Sniatyn (, ; ; , older ; ) is a city located in

Kolomyia Raion Kolomyia Raion () is a raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (region). The administrative center of the raion is the city of Kolomyia. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Iva ...

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

, in western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

along the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

river, in the historic region of Pokutia. Sniatyn hosts the administration of Sniatyn urban hromada, one of the

hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...

s of Ukraine. Population: In 2001, population was around 10,500. In the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

period, it was a rail border crossing between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

History

The first mention of the town is in 1158. Ksniatyn was named after Kostiantyn Stroslavich, a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

and general of

Yaroslav Osmomysl Yaroslav Osmomysl (, ''Osmomyslŭ Jaroslavŭ''; , ''Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Osmomysl'') ( – 1 October 1187) was a knyaz of Halych (now in western Ukraine). He is best-known for appearing in ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign''. His sobriquet, meani ...

—a prince of medieval Halych Principality. From 1416 comes the first mention of an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

in Śniatyn. The town was given the

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...

in 1448. In 1628, an Armenian commune was established by King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

, one of several such communes in Poland. As a result of the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

, Sniatyn (and Galicia) was attributed to the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Śniatyn was part of reborn independent Poland, within which it was a county seat in the

Stanisławów Voivodeship Stanisławów Voivodeship () was an administrative district of the interwar Poland (1920–1939). It was established in December 1920 with an administrative center in Stanisławów. The voivodeship had an area of 16,900 km2 and comprised twe ...

. In 1939, Śniatyn was the temporary seat of American embassy in Poland, as the diplomatic personnel abandoned Warsaw after the first German Nazi bombings at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In mid-September 1939, the Polish

gold reserve A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...

was evacuated from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and stored by the Polish government in Śniatyn, before it was eventually further evacuated via

to the territory of Polish-allied France. Afterwards, the town was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941, then by Germany until 1944, and re-occupied by the Soviet Union, which annexed it from Poland in 1945. Nearly all of Sniatyn's

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

population was murdered during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Many were shot and buried in the local forest. Some died from disease and starvation in the

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

. Approximately 1,500 people were sent to Belzec. Until 18 July 2020, Sniatyn was the administrative center of Sniatyn Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast to six. The area of Sniatyn Raion was merged into Kolomyia Raion.

Notable residents

* Mariia Karpiuk (1900–1978), is a Ukrainian painter who interned at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

Gallery

File:Sniatyn Szewczenka 143 145 147 149 DSC 5253 26-252-0040.JPG, Shevchenko Street File:Sniatyn Zabytki 08.jpg, Church of Ascension File:Sniatyn Zabytki 07.jpg, Roman Catholic Church File:Снятин - вул. Шухевича-1.jpg, Church of Archangel Michael's Miracle at Colassai

References

External links

SNYATYN, (SNIATYN): A Jewish shtetl from the mid 16th century through the mid 1940s

{{Authority control Cities in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine Populated places on the Prut Magdeburg rights Cities of district significance in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine