Volochysk
Encyclopedia
Volochysk is a town located on the left bank of the Zbruch River in Khmelnytskyi Oblast
(province
) of western Ukraine
. It is the administrative center of Volochyskyi Raion (district
).
The current estimated population is 20 958 (2001 census).
Volochysk is an important transport center. Railroads and highways of national importance go through the town.
word volochyty that means “to portage”. The town situated on the trade road from the East to the West in Halytsko-Volyn Principality
time and in the following centuries. Merchants had to portage their goods through the river and its waterlogged banks. As a result, a new settlement appeared on that place soon(on left and right banks of river Zbruch). It was called “Volochyshche”. The settlement on the right bank was later renamed to “Pidvolochysk”, which means “the place near or under Volochysk”.
Slavic tribes of volyniany
used to live on the territory of contemporary Volochysk in ancient times. This region belonged to Kievan Rus'
in the ninth and tenth centuries, later to Halytsko-Volyn Principality
.
Volochysk area was ravaged in 1241 by Mongol-tatar tribes
, which were coming to conquer Halych
after they had seized Kiev
. Volochysk region as a part of Halytsko-Volyn Princedom
was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
in the second quarter of the 14th century. Volochysk was a part of Kuzmynsky povit (district) in that period of time. Soon afterwards, it became part of the Kingdom of Poland
.
Volochysk is first mentioned as “Volochyshche” in Podil statement of Zbarazh
princes dated 9 July 1463. Volochyshche belonged to Volyn baron, prince Vasyl Zbarazky, but after his death was inherited by his son Semen Zbarazky in 1463. There was a “black road” not far from Volochysk in the southern part of that region. It was one of the main roads for tatars
raids into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Kuzmynsky powiat
was vastly ravaged by the Crimean horde at the end of the 15th century. Only few settlements survived.
The welfare of Volochysk (which was then known in Polish as Woloczysk) grew after its people started trading with other towns of the area. Landlord prince Wladyslaw Zbaraski received the right from the government to establish a village in the area of the settlement in 1557 and since 1558 Volochysk was called a village
. There were 135 households with 675 people. Volochysk became a trade-craftsmen community. Zbaraski family died out after Jerzy Zbaraski
died and thus Volochysk was inherited by the Wisniowiecki princes in 1631.
The cossaks of Bohdan Khmelnytsky
cast off the Polish yoke and captured Volochysk, when they defeated Polish Army in the Battle of Pyliavtsi
in 1648. Volochysk wasn’t annexed to Russia
in 1654. It was still a part of Poland due to the Treaty of Zboriv
. After the Wisniowiecki family died out, their relative, governor of Kijów Voivodship, Jozef Potocki
inherited Volochysk in 1695.
Potocki sold Volochysk together with all his estates to the Polish crown marshal Fryderyk Jozef Moszynski
for 1700 thousand zlotys in 1772. Moszynski was one of the richest Polish landlords, who owned 4510000 acre (1,825,134 ha) of land, 30,682 serfs, many shops and factories. He established a bank in Volochysk at the end of the 18th century. He also built a five-storey castle, a school, and also built another castle 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east of the village, thus established a new settlement which was named after him – Fridrikhivka (Frydrychowka). There were already 58 households in Fridrikhivka in 1866.
The population of the village was illiterate at the beginning of the 19th century, because there were no schools till that time. The first grade school was established there only in 1801, but only children of rich people studied there. A number of manufacturing enterprises appears in Volochysk in the second part of the 19th century. There was a brewery and a candle plant in 1860. A sugar plant owned by German venture “Zbruch” was built in 1870.
A railway from Kiev
to Lviv
and a railway station were built here in 1870. It was the first railroad joining current Western and Eastern Ukraine. There were no hospitals in Volochysk before the revolution. Only 4 medical attendants, 5 dentists and 4 midwives worked there in 1913. Volochysk was at the front line during World War I
.
Though not a big city, Volochysk was a famous place because Volochysk was the "gate" to Ukraine (from the West), the so-called "box of goodies" between Europe and Asia. There were 190 private shops in 1913. 261 students studied in a one-, and a two-year schools, and also in a church school. Among the cultural establishments in Volochysk, there were a club, a cinema, two libraries and three book shops in 1913.
Many armies passed through Volochysk in the period from 1917 to 1920, when Ukraine gained its independence from Russia for a short period of time. They represented different powers: Russian Bolsheviks
, the Polish army of Józef Piłsudski, Ukrainian Central Council (Tsentralna Rada
), “Dyrektoriya”, and Petliura.
In November 1920, the army of the fighter for Ukraine’s independence Symon Petliura was defeated by the 8th Division of the Red Army
near Volochysk. Thus, the military struggle for Ukrainian independence was over and Volochysk became a part of the Soviet Union
.
From 1923 Volochysk is the administrative centre of Volochyskyi rayon (district). The process of “collectivization
” (when individual land and labour were consolidated into collective farms by force) was one of the fastest in the region. As the result, big numbers of people were oppressed and sent to concentration camps in Siberia in 1930-1931.
The first library for adults opened here in 1934, the library for children was opened in 1937. Local newspaper Prykordonnyi Komunar was established in 1930. Now it’s called Zorya and is still published.
In July 1941 German troops
marched into the town. They occupied the town until March, 1944. In August 1942, 8634 Jews
were shot dead by Nazis near Volochysk. All together during the period of the Second World War
, there were 9297 people killed in the town and 3982 were taken to Germany
for forced labour.
On 17 March 1944 Volochysk was freed by the Soviet Army
. Right after that the processes of rebuilding the town started. Most of the plants and factories restored their full functionality by 1950s.
Great changes came to the town’s industrial and socio-cultural development in 1960s. A canned food plant, a clothes factory, capacitors, brick, metal items, and bread plants were built then. The development of the town also continued in 1970s. A cheese plant and a machine-building plant were opened then.
As of today the core production in the region consists of portable electric power stations, bricks, metal items, capacitors, canned food, sugar, bread and bun goods, and more than 100 of other consumer products. Volochysk is developing with rapid strides, paying much attention to the service sector and new technologies.
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast is an oblast of western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Khmelnytskyi.The current estimated population is around 1,401,140 .-Geography:...
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) of western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. It is the administrative center of Volochyskyi Raion (district
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
).
The current estimated population is 20 958 (2001 census).
Volochysk is an important transport center. Railroads and highways of national importance go through the town.
History
Volochysk is an old town. Its name used to be “Volochyshche”. It derives from UkrainianUkrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
word volochyty that means “to portage”. The town situated on the trade road from the East to the West in Halytsko-Volyn Principality
Halych-Volhynia
The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Kingdom of Rus or Galicia–Vladimir was a Ruthenian state in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia during 1199–1349. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'...
time and in the following centuries. Merchants had to portage their goods through the river and its waterlogged banks. As a result, a new settlement appeared on that place soon(on left and right banks of river Zbruch). It was called “Volochyshche”. The settlement on the right bank was later renamed to “Pidvolochysk”, which means “the place near or under Volochysk”.
Slavic tribes of volyniany
Volhynians
Volhynians were a tribe or tribal union of Vlachs. They are mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as well as by the Bavarian Geographer. According to the latter, the Volhynians had seventy "cities" in the last half of the 10th century...
used to live on the territory of contemporary Volochysk in ancient times. This region belonged to Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
in the ninth and tenth centuries, later to Halytsko-Volyn Principality
Halych-Volhynia
The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Kingdom of Rus or Galicia–Vladimir was a Ruthenian state in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia during 1199–1349. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'...
.
Volochysk area was ravaged in 1241 by Mongol-tatar tribes
Mongol invasion of Rus
The Mongol invasion of Russia was resumed on 21 December 1237 marking the resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked the medieval powers of Poland, Kiev, Hungary, and miscellaneous tribes of less organized peoples...
, which were coming to conquer Halych
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
after they had seized Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Volochysk region as a part of Halytsko-Volyn Princedom
Halych-Volhynia
The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Kingdom of Rus or Galicia–Vladimir was a Ruthenian state in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia during 1199–1349. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'...
was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
in the second quarter of the 14th century. Volochysk was a part of Kuzmynsky povit (district) in that period of time. Soon afterwards, it became part of the Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
.
Volochysk is first mentioned as “Volochyshche” in Podil statement of Zbarazh
Zbarazh
Zbarazh is a city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zbarazh Raion , and is located in the historic region of Galicia....
princes dated 9 July 1463. Volochyshche belonged to Volyn baron, prince Vasyl Zbarazky, but after his death was inherited by his son Semen Zbarazky in 1463. There was a “black road” not far from Volochysk in the southern part of that region. It was one of the main roads for tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
raids into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Kuzmynsky powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
was vastly ravaged by the Crimean horde at the end of the 15th century. Only few settlements survived.
The welfare of Volochysk (which was then known in Polish as Woloczysk) grew after its people started trading with other towns of the area. Landlord prince Wladyslaw Zbaraski received the right from the government to establish a village in the area of the settlement in 1557 and since 1558 Volochysk was called a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
. There were 135 households with 675 people. Volochysk became a trade-craftsmen community. Zbaraski family died out after Jerzy Zbaraski
Jerzy Zbaraski
Jerzy Zbaraski was a Polish-Lithuanian szlachcic.He was Krajczy of the Crown since 1612, Podczaszy of the Crown since 1619, Castellan of Kraków since 1620 and Starost of Pinsk, sokalski, radohoski. Brother of Krzysztof Zbaraski. Last of the Zbaraski family....
died and thus Volochysk was inherited by the Wisniowiecki princes in 1631.
The cossaks of Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
cast off the Polish yoke and captured Volochysk, when they defeated Polish Army in the Battle of Pyliavtsi
Battle of Pyliavtsi
Battle of Pyliavtsi ; September 23, 1648) was the third significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day village of Pyliava in south-central Ukraine, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces met a numerically superior force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars under the...
in 1648. Volochysk wasn’t annexed to Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
in 1654. It was still a part of Poland due to the Treaty of Zboriv
Treaty of Zboriv
The Treaty of Zboriv was signed on August 17, 1649, after the Battle of Zboriv when the Crown forces of about 25,000 led by king John II Casimir of Poland clashed against a combined force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars, led by hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky and khan İslâm III Giray of Crimea...
. After the Wisniowiecki family died out, their relative, governor of Kijów Voivodship, Jozef Potocki
Józef Potocki
Józef Potocki was a Polish nobleman , magnate, Great Hetman of the Crown.Józef was considered as the richest magnate at that time...
inherited Volochysk in 1695.
Potocki sold Volochysk together with all his estates to the Polish crown marshal Fryderyk Jozef Moszynski
Fryderyk Józef Moszynski
Fryderyk Józef Jan Kanty Moszyński of Nałęcz Coat of Arms was a noble in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He held the offices of Referendary of Lithuania, Great Secretary of Lithuania and Great Marshal of the Crown.A grandson of former king of Poland, August II the Strong, he was educated in...
for 1700 thousand zlotys in 1772. Moszynski was one of the richest Polish landlords, who owned 4510000 acre (1,825,134 ha) of land, 30,682 serfs, many shops and factories. He established a bank in Volochysk at the end of the 18th century. He also built a five-storey castle, a school, and also built another castle 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east of the village, thus established a new settlement which was named after him – Fridrikhivka (Frydrychowka). There were already 58 households in Fridrikhivka in 1866.
The population of the village was illiterate at the beginning of the 19th century, because there were no schools till that time. The first grade school was established there only in 1801, but only children of rich people studied there. A number of manufacturing enterprises appears in Volochysk in the second part of the 19th century. There was a brewery and a candle plant in 1860. A sugar plant owned by German venture “Zbruch” was built in 1870.
A railway from Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
to Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and a railway station were built here in 1870. It was the first railroad joining current Western and Eastern Ukraine. There were no hospitals in Volochysk before the revolution. Only 4 medical attendants, 5 dentists and 4 midwives worked there in 1913. Volochysk was at the front line during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Though not a big city, Volochysk was a famous place because Volochysk was the "gate" to Ukraine (from the West), the so-called "box of goodies" between Europe and Asia. There were 190 private shops in 1913. 261 students studied in a one-, and a two-year schools, and also in a church school. Among the cultural establishments in Volochysk, there were a club, a cinema, two libraries and three book shops in 1913.
Many armies passed through Volochysk in the period from 1917 to 1920, when Ukraine gained its independence from Russia for a short period of time. They represented different powers: Russian Bolsheviks
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
, the Polish army of Józef Piłsudski, Ukrainian Central Council (Tsentralna Rada
Tsentralna Rada
The Tsentralna Rada or Central Rada at first was the All-Ukrainian council that united political, public, cultural, professional organizations. Later after the All-Ukrainian National Congress that council became the revolutionary parliament of Ukraine...
), “Dyrektoriya”, and Petliura.
In November 1920, the army of the fighter for Ukraine’s independence Symon Petliura was defeated by the 8th Division of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
near Volochysk. Thus, the military struggle for Ukrainian independence was over and Volochysk became a part of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
From 1923 Volochysk is the administrative centre of Volochyskyi rayon (district). The process of “collectivization
Collectivisation in the USSR
Collectivization in the Soviet Union was a policy pursued under Stalin between 1928 and 1940. The goal of this policy was to consolidate individual land and labour into collective farms...
” (when individual land and labour were consolidated into collective farms by force) was one of the fastest in the region. As the result, big numbers of people were oppressed and sent to concentration camps in Siberia in 1930-1931.
The first library for adults opened here in 1934, the library for children was opened in 1937. Local newspaper Prykordonnyi Komunar was established in 1930. Now it’s called Zorya and is still published.
In July 1941 German troops
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
marched into the town. They occupied the town until March, 1944. In August 1942, 8634 Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
were shot dead by Nazis near Volochysk. All together during the period of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there were 9297 people killed in the town and 3982 were taken to Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
for forced labour.
On 17 March 1944 Volochysk was freed by the Soviet Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Right after that the processes of rebuilding the town started. Most of the plants and factories restored their full functionality by 1950s.
Great changes came to the town’s industrial and socio-cultural development in 1960s. A canned food plant, a clothes factory, capacitors, brick, metal items, and bread plants were built then. The development of the town also continued in 1970s. A cheese plant and a machine-building plant were opened then.
As of today the core production in the region consists of portable electric power stations, bricks, metal items, capacitors, canned food, sugar, bread and bun goods, and more than 100 of other consumer products. Volochysk is developing with rapid strides, paying much attention to the service sector and new technologies.