Boryspil (, ) is a city and the administrative center of
Boryspil Raion in
Kyiv Oblast
Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...
(
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
) in northern and central
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 ...
. It hosts the administration of
Boryspil 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.
The population was estimated as
Name
Official sources state that the city is named after Prince Boris, of
Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb (), respective Christian names Roman () and David (), were the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus' after its Christianization. Their feast day is observed on July 24 (August 6 Gregorian calendar).
History
According to the tw ...
, two sons of
Vladimir the Great
Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...
, who were both murdered during the internecine wars of 1015–1019. According to
Petro Tronko in his
History of cities and villages in Ukrainian SSR, the locality where Boryspil is located was named as "Borysove pole" (Borys's field) when in 1015 a son of Vladimir the Great Borys returning from another raid against
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...
died from hands of hired assassins. Others state that the name of the city is of the Greek origin; it consists of two parts ''Borys'' from
Borysthenes (the Greek name for
Dnieper
The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...
) and ''Pil'' from
Polis
Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...
(the Ukrainized version of the Greek word). The city also has a sister city, Hopkins, Minnesota, US.
History
The settlement is first mentioned in 1015 in connection with the internecine wars of 1015–1019,
and later, in the 12th century, as part of the
Kyivan Rus (
Ruthenia
''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...
). Sometime after the
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, most of the Ruthenian territory belonged to the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
. The site of the settlement belonged to the King's translator Soltan Albiyevich who in 1508 sold it to the Kyiv Saint Nicholas Hermitage. It is believed that it was then when the settlement received its modern name.
After the
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...
, the southern regions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were passed over to the Polish Crown and in 1590 on decision of the
Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The General Sejm (, ) was the bicameral legislature of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569 following the merger of the legislatures of the two states, the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the ...
, the settlement was given to Wojtech Czonowicki, a senior of the
Registered Cossacks
Registered Cossacks (, ) comprised special Cossack units of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth army in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Registered Cossacks became a military formation of the Commonwealth army beginning in 1572 soon after the ...
, who later participated in the
Kosiński uprising. In 1596 the Polish 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 ...
transformed the town into a royal estate and there was formed the Boryspol starostwo. Later the same year it was granted 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 ...
(or possibly
Lübeck law
The Lübeck law () was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present-day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of municipal law in medieval and e ...
) and in the town was built a
ratusz. The Boryspil town's coat of arms contained an image of Saint Stanislav (see
Stanislaus of Szczepanów
Stanislaus of Szczepanów (; 26 July 1030 – 11 April 1079) was a Polish Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kraków and was martyred by the Polish King Bolesław II the Bold. He is the patron saint of Poland.
Stanislaus is vener ...
). With extinguishing the
Nalyvaiko Uprising
The Nalyvaiko Uprising (, ) was a Cossack rebellion against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Headed by Severyn Nalyvaiko, it lasted from 1594 to 1596. The second in a series of Cossack uprisings, the conflict was ultimately won by the Crown ...
, the Boryspil starostwo was passed to
Stanisław Żółkiewski
Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish people, Polish szlachta, nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor (Poland), Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian C ...
and stayed as the Żółkiewski's family estate until the 1648
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
.
On 14 January 1752 the
Hetman of Little Russia Kyrylo Rozumovsky has given the town in eternal possession to his brother-in-law Kyiv Colonel
Yukhym Darahan.
On 2 June 1920 at the
Battle of Boryspil Polish-Ukrainian Army defeated the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
.
Later in 1920 in the town was established the
Soviet regime. There were created four
collective farms (
kolhoz): "Shevchenko Memorial", "Kirov Memorial", "
Sickle and Mallet", "Victory".
The town suffered greatly during the Soviet organized
Holodomor
The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...
when between 1 January 1933 to 1 January 1934 only by official data perished 5,739 among which 266 were infants (less than a year old).
During
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 ...
, Boryspil was occupied by the
German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
from
September 23, 1941 to September 23, 1943. Fierce battles were fought around the city during its capture and liberation. During the Nazi occupation, the airfield of the modern
Boryspil International Airport
The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...
was used as a camp for
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
.
In 1956 Boryspil was officially granted the
city status
City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, ci ...
. Currently the city is home to the country's main and biggest airport,
Boryspil International Airport
The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...
(international code KBP) and some minor industry.
Prior to the country-wide administrative reform of 17 July 2020, Boryspil was incorporated as a
city of oblast significance, and was not part of
Boryspil Raion, even though the
administrative centre
An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgi ...
of the raion was located there.
Geography
Climate
Infrastructure
Aerosvit Airlines had its head office on the grounds of
Boryspil International Airport
The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...
.
Around the city detours the main European route , particularly the
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
–
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine. highway (part of the national route). Along between
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and
Boryspil International Airport
The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...
stretches a modernized motorway.
In the city also starts another national highway which connects Boryspil with
Zaporizhzhia
Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...
.
Sports
It also hosts
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system.
Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...
team
Arsenal Kyiv at the
Kolos Stadium.
Press
* "Trudova Slava" newspaper (since 1930)
"Visti" newspaper(since 2000)
Notable people
People born in Boryspil
*
Pavlo Chubynsky (1839–1884), author of the
Ukrainian National Anthem
*
Vitalii Sediuk (b.1988), prankster and former television reporter
*
Okhrim Sudomora (1889-1968), graphic and poster artist, illustrator of Ukrainian literary and children's books
Gallery
File:Boryspil entrance.jpg, Entrance to Boryspil from Kyiv-Boryspil motorway
File:Downtown Boryspil.jpg, A street intersection in downtown Boryspil
File:Apartment block Boryspil.jpg, A multi-storey apartment block
File:BoryspilAirport1.JPG, Boryspil Airport
File:Terminal F KBP.JPG, Boryspil Airport, Terminal F
File:Boryspil church.jpg, Saints Boris and Gleb Church
File:Книшовий меморіальний парковий комплекс Бориспіль.JPG, Memorial park complex
File:Будівля колишньої школи Бориспіль.JPG, Old school building
See also
*
Battle of Boryspil (1920)
References
External links
"Visti" newspaper website
{{Authority control
Cities in Kyiv Oblast
Pereyaslavsky Uyezd
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Kyiv metropolitan area