Zdolbuniv (, ; ) is a small

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 ...

in the Rivne Raion of

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast (), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of the region is . Its population is: Before its annexation by the ...

(

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

) 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 has an important

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and cement plant (there is a deposit of chalk). Population:

History

The town was mentioned in 1497 in the deed, in which the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n Grand Duke and future King 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 ...

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon (; ; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1492 and King of Poland from 1501 until his death in 1506. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Alexander was el ...

committed several villages to Prince

Konstanty Ostrogski Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski ( – 10 August 1530) was a Ruthenian prince and magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He later had the title of grand hetman of Lithuania from 11 September 1497 until his death in 1530. Career Ostrogski began ...

. Among the villages mentioned in the deed was ''Dolbunov''. The town has had its present name of Zdolbuniv since 1629. In 1569, following 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 ...

, Zdolbuniv became part of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, where it remained for over 200 years, until the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. In 1793, it was annexed by 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 ...

, and in the interbellum period, it again belonged to

. It was a powiat (country) centre in Wołyń Voivodeship during this period. Zdołbunów, as it was then known, was an important rail hub, located near the Polish-Soviet border. According to the 1921 census, the town had a mixed population, 40.0% Polish, 31.3% Ukrainian, 10.0%

Jewish 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 ...

, 9,0%

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, 8.9%

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

. In September 1939, following the

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 ...

, Zdołbunów was captured by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, where it remained until the

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. Its Jewish minority was murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and in late 1943, Zdołbunów became a shelter for the ethnic Polish population of Volhynia, escaping the Volhynian Genocide. On February 3, 1944, the town was captured by 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 ...

, and eventually annexed from Poland. Prior to the administrative reform of 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 former Zdolbuniv Raion.

Notable people

Zdolbuniv is the birthplace of a contemporary Polish painter Stanislaw Fijalkowski (1922–2020), and singer Teresa Tutinas (born 1943)

Gallery

File:Zdolbuniv Tserkva Kateryny 03 Tserkovna vul. (YDS 7612).JPG, St. Catherine Church File:Kostel zdolbuniv-0344.jpg, St. Peter and Paul church File:3. Пам'ятник Уласу Самчуку; Здолбунів.JPG, House of culture and bust of Ulas Samchuk File:Станція "Здолбунів" вночі - panoramio.jpg, Zdolbuniv railway station File:Zdolbuniv Try Mogyly Voyiniv UNR (ne UPA) 01 Vyly vul. gromads'ke kladovysche (YDS 7589).JPG, Graves of soldiers of Ukrainian People's Republic File:Zdolbuniv Brats'ka Mogyla Voyiniv Pol's'koyi Armiyi 04 Vos'mogo Bereznya vul. gromads'ke kladovysche (YDS 7606).JPG, Memorial and common grave of Polish soldiers File:Zdolbuniv Memorial Voyins'koyi Slavy 01 Mis'kiy Park (YDS 7593).JPG, Memorial of

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 ...

soldiers File:Zdolbuniv Brats'ka Mogyla Voyiniv 01 Vos'mogo Bereznya vul. gromads'ke kladovysche (YDS 7603).JPG, Common grave of

soldiers File:Zdolbuniv.JPG, Zdolbuniv cement factory

References

{{Authority control Cities in Rivne Oblast Cities of district significance in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine