Service 02 · $290 a day · $490 the whole cemetery
A whole day in your village, spent on your family.
Photographs of a grave are the smallest part of it. A day in the village means the cemetery read stone by stone, the house or the place where it stood, the street walked end to end, and the people who still live there asked what they remember. You receive all of it, and you decide what comes next.
What the day includes
One working day on the ground in western Ukraine, recorded so that you can see everything that was seen.
- Every headstone bearing your family's names, photographed front-on and at an angle in daylight
- The inscriptions transcribed and translated, and the GPS position of each grave
- Both cemeteries where a village has two — Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic — at no extra cost
- The house, or the place where it stood: from the road, from the yard and from behind, with neighbouring buildings, old trees and foundations
- The street walked end to end in one continuous recording, with commentary spoken aloud — not a video out of a car window
- The church, the gate, the general views of the village, and conversations with neighbours and at the village council
- A written report, and every original file without watermarks
How it is done
- First the village is confirmed
- We do not drive to a village that has not been identified. If you are not certain which place it is, say so in your request — we tell you in the free assessment whether it is clear enough, or whether a records check should come first.
- Then the day is booked
- Once payment arrives, the day goes into the calendar and, where it helps, the village council is written to in advance, so that someone who knows the cemetery and the old families is there when we arrive.
- Then the whole cemetery, not a glance at it
- Village cemeteries are rarely mapped and often overgrown. Every stone that could carry your names is checked, including the fallen and half-buried ones, and inscriptions that are nearly gone are photographed so that they can be read at the desk afterwards.
- If you want the entire cemetery recorded
- For $490 the day covers every standing headstone rather than only your family's: each stone photographed front, side and close-up, cleared where needed, all readable inscriptions transcribed into a table, and a numbered plan with the GPS position of every stone. Societies and families researching a whole village ask for this.
Price: $290 a day — and when it is more
- $290 for one working day in one village: its cemeteries, the house, the street and the people
- $490 for a full inventory of the cemetery — every stone, a table of inscriptions and a numbered GPS plan
- Villages in the Ternopil, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions; further afield, ask first
- An edited, narrated film of the day is available on request and quoted separately, before the day
Paid in advance, in full — the day is booked into the calendar once the payment arrives, and the invoice comes by email with the payment details on it. If we find nothing of your family in the village — not one stone, not the house — half comes back to you, and the photographs and the report stay yours.
See what a report looks like
A real report from two days in the archive, exactly as the client received it. Only the family's names, the client, house addresses and archive references are hidden.
This is right for you if
- You know the village and want to see what is there today, with your own eyes, through ours
- You are looking for a family grave and nobody nearby can go and look
- You want the house or the land your family left found and photographed properly
- You cannot travel, or want to know what you would be travelling to
It is not right if
- You do not know which village it is — start with the free assessment or a records check
- The village lies east or south of the regions we work in — we will not send anyone there, at any price
Questions about the village day
How much does it cost to have my family's graves in Ukraine photographed?
$290 for a full working day in the village: every headstone with your family's names photographed and read, the GPS of each grave, both cemeteries if there are two, plus the house, the street and the neighbours. $490 if you want every stone in the cemetery recorded. If nothing of your family is found, half of the $290 comes back.
When is the best time of year for the cemetery?
Late October and November, after the first frosts, when the undergrowth dies back and twice as many stones are visible as in August. The house and the street look the same in any month, so if the cemetery is not the main thing, the day does not need to wait.
What if the grave is gone?
Then you receive the cemetery as it is, the church, the house or its site, and a plain written statement that the stone is not there — and if nothing of your family is found at all, half the fee back. Stones were removed, reused and buried in the twentieth century; knowing that for certain is still worth having.
Can you also film it?
Yes. The street is always recorded as one continuous walk. An edited film of the day with narration can be added — tell us in your request and it is quoted in writing before the day.
Can you take care of the grave afterwards?
Yes — once the grave is found, it can be kept: tidied twice a year, with flowers on Provody and photographs after each visit. That is the grave care service, $240 a year.
The rest of the ladder
You can start anywhere on it, and stop after any step.
The village is still there. Someone should go and look properly.
Tell us the village and the family name. We reply in writing within two business days with whether the day makes sense, and when is the best time for it.