The nameChernihiv/Chernigov is a compound name, which begins with theSlavic rootCherni-/Cherno-, which means 'black'.[6] Scholars vary with interpretations of the second part of the name (-hiv/-gov,-говъ) though scholars such as Dr. Martin Dimnik, Professor ofMedieval History atUniversity of Toronto, connect Chernihov with the worship of "the black god"Chernibog.[7]
The city of Chernihiv is also historically known by different names in other languages –Polish:Czernihów;Yiddish:טשערניגאָב (Tshernigov).
Chernihiv was first mentioned (asЧерниговъ)[citation needed] in theRus'–Byzantine Treaty (907), but the time of its establishment is unknown.[8] Artifacts from theKhazarKhaganate uncovered byarchaeological excavations at a settlement there indicate that it seems to have existed at least as early as the 9th century. Towards the end of the 10th century, the city probably had its own rulers. It was there that theBlack Grave, one of the largest and earliestroyal mounds inEastern Europe, was excavated in the 19th century.
The city was the second wealthiest and most important in the southern portion of theKievan Rus'.[9] From the early 11th century on, it was the seat of the powerfulPrincipality of Chernigov, whose rulers at times vied for power withKievanGrand Princes, and often overthrew them and took the primary seat in Kiev for themselves.
The area's importance increased again in the middle of the 17th century during and after theKhmelnytsky Uprising. In theHetman State, Chernihiv was the city of deployment for theChernihiv regiment (both a military and territorial unit of the state at the time).
According to thecensus of 1897, the city of Chernihiv had 11,000Jews out of a total population of 27,006. Their primary occupations were industrial and commercial. Manytobacco plantations and fruit gardens in the neighborhood were owned by Jews. There were 1,321 Jewish artisans in Chernihiv, including 404 tailors and seamstresses, but the demand for artisan labor was limited to the town. There were 69 Jewish day-laborers, almost exclusivelyteamsters. Few, however, were employed in factories.[10][11]
DuringWorld War II, Chernihiv was occupied by theGerman Army from 9 September 1941 to 21 September 1943. The Germans operated a Nazi prison[12] and aforced labour battalion for Jews in the city.[13]
Until 18 July 2020, Chernihiv was designated as acity of oblast significance and did not belong to Chernihiv Raion even though it was the center of the raion. As part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions ofChernihiv Oblast to five, the city was merged into Chernihiv Raion.[16][17]
On 19 August 2023, a Russianmissile strike killed seven in the city. On 17 April 2024, another Russian missile strike killed around 18 people in the city.[25]
Despite consideringUkrainian a native language, many still didn't use it in daily life, asRussian remained the primarylanguage for communication in Chernihiv.[29] A 2017 survey that asked what language do participants use at home revealed that only Ukrainian was spoken only by 18% of the city's population, both Ukrainian and Russian were at 28%, while Russian was the most at 53%.[30]
The2022 Russian invasion caused a new wave ofUkrainization in Chernihiv, with more and more people switching to Ukrainian in their private lives.[31] According to a survey conducted by theInternational Republican Institute between April and May 2023, 53% of the city's population spoke Ukrainian at home, and 41% spoke Russian.[32]
In Ukraine, the river's width ranges from 60 to 250 m (200 to 820 ft), with its average depth being 3 m (9.8 ft). The mean annualdischarge at itsmouth is 360 m3/s (13,000 cu ft/s). The river freezes over from early December to early April and isnavigable fromNovhorod-Siverskyi to its mouth, for about 535 km (332 mi).
Right trubutary of the Desna river. 32.5 km (20.2 mi) long with a 168 km2 (65 sq mi) basin. This river flows into the Desna river just behind the historical center of Chernihiv.
TheSnov River, right tributary of the Desna River (Dnieper basin) has its mouth 12 km to the east of Chernihiv. The length of the river is 253 km (157 mi). The area of its drainage basin is 8,700 km2 (3,400 sq mi). The Snov freezes in November – late January and stays icebound until March – early April. Part of the river forms theRussia–Ukraine border.
Chernihiv has ahumid continental climate (KöppenDfb) with cold, cloudy and snowy winters, and warm, sunny summers. The average annual temperature for Chernihiv is 7.0 °C (44.6 °F), ranging from a low of −5.6 °C (21.9 °F) in January to a high of 19.5 °C (67.1 °F) in July.Precipitation is well distributed throughout the year though precipitation is higher during the summer months and lower during the winter months. The record high was 41.1 °C (106.0 °F) and the record low was −36.0 °C (−32.8 °F).
Climate data for Chernihiv (1991–2020, extremes 1948–present)
Chernihiv's architecturalmonuments chronicle the two most flourishing periods in the city's history – those ofKievan Rus' (11th and 12th centuries) and of theCossack Hetmanate (late 17th and early 18th centuries).
The oldest church in the city and one of the oldest churches in Ukraine is the 5-domedTransfiguration Cathedral, commissioned in the early 1030s byMstislav the Bold and completed several decades later by his brother,Yaroslav the Wise. The Cathedral of StsBoris and Gleb, dating from the mid-12th century, was much rebuilt in succeeding periods, before being restored to its original shape in the 20th century. Likewise built in brick, it has a single dome and six pillars.
The crowning achievement of Chernihiv masters was the exquisitePiatnytska Church, constructed at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. This graceful building was seriously damaged in theSecond World War; its original medieval outlook was reconstructed to a design byPyotr Baranovsky.
The historic center of Chernihiv has been on the UNESCOWorld Heritage Tentative List since 1989,[37] but currently the creation of a renewed nomination is underway.[38][39]
Yeletsky monastery cathedral was modeled after that ofKyiv Pechersk Lavra. Note the contrast between its austere 12th-century walls and baroque 17th-century domes.
The earliest residential buildings in the downtown date from the late 17th century, a period when a Cossack regiment was deployed there. Two most representative residences are those ofPolkovnyk Lyzohub (1690s) and PolkovnykPolubotok (18th century). The former mansion, popularly known as theMazepa House, used to contain the regiment's chancellery. One of the most profusely decorated Cossack structures is undoubtedly the ecclesiasticalcollegium, surmounted by abell-tower (1702). The archbishop's residence was constructed nearby in the 1780s.St. Catherine Church (1715), with its 5 gilded pear domes, traditional for Ukrainian architecture, is thought to have been intended as a memorial to the regiment's exploits during the storm ofAzov in 1696.
All through the most trying periods of its history, Chernihiv retained its ecclesiastical importance as the seat of either abishopric or anarchbishopric. At the outskirts of the modern city lie two ancientcave monasteries formerly used as the bishops' residences.
The caves of theYeletskyi Monastery are said to predate those of theKyiv Pechersk Lavra (Kyiv Monastery of the Caves). Its magnificent six-pillared cathedral was erected at the turn of the 11th to 12th centuries; some traces of its 750-year-oldmurals may still be seen in the interior. After the domes collapsed in 1611, they were augmented and reconstructed in theUkrainian Baroque style. The wall,monastic cells, and bell-tower all date from the 17th century.
The nearby mother superior's house is thought to be the oldest residential building in theLeft-Bank Ukraine. The cloister's holiesticon used to be that ofTheotokos, who made her epiphany toSviatoslav of Chernigov on 6 February 1060. The icon, called Yeletskaya after thefir wood it was painted upon, was taken toMoscow by Svyatoslav's descendants, the Baryatinsky family, in 1579.
The nearby Chernihiv Glory Memorial marks the location of the ancientSaint Anthony Caves of Saint Elijah Monastery (also known as theYeletskyi Monastery), part of a spiritual complex founded by Saint Anthony of the Caves in the mid-11th century, around the same time as theKyiv Pechersk Lavra. TheYeletskyi caves served as monastic quarters and a site of retreat for early monks and bishops. The site includes the modest Church of Saint Elijah, built above the cave entrance, with architectural elements dating to the 12th century.[40]
The roomyTrinity Cathedral, one of the most imposing monuments ofCossack Baroque, was erected between 1679 and 1689. Its refectory, with the adjoining Church of the Presentation to the Temple, was completed by 1679. Surrounding the monastery are 17th-century towered walls, preservedmonastic cells, and a five-tiered bell tower dating to the 1780s.
Other historic abbeys in the vicinity of Chernihiv include those inKozelets andHustynia, which feature superb examples of Ukrainian Baroque monastic architecture and iconography.[41]
The nearbyChernihiv Glory Memorial we can findSaint Anthony Caves of Saint Elijah andthe Holy Trinity features a small eponymouschurch, built 800 years ago. The roomyTrinity cathedral, one of the most imposing monuments ofCossack baroque, was erected between 1679 and 1689. Its refectory, with the adjoining church of Presentation to the Temple, was finished by 1679. There are also the 17th-century towered walls,monastic cells, and the five-tiered belfry from the 1780s.
Other historic abbeys in the vicinity of Chernihiv include those inKozelets andHustynia, which feature superb examples ofUkrainian Baroque.
Cheksil, one of the largest enterprises in the Ukrainian textile industry, is based in Chernihiv. The first stage of the plant was put into operation in 1963.[42] The city also has theChernihiv Musical Instrument Factory established in 1933. In 1995 a manufacturer of goods for animals, calledCOLLAR Company, was established byYuri Sinitsa.[43][44][45]
Chernihiv has a train station with bus station calledChernihiv Ovruch railway. Narrow gauge railway of 76versts was laid from the Kruty station of the Moscow Kyiv-Voronezh railway towards Chernihiv. In 1893, on the left bank of theDesna River, in the area of a modern automobile bridge, a railway station was built along the Kyiv highway. Passengers were delivered here from the city and back by horse transport.
In 1925, traffic was opened on theNizhyn to Chernigiv section of the Southwest Railway. But rail transport in Chernihiv was postponed until 1928. The bridge over the Desna River was not ready and trains still arrived on the left bank, where the old narrow-gauge railway station was located, and passengers got to Chernihiv by road bridge. According to 2006 data, the volume of freight traffic is 84,737 wagons per year. Over 4.5 million passengers are transported each year.
However, the condition of the rolling stock and the quality of the services provided do not meet modern requirements. Since the introduction of the new high-speed train timetable, the trailed wagons of the 93/94 Chernihiv – Odesa train were canceled. As of 2015, regular trains fromMinsk toOdesa, and fromSt. Petersburg to Kyiv to Kharkiv run through Chernihiv, and there are direct connections with Moscow. Trains to Crimea (Simferopol, Feodosia) were canceled on 27 December 2014 due toRussia's annexation of Crimea.
Public transport includes buses andtrolleybuses. There is no direct connection between railway station andChernihiv-1 bus station to the most central sights on the Val. Trolleybus 1 and bus 38 are going to the Drama Theater stop nearPiatnytska Church. Different routes come toHotel Ukraine from different sides.
The mainFootball club of Chernihiv is calledFC Desna Chernihiv, the original name of the club was "Avanhard Chernihiv" during its first year of existence. Between 1961 and 1970 the club was called Desna. In 1972 it was replaced withSC Chernihiv (team of the SKA Kyiv) that played in Chernihiv for the next couple of years. In 1977 Desna was revived now in place of the amateur club "Khimik Cherhihiv" that won regional competitions. On 27 May 2018, the team got promoted to theUkrainian Premier League for the first time in their history.
The original team colours were blue shirts, blue shorts, blue socks. The team got into the Quarterfinals of theUkrainian Cup in the season2017–18 againstDynamo Kyiv. The club and during the season2019–20 got again into the Quarterfinals of theUkrainian Cup for the second time of the history of the club. InPremier League in the season2019–20, Desna got into the play-offs for the Championship round table and qualified mathematically at least for theEuropa League third qualifying round, for the first time in the history of the Club since 1960.[46]
The Club ofFC Desna Chernihiv played at the Olympic sports training center "Chernihiv" (formerly Stadion Yuriya Gagarina). The Chernihiv Stadium was built in 1936 for 3,000 spectators in eastern portion of a city park (garden) that exists since 1804 and where previously was located residence of the Chernihiv Archbishops.
^Погода и Климат – Климат Чернигов [Weather and Climate – The Climate of Chernihiv] (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Retrieved29 October 2021.
Karnabida, A. Chernihiv. Istorychno-arkhitekturnyi narys (Kyiv 1969)
(1972)Історіа міст і сіл Української CCP – Чернігівська область (History of Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR – Chernihiv Oblast), Kyiv.(in Ukrainian)
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