Kostopil ( uk, Косто́піль, pl, Kostopol) is a small city, originally named Ostlec Wielki or Ostaltsi, on the Zamchysko river in
Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast ( uk, Рі́вненська о́бласть, translit=Rivnenska oblast), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna ( uk, Рі́вненщина) is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of th ...
of western
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
(historical
Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...
). It was the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of the
Kostopil Raion up to 2020, but is now within the Rivne Raion. Population:
History
Kostopil was the property of Prince
Władysław Dominik Zasławski
Prince Wladysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski (ca. 1616 – 1656) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic) of Ruthenian stock. Prince of the Princely Houses of Poland, Ostroh Ordynat, Grand Koniuszy of The Crown.
Zasławski was the most powerfu ...
and is mentioned in 1648-58 registers. It was originally a village based on a local iron mine, but in 1792 the local landowner, Leonard Wortzel, obtained town privileges for his estate including the right for an annual fair from
Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...
. At this time Wortzel changed the town's name to Kostopol.
During the
Partitions of Poland many Germans migrated from occupied Polish lands to
Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...
because repossessed land was available there for purchase. The region between
Anielowka and Kostopol contained many German villages. Settlement in the town was encouraged by the imperial authorities but it stagnated until a railway station was opened on the
Rovno
Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
-
Vilna
Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...
line in the late 1890s. The railway promoted the establishment of new industries such as flour mills, oil pressing, spinning mill, sawmill, and a match factory. Development was interrupted in 1906 when a fire destroyed most of the town's buildings. Afterwards, most new construction used bricks.
The town had become a centre for Jewish settlement in the
interwar Poland
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...
and this continued until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, when about 40% (about 4,000) of the population were Jewish. Kostopol became the local administrative centre of Kostopol County in 1925. The town had been joined with
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
after the end of
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. By the end of the 1920s, there were three timber yards (two of them Jewish owned, one government owned), three plywood factories (Jewish owned), two furniture factories, two glass factories, two agriculture machinery works, three flour mills (two Jewish owned), two oil presses, four tar and turpentine factories and a brick factory operating in Kostopol. In nearby
Janowa Dolina, there were
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
and
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
quarries, with railway links to Kostopol station. The Polish government built a housing projects for the quarry workers.
A local newspaper is published here since 1939.
World War II
The Germans occupied Kostopol on 1 July 1941 and immediately there was a
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
against the local Jews. The Germans progressively degraded the Jews' position and condition, by enforcing the wearing of yellow stars, imposing forced labour and confiscating Jewish property. On 16 August 1941, the Germans rounded up 470 of the most influential Jews in the community and transported them out of Kostopol, where they were all executed. Another 1,400 Jews related to those who had been executed, were arrested on 1 October and also taken away and killed.
A
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
was established in Kostopol on 5 October 1941. Despite the great over-crowding, there were no epidemics. One hundred Jews,
Judenrat
A ''Judenrat'' (, "Jewish council") was a World War II administrative agency imposed by Nazi Germany on Jewish communities across occupied Europe, principally within the Nazi ghettos. The Germans required Jews to form a ''Judenrat'' in every c ...
members, Jewish Police and key professionals, were exempt and were allowed to live outside the ghetto. The ghetto was liquidated on 25 August 1942. German police surrounded the ghetto. The ghetto was emptied and the remaining inhabitants were transported to Khotinka, a nearby village, and exterminated upon arrival. A few managed to escape but they were caught and returned to the Germans and murdered. In July 1942 the remaining Jews from
Rivne
Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
(perhaps 7,000 people) were brought by train to Kostopol and were murdered by German police in a quarry near woods outside the town.
On 24 August, in Kostopol's forced labour camp, 700 Jewish labourers, led by Gedalia Braier, revolted during the daily census. When Brajer shouted "''Hura!''", he started a mass escape attempt. Some reached the nearby forest, but most of them were caught and killed. Some survived with the help of local villagers and joined Soviet
partisan units. Less than ten survived the war. Since March 1943, Kostopol was one of locations where Polish civilian population of Volhynia fled from the Ukrainian nationalists (see
Volhynian Genocide). Here, the
Polnisches Schutzmannschaftsbataillon 202 was stationed, protecting Polish population from attacks by the
Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...
.
Kostopol was liberated by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
on 31 January 1944. Only about 270 Kostopol Jews had survived the German occupation, including those who had escaped eastwards before the mass killings.
In 1952,
a medical college was opened here.
In January 1989 the population was 31 610 people.
Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу
/ref>
Kostopil is the birthplace of Polish poet and painter Bogdan Chorazuk (born 1934).
Personalities
Some of Ukrainian political and social activists such as Yuri Zhilko, Leonid Mosendz, Neil Hasevych had been living in Kostopil.
Kostopil's outstanding people:
* Roman Datsyuk - Ukrainian football player.
* Kozak Sergiy Borisovych - literary critic, publicist.
* Kolobov Sergiy Alexandrovych - Ukrainian politician and top manager, communicator.
* Piasyuk Roman Volodymyrovych (1975—2015) - sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, participant of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
* Natalia Pogorilchuk - Ukrainian Geomorphologist, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Associate Professor of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
* Regeza Olexander Petrovych - member of Ukrainian political movement UPA.
* Ruslan Salivonchyk (1983–2014) - military officer of the Kherson special purpose police patrol volunteer battalion. He died in the battle near Ilovaysk.
* Vitaliy Stavsky (1991—2014) - junior sergeant of the 80th separate airmobile crew. He died on his birthday during an attack by militants at the Luhansk airport.
* Oleksandr Stihanov - Ukrainian producer, songwriter, director, screenwriter, composer, and clip-maker.
* Yuriy Tkachuk (1968-2016) - Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, participant in the Russian-Ukrainian War.
References
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120418154109/http://www.kostopil.eu/ Web-page of Kostopil
Video of Kostopil
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Rivne Oblast
Volhynian Governorate
Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939)
Shtetls
Populated places established in 1939
1939 establishments in the Soviet Union
Cities of district significance in Ukraine
Holocaust locations in Ukraine
Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust