Bila Tserkva
Encyclopedia
Bila Tserkva is a city
located on the Ros' River
in the Kiev Oblast
(province
) in central Ukraine
, approximately 80 km (49.7 mi) south of the capital, Kiev
. Population 203,300 (1 January 2004 est.) Area 34 km².
of the Bilotserkivskyi Raion
(district
), Bila Tserkva is a city of oblast subordinance
thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the raion administration housed in the city itself.
, whose Christian name was Yuri. The present name of the city, literally translated, is "White Church" and may refer to the (no longer existing) white-painted cathedral of medieval Yuriev.
Since 1363 it belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
, and since 1569 to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. Was granted Magdeburg Rights
in 1620 by Sigismund III Vasa
.
A peace treaty
between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
and Ukrainian Cossack
rebels under Bohdan Khmelnytsky
was signed here in 1651.
Beginning in the second half of the 18th century, Bila Tserkva (Biała Cerkiew), then the seat of the sub-prefecture (starostwo
), was the property of the Branicki family. Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
, Poland's Grand Hetman, built there his urban residence – the Winter Palace complex and a country residence with the park "Alexandria" (named after his wife). He founded a Catholic Church of John the Baptist and started construction of the Orthodox church which was completed by his successor - count Władysław Grzegorz. The latter one built also the gymnasium-school complex in Bila Tserkva. Aleksander Branicki, the grandson of the hetman, renovated and finished the Mazepa's Orthodox church. Under the rule of count Władysław Michał Branicki, Bila Tserkva developed into a regional commercial and manufacturing centre.
Bila Tserkva was annexed into Russian Empire
as a result of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793.
After 1861, the Tzarist authorities converted the Roman Catholic church into an Orthodox Church. During the Soviet times Bila Tserkva became a large industrial hub (machine building and construction industry).
Preceding the Russian Revolution and until the 1930s, there was a significant Jewish community here. Some were driven out by Cossacks and Tzarist policies. Many were driven out in the Stalinist purges. Most remnants were destroyed during the Holocaust and other losses during the Second World War.
A historical landscape park
"Alexandria" of 2 km² (0.77220431718507 sq mi) is situated in Bila Tserkva. It was founded in 1793 by the wife of the Polish hetman
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
.
tire
manufacturer "Rosava" and the football team FC Ros' Bila Tserkva
. Ros is a team in the lower levels of the Ukrainian Football League.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
located on the Ros' River
Ros' River
Ros is a river in Ukraine, 346 km in length, a right tributary of the Dnieper river. The Ros river finds its source in the village of Ordyntsi in Pohrebyschenskyi Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast....
in the Kiev Oblast
Kiev Oblast
Kyiv Oblast, sometimes written as Kiev Oblast is an oblast in central Ukraine.The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kyiv , also being the capital of Ukraine...
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
) in central Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, approximately 80 km (49.7 mi) south of the capital, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Population 203,300 (1 January 2004 est.) Area 34 km².
Administrative status
Serving as the administrative centerCapital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of the Bilotserkivskyi Raion
Bilotserkivskyi Raion
Bila Tserkva Raion is a raion in Kiev Oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Bila Tserkva. The raions area totals 1,276.8 km².-Subdivisions:Bila Tserkva Raion consists of 1 city , 1 town and 58 villages...
(district
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
), Bila Tserkva is a city of oblast subordinance
Administrative divisions of Ukraine
Ukraine is subdivided into 24 oblasts , one autonomous republic, and two "cities with special status".- Overview :...
thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the raion administration housed in the city itself.
History
The town was founded in 1032 as Yuriev by Yaroslav the WiseYaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus, known as Yaroslav the Wise (Old Norse: Jarizleifr; ; Old East Slavic and Russian: Ярослав Мудрый; Ukrainian: Ярослав Мудрий; c...
, whose Christian name was Yuri. The present name of the city, literally translated, is "White Church" and may refer to the (no longer existing) white-painted cathedral of medieval Yuriev.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, and since 1569 to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. Was granted Magdeburg Rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
in 1620 by Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
.
A peace treaty
Treaty of Bila Tserkva
The Treaty of Bila Tserkva was a peace treaty between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ukrainian Cossacks in the aftermath of the Battle of Bila Tserkva...
between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and Ukrainian Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
rebels under Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
was signed here in 1651.
Beginning in the second half of the 18th century, Bila Tserkva (Biała Cerkiew), then the seat of the sub-prefecture (starostwo
Starostwo
Starostwo , from the 14th century in the Polish Crown and later through the era of the joint state of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until the partitions of Poland in 1795, referred to the crown lands administered by the official known as starosta...
), was the property of the Branicki family. Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Count Franciszek Ksawery Branicki was a Polish nobleman of the Korczak coat of arms, magnate and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation....
, Poland's Grand Hetman, built there his urban residence – the Winter Palace complex and a country residence with the park "Alexandria" (named after his wife). He founded a Catholic Church of John the Baptist and started construction of the Orthodox church which was completed by his successor - count Władysław Grzegorz. The latter one built also the gymnasium-school complex in Bila Tserkva. Aleksander Branicki, the grandson of the hetman, renovated and finished the Mazepa's Orthodox church. Under the rule of count Władysław Michał Branicki, Bila Tserkva developed into a regional commercial and manufacturing centre.
Bila Tserkva was annexed into Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as a result of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793.
After 1861, the Tzarist authorities converted the Roman Catholic church into an Orthodox Church. During the Soviet times Bila Tserkva became a large industrial hub (machine building and construction industry).
Preceding the Russian Revolution and until the 1930s, there was a significant Jewish community here. Some were driven out by Cossacks and Tzarist policies. Many were driven out in the Stalinist purges. Most remnants were destroyed during the Holocaust and other losses during the Second World War.
Sights
Notable buildings include the covered market (1809–1814) and the complex of post buildings (1825–31). There are also Palladian wooden buildings of the Branickis' "Winter Palace" and the district nobility assembly. The church of St. Nicholas was started in 1706 but was not completed until 1852. The Orthodox cathedral of the Saviour's Transfiguration was constructed in 1833-1839, while the Catholic Church dates to 1812.Landscape park
Landscape park may refer to:* Landscape Park , a type of designated natural area in Poland* Landscape garden...
"Alexandria" of 2 km² (0.77220431718507 sq mi) is situated in Bila Tserkva. It was founded in 1793 by the wife of the Polish hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Count Franciszek Ksawery Branicki was a Polish nobleman of the Korczak coat of arms, magnate and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation....
.
Activities
The city is home to the major automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
manufacturer "Rosava" and the football team FC Ros' Bila Tserkva
FC Ros' Bila Tserkva
FC Ros Bila Tserkva was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Bila Tserkva, Kiev Oblast that was expelled from the league after the 2010–11 season.The club was formed in 1983....
. Ros is a team in the lower levels of the Ukrainian Football League.
Famous people
- Yossele Rosenblatt - Famous American cantor
- David BronsteinDavid BronsteinDavid Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
- Leading chess grandmasterInternational GrandmasterThe title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
and writer. - Volodymyr DyudyaVolodymyr DyudyaVolodymyr Dyudya is a Ukrainian professional racing cyclist for UCI Professional Continental team . He competes on both road and track...
- Ukrainian cyclist. - Lyudmila PavlichenkoLyudmila PavlichenkoLyudmila Mykhailivna Pavlichenko was a Soviet sniper during World War II, credited with 309 kills, and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history.-Early life:...
- World War II Soviet sniperSoviet sniperSnipers of the Soviet Union played an important role mainly on the Eastern Front of World War II, apart from other preceding and subsequent conflicts. In World War II, Soviet snipers used the 7.62x54R rifle cartridge with light, heavy, armour-piercing , armour-piercing-and-incendiary ,... - Olexandr Medvid'Alexander MedvedAlexander Vasiliyevich Medved is a famous Soviet/Russian Belarussian wrestler. He is considered by most to be the best freestyle wrestler of all time. He was the first person ever to win three gold medals in freestyle wrestling. FILA recognizes Medved as The Greatest Wrestler of the 20th Century...
- a famous SovietSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
/BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian wrestler. - Yuriy Zagorodniy - FootballerFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
- Yuri LinnikYuri LinnikYuri Vladimirovich Linnik was a Soviet mathematician active in number theory, probability theory and mathematical statistics.Linnik was born in Bila Tserkva, in present-day Ukraine. He went to St Petersburg University where his supervisor was Vladimir Tartakovski, and later worked at that...
- soviet mathematician - Shmuel Yerushalmi - Israeli protest poet
- Vadim Lazarkevich - Russian–Bulgarian illustrator
- Lyudmila Usherovitz - Jewish–Gymnast