Zalishchyky Залiщики | |
|---|---|
 Skyline of Zalishchyky | |
 Seal | |
  Zalishchyky Location in Ukraine Show map of Ukraine Zalishchyky Zalishchyky (Ternopil Oblast) Show map of Ternopil Oblast | |
| Coordinates:48°39′N25°44′E / 48.650°N 25.733°E /48.650; 25.733 | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Ternopil Oblast |
| Raion | Chortkiv Raion |
| Hromada | Zalishchyky urban hromada |
| First mentioned | 1340 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ivan Drozd |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.16 km2 (2.76 sq mi) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 8,928 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
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Zalishchyky (Ukrainian:Залiщики,IPA:[zɑˈliʃtʃɪkɪ]ⓘ;Polish:Zaleszczyki[1]), also spelledZalischyky, is a smallcity located on theDniester River inChortkiv Raion,Ternopil Oblast, westernUkraine. It hosts the administration ofZalishchyky urban hromada, one of thehromadas of Ukraine.[2] Population:8,928 (2022 estimate).[3]
Zalishchyky's name, as well as its precursors Zalissia and Zalishche, probably derives from "zalis", a compound of the Ukrainian words "за" (za) and "ліс" (lis), together meaning "behind (the) forest".[4]Hinterwalden, the name for aSaxon settlement in Zalishchyky, also shares this etymological root, originating from the German "hinterwald" (itself meaning, literally, "behind forest").
Others theorise the name derives from the Ukrainian word for thehazel plant (Ukrainian:ліщина,romanized: lishchyna), which they attribute to Zalishchyky's initial settlers.[citation needed]
Zalishchyky is located at the southern edge ofTernopil Oblast near a place where three oblasts (Ternopil,Ivano-Frankivsk, andChernivtsi) joint together. Geographically the city is located in southeasternGalicia (near historical border withPodillia, which was the riverZbruch), directly opposite the historical land ofBukovina, in valley ofDniester which forms in this area so calledDniester canyon. Through the city passes importantEuropean route E85 which connectsBaltic coast with the coast ofAegean Sea in northernGreece.
Zalishchyky's climate is quite mild, with grapes, peaches and other fruits growing in the area. It is especially famous for its tomatoes. Since the inter-war era, it has been a centre for the tourist industry. Before the collapse of theSoviet Union, some 10,000 visitors arrived annually.[citation needed] In the interwar[which?] period, the town was an important tourist centre ofPoland. It is also one of the fewwine growing areas in that part of Ukraine.
While the first known mention of Zalishchyky is traced back to 1340,[5] the village had already existed for some time, and given its proximity to a number of other prehistoric settlements, probably dates back to theCucuteni–Trypillia culture of latePaleolithic antiquity. The 'original' Zalishchyky was actually founded in the area just outside of the modern town's borders, on the land that is now the Ukrainian village ofDobrivliany (which existed as a subdivision of the modern city between 1981 and 1986). In 1469, this village was a peasant farming community under the name Zalissia (Залісся) and later Zalishche (Залісще) in the 15th century. In 1569, Zalishchyky was assigned to thePodolian Voivodship, an administrative unit of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, to which the town became a seat for their county in 1774. In 1578, the village officially adopted the name "Zalishchyky". In 1594,Stanisław Żółkiewski raised an army in Zalishchyky and defended the locale from aTartar invasion.[6] In 1669, the village was completely destroyed byTurk invaders, and the survivors were almost wiped out under the rule of the sultanMehmed IV during the better part of theSecond Polish–Ottoman War.[5] In 1750, at the invitation of PrinceStanisław Poniatowski, Saxon weavers of Silesian cloth settled on part of an historically older portion of Zalishchyky, and named it Hinterwälden. The establishment marked Zalishchyky's transition from a village to a true town. Hinterwälden still survives today, and is now known as "Old Zalishchyky". In 1766, Zalishchyky received the right to self-governance under theMagdeburg Law. The new town's seal read,Sigillum civitatis (Za)leszczyki. The 1772 census lists 159Jewish families of varying professions dwelling in Zalishchyky. Between 1772 and 1918 Zalishchyky was ruled by the Austrian states of theHabsburg monarchy,Austrian Empire, and finallyAustria-Hungary, though between 1809 and 1816 it was under control of theRussian Empire.
During the 19th century, the area around Zalishchyky was populated primarily by Ukrainian country folk, though the town had a largePolish and Jewish population. By then, the city was associated with the best peaches, plums and grapes in the Austrian Empire. On 18 June 1809, during theWar of the Fifth Coalition, the town was the site ofa fierce battle (Polish:Bitwa pod Zaleszczykami) that ended with an Austrian victory. In 1838, the commander of Zalishchyky's infantry battalion reported the beginnings of a peasant revolt against thedidych (Ukrainian:дідичів), the land owners.[7] No battles or skirmishes actually occurred during this "revolt", instead peasants went on strike and lodged complaints to the district council from the government. The Austrian government took many measures to suppress the peasant discontent, and finally in July 1838 evacuated the district administration and started a riot in Zalishchyky, all the while torturing innocent civilians.[5] In 1863, the town's Christians rioted against the Jewish population after a Jewish business owner attempted to collect on a loan to a Christian storekeeper. In the ensuing chaos, Jews were beaten and Jewish property was destroyed before police fromChernivtsi were able to suppress the incident. Later that same year a Jewish family was butchered in a nearby hamlet. Zalishchyky's synagogue was destroyed in 1871 by a massive fire that also razed 170 houses. At the end of the 19th century, the area around Zalishchyky witnessed large-scale emigration to theNew World, especiallywestern Canada.
In 1914, Russia captured Zalishchyky, initially killing 30 Jews, before expelling the rest of the town's Jews on 15 April of the following year, many of whom died oftyphus andsyphilis. Following the end of theFirst World War in 1917, the town's economy was bilious and many Jews were either widowed or orphaned by the war. The town recovered from its wartime loses thanks to aid from theAmerican Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Jews from neighboring towns and oblasts. After the dissolution ofAustria-Hungary in 1918, Zalishchyky was annexed along with the majority ofEast Galicia by the short-livedWest Ukrainian People's Republic, following whichYevhen Petrushevych was appointed as the town dictator. After the subsequentPolish–Ukrainian War ended in Polish victory, and the total looting of Zalishchyky,[5] the town was again under Polish sovereignty.
Zalishchyky became part of theTarnopol Voivodeship. Under theSecond Polish Republic, Zalishchyky was located in the extreme southeast corner of the country, and developed into a very popular spa, and was dubbed the "PolishMeran" or the "PolishRiviera", especially popular were the sandy beaches located along theDniester. The town was regarded as the warmest town in Poland and the Polish capital ofgrapevine, with annual grape festivals taking place here every summer. Zalishchyky had a direct rail connection withWarsaw andGdynia (the distance of 1,314 kilometres (816 miles), the longest route in the Second Polish Republic). Furthermore, aluxtorpeda fast train connected Zalishchyky withTernopil. Zalishchyky quickly became the vacation hub for Eastern European tourists, as well as becoming a hub for smuggling, primarily from the Romanian border which the river divided. As a result of flooding and a lack of investment into the city, the alignment of Zalishchyky as a vacation town was short-lived. The town suffered three catastrophic floods in 1863, 1871, and 1927.
Zalishchyky's already prolific reputation in the world of tourism coupled with the luxtorpeda railways revived Zalishchyky's tourist industry, and the town's economy boomed as it slowly became completely oriented to tourist activity. This bloom lasted until 1939 when Germany commenced theInvasion of Poland, ignitingWorld War II and leadingSoviet Ukraine, a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, to annex Zalishchyky on 17 September, during thePolish September Campaign.
After Soviet capture and occupation of Zalishchyky, the beaches and orchards were destroyed, the Baroque town hall was demolished, and a monument ofLenin was erected in its spot. TheRoman Catholic church of St. Stanislaus was devastated, and turned into fertilizer storage. All Jewish activity ceased, with the exception of some continuing education in Yiddish schools. Following the onset of the war, many officials from the Polish government and military travelled through Zalishchyky en route toRomania, whose borders still remain within a considerably short distance from the modern town.
In early July 1941, on a date not certainly known, the Soviets drowned close to a thousand civilians in the Dniester in what became theZalishchyky tragedy. On 8 July 1941, German forces entered Zalishchyky and immediately began persecuting the town's Jews – more than 3,700 civilians from Zalishchyky and the surrounding locales were murdered.[5] Many were sent to be slave labor in Nazi-controlledZhvanets in the fall. On 14 November, several Jews were deported to work camps, 200 toKamianka-Buzka, and 40 to numerous smaller locales, such asKutno. Shortly after, 800 Jews were forced to the outskirts of Zalishchyky, where they were murdered. In 2011, a monument was erected near the execution site (now a sports stadium). The proper site of the execution was developed with residential houses and garages after the end of the Second World War.
Much of the town died of hunger and typhoid in the winter of 1941, and Jews were moved to neighboring ghettos, mainly toTłuste, beginning on 20 September 1942. From Tłuste, most of them were shipped toBełżec extermination camp, others died during deportations. Only a few dozen survived.[8] Some were able to escape to areas such asTashkent thanks toSoviet evacuations anddeportations during the war.
In March 1944, the region was liberated by the Russians, before briefly returning to German control, during which many Jews were murdered by the panicking Nazis. After being liberated a second time by the1st Ukrainian Front on 24 March, survivors and some of those deported returned to Zalishchyky. While the Nazi forces had been defeated, conditions hardly improved. While Moscow lauded the liberation of the city, even naminga battle division after the city, Communist control soon proved to be worse than Nazi occupation in many ways. Starting less than a day after liberation, denizens of Zalishchyky were arrested bySMERSH and presumably murdered by operatives of theNKVD. In October, more than 800 citizens from Zalishchyky were forcibly drafted by the Soviets to so calledpenal military units (Russian:штрафной батальон,Shtrafbaty) to fight in theBaltic Offensive, less than 20 survived.
After the war, the town was largely repaired, as industrial plants, buildings, and roads were rebuilt and recommissioned. In addition, canneries were widely re-established, leading to the opening of bakeries, dairy plants, corn-calibrating plants, as well as factories which produced textiles and other consumer goods. Quite a few of these industries lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union, after which they collapsed following the Ukraine's transition from the Sovietplanned economy. Nonetheless, the city's economy continues to be concentrated onlight industry, particularly the agrarian sector.
In 2016, Zalishchyky celebrated the 250th anniversary of township under the Magdeburg Law with a holiday commemorating the city. A two-day long "Zalishchyky Fest" ensued. Concurrently, Zalishchyky's government has begun work on repairing infrastructure, such as asphalt repair, paved lighting, new lights, benches, litter bins, and a number of improvements to either of the city's local parks; one of which, the Zalishchyky Central Park, houses a number of historic monuments and rare species of flora. This park andZalishchyky Park which lies to the south are a Ukrainian national park.
Until 18 July 2020, Zalishchyky was the administrative centre ofZalishchyky 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 Zalishchyky Raion was merged into Chortkiv Raion.[9][10]
Before the Second World War, the area around Zalishchyky became a major centre of archaeological attention. Near various villages, especially Koshylivtsi (Ukrainian:Кошилівці), a little north of theDniester, excavations were carried out which uncovered statues, coins, and other artefacts from as far back as theNeolithicCucuteni-Trypillian culture, and extending through the period of theRoman Empire and theMigration Period in theEarly Middle Ages.
Zalishchyky contains a 17th-century Roman Catholic church, an 18th-centuryTown Hall and other monuments.
Zalishchyky istwinned with:
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