Vyshhorod (, ; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

, situated immediately north of the capital

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 part of the

Kyiv metropolitan area The Kyiv metropolitan area () is an unofficially designated urban agglomeration within the outer boundary of Kyiv Oblast in Ukraine. It consists of the country's capital city of Kyiv (an enclave within the oblast), its satellite settlements and ...

. It is on the right (western) bank of the

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 ...

river and, as the location of the

Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant () is a run-of-river power plant on the Dnieper River in Vyshhorod, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. The long dam creates the Kyiv Reservoir with the purpose of hydroelectric power generation and navigability with the da ...

, the northern part of the city is beside the

Kyiv Reservoir The Kyiv Reservoir (), locally the Kyiv Sea (), is a large Reservoir (water), water reservoir located on the Dnipro River in Ukraine. Named after the city of Kyiv, which lies to the south, it covers an area of within the Kyiv Oblast. The reserv ...

. It is the administrative center of

Vyshhorod Raion Vyshhorod Raion () is a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Vyshhorod. It has a population of On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Kyiv Oblast w ...

and hosts the administration of

Vyshhorod urban hromada Vyshhorod urban hromada () is a hromada of Ukraine, located in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast. Its administrative center is the city Vyshhorod. It has an area of and a population of 33,276, as of 2020. The hromada contains 3 settlements: 1 city ( ...

, 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. First mentioned in the 10th century, Vyshhorod is now a notable industrial center and a growing

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for Kyiv. Its population is approximately

Geography

Vyshhorod is located on a hilly right bank of the

river adjoining the dam of the

History

The earliest historical mention of ''Vyshhorod'' (the name translates as " the town upstream") dates from as early as 946 when it was described as the favourite residence of

Saint Olga Olga (; ; – 11 July 969) was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 957. Following her baptism, Olga took the name Elenа. She is known for her subjugation of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor. E ...

. Also mentioned in ''

De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...

'', Vyshhorod served as the fortified castle and residence of the monarchs 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 ...

on the Dnieper from that time until 1240, when the Mongols sacked it. At Vyshhorod

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 ...

(reigned 980 to 1015) kept a

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

of 300 concubines. 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 ...

, the location does not appear in the records again until 1523 – and even then it was documented as a poor village. In 1934-37 and 1947, the archaeological remnants of the medieval town were excavated. The most striking find was the basement of the eight-pillared Church of St. Basil, founded by Vladimir the Great and named after his patron saint. As the church was one of the largest in Kievan Rus', it took twenty years to complete it. Before the Mongol invasion, the church housed the relics of the first East Slavic saints,

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 ...

, but their subsequent fate remains a mystery. The ancient Cossack military monastery, the

Mezhyhirskyi Monastery __NOTOC__ The Mezhyhirya Savior-Transfiguration Monastery () was an Eastern Orthodox female monastery that was located in the neighborhood of Mezhyhiria outside of the Vyshhorod city limits. The monastery was located just to the north of Vysh ...

, stood not too far away from the city. Vyshhorod grew considerably following the construction of the hydroelectric Kyiv power plant and was incorporated as a town in 1968.

Industry

Vyshhorod has more than 1,500 enterprises and companies, the most important being the

, the Kyiv Pumped Storage Power Plant (both operated by

Ukrhydroenergo Private JSC «Ukrhydroenergo» () is a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise that administers hydro power plants along the Dnieper and Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and the ...

) and a

building materials Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from natur ...

factory owned by German firm

Henkel Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Founded in 1876, the DAX company is organized into two globally operating business units (Cons ...

Transportation

Vyshhorod is connected to Kyiv and other localities mainly by roads. There is also a non-electrified

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

rail connection to Kyiv used for both freight transport and

peak hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

commuter passenger service. The city's river port facilities are used for local industrial purposes only. Jitney buses run between Vyshhorod and the Heroiv Dnipra station of the

Kyiv Metro The Kyiv Metro (, ) is a rapid transit system in Kyiv, Ukraine, owned by the Kyiv City Council and operated by the city-owned company Kyivskyi Metropoliten''.'' It was initially opened on 6 November 1960, as a single line with five stations. I ...

's Obolonsko–Teremkivska line.

Sports

In 2011, Vyshhorod was the first Ukrainian city to host the

F1 Powerboat World Championship The Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship (also F1) is an international motorboat racing competition for powerboats organised by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) and promoted by H2O Racing, hence it often being referred to as F1H2O. ...

motorboat race.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vyshhorod is twinned with: *

Delčevo Delčevo ( ) is a small town in the eastern mountainous part of North Macedonia. It is the municipal seat of Delčevo Municipality. The town is named after the revolutionary leader Goce Delčev. History Delčevo, according to a legend in ...

, North Macedonia *

Eichenau Eichenau () is a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, in Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 km west of Munich (centre). Eichenau was officially named in 1907 as a separate settlement to the community of Alling. Its location is due ...

, Germany *

Kaniv Kaniv (, ) is a city in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It is an urban hromada of Ukraine. Population: Kaniv is a historical tow ...

, Ukraine *

Lörrach Lörrach () is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the district seat of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, inclu ...

, Germany *

Rakvere Rakvere is the administrative center, or county seat, of Lääne-Viru County in northern Estonia, about 100 km southeast of Tallinn and 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Rakvere boasts a distinctive architectural feature: th ...

, Estonia *

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

, France * Wyszków, Poland

References

External links

Unofficial page

Vyshhorod photo gallery
{{Coord, 50, 35, N, 30, 30, E, type:city_region:UA, display=title Cities in Kyiv Oblast History of Kievan Rus' 946 establishments Cities of district significance in Ukraine Populated places on the Dnieper in Ukraine