Zhmerynka (, ) 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 ...

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of History Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...

, 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 serves as 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 Zhmerynka Raion within the oblast. Population: It is located in the historic region of

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

Name

There are many propositions as far as the origin of name of Zhmerynka is concerned. One of the ideas is that it may be derived from the Polish words, describing the handshake.

History

Initially there were two neighbouring villages named ''Zmierzynki Wielkie'' ("Big Zmierzynki") and ''Zmierzynki Małe'' ("Small Zmierzynki"), administratively located in the Winnica County in the

Bracław Voivodeship The Bracław Voivodeship (; ; , ''Braclavśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1566 as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Pola ...

in the Lesser Poland Province 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 ...

. The former was a possession of the

Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...

and the latter of the Głowacki family. The villages were annexed by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 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 ...

(1793), and their names were Russified to ''Zhmerynka'' from the Polish ''Zmierzynka''. In 1870 a railway station was built, and the settlement began to develop more rapidly. In 1903 it was granted city rights, however, the first mayor, Pole Karol Wroński, was appointed only in 1905. With the fall of Tsarist Russia during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1917, the town became part of the newly established

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

. During the war between

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

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, the town was captured successively by the Soviets in March 1919, by the Ukrainians in June 1919, by the Soviets in January 1920, by the Poles in April 1920, and by the Soviets in June 1920, eventually becoming part of 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 ...

. The city suffered during the

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

in 1932–1933. Zhmerynka was occupied by the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

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 ...

from 17 July 1941 until 20 March 1944 and incorporated into the

Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...

Geography

Location

Zhmerynka is situated in the central-western part of the Vinnytsia region. Zmerynka has an area of 18,2 square kilometers. The average altitude above the sea level is 326m.

Climate

Zhmerynka has the continental European climate.

City governance

The Mayor of Zhmerynka is elected by the people of Zhmerynka during the direct election process. The City Assembly may approve or reject the urban development decrees, initiated by the local people, social groups and organizations.

Religion

Orthodox religion

The old Orthodox Cathedral was built in 1893, however it was destroyed in 1928. There is the newly built St. Oleksandr Nevs'ky Orthodox Cathedral, which was made of the red bricks in 2005, in a central part of the city of Zhmerynka.

Catholic religion

There is the St. Oleksiy Catholic Cathedral, which was built in 1910, in Zhmerynka (see the picture in the Gallery).

Jewish religion

Many Jewish people were in Zhmerynka before World War II. However, the Synagogue was destroyed during the World War II. Presently, the Jewish people initiated an effort to collect the financial funds to build a new Synagogue in Zhmerynka.

Economy

Railway industry

The railway company, which is a part of railway transportation industry, is a biggest business and employer in Zhmerynka.

Agriculture industry

There are many companies, which belong to the agricultural industry in Zhmerynka.

Food industry

There is a well developed food processing industry with a number of big, medium and small companies.

Education industry

There are many secondary schools in Zhmerynka, which employ a big number of teachers.

Tourism industry

There is a number of comfortable hotels with a variety of services, which operate in Zhmerynka.

Transportation

Railway transportation

Zhmerynka is a major railway hub in Ukraine. The initial project of the Zmerynka railway transportation hub was made by Carl von Meck, engineer in 1865. The building of the Zhmerynka big railway station was designed by architect Zhuravs'ky and built in 1899–1904. Zhmerynka railway station was fully renovated in 2012.

Automobile transportation

There is a bus station near the railway station. The distance to

Bar, Ukraine Bar ( ; ; ) is a city located on the Riv River in Vinnytsia Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Podolia. It served as the administrative center of the former Bar Raion until 2020. The city's estimated population is 1 ...

is . The distance to

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

is . The distance to Sharhorod is . The distance to

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, ...

is .

Media

Printing media

Zhmerins'ky Meridian newspaper is published in Zhmerynka. The head office is located at Bohdan Khmelnits'ky Street 19, Zhmerynka 23100, Ukraine.

Electronic media

There is an FM radio-station: "Obriy", which transmits the local news and the music in Zhmerynka at 67.34 MHz.

Internet media

There is a number of Internet resources, which monitor the cultural, business, politics news in Zhmerynka.

Notable people

Jan Brzechwa Jan Brzechwa (; 15 August 1898 – 2 July 1966) was a Polish poet, author and lawyer, known mostly for his contribution to children's literature. He was born Jan Wiktor Lesman to a Polish Jew, Polish family of Jewish descent.Valery Brezdenyuk, painter. * Denis Forov, retired Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler * Izrail Gelman, Math Teacher, Holocaust Survivor * Mykola Livytskyi, Ukrainian statesman

Twin towns – brother cities

Zhmerynka is twinned with: *

Shaki, Azerbaijan Shaki (, ) is a city in northwestern Azerbaijan, surrounded by the district of the same name. It is located in the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, from Baku. As of 2020, it has a population of 68,400. The center of the ci ...

Skarżysko-Kamienna Skarżysko-Kamienna () is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna (river), Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name ...

* Sędziszów Małopolski,

Gallery

File:Будинок гімназії (Жмеринка).JPG, Zhmerinka Gymnasium File:Жмеринська міська рада.jpg, Zhmerinka City Council File:Стоматологія Гаврилюка (Жмеринка).jpg, Havryliuk dentistry File:Храм Святого Миколая (Жмеринка).jpg, Church of St. Nicholas File:Kościół św. Aleksego, Żmerynka P1420326.jpg, St Alexius Cathedral File:Міський парк культури і відпочинку (Жмеринка) (3).jpg, Gorky park

References

External links

Site about Zhmerynka

Unofficial site
{{Authority control Cities in Vinnytsia Oblast Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Articles containing video clips Railway towns in Ukraine Vinnitsky Uyezd Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine