City and administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine
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Zhytomyr is a major transport hub. The city lies on a historic route linking the city ofKyiv with the west throughBrest. Today it linksWarsaw with Kyiv,Minsk withIzmail, and several major cities of Ukraine. Zhytomyr was also the location ofOzerne airbase, a keyCold War strategic aircraft base 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) southeast of the city.
Important economic activities of Zhytomyr include lumber milling, food processing, granite quarrying, metalworking, and the manufacture of musical instruments.[3]
Kyivska (Kyiv) street looking West toward St. Michael's Cathedral. Photo early 1900s.Philharmonia theater and old water towerSobornyi Maidan, the main square of Zhytomyr
Legend holds that Zhytomyr was established about 884 by Zhytomyr, prince of a Slavic tribe ofDrevlians. This date, 884, is cut into a large stone of the ice age times, standing on the hill where Zhytomyr was founded. Zhytomyr was one of the prominent cities ofKievan Rus'. The first records of the town date from 1240, when it was sacked by theMongol hordes ofBatu Khan.
Following theUnion of Lublin, Zhytomyr became an important center of local administration, seat of thestarosta, and capital of Zhytomyr County. Here,sejmiks ofKiev Voivodeship took place. In 1572, the town had 142 buildings, a manor house of the starosta and a castle. Following the privilege of KingSigismund III Vasa, Zhytomyr had the right for two fairs a year.
In 1667, Zhytomyr became capital of Kiev Voivodeship, and in 1724, a Jesuit school and monastery were opened here. By 1765, Zhytomyr had five churches, including 3 Roman Catholic and 2 Orthodox, and 285 houses.
In 1793 Zhytomyr was incorporated into theRussian Empire, and in 1804 was named capital of the Volhynian Governorate.
Due to one ofStalin's 5-year plans, the city suffered from the man-made famineHolodomor of 1932-1933. In 2008, the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide published the National Book of Memory of the Victims of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 in Ukraine. Zhytomyr region - Zhytomyr.[4] The book has 1116 pages and consists of three sections. According to historical records, more than 8015 people died during Holodomor in 1932–1933.
DuringWorld War II Zhytomyr and the surrounding territory was for two and a half years (first from9 July 1941 to 12 November 1943, and again from 19 November 1943 to31 December 1943) underNazi German occupation and wasHeinrich Himmler's Ukrainian headquarters. The Nazi regime in what they called the "Zhytomyr General District" became what historianWendy Lower describes as
a laboratory for… Himmler's resettlement activists… the elimination of the Jews and German colonization of the East—transformed the landscape and devastated the population to an extent that was not experienced in other parts of Nazi-occupied Europe besides Poland. [While]… [u]ltimately, the exigencies of the war effort and mounting partisan warfare behind the lines prevented Nazi leaders from fully developing and realizing their colonial aims in Ukraine… In addition to the immediate destruction of all Jewish communities, Himmler insisted that the Ukrainian civilian population be brought to a 'minimum.'[5]
School in Zhytomyr after a Russian airstrike on 4 March 2022
During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Zhytomyr and the surrounding area were subjected to several Russian air and missile strikes, such as the 2 March airstrike which damaged residential buildings, a thermal electricity plant, and two hospitals, killing at least two and injuring more than a dozen.[6][7][8][9]
According to a survey conducted by theInternational Republican Institute in April–May 2023, 82% of the city's population spoke Ukrainian at home, and 14% spoke Russian.[16]
Roman Catholics
Zhytomyr had been a Latin Catholic bishopric since 1321, until The See was suppressed in 1789 in favor of theDiocese of Lutsk and Zytomierz, until that was split up again in 1925, when it was restored as theRoman Catholic Diocese of Zhytomyr; that was formally suppressed in 1998 to establish theDiocese of Kyïv–Žytomyr, but actually the city retains the episcopal see in its Cathedral of theHoly Wisdom, whileKyiv (although first in the title and the national capital) only has aco-cathedral.[17]
The Zhytomyr cemetery was opened in 1800. At first, it served Polish nobility fromVolhynia, such as the Czeczel and the Woronicz families. Later, other Catholics were buried here, including Germans, Ukrainians and Russians.
In 1840, the Chapel of St. Stanislaus was built (now in ruins), and the cemetery was divided into nine districts, named after different saints. In theSoviet Union, the complex was devastated, now it is under the process of renovation.
Among most famous people buried here are:
Bronislaw Matyjewicz-Maciejewicz, one of the first Polish air pilots
Karol Niedzialkowski - bishop of Lutsk and Zhytomir in the late 19th century
Zhytomyr apparently had fewJews at the time of theKhmelnytsky Uprising (1648), but by the time it became part ofRussia in 1778, it had a large Jewish community, and was a center of theHasidic movement. Jews formed nearly one-third of the 1861 population (13,299 of 40,564); thirty years later, they had somewhat outpaced the general growth of the city, with 24,062 Jews in a total population of 69,785. By 1891 there were three largesynagogues and 46 smallerbatei midrash. The proportion of Jews was much lower in the surrounding district of Zhytomyr than in the city itself; at the turn of the century (circa 1900) there were 22,636 Jews in a total population of 281,378.
InImperial Russia, Zhytomyr held the same status as the official Jewish center of southern part of thePale of Settlement asVilnius held in the north.[18] The printing ofHebrew books was permitted only in these two cities during the monopoly of Hebrew printing from 1845 to 1862, and both were chosen as the seats of the tworabbinical schools which were established by the government in 1848 in pursuance of its plans to force secular education on theJews of Russia in accordance with the program of the Teutonized RussianHaskalah movement.[18] The rabbinical school of Zhytomyr was considered the more Jewish, or rather the less Russianized, of the two (Ha-Meliẓ, 1868, No. 40, cited inJewish Encyclopedia). Its first head master wasJacob Eichenbaum, who was succeeded byHayyim Selig Slonimski in 1862. The latter remained at the head of the school until it was closed (together with the one at Vilnius) in 1873 because of its failure to provide rabbis with a secular education who would be acceptable to the Jewish communities.Suchastover,Gottlober,Lerner, andZweifel were among the best-known teachers of the rabbinical school at Zhytomyr, whileAbraham Goldfaden,Salomon Mandelkern, andAbraham Jacob Paperna were among the students who later became famous in the Jewish world.
On 7–8 May 1905, when the section of the city known as "Podol" was devastated, and 20 were killed within the city.
On 7–10 January 1919, 15 young Jewish neighbors were killed when they came to defend, and theChristian student Nicholas Blinov, also attempting to defend, likewise died. Ten young Jews from nearbyChudnov were also killed while on their way to aid the Jews of Zhytomyr.[19]
Beginning on 22 March 1919, according to witnesses, the 317 deaths were fewer than might have been, due to both Christian sheltering efforts and the return of theBolshevik troops within a few days.[20]
The Jewish community of the region was largely destroyed inthe Holocaust. In the four months beginning withHimmler's 25 July 1942 orders, "all of Ukraine'sshtetls andghettos lay in ruins; around 3,000[21] Jewish men, women, and children were murdered by stationary and mobileSS-police units with local Ukrainian auxiliaries."[5]
Today, the Zhytomyr Jewish community numbers about 5,000. The community is a part of the "Union of Jewish Communities in Ukraine" and the city and district's rabbinate. Rabbi Shlomo Vilhelm, who came to the city as aChabad emissary in 1994, serves as rabbi. Other Jewish institutions are also active in the city, including theJoint and its humanitarian branch "Chesed" and theJewish Agency.
The community has an ancientsynagogue in the city center which has amikveh.Chabad operates in the city various educational institutions which have residence in a village next to the city.
Culture
The city has 2 state theaters and a philharmonic, more than 10 museums, libraries and planetarium.
In 1966, a new theater building was built with a large auditorium for 943 seats and a small one for 70 seats, a lobby with an area of 550 m2, rehearsal halls, dressing rooms, offices, production shops.
Currently in the city work:
Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater named after Ivan Kocherga;
Academic Regional Puppet Theater;
Philharmonic named after Svyatoslav Richter.
Since 1973, the Zhytomyr Academic Dance Ensemble "Sun" exists in the city.
The internationally renowned chamber choirOREYA is based in the city.
Zhytomyr Regional Universal Scientific Library named afterO. Olzhych;
Zhytomyr Regional Scientific Medical Library;
Zhytomyr Regional Library for Youth;
Zhytomyr Regional Library for Children.
Architecture: sights and monuments
The city has 74 historical monuments, 24 archeological monuments, and 15 monuments of monumental art (one of which is of national importance). Monuments of architecture and urban planning of state importance — 10,[22] local significance — 72.[23]
Monuments of historical, cultural and religious significance in the city of Zhytomyr include:
In 1996, the Memorial to the Victims of Fascism was erected in Bohunia by the sculptor Yosyp Tabachnyk (a memorable location of the Bohunіa concentration camp for prisoners of war).
Geography
Teteriv River in Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr lies in a unique natural setting; all sides of the city are surrounded by ancientforests through which flow theTeteriv, Kamianka, Kroshenka and Putiatynkarivers. The Teteriv river generally forms the southern boundary of Zhytomyr, though there are also some small areas of Zhytomyr city territory below the southern bank of the river. The city is rich inparks andpublic squares.
Zhytomyr is set out on a mostly radial type ofstreet net with the centre at the main public square of the city, namedSobornyi Maidan (which meansCathedral Square). A building containingcourts and some other institutions is in the west of the square. Before 1991, this building contained Zhytomyr Oblast Committee of theCommunist Party. Just behind the building (that is to the west of Sobornyi Square) is a small quiet park, bearing the name ofZamkova Gora (Castle Mountain) and containing a monument-type boulder with an inscription stating that this is a place where Zhytomyr was founded. This historical centre of Zhytomyr is in the south part of the city. The old part of Zhytomyr is on three rocky hills over the river Kamianka: Okhrimova, Zamkova, and Petrovska.
The old town is surrounded by new housing estates, the names of which are often borrowed from the former suburban villages or reflect the longstanding occupations common in these places. The main streets connecting Sobornyi Maidan with the outskirts of Zhytomyr are Kyivska Street orKyiv Street (going to northeast, to therailway station and also to the mainbus station of the city), VelykaBerdychivska Street (going tosoutheast),Lech Kaczyński Street (going southwest; its further continuation isChudnivska Street going tobeaches and a forest-type park near the river of Teteriv), and Peremohy Street (going north).
The best-known street in the central part of Zhytomyr is Mykhailivska (named afterSt. Michael'sChurch at the northern end of the street).[24] The street is about 500metres to the east of Sobornyi Maidan and runs approximately from north to south, connecting some points at the above-mentioned Kyivska Street and Velyka Berdychivska. Mykhailivska Street is forpedestrian traffic:vehicles are forbidden, with the exception of some slow-moving ones. A puppet theatre is nestled in the middle of the street, while the building of the Zhytomyr City Council is at its southern end. Several small coffee houses and cafés have sprung up here recently, frequented by locals from all walks of life and of all ages. If one crosses Velyka Berdychivska Street from the southern end of Mykhailivska Street, then one finds oneself atKorolyov Square containing the building of the Zhytomyr Oblast Council. Crossing Kyivska Street from the northern end of Mykhailivska Street, one can continue to go along Pokrovska Street, another important long avenue of Zhytomyr (going north).
The best-known park of Zhytomyr is named afterYuri Gagarin, in the south of the city, at the left (northern) bank of the Teteriv River. It was formerly owned by theBaron de Chaudoir.
Zhytomyr is an important economic center in the region. Enterprises in the city include glass, metal fabrication, electronic devices, screens, fabrics, furniture, shoes and others.In addition, there is a large pharmaceutical factory in Zhytomyr. Since 1944, a confectionery factory (ALC "ZhL") has operated in Zhytomyr; the enterprise is one of the leaders of the Ukrainian confectionery market.[27]
The city is home to the Zhytomyr Armored Factory. The factory has been one of the main repair facilities in Ukraine since the start of theRusso-Ukrainian War, running on 3 shifts. In September 2014 it was announced that the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine had placed a ₴280 million order with the factory.[28][29]
Transport
Pushkinska StreetChudnivskyi bridge
In ancient times, the city was on the important road fromKyiv to the city ofBrest-Litovsk. Now this road is of international highwayM 06E40 connectingKyiv to the Hungarian border nearChop. Some other roads:
The city has an airport (however, it is not currently being used for passenger transport; it is intended for the use of strategic bombers, though not currently being used).
Zhytomyr has three bus stations connecting it with many other cities and villages inUkraine and abroad. Zhytomyr has fifteen bridges and junctions built over rivers and roads. There is a 30-kilometer ring road around Zhytomyr.The most interesting bridge in Zhytomyr is one over theTeteriv River in Gagarin Park (named afterYuri Gagarin).
Public city transport
Common kinds ofpublic transport shuttling within Zhytomyr aretrolleybuses,buses, andminibuses. There are also electrictrams, but on one route only. Earlier there were several tram routes in Zhytomyr, but all excepting one were canceled during a period of domination of the opinion that a tram is a bad kind oftransport.Trams began to shuttle in Zhytomyr in 1899. Thus Zhytomyr became the 5th city with electric trams within the territory of present-dayUkraine. Trolleybuses appear in Zhytomyr in 1962.The total length of Zhytomyr city electric transport routes (trolleybuses and trams) is 275 km. Zhytomyr is the first city in Ukraine to implement e-ticket system in all municipal public transport.[citation needed]
Attack on Zhytomyr
TheZhytomyr Airport reduced to rubble after being struck by 2 Iskander missiles launched fromBelarus.
^Elias Heifetz,The slaughter of the Jews in the Ukraine in 1919, 1921, Thomas Selzter New York, pp. 25-40.[1] accessed October 28, 2009
^Ogorreck, Ralf (2007).Les Einsatzgruppen : les groupes d'intervention et la genèse de la Solution finale (impr. 2007). Mannoni, Olivier, 1960- ..., Impr. Darantière). Paris: Le Grand livre du mois.ISBN9782286030629.OCLC470520224.
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