Ovruch ( uk, Овруч, pl, Owrucz, yi, , russian: О́вруч) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Korosten Raion Korosten Raion ( uk, Коростенський район) is a raion (district) of Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. Its administrative centre is Korosten. The raion covers an area of . It makes Korosten raion the largest by area in Ukraine. P ...

, in the

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast ( uk, Жито́мирська о́бласть, translit=Zhytomyrska oblast), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna ( uk, Жито́мирщина}) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the obla ...

(

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

) of northern

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 ...

. Prior to 2020, 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 former Ovruch Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

). It has a population of approximately and is home to the Ovruch air base.

History

Ovruch originated as an important town of

Kyivan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. Later after the sack of Iskorosten it became the capital city of Drevlian.Mykhailo Hrushevsky. History of Ukraine-Rus. In the 14th century it became part of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

. In 1483, Crimean Tatars destroyed the settlement. According to the Treaty of Lublin (1569),

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 ...

with Owrucz formed a province 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 ...

. In 1641, Polish King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...

granted Owrucz city rights. It was a

royal city Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

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

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian W ...

in 1793 it was annexed by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The only mark of the town's antiquity is St. Basil's Church, commissioned by Rurik II of Kyiv from his court architect Pyotr Miloneg in the late 1190s. The church was built in Rurik's

votchina Votchina (russian: во́тчина) or otchina (о́тчина – from word ''Father'') was an East Slavic land estate that could be inherited. The term "votchina" was also used to describe the lands of a knyaz. The term originated in the la ...

and was dedicated to his patron saint.

Geography

Located in northwestern Ukraine, 50 km south of the

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian border, Ovruch is part of the geographical region of

Polesia Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

. It's located 48 km (30 miles) from

Korosten Korosten ( uk, Ко́ростень, ; historically also ''Iskorosten'' ) is a historic city and a large transport hub in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located on the Uzh River. Korosten serves as the administrative c ...

, 133 km from

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

, and 92 km from

Mazyr Mazyr ( be, Мазыр, ; russian: Мозырь ''Mozyr'' , pl, Mozyrz , Yiddish: מאזיר) is a city in the Gomel Region of Belarus on the Pripyat River about east of Pinsk and northwest of Chernobyl. It is located at approximately . The p ...

, in Belarus; and it is 100 km from the ghost town of

Pripyat Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...

, near the

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP; ; ), is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine borde ...

Architecture

St. Basil's Church has four pillars, three apses and one dome. The western facade is flanked by two round towers, probably in imitation of the

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, is an architectural monument of Kyivan Rus. The former cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the K ...

. The building is distinguished by elaborate brick facades, interlaced with bands of polished colored stone. The complicated design of pilasters points to a complex system of roofing and to a very high dome. The dome and vaults collapsed during the siege of Ovruch by

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

in 1321. The ruins of the church survived until 1842, when they crumbled, with the exception of three apses and a portion of the northern wall with an arch. In 1907

Aleksey Shchusev Alexey Victorovich Shchusev (academic spelling), german: Schtschussew, french: Chtchoussev, pl, Szchusiew. (russian: Алексе́й Ви́кторович Щу́сев; – 24 May 1949) was a Russian Empire, Russian and Soviet Union, Sov ...

was commissioned to restore the church to its presumed original form, incorporating the remains of Rurik's church into its edifice. Restoration work lasted for two years, and it won Schusev the prestigious title of the Academician of Architecture. More recently, the accuracy of his restoration has been questioned, as it didn't take into account the complicated system of vaulting and the considerable height of the drum. As a consequence of this oversight, the drum was restored according to a model typical of more archaic churches, rather than for the turn of the 13th century. Adjacent buildings of St. Basil's Convent were built on the model of medieval architecture of Pskov, simultaneously with the restoration of the main church.

Climate

Personalities

Vladimir Bogoraz Vladimir Germanovich Bogoraz (russian: Влади́мир Ге́рманович Богора́з), who was born Natan Mendelevich Bogoraz (russian: Ната́н Ме́нделевич Богора́з) and used the literary pseudonym N. A. Tan ( ...

(1865-1936), revolutionary, writer and anthropologist *

Stefano Ittar Stefano Ittar (March 15, 1724 - January 18, 1790) was a Polish-Italian architect. Biography Ittar was born in Owrucz (then in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, now in Ukraine), where his father, a member of one of Italy's aristocratic fa ...

(1724-1790), Polish-Italian architect *

Oleksandr Lavrynovych Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Lavrynovych ( uk, Олександр Володимирович Лавринович; born June 28, 1956 in Ovruch) is a Ukrainian physicist, lawyer, politician, former member of the Supreme Council of Justice of Ukraine ...

(b. 1956), physicist, lawyer and politician * Yuri Nemyrych (1612–1659), politician of the

Gallery

File:Вокзал станції Овруч.jpg, Ovruch railway station File:Церква Святого Василія 8.jpg, St. Basil Church - modern view File:Ovruch 20.jpg, Ovruch in Winter File:Ovruch1.JPG, Transfiguration Church in Ovruch File:Овруч, вул.Радянська,37-4.JPG , Historic building in town's centre File:Ovruch after shelling during Russian invasion (05).jpg, A house after the

2022 Russian invasion On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's List of largest refugee crises, largest refugee cris ...

References

*Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР. Kiev, 1983–86. Vol. 2, page 153
online

External links

Ovruch official website

Photos of Ovruch

Ovruch @ Ukrainian.Travel
{{Authority control Cities in Zhytomyr Oblast Korosten Raion Ovruchsky Uyezd Cossack Hetmanate Kiev Voivodeship Drevlians Cities of district significance in Ukraine