoman rule. Instead of streets the town has canals, and the main transport is the boat, which is why Vylkove is called the Ukrainian Venice. The Old Believer churches of the Nativity of the Virgin (1881) and St Nicholas (1913) survive. All around lies the Danube Biosphere Reserve, created by presidential decree on 10 August 1998 and the same year admitted to the UNESCO network of biosphere reserves; a popular boat route leads to Kilometre Zero, where the Danube meets the sea.
The town lies in the five-kilometre border strip: outside its limits you need a State Border Guard permit — bring your passport. The reserve is zoned; boat tours through local operators. The Kiliia community suffers drone strikes and has few proper shelters.