Buchach Бучач | |
|---|---|
_P1690220.jpg) Panoramic view of Buchach in 2017 | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Buchach Map of Ukraine with Buchach highlighted. Show map of Ukraine Buchach Buchach (Ternopil Oblast) Show map of Ternopil Oblast | |
| Coordinates:49°05′00″N25°24′00″E / 49.08333°N 25.40000°E /49.08333; 25.40000 | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Ternopil Oblast |
| Raion | Chortkiv Raion |
| Hromada | Buchach urban hromada |
| First mention | 1260 |
| Magdeburg Rights | ab. 1370 (first), 1515 (second) |
| Government | |
| • City Head | Yosyf Mostsipan |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.98 km2 (3.85 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 12,171 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 48400 — 48401 |
| Area code | +380 3544 |
| Website | http://rada.gov.ua/ |
Buchach (Ukrainian:Бучач,IPA:[ˈbutʃɐtʃ]ⓘ;Polish:Buczacz;Yiddish:בעטשאָטש,romanized: Betshotsh orביטשאָטשBitshotsh;Hebrew:בוצ'אץ'Buchach;German:Butschatsch;Turkish:Bucaş) is acity located on theStrypa River (a tributary of theDniester) inChortkiv Raion ofTernopil Oblast (province) ofWestern Ukraine. It hosts the administration ofBuchach urban hromada, one of thehromadas of Ukraine.[1] Buchach rests 135 kilometres (84 miles) south-east ofLviv, in the historic region ofHalychyna (Galicia).
The city was located in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until thepartitions, followed by theHabsburg monarchy (1772–1804),Austrian Empire (1804–1867),Austria-Hungary (1867–1918),West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919), theSecond Polish Republic (1919–1939), and theUkrainian SSR of theSoviet Union (1939–1991). In 2022 the population was estimated to be12,171 (2022 estimate).[2].
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The earliest recorded mention of Buchach is in 1260 byBartosz Paprocki in his book "Gniazdo Cnoty, zkąd herby Rycerstwa Polskiego swój początek mają",Kraków, 1578.[3] The validity of this date was reasonably refuted by the Polish scientistJózef Apolinary Rolle.[4]
.jpg)
In 1349, the region ofHalychyna (Galicia) became part of theKingdom of Poland. As a part ofRuthenian Voivodeship in theLesser Poland Province remained in Poland from 1434 until 1772 (seePartitions of Poland). It was during this time that the area experienced a large influx ofPolish,Jewish andArmenian settlers. In the late 14th century, Polish nobleman (szlachta)Michał Awdaniec became the owner of the town. On July 28, 1379, Michał Awdaniec founded a Roman Catholic parish church, and builta castle.According to at least one accounting, in 1393, KingWładysław II Jagiełło[citation needed] agreed to grant Magdeburg rights to Buchach (Buczacz): it was first Magdeburg-style city, located in theHalych Land. In the early 15th century, the Awdaniec family of Buchach changed its last name into Buczacki, after its main residence. Frequent invasions of theCrimean Tatars brought destruction to the town, and in 1515, it once again received the Magdeburg rights. In 1558 Katarzyna Tworowska nee Buczacka got the king's grant for market in Buchach. In 1580, local castle was rebuilt: the castle was twice besieged by the Tatars (1665, 1667), who finally captured it in 1672, during thePolish–Ottoman War (1672–1676). Buchach was a temporary residence ofMehmed IV; here, on October 18, 1672, theTreaty of Buchach was signed betweenPolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and theOttoman Empire. According to this treaty, Poland handed the provinces of Ukraine andPodolia to Turkey.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Buchach belonged to thePotocki family.Mikołaj Bazyli Potocki, theStarosta ofKaniv,Bohuslav, the son ofStefan Aleksander Potocki,Voivode ofBełz, who became aGreek-Catholic about 1758, built hereBuchach cityhall with a 35-meter tower (near 1751), a late Baroque Roman CatholicChurch of Assumption of Mary (1761–1763), and rebuilt the castle, destroyed by the Turks. With the unification ofPoland and Lithuania in 1569, the newly united kingdom extended from the Baltic to theBlack Sea. Owing to its importance as a market town, Buchach had become a prominent trading centre linking Poland and the Ottoman Empire.
In 1772, Eastern Galicia[5] together with other areas of south-western Poland, became a part ofKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria — acrownland of theHabsburg monarchy as part of theFirst Partition of Poland. Industry came to Buchach around the end of the 19th century. Among the small-scale industries there included a brickworks, and candle and soap factory, (modern) flour mills, a textile plant, and a necktie factory. The town also boasted a brewery and a winery. The largest factory was established early in the 1900s, when the Hilfesverein concern of Vienna set up a plant for the manufacture of wooden toys in Buchach employing some 200 workers, mainly young girls. In 1912 the Stanislaviv-based Savings andCredit Union opened a branch in Buchach, and this served as a bank for local industrialists and business.
.jpg)
Buchach remained a part of Austria and itssuccessor states until the end of the First World War in 1918. The town was briefly a part of the independentWest Ukrainian People's Republic before it was captured by theRepublic of Poland in July 1919 afterUkrainian-Polish War.[6] Also, between August 10 and September 15, 1920, it was occupied by theRed Army (seePolish-Soviet War). In theSecond Polish Republic, Buchach was the seat of a county (powiat) inTarnopol Voivodeship. In the 1920s, Buchach was inhabited by Jews (~60%), Poles (~25%), and Ukrainians (~15%).
Before World War II, as many as 10,000 Jews (half of the local population) lived in Buchach. During the Nazi occupation of western Poland in 1939-early 1941, more Jewish refugees arrived in the town. On September 18, 1939, during theSoviet Invasion of Poland, Buchach was occupied by the Red Army, and incorporated into theUkrainian SSR (seeMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact). Before they left, the Soviets murdered civilians, mostly Ukrainian, and left them in the jails of Buchach andCzortków. During the Soviet occupation, many Jews and Christians were deported to the Soviet Union. Other Jews fled east when the Germans arrived. After the Soviets left, but before the Germans arrived in July 1942, Ukrainian militia looted and murdered Jewish residents of the town. Then in August, the Ukrainians assisted the German police in a mass shooting of 400 or so Jewish professionals and craftsmen.
.JPG)
After the initial mass murder in August 1941, the Jewish community remained relatively intact, living in a ghetto (theBuchach Ghetto), until October 1942, when the Gestapo, aided by Ukrainian and Jewish police, rounded up nearly 2000 Jews, shot hundreds, and sent about 1600 toBelzec. Some survivors report that the Ukrainian mayor was fair to the Jews until fall 1941 when control reverted to the German security police and their Ukrainian auxiliaries. In November, 2500 more were sent to Belzec and more were shot in Buchach. In February 1943, about 2000 were led to Fodor Hill where they were shot and pushed into mass graves. Megargee reports that there was so much blood that the city's water supplies were polluted. The final major Aktion took place in April when 4000 Jews were shot on Fedor Hill and others in the streets. In May 1943, Buchach was proclaimedjudenfrei.[7]
During this time, some Jews were able to hide in the forests or join partisan bands. A few hid with Polish or Ukrainian friends. When Buchach was liberated by the Soviet army in March 1944, about 800 Jews were still alive. However, a counter offensive brought the Germans back to Buchach a few weeks later and the Germans hunted down the Jews. They were assisted by townspeople, many of whom were eager to point out hiding places. Property formerly owned by Jews was now in their hands and they feared Jewish revenge. When the Soviet army returned in July, fewer than 100 Jews had survived.[8] Several of Buchach's survivors have published memoirs of this period,[9][10] and a diary of Arah Klonicki-Klonymus who tried to hide in the forests with his wife and baby but was murdered is also well known.[11] A detailed analysis of the murders of the Jews in Buchach in light of its history is told byOmer Bartov in hisAnatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz.[12]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 7,517 | — |
| 1931 | 10,265 | +36.6% |
| 2022 | 12,171 | +18.6% |
| Source:[13] | ||
In 1945, its Polish residents were resettled into thelands of western Poland regained from Germany, and Communist authorities closed the parish church, turning it into a storage facility. Bones of the members of the Potocki family, kept in the church cellar, were thrown out, and later buried at the local cemetery.
In 1965, the neighboring village of Nahirianka was annexed to Buchach. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Buchach became a part of independentUkraine, and new, Ukrainian government returned the church to its rightful owners. There is no longer a Polish or Jewish community in Buchach.
Until 18 July 2020, Buchach was the administrative center ofBuchach Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ternopil Oblast to three. The area of Buchach Raion was merged into Chortkiv Raion.[14][15]
The coat of arms of Buchach originated from thePiława coat of arms, which was used by thePotocki family.
Saint Josaphat Institute
The city has religious communities of different churches:Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church,Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate,Adventist Church and others.
The closest international airports are:
Buchach is currentlytwinned with:
Złotoryja, PolandKazimierza Wielka, Poland[24]
