Vinnytsia

Vinnytsia Вінниця
The former water tower in the center of Vinnytsia, Ukraine (now the War Veterans' Museum). View in the winter evening.
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): pearl of Podolia
Map of Ukraine with Vinnytsia highlighted.
Coordinates: 49°14′N 28°29′E / 49.233°N 28.483°E / 49.233; 28.483Coordinates: 49°14′N 28°29′E / 49.233°N 28.483°E / 49.233; 28.483
Country Oblast Raion	Ukraine Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia City Municipality
Founded	1363
Government
• Head of City Council	Serhiy Morhunov (Vinnytsia European Strategy)[1]
Area
• City	113,2 km2 (437 sq mi)
Population (2015)[2]
• City	372,484
• Density	5,066/km2 (13,120/sq mi)
• Metro	660,000
Time zones	UTC+2
	UTC+3
Postal code	21000-
Area code(s)	+380 432
Sister cities	Birmingham, Kielce, Peterborough, Rybnytsia
Website	www.vmr.gov.ua

Vinnytsia (Ukrainian: Ві́нниця, pronounced [ˈβinːɪt͡sʲɐ], Vinnytsia; Russian: Ви́нница Vinnitsa; Polish: Winnica; German: Winniza, and Romanian: Vinița) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug.

It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance. It also serves as an administrative center of Vinnytsia Raion, one of the 27 districts of Vinnytsia Oblast, though it is not a part of the district. Population: 372,484 (2015 est.)^[2]

A historic city known since Middle Ages and a former Soviet Cold War-airbase, Vinnytsia is now a modern cosmopolitan city.

Name

The name of Vinnytsia appeared for the first time in 1363. It is assumed that the name is derived from the old Slavik word "Vino", meaning "given as a gift." This name can be explained by the fact that the Vinnytsia and surrounding land were captured by Lithuanian Duke Algirdas in XIV century, and then, they were given as a gift to his nephews. ^[3]

Geography

Location

Vinnytsia is located about 260 km (160 mi) southwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, 429 km (267 mi) north-northwest of the Black Sea port city of Odessa, and 369 km (229 mi) east of Lviv.

It is the administrative center of the Vinnytsia Oblast (province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Vinnytsia Raion (district) within the oblast. The city itself is directly subordinated to the oblast.

Climate

A long lasting warm summer with a sufficient quantity of moisture and a comparatively short winter is characteristic of Vinnytsia. The average temperature in January is −5.8 °C (21.6 °F) and 18.3 °C (64.9 °F) in July. The average annual precipitation is 638 mm (25 in).

Over the course of a year there are around 6–9 days when snowstorms occur, 37–60 days when mists occur during the cold period, and 3–5 days when thunderstorms with hail occur.

History

From Medieval to Early Modern period

Vinnytsia has been an important trade and political center since the fourteenth century, when Fiodor Koriatowicz, the nephew of the Lithuanian Duke Algirdas, built a fortress (1363) against Tatar raiders on the banks of the Southern Bug. The original settlement was built and populated by Aleksander Hrehorovicz Jelec, hetman under Lithuanian Prince Švitrigaila. Aleksander Hrehorowicz Jelec. He built the fort, which he commanded as starosta afterwards.

In the 15th century, Polish King Alexander Jagiellon granted Winnica Magdeburg city rights. In 1566, it became part of the Bracław Voivodeship. Between 1569 and 1793 the town was a part of Poland and in this period, for a short time between 1672 and 1699 was a part of the Ottoman Empire. During period of Polish rule, Winnica was a Polish royal city. On March 18, 1783, Antoni Protazy Potocki opened in Winnica the Trade Company Poland.

After Second Partition of Poland in 1793 the Russian Empire annexed the city and the region. Russia moved to expunge the Roman Catholic religion – Catholic churches in the city (including what is now the Transfiguration Cathedral) were converted to Russian Orthodox churches.

Vinnytsia on a 1910s postcard

According to the Russian census of 1897, Vinnytsia with a population of 30,563 was the third largest city of Podolia after Kamianets-Podilskyi and Uman.

World War II

It was occupied by German troops in 19 July 1941 during World War II. In 1943, the invading Germans exhumed almost 10,000 people, mostly male Ukrainians, from mass graves in Vinnytsia. The majority of the executions happened during the Stalinist Great Purge between 1937–1938 in the Vinnytsia massacre.

Adolf Hitler sited his easternmost headquarters Führerhauptquartier Werwolf near the town and spent a number of weeks there in 1942 and early 1943.

Nazi atrocities were committed in and near Vinnytsia by Einsatzgruppe C. Estimates of the number of victims run as high as 28,000. This included the virtual extinction of the town's large Jewish population. In 1942 a large part of the Jewish quarter of Yerusalimka was destroyed by Germans. One infamous photo, The Last Jew of Vinnytsia, shows a member of Einsatzgruppe D about to execute a Jew kneeling before a mass grave.^[6] The text The Last Jew of Vinnytsia was written on the back of the photograph, which was found in a photo album belonging to a German soldier. It was liberated by Red Army in 20 March 1944.

Cold War period

Since the end of World War II, Vinnytsia has been the home for major Soviet Air Forces base, including an airfield, a hospital, arsenals, and other military installations. The headquarters of the 43rd Rocket Army of the Strategic Rocket Forces was stationed in Vinnytsia from 1960 to the early 1990s.^[7] The 2nd Independent Heavy Bomber Aviation Corps, which later became 24th Air Army, was also stationed in Vinnitsa from 1960 to 1992. The Ukrainian Air Force Command has been based in Vinnytsia since 1992.

In 1959, the United States Government reported that the Soviet Union had built a school in Vinnytsia for training KGB infiltrators in how to live in the United States. A mock-up of an entire American small town was built, complete with American-style stores, movie theater, houses, restaurants, American vehicles, and a small college campus that served as the classrooms of the school.^[8][9]

Education

There are many educational universities and research institutions in Vinnytsia:

• Vinnytsia National Medical University, named after M. I. Pirogov
• Vinnytsia National Technical University
• Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University, named after Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky;
• Vinnytsia National Agriculture University
• Vinnytsia European University
• Vinnytsia Trade and Economics Institute
• Vinnytsia Social Economical Institute

There is also the Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Kliment Timiryazev in Vinnytsia.

Economy

Vinnytsia is a tourist , scientific and industrial center in Ukraine.

There are the Roshen confectionary corporation, the Crystal diamonds polishing corporation,^[10] RPC Fort largest Ukrainian firearms manufacturing corporation, Analog corporation,^[11] Mayak corporation,^[12] Budmash corporation,^[13] Agregat corporation,^[14] Pnevmatika corporation,^[15] etc.

The headquarters of the Ukrainian Air Force is situated in Vinnytsia.

Politics

Vinnytsia is considered the long-time political base for the current Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. He owns a local confectionery (as part of the Roshen Corporation) and was elected member of parliament from the local constituency for several convocations. However, contrary to some speculations, Poroshenko has never lived in the city.

The present Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman is from Vinnytsia.

Buildings and structures

Orthodox Cathedral as seen from South Bug River in Vinnytsia

New Orthodox Cathedral Construction in Vinnytsia

Concert Hall in Vinnytsia

Ukrainian Aviation Monument in Vinnytsia

Mansion-museum^[16] of Nikolay Pirogov.

Fountain Roshen^[17] is the only one in Ukraine and the largest floating fountain in Europe, built in the river Southern Buh in Vinnytsia City near Festivalny Isle (Campa Isle)

Vinnitsa Regional Museum and Vinnitsa Regional Art Museum^[18] (on the right)

• The Transfiguration Cathedral, built in Vinnytsia in 1758.
• The new Orthodox Cathedral at South Bug river.
• Baptist Church – reportedly one of the largest Evangelical Church Buildings in Europe.
• TV Tower Vinnytsia
• Vaksman family’s real estate, 1915 – Style: Art Nouveau. Address: 24 Chkalov Street. Built by architect Moisey Aaronovitch Vaksman. Architectural landmark.
• Afghan War Museum and War Glory Memorial Park – The Afghan War Museum is located in the red-brick bell tower. Exhibits include photos, letters and other artifacts representing Vinnytsia soldiers who fought in that war. The Memorial Park contains a large statue representing three different soldiers from World War II. An eternal flame burns in front of the statue.
• Multimedia Fountain Roshen – Built in 2011 it is considered as one of the largest floating fountains in Europe.^[19] It is the major multimedia attraction in the city.

Transport

Air

Havryshivka International Airport (IATA: VIN, ICAO: UKWW) is situated near Vinnytsia.

Railway

There is a railway station in Vinnytsia, which is a part of 'South-Eastern Railiway'. In 2013 it was named among 10 biggest railiway stations in Ukraine ^[20] Current building of Vinnitsia railiway station was built in 1952 and considered to be the 4th railiway building in Vinnitsia (previous three were destroyed in different yesrs). Vinnitsia is an important transport point, both for internal and external railiway connection. Most of the international trains, which are crossing through Ukraine, have stop in Vinnitsia. For example, trains from Moscow and SaintPetersburg (Russia), Minsk (Belarus), Sofia (Bolgaria), Kishineu (Moldova), Bratislava (Slovakia), Belgrade (Serbia), Budapesht (Hungary) are transiting through Vinnitsia.^[20] [In internal railiway connection, Vinnitsa is also an important transoprt point for trains, heading to Western Ukraine (Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi) and to South (Odessa), as well as to Central Ukraine (Kyiv).

Vinnitsa railway station, Ukraine

Old diesel locomotive TEM2M-063 in Vinnitsa railway station, Ukraine

Bus

There are the central bus station ^[21] and the Western bus station in Vinnytsia.^[22][23]

Modern bus at Western bus station in Vinnytsia

Notable people

The house where Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky was born.

• Nathan Altman (1889–1970) – avant-garde artist
• Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864–1913) – Ukrainian author of novels and short stories. His home is a museum.
• Mykola Leontovych (1877–1921) – Ukrainian composer who worked here
• Alexander Lerner (1913–2004) – Soviet-Israeli cyberneticist and dissident
• Yuri Levada – sociologist, political scientist and the founder of the Levada Center
• Jerzy Niezbrzycki – captain of the Polish Army
• Nikolai Pirogov (1810–1881) – originally from Moscow, this Imperial Russian doctor, considered to be the founder of field surgery, spent the later years of his life in Vinnytsia. His home is a museum and his chapel tomb is open to visitors.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Vinnytsia is twinned with:^[24]

Gallery

• 
  Vinnytsia regional council
• 
  The main train station.
• 
  The Transfiguration Cathedral in Vinnytsia (1758).
• 
  Baptist church.
• 
  Glory Memorial and Eternal Flame.
• 
  Modernist building, built by architect V.P. Listovichiy.
• 
  Medical University in Vinnytsia.
• 
  State academic theater.
• 
  Savoy Hotel in Vinnytsia
• 
  City hall
• 
  Home stadium of PFC Nyva Vinnytsia.
• 
  ROSHEN Factory in Vinnytsia.

See also

• FC Nyva Vinnytsia
• Roshen
• Fountain Roshen
• TIK (band)
• Vinnytsia massacre
• Vinnytsia tram
• Werwolf (Wehrmacht HQ)
• Harold F. Cherniss, famous American scholar, son of emigrant from Vinnytsia

References

External links

Look up Vinnytsia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vinnytsia.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Vinnytsya.

• Official website (Ukrainian) (English)

Administrative divisions of Vinnytsia Oblast
Administrative center: Vinnytsia
Raions	Bar Bershad Chechelnyk Chernivtsi Haisyn Illintsi Kalynivka Khmilnyk Koziatyn Kryzhopil Lityn Lypovets Mohyliv-Podilskyi Murovani Kurylivtsi Nemyriv Orativ Pishchanka Pohrebyshche Sharhorod Teplyk Tomashpil Trostianets Tulchyn Tyvriv Vinnytsia Yampil Zhmerynka
Cities	Regional Khmilnyk Koziatyn Ladyzhyn Mohyliv-Podilskyi Vinnytsia Zhmerynka District Bar Bershad Haisyn Hnivan Illintsi Kalynivka Lypovets Nemyriv Pohrebyshche Sharhorod Tulchyn Yampil
Urban-type settlements Category:Vinnytsia Oblast

Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Oblasts	Cherkasy Chernihiv Chernivtsi Dnipropetrovsk Donetsk Ivano-Frankivsk Kharkiv Kherson Khmelnytskyi Kiev Kirovohrad Luhansk Lviv Mykolaiv Odessa Poltava Rivne Sumy Ternopil Vinnytsia Volyn Zakarpattia Zaporizhia Zhytomyr
Cities with special status	Kiev Sevastopol1
Autonomous republic	Crimea1
Administrative centers	Cherkasy Chernihiv Chernivtsi Dnipropetrovsk Donetsk Ivano-Frankivsk Kharkiv Kherson Khmelnytskyi Kiev Kropyvnytskyi Luhansk Lutsk Lviv Mykolaiv Odessa Poltava Rivne Sevastopol Simferopol Sumy Ternopil Uzhhorod Vinnytsia Zaporizhia Zhytomyr
1Claimed and controlled by Russia as the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol