Busk (, ; ) is a city located in

Zolochiv Raion Zolochiv Raion () is a raion (district) in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Zolochiv. Population: It was established in 1939. On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the numbe ...

Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. The capital city, capital of the oblast is the city of Lviv. The current population is History Name The region is named ...

(

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 ...

) of 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 ...

. It hosts the administration of

Busk urban hromada Busk urban hromada () is a hromada in Ukraine, in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast. The administrative center is the city of Busk. Settlements The hromada consists of 1 city ( Busk), 1 rural settlement (Olesko Olesko (; ) is a Populated places ...

, 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: Until 18 July 2020 it was the

administrative center 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 Belgiu ...

of the

Busk Raion Busk Raion () was a raion (district) in Lviv Oblast (region) in western Ukraine. It was established in 1966. Its administrative center was the town of Busk. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, ...

, now disestablished. Busk was the birthplace of

Yevhen Petrushevych Yevhen Omelianovych Petrushevych (; 3 June 1863 – 29 August 1940) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian lawyer, politician, and President (government title), president of the West Ukrainian People's Republic formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hung ...

, the president of the

West Ukrainian National Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (; see other names) was a short-lived state that controlled most of Eastern Galicia from November 1918 to July 1919. It included major cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Kolomyia, Drohobych, Boryslav, Stanyslav ...

History

Busk has a long history. First mentioned in 1097 in

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

as Bug City () in the context of the dispute between Rus' princes for border area between

Principality of Halych The Principality of Galicia (; ), also known as Principality of Halych or Principality of Halychian Rus, was a medieval East Slavs, East Slavic principality, and one of the main regional states within the political scope of Kievan Rus', establi ...

and Volhynian principality. Bug City was named due to its location near

Western Bug The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia Siemowit IV (Ziemowit IV), also known as Siemowit IV the Younger (pl: ''Siemowit IV Młodszy''; ca. 1353/1356 – 21 January 1426), was a Polish prince, member of the Dukes of Masovia, Masovian branch of the House of Piast and from 1373 or 137 ...

. In the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, it belonged to the

Belz Voivodeship Bełz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland from 1462 to the Partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. Together with the Ruthenian Voivodeship it was part of Red Ruthenia, Lesser Poland ...

in the Lesser Poland Province, and was the seat of a separate administrative unit, the Land of Busk. The town remained part of Poland until 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 ...

(1772), when it was seized by the

Habsburg Empire 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 ...

, and remained in

Austrian Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. The crown land was established ...

until 1918. In 1913, the population of Busk was 8,000, including 3,500 Poles, 2,700 Jews and 1,800 Ukrainians. In the interwar period, Busk belonged to Kamionka Buska County,

Tarnopol Voivodeship Tarnopol Voivodeship (; ) was an administrative region of Second Polish Republic, interwar Poland (1918–1939), created on 23 December 1920, with an area of 16,500 km2 and provincial capital in Tarnopol (now ''Ternopil'', Ukraine). The Voi ...

, until

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

(September 1939). Busk had a very active Jewish community before World War II. The first synagogue was built in 1502.''Porteur de mémoires'', Père

Patrick Desbois Patrick Desbois (born 1955, in Chalon-sur-Saône) is a French people, French Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest, former head of the Commission for Relations with Judaism of the French Bishops' Conference and consultant to the Holy See, ...

Flammarion Flammarion may refer to: * Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), French astronomer and author * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer, second wife of Camille Flammarion * Sylvie Flammarion (1836-1919), French feminist and paci ...

2007 The old Jewish cemetery was renowned. On July 1, 1941, German forces occupied Busk. The Jewish population was transferred to a

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 ...

then murdered on May 21, 1943. 1500 Jews perished during this operation. A witness recalled of the executions of the Jews, "All middle-aged Jews were gathered to work. Then, they were taken to the execution site...while others dug the pits." From May to November 1943, the Germans operated a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

camp for Jews in the town. Raisel Meltzak, a Jewish child from Busk, was among the first Holocaust survivors to have her testimony recorded when she was interviewed by

David P. Boder David Pablo Boder (9 November 1886 – 18 December 1961) was a Latvian-American professor of psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology who traveled in 1946 to Europe to record interviews with Holocaust survivors. During that trip, he coll ...

at a home for displaced Jewish orphans in France on September 8, 1946. Until 18 July 2020, Busk was the administrative center of

. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Lviv Oblast to seven. The area of Busk Raion was merged into Zolochiv Raion.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Busk is twinned with * POL Ropczyce COA

Ropczyce Ropczyce () is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland, situated in the valley of the Wielopolka River (a tributary of the Wisłoka River). The town has a population of 15,098 (). and is the seat of Ropczyce-Sędziszów ...

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 ...

Notable people

Alice Habsburg Alice Habsburg, Princess of Altenburg (; 18 December 1889 – 26 November 1985) was a Swedish-born aristocrat and member of the Polish Home Army during World War II. Early life and first marriage Born in Hölö, Sweden as Alice Elisabeth Ankarcro ...

Chanoch Dov Padwa Chanoch Dov Padwa (; 17 August 1908 – 16 August 2000) was a rabbinic leader, Orthodox Jewish posek and Talmudist. Early years Chanoch Dov Padwa was born on 17 August 1908 (20 Av 5668 in the Hebrew calendar) in Busk, a small town in Galici ...

Moritz Szeps Moritz Szeps (5 November 1835, Busk – 9 August 1902, Vienna) was an Austrian newspaper tycoon who founded and published the daily papers ''Neues Wiener Tagblatt'' (1867-1886), ''Wiener Tagblatt'' (1886-1894), and the first popular-science ma ...

* Joseph Weinreb * Nahman ben Samuel ha-Levi

References

External links

Official Web Page of the Busk District State Administrations of Lviv Oblast

Wayback Machine Archive – Official site of the Busk District State Administration

Site Busk

Busk
(pp. 408) at Miriam Weiner's

Routes to Roots Foundation Miriam Weiner () is an American genealogist, author, and lecturer who specializes in the research of Jewish roots in Poland and the former Soviet Union. Weiner is considered to be one of the pioneers of contemporary Jewish genealogy through her w ...

. {{Authority control Cities in Lviv Oblast Cities of district significance in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine