Kaniv (, ) is a city in

Cherkasy Raion Cherkasy Raion () is a Raions of Ukraine, raion (district) of Cherkasy Oblast. It is located in the central part of Cherkasy oblast, and the center of the raion is the city of Cherkasy. The population is On 18 July 2020, as part of the administr ...

, Cherkasy Oblast, 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 ...

. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It is an urban

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 ...

of Ukraine. Population: Kaniv is a historical town that was founded in the 11th century by Kievan prince Yaroslav the Wise. The city is known today mostly for the burial site of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

, the great Ukrainian poet and artist. Picturesque and ancient, Kaniv was once one of the largest cities of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

. At that time, it was an outpost used for diplomatic meetings between Ruthenian princes and ambassadors of militant tribes. Later, in the 18th century, it became a popular destination for elderly

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

, who wanted to live out their days on the banks of the great Dnieper River, and on the Chernecha Mountain, where, according to legend, a monastery stood in the past. The mountain remains one of Kaniv's most important places, attracting thousands of tourists to the city. Today it is most famous as a burial place of the celebrated Ukrainian poet and painter

, who is considered a founder of modern Ukrainian literature, which is located on Taras Hill overlooking the Dnieper. The Kaniv reserve is the oldest historical and cultural reserve in Ukraine. Industry in the city includes Kaniv hydroelectric power plant located on the Kaniv Reservoir on the Dnieper, fruit and vegetable, condiments factory, large milk and cheese factory, poultry processing.

History

The city's date of establishment is unknown. It was first mentioned in the Paterikon of Caves Monastery in

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, ...

of the 11th century where it is mentioned about relocation of icon painters from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

during rule of Vsevolod of Kyiv. The first mentioning of Kaniv in chronicles is dated 9 June 1144 when the Grand Prince of Kyiv Vsevolod II founded the St. George's Cathedral (later known as the Dormition Cathedral). In chronicles it is also mentioned that in 1149 the Grand Prince of Kyiv George the Long-Armed after conquering Kyiv appointed his son Gleb as a prince in Kaniv. The city was also mentioned later in chronicles often in relation to raids onto Cumans. Among the killed Ruthenian princes at the 1223 battle at Kalka River, there was mentioned Prince Svyatoslav of Kaniv. Archaeological excavations indicated that earlier Slavic settlement already existed near Kaniv before the 10th century. Also, some documents indicate the existence of the Holy Dormition Kaniv monastery in the 11th century.Shevchenko National Reserve (Шевченківський національний заповідник )
Shevchenko National Reserve website. There is no definite information on the source and meaning of the city's name; supposedly its name is derived from the personal nickname Kanya ('buzzard'). in his Toponymic dictionary of Ukraine says that the name is derived from Turkish word meaning the place of khan. There are other hypotheses on the city's name. From mid-12th century Kaniv became a big city and played prominent role in the

(Ruthenian state) where it was a center of an apanage principality within the principality of Kyiv. Until the 13th century, the central part of Kaniv was so called "Hellenic town" located at the Moskovka Mountain. According to popular historical sources, in 1239 the city was conquered and razed by the Mongols.Vermenych, Ya., Bon, O
Kaniv (КАНІВ)
''Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine'' (2007). Kaniv has been mentioned in the report of Giovanni da Pian del Carpine after his 1245 travel to the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

. In the report, the city is mentioned as a Tatar post. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

it was located on the Road from Varangians to Greeks. Initially part of Kievan Rus', in 1362 it was annexed by 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, ...

. In the 14th century, Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great built in Kaniv a castle that existed until 1768. In 1431, it became part of the Lithuanian Kyiv Voivodeship. It was sacked by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

in 1458. In 1569, Kaniv came under the rule of

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 it was also one of the centers of Cossack culture and military life. In 1600, it received 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 ...

, but the city's prosperity was halted by successive plagues, fires, and Cossack unrest. Kaniów was a royal city of the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown. During The Deluge the town was captured by the forces of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in 1648. In 1648-78, the city was the center of the Kaniv Regiment, Cossack formation of which was established long before the

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 ...

as part of the Polish registered Cossacks formations. In 1662, the Right-Bank forces of Yuri Khmelnytsky, supported by Polish and Crimean Tatar troops, were defeated in the battle of Kaniv (1662) by the Russian forces of Grigory Romodanovsky and the Left-Bank Cossacks of Yakym Somko. In 1678, the Kaniv regiment was overran by Turks and its administration was transferred to

Bohuslav Bohuslav (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Ros (river), Ros River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Bohuslav urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 17,135 (2001). It is ...

. In 1768, it was captured by one of the leaders of the

Koliyivschyna The Koliivshchyna (; ) was a major haidamaky rebellion that broke out in Right-bank Ukraine in June 1768, caused by the dissatisfaction of peasants with the treatment of Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation and serfd ...

Maksym Zalizniak Maksym Zalizniak (), (born early 1740s in Medvedivka near Chyhyryn - date and place of death unknown, after 1768) was a Ukrainian Cossack and leader of the Koliivshchyna rebellion. History Zalizniak was born in a poor peasant family of Ort ...

. As an effect of a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

, most of the local

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

and

Jews 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 ...

were killed. In 1775 Kaniv became a personal property of the King of Poland

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

who, in 1777, gave it away to his nephew S.Poniatowski. In 1787, Kaniv was visited by

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

. She met there with Polish king

. Following the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of partitions of Poland, three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition (politics), partition occurred i ...

in 1793 the town with large parts of other territories came under the control of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In 1800, Poniatowski sold bigger portion of the city to archimandrite of the Kaniv Monastery of Saint Basil the Great B.Fizikiewicz who in his turn bequeathed his property to the local school of the Order of Saint Basil the Great. During the later stages of the Great War, on 11 May 1918, the town was the seat of the

Battle of Kaniów A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, in which the forces of the 2nd Polish Corps and the Polish Legions under Józef Haller de Hallenburg failed to break through the Austro-German lines to the Russian side. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, Kaniv was a site of an unsuccessful drop of Soviet

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

s. In 1978, Oleksa Hirnyk burned himself to death, on a hill near Shevchenko's tomb in protest of Russification. In 2007, he was honored as a Hero of Ukraine. Rebuilt in 1966–70, since 1972 the Dormition Cathedral building was housing the newly established Kaniv folk art museum. After

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the church was passed to the Easter Orthodox community of Moscow Patriarchate, while the museum was relocated to another former religious building that used to belong to the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil the Great. Until 18 July 2020, Kaniv was designated as a city of oblast significance and did not belong to Kaniv Raion even though it was the center of the raion. As part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Cherkasy Oblast to four, the city was merged into Cherkasy Raion.

Population

Language

Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:

Administrative status

Kaniv is 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 Kaniv Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

). However, the city is a city of oblast subordinance, thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the raion administration housed within the city itself.

Landmarks and monuments

* Taras Hill — burial site of Ukrainian poet and artist

* Grave and museum of

* Monument to Oleg Koshevoy, a hero of the Soviet Union * Museum of Arkady Gaidar * Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPS) * Second World War Memorial Park; * Monument to St. Makariy of Kaniv; * Alley of Glory (Park Slavy);

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kaniv is twinned with:

Gallery

File:Plersch Night illumination of Kaniów.jpg, The "1787 fireworks in honor of Catherine II" by Jan Bogumi Plersz File:Plersch-Odjazd Katarzyny II z Kaniowa w 1787 roku.jpg, ''Catherine II leaving Kaniv in 1787'', Jan Bogumił Plersch. File:View from Taras Hill.jpg, The 19th century postcard reads in Russian "Our Ukraine. View from the Shevchenko's grave" File:Канівський природний заповідник. Краєвид з Чернечої гори.jpg, Dnieper River in Kaniv File:Kaniv Basilian school.JPG, Kaniv folk art museum (formerly school of the Order of Saint Basil the Great) File:Канів Шевченківський національний заповідник Канівський музей Тараса Шевченка 1.jpg, Taras Shevchenko museum

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * (1972) ''Історіа міст і сіл Української CCP - Черкаська область (History of Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR - Cherkasy Oblast)'', Kyiv.
Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi
in th
Encyclopedia of Ukraine

External links

* Volodymyr Kubijovyč
Kaniv
in th
Encyclopedia of Ukraine

JewUa.org
- History of Jewish community in Kaniv {{Authority control Cities in Cherkasy Oblast Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Populated places on the Dnieper in Ukraine