Derhachi Дергачі | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A view over north-west Derhachi | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Derhachi  Derhachi | |
| Coordinates:50°07′N36°07′E / 50.117°N 36.117°E /50.117; 36.117 | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Kharkiv Oblast |
| Raion | Kharkiv Raion |
| Hromada | Derhachi urban hromada |
| Area | |
• Total | 19.1 km2 (7.4 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 122 m (400 ft) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 17,139 |
| • Density | 900/km2 (2,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 62309 |
| Area code | +380 5763 |
 | |
Derhachi (Ukrainian:Дергачі,pronounced[derɦɐˈtʃi];Russian:Дeргaчи,romanized: Dergachi) is acity inKharkiv Raion,Kharkiv Oblast, easternUkraine. The town is 12 km (7 mi) northwest of the administrative center of the oblast,Kharkiv. The settlement was founded in the second half of the 17th century as asloboda. It hosts the administration ofDerhachi urban hromada, one of thehromadas of Ukraine.[1] Population:17,139 (2022 estimate).[2]
There are at least two versions of the origin of the town name. The first is connected with the termderkach, the Ukrainian name for thecorncrake that inhabits the banks of the localLopan river. Another version links the name to that of a legendarycossackDerkach who, it said, was the town's founder. After 1943, the Soviet local authorities rejected the Ukrainian variant of the name with letterk and began to use only the Russian version,Derhachi (with letterh). Later, the Russian pronunciation was officially installed inUkrainian official settlements classification.[citation needed]
The town lies in the valley of theLopan river, north-west of Ukraine's second-largest cityKharkiv. Most of the town is located on the plain, on the left bank of Lopan River. The western edge of the settlement is hilly and full of ravines. The Lopan riverbed has many artificial channels and small tributaries at this point. The T2103 Regional Highway passes through Derhachi from the north-west to south-east, connecting it withKharkiv andZolochiv. There is an extensive uninhabited and forested area to the south-west of the town.
Derhachi has ahumid continental climate,Dfb byKöppen climate classification, with warm summers, but it lacks a dry season. The average annual temperature is 7.3 °C. Annual rainfall is around 535 mm.[3]
It has been established that the present area of today's town was populated inScythian times (6th-3rd centuries B.C.) and later.[4] A unique Scythian ritual pommel decorated with asphinx was found in the town.[5] This artefact formed part of a ScythianWorld Tree and is now on show at theKharkiv Historical Museum. In 2018 and 2019, an archaeological expedition from Kharkiv Historical Museum carried out excavations of the Scythiankurgan or burial mound in the western part of Derhachi. Scholars examined the mounds and put together a collection of items that provided information about the funeral rites of the Scythian period.[6]
In the 17th century, Derkachi was asotnia town of theKharkiv Sloboda Cossack Regiment. Up to 1742 there was onecossacks sotnia administration there; from 1742 to 1765 there were two. Traditionally, a sotnyk (head of asotnia) in Derkachi was a member of a family, well known inSloboda Ukraine, theKowalewskis (Dołęga coat of arms). The town had its own symbols. The sotniastandard used an image of theArchangel Michael. The town seal contained an image of thederkach (corn crake) surmounted by anoctagram. According to 1779 documents, Derkachi was a militarysloboda of theKharkiv povit (uyezd) with a population of 2,287 citizens.[7]
During Tsarist times, Derkachi was a settlement withinKharkov Governorate of theRussian Empire.
At least 274 of the town's residents died in theHolodomor, the man-madefamine inSoviet Ukraine in 1932 and 1933.[8][9] The officials of Derkachitown council were involved inexpropriation of local citizens property in 1932.[10]
Derhachi spent 630 days during theEastern Front under theoccupation of the German Army, from 21 October 1941 to 13 August 1943; save for a period during theThird Battle of Kharkov in February 1943 when it was briefly recaptured by theRed Army.[11] The town would be liberated later that year during theBelgorod–Kharkov offensive operation.
In January 1989, the town's population was 22,915 people.[12][13]
In January 2013, the town population was 18,154 people.[14] On September 28, 2014, a monument to Lenin was toppled in the city, parallel to the regional center, by unknown masked youths.[15]
Until 18 July 2020, Derhachi was the administrative center ofDerhachi Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions or districts in the Kharkiv Oblast to seven. The area of Derhachi Raion was merged into Kharkiv Raion.[16][17]
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During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the town saw shelling and fighting as part of thebattle of Kharkiv, resulting in civilian casualties.[18] On 12 May 2022, the localpalace of culture was shelled by aBM-27 UraganMLRS, killing two people and wounding four. Later, on the night of May 12–13, the building was completely destroyed by a missile strike.[19] Russian troops failed to occupy Derhachi, unlikelarge swaths of Kharkiv Oblast.[20] In September 2023, a shield bearing the inscription "Derhachi - the shield of the defense of Kharkiv" was installed at the base of a monument to the purported founder of the city, Cossack Derkach.[21][20]
As of the2001 Ukrainian census, Derhachi counted a population of 20,196 inhabitants. The exact ethnic and linguistic composition was as follows:[22][23]
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The town has 3 railway stops operated byUkrainian Railways:Derhachi,[13]Motorna andNovi Derhachi. The largest stopDerhachi has a station building. All stops are used only by commuter trains running on the lineKharkiv -Kozacha Lopan. Before 2014 there was a direct commuter train connection with towns in the adjacentBelhorod Region of Russia.
Derhachi has a bus connection with the city ofKharkiv. The buses on this route go via the central streetSumsky Shliakh, then pass through the town ofMala Danylivka to the center of Kharkiv (bus station Tsentralnyi Rynok).
Derhachi also has an internal town bus route, which mainly runs along the central streets (Sumskyi Shliakh andZolochivskyi Shliakh). The town has a direct connection with the neighboringraion centerZolochiv.
In the 1980s, when planning theOleksiivska line of theKharkiv Metro, it was planned to build a Dergachi metro station, but it has not yet been constructed.
Most enterprises are concentrated in the industrial zone in south Derhachi, near theMotorna railway halt.
The largest enterprises in the town are: theUBC Group which manufactures refrigeration and brewing equipment[24] andAmcor which produces packaging for the tobacco industry.[25]
Derhachi is the manufacturing base of theBRIG company, one of the world's leading manufacturers ofrigid-hulled inflatable boats.[26]
SinceSoviet times, the town has had a newspaper, established in 1939 by the localCommunist Partycommittee.
The newspaper has changed its name five times since then (see below):[27]
Derhachi istwinned with:
Sosnowiec,Silesian Voivodeship, Poland{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
