Mukachevo lies close to the borders of four neighbouring countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Today, the population is85,569 (2022 estimate).[3] The city is a traditional stronghold of theRusyn language, and the population of Mukachevo is officially reported as 77.1% ethnicUkrainian.[4] There are also significant minorities of:Russians (9.0%);Hungarians (8.5%);Germans (1.9%); andRoma (1.4%).[4]
While Uzhhorod is the main administrative city in the region, Mukachevo is a historic spiritual center of the region and center of the former Eastern Orthodox eparchy of Kyivan Metropolis. In 17th century it united with Catholic church by theUnion of Uzhhorod, similar to theUnion of Brest. Up until World War II and theHolocaust, Mukachevo was primarily a Jewish town, and half the population was Jewish (see below), the rest of the population being Russians, Hungarians, Slovaks, and other minorities. Formerly in Czechoslovakia, and before that in Hungary, it was incorporated intoSoviet Ukraine after World War II.
Most probably, the name derives from the Hungarian surname "Muncas"—munkás (worker)—which later transformed into Munkács.[5] Another version points that the name contains the proto-Slavic root word "Muka" meaning "flour".[5]
On 23 May 2017, theUkrainian parliament officially renamed Mukacheve (Мукачеве) into Mukachevo (Мукачево), a year after the city council had decided to rename the city.[6] Previously, it was usually spelled in Standard Literary Ukrainian as Mukacheve while Мукачів (Mukachiv) was sometimes also used.[7] The city's name inRussian isМукачево (Mukachevo), as well as a name adopted by the local authorities and portrayed on the city's coat of arms. The name of the city in other languages include:
Archaeological excavation suggest that early settlements existed here before theMiddle Ages. For example, a Celticoppidum and metal works center that existed in the 3rd-1st century BC were found between the Halish and Lovachka mountains. AThracianfort of theIron Age (10th century BC) was found on the mountain of Tupcha. Around the 1st century the area was occupied by theCarpi people who displaced the localCelts from the area. TheSlavs settled the territory in the 6th century.
In 895 theHungarian tribes entered the Carpathian Basin through theVeretskyi Pass, about 60 km (37 mi) north of present-day Mukachevo. In 1397, the town and its surrounding was granted bySigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, to his distant cousin, the exiled prince of Grand Duchy of LithuaniaFyodor Koriatovych, who used to administer the Ruthenian Podolia region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, until was exiled for disobedience by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great in 1392. Theodor therefore became a vassal of Hungary and settled manyRuthenians in the territory. Other sources, however, state that Theodor bought the town and the surrounding area in 1396. During the 15th century, the city prospered and became a prominent craft and trade center for the region. In 1445, the town became a Hungarianroyal free city. It was also grantedMagdeburg rights.
During the 16th century, Munkács became part of thePrincipality of Transylvania. The 17th century (from 1604 to 1711) was a time of continuous struggle against the expansionist intentions of theHabsburg Empire for the Principality. In 1678 the anti-Habsburg Revolt ofEmeric Thököly started out from Munkács. The region also played an important role inRákóczi's War of Independence.
After the defeat ofFrancis II Rákóczi the city came under Austrian control in the mid-18th century as part of the Kingdom of Hungary and was made a key fortress of theHabsburg monarchy. In 1726, thePalanok Castle and the town, before 1711 owned by theRákóczi family, was given by the Habsburgs to theSchönborn family, who were responsible for an expansion of the town. They also settled manyGermans in the territory, thereby causing an economic boom of the region. During 1796–1897, the city's castle, until then a strong fortress, became a prison. TheGreek national heroAlexander Ypsilanti was imprisoned at the Palanok Castle between 1821 and 1823.
Without delay the new authorities decreed the expulsion of all Jews without Hungarian citizenship. As a consequence, Polish and Russian Jews, long-term residents of the now Hungarian-controlled Transcarpathian region, and also from Mukachevo, as well as the native Jews who could not prove their citizenship, were deported over the Ukrainian border where they were turned over to theGermanEinsatzgruppe commando led byFriedrich Jeckeln. On 27 and 28 August 1941, they were all murdered by the Germans inKamianets-Podilskyi'smassacre.[8] Even so, Mukachevo's population still held an important Jewish component, up until 1944 when all remaining Jews were deported to theAuschwitz concentration camp byAdolf Eichmann.
In 1910, the Hungarian Statistical Report recorded 17,275 inhabitants in Mukachevo. Of those, 12,686 persons, (73,44%) declared themselves Hungarian, 3078 (17,82%), German, and 1394 (8,07%) Rusyn. In terms of religious affiliations, 7675 persons (44,43%) were Israelites/Jewish, 4081 persons (23,62%) were Greek-Catholic, 3526 persons (20,41%) were Roman-Catholic, 1771 persons (10,25%) were Reformed Protestants /Calvinists and 190 persons (1,1%) were Evangelical Protestants/Lutherans.[10]
In 1921, 21,000 people lived in Mukachevo. Of these, 48% were Jewish, 24% were Rusyn, and 22% were Hungarian.[7]
In 1966, 50,500 people lived in Mukachevo. Of these, 60% were Ukrainian, 18% were Hungarian, 10% were Russian, and 6% were Jewish.[7]
According to the 2001 census, 82,200 people live in Mukachevo. The population in 1989 was 91,000, in 2004, 77,300 and in 2008, 93,738. Its population includes:[11]
Ethnic groups in Mukachevo
percent
Ukrainians
77.1%
Russians
9.0%
Hungarians
8.5%
Germans
2.0%
Roma
1.4%
Jews
1.1%
Residents in seven villages of theMukachevo Raion have the option to learn the Hungarian language in a school or home school environment.[12]
There are documents in theBerehove (Beregszász) State Archives which indicate that Ashkenazi Jews lived in Munkács and the surrounding villages as early as the second half of the seventeenth century. The Jewish community of Munkács was an amalgam ofGalician and HungarianHasidic Jewry, Orthodox Jews, and Zionists. The town is most noted for its Chief RabbiChaim Elazar Spira who led the community until his death in 1937.
By 1851, Munkács supported a largeyeshiva, thereby demonstrating the community's commitment toTalmudic learning and piety.
Materially impoverished, yet wealthy in ideological debate, the Jews of interwar Munkács constituted almost half of the town's population. The Munkács Jewish community was famous for its Hasidic activity as well as its innovations inZionism and modern Jewish education.[14]
The Jewish population of Munkács grew from 2,131 in 1825 to 5049 in 1891 (almost 50 percent of the total population) to 7675 in 1910 (about 44 percent). By 1921, the 10,000 Jews still made up about half the residents, though by 1930, the proportion had dropped to 43 percent, with a little over 11,000 Jews. The Jews of Munkács constituted 11 percent of the Jewry ofSubcarpathian Rus'.[14]
Interwar Munkács had a very large Jewish population, which was most visible onShabbat. On that day most stores were closed and, after services, the streets filled with Hasidic Jews in their traditional garb. The first movie house in the town was established by a Hasidic Jew, and it too closed on the Shabbat and Jewish holidays.[14]
The Chief Rabbi of Munkács,Chaim Elazar Spira (who led the community from 1913 until his death in 1937) was the most outspoken voice of religiousanti-Zionism. He had succeeded his father, RabbiZvi Hirsh Spira, who had earlier inherited the mantle of leadership from his father RabbiShlomo Spira. He was also a Hasidicrebbe with a significant number of followers. Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira was succeeded by his son-in-law, RabbiBaruch Yehoshua Yerachmiel Rabinowicz.
Along with the dominant Munkácser hasidic community there co-existed smaller yet vibrant Hasidic groups who were followers of the rebbesBelz, ofSpinka,Zidichov, andVizhnitz. By the time of the Holocaust there were nearly 30synagogues in town, many of which wereshtibelekh ("[small] house" - small [Hasidic] synagogues).
The Hebrew Gymnasium (high school) was founded in Munkács five years after the first Hebrew speaking elementary school in Czechoslovakia was established there in 1920. It soon became the most prestigious Hebrew high school east ofWarsaw. Zionist activism along with Hasidic pietism contributed to a community percolating with excitement, intrigue and at times internecine conflict.
Latorica
In 1935,Chaim Kugel, formerly director of the Munkács gymnasium (Jewish high school) and then Jewish Party delegate to the Czechoslovak Parliament, gave a speech during a parliamentary debate: "…It is completely impossible to adequately describe the poverty in the area. The Jews… are affected equally along with the rest…. I strongly wish to protest any attempt to blame the poverty of the Subcarpathian Ruthenian peasantry on the Jews"[14][15] (Kugel later got toMandatory Palestine and eventually became mayor of the Israeli city ofHolon).
Government policies were covertly directed against Jews, who bore a heavy share of taxes and had difficulty getting high civil service positions.[14]
In 1939, the Hungarians seized and annexed Subcarpathian Rus—including Munkács—taking advantage of the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Though antisemitic legislation was introduced by the Hungarian authorities, Subcarpathian Rus, like the rest of Hungary, remained a relative haven for Jews untilNazi Germany occupied Hungary in 1944.[14]
In the spring of 1944 there were nearly 15,000 Jewish residents of the town. This ended on May 30, 1944, when the city was pronouncedJudenrein (free of Jews after ghettoization and a series of deportations to Auschwitz).
Today, Mukachevo is experiencing a Jewish renaissance of sorts with the establishment of a supervised kosher kitchen, amikveh,Jewish summer camp in addition to the prayer services which take place three times daily. In July 2006, a new synagogue was dedicated on the site of a pre-war hasidic synagogue.[citation needed]
Palanok Castle, 14th century. The castle of Munkács played an important role during the anti-Habsburg revolts in this territory and present-daySlovakia (1604–1711), especially at the beginning of the anti-Habsburg Revolt ofImre Thököly (1685–1688), as well as at the beginning of the revolt ofFerenc II. Rákóczi (early 18th century). This important fortress became a prison from the end of the 18th century and was used until 1897. The Greek national heroAlexander Ypsilanti was imprisoned in Munkács castle from 1821 to 1823.
^abHalai, O.,Ivanovchyk, I., Lengyel, I., Mohylevets, K., Turianytsia, T. (2020).Mukachevo (Мукачево). Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine.ISBN9789660220744. Retrieved25 November 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Jelinek A. Yeshayahu, The Carpathian Diaspora : The Jews of Sub-Carpathian Rus' and Mukachevo, 1848-1948, New-York, Columbia University Press -East European Monographs, 2007, 412p.
