Native name: Березань | |
|---|---|
 Berezan Island as seen from a distance. | |
  Berezan | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Black Sea |
| Coordinates | 46°36′N31°24.6′E / 46.600°N 31.4100°E /46.600; 31.4100 |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 0.24 km2 (0.093 sq mi) |
| Length | 0.9 km (0.56 mi) |
| Width | 0.4 km (0.25 mi) |
| Administration | |
| Region | Mykolaiv Oblast |
| District | Mykolaiv Raion |
| Administered by | Olbia Reserve |
| Demographics | |
| Population | uninhabited (2001) |
| Additional information | |
 | |
Berezan (Ukrainian:Березань; Ancient Greek:Borysthenes; formerTurkish:Pirezin) is an island in theBlack Sea at the entrance of theDnieper-Bug Estuary,Mykolaiv Raion,Mykolaiv Oblast,Ukraine. Located 8 kilometers from the city ofOchakiv and 4 kilometers from the resort village ofRybakivka [uk]. It is often being confused with the artificial island of Pervomaisky that is located withinDnieper-Bug Estuary. The Berezan island measures approximately 900 metres in length by 320 metres in width, the height of the northern part is 3-6 metres, the southern part is 21 metres. It is separated from the mainland (to which it may have been connected long ago) by about a mile and a half of shallow water. Berezan is an integral part of the historical and archaeological reserve of theNational Academy of Sciences of Ukraine"Olbia". The island is uninhabited. In the summer, archaeological expeditions of theIA NASU and theState Hermitage Museum used to work here. The archaeological site is regularly destroyed as a result of unauthorized excavations.[1]
Berezan was home to one of the earliestGreek colonies (possibly known asBorysthenes, after the Greek name of the Dnieper) in the northern Black Sea region. The island was first settled in the mid-7th century B.C.[2] and was largely abandoned by the end of the 5th century B.C., whenOlbia became the dominant colony in the region.[3] In the 5th century BC,Herodotus visited it to gather information about the northern course of theeponymous river. The colony thrived on wheat trade with theScythian hinterland.
In the Middle Ages, the island was of high military importance because it commanded the mouth of the Dnieper. During the period ofKievan Rus’ there was an important station on thetrade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. It was there thatVarangians first came into contact with the Greeks.
.svg)
The onlyRunic inscription in Southern Ukraine, theBerezan' Runestone, was found on the island in 1905, now on exhibit in the Odesa Historical Museum. The inscription seems to have been part of a gravestone over the grave of a Varangian merchant fromGotland. The text reads: "Grani made this vault in memory of Karl, his partner."[4]
The control of the estuary (known in East Slavic sources asBeloberezhye, or White Shores) was disputed between Kievan Rus andByzantium during the multipleRus'–Byzantine Wars. At last theRus'–Byzantine Treaty of 944 stipulated that the Rus' could use the island in the summertime, without establishing winter camps in the estuary or oppressing the citizens ofChersonesos fishing off shore. Nevertheless, at the conclusion ofSviatoslav I's war against Byzantium, this overking of Rus was allowed to evacuate his forces fromDorostolon to Beloberezhye, where his troops spent the hungry winter of 971/972.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, when the entire Bug-Dniester interfluve was part of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, there is little information about the island, and already at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries the island was ruled by theCrimean Khanate, but was not inhabited. At the same time, theZaporozhian Cossacks knew about the island and used it for anchorage of ships and rest during numerous sea voyages.[5]
Zaporozhian Cossacks revived Berezan as a fort during their campaigns against theCrimean Tatars and theOttoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the fall of neighbouringOchakov to the Russians, the island was incorporated with the remainder ofNew Russia into theRussian Empire.
The site of the Greek colony and itsnecropolis have been periodically excavated since the 19th century; even though the site has suffered fromerosion (and thetombs also fromlooting), the digs produced rich findings (archaic ceramics, inscriptions, etc.).
In March 1906,Pyotr Schmidt was executed on Berezan.
DuringWorld War II, the island became part of the RomanianTransnistria Governorate, along with all of the raion and city ofOchakiv.
In 2013, archaeologists found anencolpion cross on the island, dating from the late 11th - early 12th centuries, which is evidence of the existence of a settlement here, presumably designed to protect the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.[6]
In 2023, the Ukrainian government constructed an underground munitions supply depot on the island in response to the Russian invasion amid concerns of bombing by the Russian air force.
Names initalics are settlements whoseNorse names are not recorded | ||
| Volkhov-Volga trade route |  | |
| Dvina-Dnieper trade route | ||
| Other locations | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
