Vyshhorod ( uk, Ви́шгород) is a city in
Kyiv Oblast
Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...
(
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
) in central
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 ...
, situated immediately north of
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
city, the national capital, and part of the
Kyiv metropolitan area
The Kyiv metropolitan area ( uk, Київська агломерація, ) is an unofficially designated urban agglomeration within the outer boundary of Kyiv Oblast in Ukraine. It consists of the country's capital city of Kyiv (an enclave within ...
. It is on the right (western) bank of the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
river and, as the location of the
Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant
Kyiv Hydroelectric Station is a run-of-river power plant on the Dnieper River in Vyshhorod, Ukraine. The long dam creates the Kyiv Reservoir with the purpose of hydroelectric power generation and navigability with the dam's associated lock. The f ...
, the northern part of the city is beside the
Kyiv Reservoir
The Kyiv Cistern ( uk, Київське водосховище, translit=Kyyivs’ke vodoskhovyshche), locally the Kyiv Sea, is a large Reservoir (water), water reservoir located on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. Named after the city of Kyiv, whi ...
. It is the administrative center of
Vyshhorod Raion
Vyshhorod Raion () is a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Vyshhorod. It has a population of
On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Kyiv Oblast ...
and hosts the administration of
Vyshhorod urban hromada
Vyshhorod ( uk, Ви́шгород) is a city in Kyiv Oblast (region) in central Ukraine, situated immediately north of Kyiv city, the national capital, and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It is on the right (western) bank of the Dnieper ri ...
, one of the
hromada
A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=terytorialna hromada) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukra ...
s of Ukraine.
With a history dating back to the
first millennium
File:1st millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: Depiction of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity; The Colosseum, a landmark of the once-mighty Roman Empire; Kaaba, the Great Mosque of Mecca, the holiest site of Islam; Chess, ...
, Vyshhorod is now a notable industrial center and a growing
commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for Kyiv. Its population is approximately
Geography and climate
Vyshhorod is located on a hilly right bank of the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
river adjoining the dam of the
Kyiv Reservoir
The Kyiv Cistern ( uk, Київське водосховище, translit=Kyyivs’ke vodoskhovyshche), locally the Kyiv Sea, is a large Reservoir (water), water reservoir located on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. Named after the city of Kyiv, whi ...
.
History
The earliest historical mention of ''Vyshhorod'' (the name literally translates as "
the town upstream") dates from as early as 946 when it was described as the favourite residence of
Saint Olga
Olga ( orv, Вольга, Volĭga; (); russian: Ольга (); uk, Ольга (). Old Norse: '; Lith: ''Alge''; Christian name: ''Elena''; c. 890–925 – 969) was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 960. Followi ...
. Also mentioned in ''
De Administrando Imperio
''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...
'', Vyshhorod served as the fortified castle and residence of the monarchs of
Kievan 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 ...
on the Dnieper from that time until 1240, when the Mongols sacked it. At Vyshhorod
Vladimir the Great
Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...
(reigned 980 to 1015) kept a
harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
of 300 concubines. After the
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, the location does not appear in the records again until 1523 – and even then it was documented as a poor village.
In 1934-37 and 1947, the archaeological remnants of the medieval town were excavated. The most striking find was the basement of the eight-pillared Church of St. Basil, founded by Vladimir the Great and named after his patron saint. As the church was one of the largest in Kievan Rus', it took twenty years to complete it. Before the Mongol invasion, the church housed the relics of the first East Slavic saints,
Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb ( orv, Борисъ и Глѣбъ, ''Borisŭ i Glěbŭ''; russian: Борис и Глеб, ''Boris i Gleb''; ua, Борис і Гліб, ''Borys i Hlib''), Christian names Roman and David, respectively ( orv, Романъ, Дав ...
, but their subsequent fate remains a mystery. The ancient Cossack military monastery, the
Mezhyhirskyi Monastery
__NOTOC__
The Mezhyhirya Savior-Transfiguration Monastery). See: , group="nb" ( uk, Межигірський Спасо-Преображенський монастир, ''Mezhyhirskyi Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Monastyr'') was an Eastern Orthodox fema ...
, stood not too far away from the city.
Vyshhorod grew considerably following the construction of the
hydroelectric Kyiv power plant and was incorporated as a town in 1968.
Industry
Vyshhorod has more than 1,500 enterprises and companies, the most important being the
Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant
Kyiv Hydroelectric Station is a run-of-river power plant on the Dnieper River in Vyshhorod, Ukraine. The long dam creates the Kyiv Reservoir with the purpose of hydroelectric power generation and navigability with the dam's associated lock. The f ...
, the
Kyiv Pumped Storage Power Plant
The Kyiv Pumped-Storage Power Plant ( uk, Ки́ївська гідроакумулювальна електростанція) is a pumped-storage power station on the west bank of the Kyiv Reservoir in Vyshhorod, Ukraine. The Kyiv Reservoir serve ...
(both operated by
Ukrhydroenergo
PJSC «Ukrhydroenergo» ( uk, Укргідроенерго) is a State-owned enterprise, state company of Ukraine that administers a cascade of major hydro power plants along Dnieper and Dniester riversPrivate Joint Stock Company «Ukrhydroenergo ...
) and a
building materials
Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-ma ...
factory owned by German firm
Henkel
AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is active in both the consumer and industrial sectors. Founded in 1876, the DAX company is organi ...
.
Transportation
Vyshhorod is connected to Kyiv and other localities mainly by roads. There is also a non-electrified
terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
rail connection to Kyiv used for both freight transport and
peak hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour ( Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: ...
commuter passenger service. The city's river port facilities are used for local industrial purposes only.
Jitney buses run between Vyshhorod and the
Heroiv Dnipra station of the
Kyiv Metro
The Kyiv Metro ( uk, Ки́ївський метрополіте́н, Kyivskyi metropoliten, ) is a rapid transit system in Kyiv that is owned by the Kyiv City Council and operated by the city-owned company Kyivsky Metropoliten''.'' It was initi ...
's
Obolonsko–Teremkivska line.
Sports
In 2011, Vyshhorod was the first Ukrainian city to host the
F1 Powerboat World Championship
The Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship (also F1) is an international motorboat racing competition for powerboats organised by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) and promoted by H2O Racing, hence it often being referred to as F1H2O. ...
motorboat race.
Twin towns – sister cities
Vyshhorod is
twinned with:
*
Delčevo
Delčevo ( mk, Делчево ) is a small town in the eastern mountainous part of North Macedonia. It is the municipal seat of the eponymous municipality. A festival in celebration of revolutionary leader Goce Delčev) is held every year on Au ...
, North Macedonia
*
Eichenau
Eichenau is a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, in Bavaria, Germany. It is 20 km west of Munich (centre).
Eichenau was officially named in 1907 as a separate settlement to the community of Alling. Its location is due to ...
, Germany
*
Kaniv
Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urb ...
, Ukraine
*
Lörrach
Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including the ...
, Germany
*
Rakvere
Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the administrative centre of the Lääne-Viru ''maakond'' (county), 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. Rakvere is the 8th most populous urban area in Estonia. Rakvere has a tota ...
, Estonia
*
Sens
Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris.
Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...
, France
*
Wyszków
Wyszków (; yi, ווישקאָוו ''Vishkov'') is a town in eastern Poland with 26,500 inhabitants (2018). It is the capital of Wyszków County in Masovian Voivodeship.
History
The village of Wyszków was first documented in 1203. It was grant ...
, Poland
See also
*
Visegrad, towns with similar names
References
External links
Unofficial pageVyshhorod photo gallery
{{Coord, 50, 35, N, 30, 30, E, type:city_region:UA, display=title
Cities in Kyiv Oblast
History of Kievan Rus'
946 establishments
Cities of district significance in Ukraine
Populated places on the Dnieper in Ukraine