Mezhirichi ( uk, Вели́кі Межи́річі, Velyki Mezhyrichi, pl, Wielki Międzyrzecz) is a village in 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 ...

, in the

Rivne Raion Rivne Raion ( uk, Рівненський район) is a raion in Rivne Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Rivne. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raion ...

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 ...

, but was formerly administered within the

Korets Raion Korets Raion ( uk, Корецький район) was a raion in Rivne Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center was the town of Korets. The raion was abolished and its territory was merged into Rivne Raion on 18 July 2020 as part of th ...

. It is located west of

Korets Korets (, russian: link=no, Корец, , yi, קאריץ ''Koritz'') is a city in Rivne Oblast in Ukraine. The city is located on the Korchyk river, 66 kilometers to the east of Rivne. It is administrative center of Korets Raion. Population: ...

and east of

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 ...

. Local government is administered by Velykomezhyritska village council.

Names

Mezhirichi is also known as pl, Międzyrzec Korecki, yi, מעזריטש ''Mezritsh'', he, מזריטש גדול.

Jewish life in Mezhirichi

Undoubtedly the most significant event in the Jewish community of Mezhirichi was the arrival there of the

Maggid A maggid ( he, מַגִּיד), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a '' darshan'' (). The title of '' ...

, Rabbi Dov Ber. After the death of the founder of

Hasidism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

, the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

, in 1761, Rabbi Dov Ber became the next leader of the movement. He moved to

, and later to Mezhrichi, where he remained for the rest of his life. Mezhrichi rapidly became a magnet and place of pilgrimage for the chasidim. The location of Mezhrichi, nearer to Poland and White Russia than the Baal Shem Tov's seat in

Medzhybizh Medzhybizh, previously known as Mezhybozhe, population 1,731, (Census 2001) ( uk, Меджибіж, russian: Меджибож, Translit: ''Medzhibozh'', pl, Międzybóż, german: Medschybisch, yi, מעזשביזש, translit. ''Mezhbizh'') is ...

, acted as a spur to the fledgling chasidic movement.

History and attractions

The first written record of the village dates from 1544. However, archaeologists found in the area a settlement of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and the

Roman coins Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denomi ...

of II century AD.
The

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

were provided for the village Mezhyrichi by the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

in 1605. And in 1702 the owner of the village, Jerzy Lubomirski, started to build a stone church of St. Anthony in the village, which took 25 years to erect. The church was built on the place of an old wooden church, which had been erected by means of by Konstantine Ostrogski and which burned down in 1601.
Monuments of architecture national importance in the Rivne region is the stone church of St. Anthony (N - 1503 0) and Peter and Paul Church (wooden) (N – 1505 0) in the village Velyki Mezhyrichi. Пам'ятки архітектури національного значення Рівненської області

Gallery

File:Церква свв. Петра і Павла.jpg, Peter and Paul Church (wooden) in the village Velyki Mezhyrichi. File:Velyki-Mezhyrichi.jpg, Church of St.Anthony in the village Velyki Mezhyrichi.

Notable people from Mezhirichi

* Dov Ber, rabbi *Isaak Ozer Löwenstein, rabbi whose daughter Lina married Edward Eliasz Luxenburg and gave birth to Polish revolutionary socialist Róża Luksemburg.

References

External links

Великі Межерічі

weather.in.ua/Velyki Mezhyrichi (Rivne region)

Velykomezhyritska village council

Село Великі Межирічі: карта вулиць

Jews in Eastern Europe/Mezhyrichi
Cossack Hetmanate Jewish Ukrainian history {{Rivne-geo-stub Villages in Rivne Raion