Vyzhnytsia (; ; german: link=no, Wischnitz; pl, Wyżnica; ro, Vijnița; ; ) is a town located in the historical region of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

, on the

Cheremosh River The Cheremosh River (, , ) is a river in western Ukraine, right-bank tributary of the river Prut. Description It is formed by confluence of two upper streams of the river ''Bilyi Cheremosh'' (White Cheremosh) and ''Chornyi Cheremosh'' (Black Ch ...

Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast ( uk, Черніве́цька о́бласть, Chernivetska oblast), also referred to as Chernivechchyna ( uk, Чернівеччина) is an oblast (province) in Western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the regio ...

of western

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. It is the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

Vyzhnytsia Raion Vyzhnytsia Raion ( uk, Вижницький район) is an administrative raion (district) in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast, located in the historical region of Bukovina, in western Ukraine, on the Romanian border. The region has an ar ...

. Vyzhnytsia hosts the administration of

Vyzhnytsia urban hromada Vyzhnytsia (; ; german: link=no, Wischnitz; pl, Wyżnica; ro, Vijnița; ; ) is a town located in the historical region of Bukovina, on the Cheremosh River in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Vyzhnytsia ...

, one of the

hromada A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=terytorialna hromada) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukra ...

s of Ukraine. Population:

History

While the city was probably mentioned as early as 1158, the first unequivocal mention comes in 1501 in a Moldavian chronicle. From 1514 to 1574 the place was occupied by the Turks, after which it belonged to the

Principality of Moldova Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Cent ...

until 1774. From 1774 to 1918 he was part of the Austrian Empire (from 1849 part of the crown land of

Jewish history of the town

In Judaism, the town is known as having been the original center of the Hassidic sect bearing its Yiddish name ( Vizhnitz). The town's Jewish community was decimated in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

and most survivors did not return, but the flourishing Vizhnitz Hassidic community in Israel and the United States continues to keep the name. Until World War I, the town was named Wischnitz and was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Part of Soviet Ukraine

Vyzhnytsa has been a city since 1940.Вижница // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 1. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.218 A local newspaper has been published in the city since February 1945. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Vyzhnytsa was the center of a flourishing Ukrainian-language music scene that was renowned all over the Soviet Union. The local house of culture was renowned for its parties with illegal Western pop music and attracted young people from as far as

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the u ...

Volodymyr Ivasyuk Volodymyr Mykhailovych Ivasyuk or Volodymyr Ivasiuk ( uk, Володи́мир Миха́йлович Івасю́к) (4 March 1949 – 24–27 April 1979) was a Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poet. He is the author and composer of the ...

was named as a regular visitor of these parties. There, he befriended musician Levko Dutkivskiy. Dutkivskiy from there on founded

VIA Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwa ...

Smerichka, with later

Nazariy Yaremchuk Nazariy Nazarovych Yaremchuk ( uk, Назарій Назарович Яремчук) was a Hutsul Ukrainian singer, born in the village of Rivnya, Chernivtsi Oblast. He was posthumously named Hero of Ukraine in August 2021. Until his death in 19 ...

and

Vasyl Zinkevych Vasyl Ivanovych Zinkevych ( uk, Васи́ль Іва́нович Зінке́вич; born 1 May 1945) is a Soviet and Ukrainian singer, actor, dancer and costume designer. Alongside Nazariy Yaremchuk, Sofia Rotaru and Volodymyr Ivasyuk, Zinkevy ...

as lead singers. Smerichka became one of Ukraine's most famous groups at the time, performing at ''

Pesnya goda Pesnya goda (russian: Песня года), meaning Song of the Year, is an annual Russian music gala and former Soviet televised music festival. First held in 1971, it became the main event of the year for Soviet singers and musical groups. Pesn ...

'' twice and winning ''Allo, my ishchem talanty!'' (''Hello, we are looking for talents!'') in 1972, one of the first Soviet television talent shows.

Part of modern Ukraine

In January 1989 the population was 5708 people. In 2011 a

security checkpoint Civilian checkpoints or security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control. Civilian checkpoints have been employed w ...

"Vyzhnytsia" was built here. In January 2013 the population was 4207 people.

Transport

* a railway station of the

Lviv Railways Lviv Railways (abbreviated as LR) ( uk, Львівська залізниця) is a territorial branch company of Ukrzaliznytsia headquartered in Lviv. General description Lviv Railways administers all railroads of Lviv Oblast, Zakarpattia Obl ...

Notable people

* Josef Burg, writer * Gerard Ciołek, architect * Menachem Mendel Hager, first Vizhnitser Rebbe *

, singer *

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

, director *

Dol Dauber Adolf Dauber (known also as Dol, Doli or Dolfi Dauber) (born 27 July 1894 – died 15 September 1950) was a jazz violinist, bandleader, composer and music arranger of Jewish origin, who was active in the first half of the 20th century in Cent ...

, musician *

Meir Just Meir Just (7 July 1908 – 9 April 2010) was the Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Just served as a spiritual leader for the Dutch Jewish community for more than 45 years, until his death in 2010. Just was born on 7 July 1908 in Vizhnit ...

, Dutch rabbi

Gallery

File:Vyzhnytsia Mykhailivska church DSC 5779 73-205-0005.jpg, St Michael's Church File:Vyzhnytsia Petra i Pavla kosciol DSC 5786 73-205-0006.jpg, St Peter and Paul Catholic Church File:Вижниця Дмитрівська церква.jpg, St Demetrius Church File:Вижниця27.jpg, Holy Trinity Church File:Вижниця10.jpg, City Hall File:Вижниця17.jpg, Old city of Vyzhnytsia File:Вижниця6.jpg, Children's art house File:Вижниця9.jpg, Vyzhnytsia cinema

Nearby towns

Kuty Kuty ( ua, Кути translit. ''Kuty'', german: Kutten, pl, Kuty, yi, קיטעוו translit. ''Kitev'', ro, Cuturi) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, on the Cheremosh river, in the Kosiv Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. It is one of the ...

* Kosiv

References

{{Authority control Bukovina Cities in Chernivtsi Oblast Shtetls Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty) Cities of district significance in Ukraine Duchy of Bukovina Holocaust locations in Ukraine