Zvenyhorodka (, ) 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 ...

Cherkasy Oblast Cherkasy Oblast (, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna (, ) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central Ukraine located along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The Capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the cit ...

, 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 on the Hnylyi Tikych River. The town is the administrative center of Zvenyhorodka Raion. It hosts the administration of Zvenyhorodka urban hromada, 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. The city has a population of

History

Early history

Zvenyhorodka has its origins in the days of the

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 ...

and the first mention of the city dates back to 1394, although its actual origins are likely to be older, as the city was previously destroyed during the

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan, Principality of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimi ...

. According to modern legend, the original city was situated 3km further from its current location, encircling a conical mountain. In 1504 Zvenyhorodka became part of 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, ...

, after being relinquished by

Meñli I Giray Meñli I GirayCrimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar, Ottoman Turkish and (1445–1515) was thrice the List of Crimean khans, khan of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Stru ...

. It passed to the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the Pat ...

in 1569 following the capture of

Right-bank Ukraine The Right-bank Ukraine is a historical and territorial name for a part of modern Ukraine on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding to the modern-day oblasts of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, as well as the western parts o ...

. Following this takeover, the population was subject to significant socio-economic oppression from the Polish aristocracy in the forms of various taxes. During the 1648–1654 Khmelnytsky Uprising, the townsfolk revolted and expelled the Polish nobility from the region. Zvenyhorodka then remained part of the Korsun Regiment, a military-territorial unit of the Hetman state, until the Polish crown regained control of Right-bank Ukraine in 1667 as per the Andrusiv Armistice. Under Polish rule, the population suffered under socio-economic oppression again and fell victim to various national and religious hostilities. The Catholic clergy violently pursued a campaign of polarising Ukrainian nationals, which led to several uprisings in the 18th century. Haydamak forces were active in the area, led by the

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly 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 borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

, and they twice stormed the local castle, in 1737 and then 1743. Following these attacks, the Polish government built fortifications around the castle, including new towers and barracks. During the

Koliivshchyna 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 Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation and serfdom, as well as b ...

rebellion in 1768, many residents of the city joined the insurgents in fighting against the Catholic church and Polish nobility, among others, due to the treatment of peasants and their serfdom. The rebellion was unsuccessful and the city remained under Polish control. In 1792 King

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 ...

granted Zwinogródka city rights under

Magdeburg law 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 ...

and it became a

royal city Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

of Poland. In the following year it was 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 ...

after 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 ...

Russian Empire

From 1798 Zvenyhorodka became an administrative centre of

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

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 ...

. The intensive development of trade owing to the inclusion of Zvenyhorodka in the Russian market allowed for rapid development of industries, in particularly dairy and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, as well as

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

and

handicraft A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

s. The city became one of the centres of the dairy industry alongside Chyhyryn and

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( ; , ) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated on the Ros (river), Ros River in the historical region of right-bank Ukraine. It is the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (which does not include the city of Kyiv) and serves as the ...

. In the 1830s the city saw considerable development including the construction of a local hospital, post office, telegraph communications, and a bridge over the river Hnylyi Tikich. Classes began at the parish school in 1833 with just over 20 students being educated and most of the population being illiterate at the time.

Modern history

Around the turn to the 20th century the town had a train station, three

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

churches and one

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church.''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. 6th edition, vol. 19, Leipzig and Vienna 1909, p. 227 (in German). A congress of Free Cossacks took place in the town in April 1917 during the Ukrainian struggle for independence. A local newspaper has been published here since March 14, 1919. 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 ...

, Zvenyhorodka was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

from July 29, 1941 to January 28, 1944. in September 1941, 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 ...

was set up here where around 1,500 Jews were shot.

Population

Number of inhabitants in years

* 1850: 7, 501 * 1897: 16, 972 * 1926: 18, 020, 61%

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

, 37% Jews, 1% Russians and 1%

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

. * 1989: 22, 740 * 2013: 17, 958

Language

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

Geography

Climate

Notable residents

Ahatanhel Krymsky Ahatanhel Yukhymovych Krymsky (, , romanized: ''Agafangel Yefimovich Krymsky''; ; – 25 January 1942) was a Ukrainian Orientalist, linguist, polyglot (knowing up to 35 languages), literary scholar, folklorist, writer, and translator. He was on ...

(1871–1942), Ukrainian philologist and orientalist. * David Günzburg (1857–1910),

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 ...

orientalist and Jewish communal leader. * Horace Günzburg (1833–1909), Russian philanthropist. *

Grigory Petrovich Nikulin Grigory Petrovich Nikulin (Russian: Григо́рий Петро́вич Нику́лин; 10 January 1895 .S. 27 December 1894– 22 September 1965) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary best known for taking part in the execution of the Emp ...

(1895–1965), Russian

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

and Chekist. * Yurii Karmazin (1957-2022), Ukrainian politician.

Gallery

File:71-212-0034 Zvenigrodka Shevchenko SAM 2478.jpg,

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 ...

monument File:Звенигородка, Черкащина. будинок, у якому народився А.Кримський - вчений, письменник. Нині - музей.TIF, Ahatanhel Krymsky Museum File:Zvenyhorodka Conglomerate.JPG, Zvenyhorodka Conglomerate geologic landmark

References

Notes

Sources

* (1972) ''Історіа міст і сіл Української CCP – Черкаська область (History of Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR – Cherkasy Oblast)'',

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, ...

. {{Authority control Cities in Cherkasy Oblast Zvenigorodsky Uyezd (Kiev Governorate) Cities of district significance in Ukraine