Kiliia or Kilia ( uk, Кілія́, translit=Kiliia, ; ro, Chilia Nouă) is a town in

Izmail Raion Izmail Raion ( uk, Ізмаїльський район ; ; bg, Измаилски район; ro, Raionul Ismail) is a raion (administrative division) in Odesa Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the town of Izmail. I ...

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administ ...

of southwestern

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 inva ...

. It hosts the administration of

Kiliia urban hromada Kiliia or Kilia ( uk, Кілія́, translit=Kiliia, ; ro, Chilia Nouă) is a town in Izmail Raion, Odesa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kiliia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Kiliia is located ...

, 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. Kiliia is located in the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...

, in the

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

n historic district of

Budjak Budjak or Budzhak ( Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danu ...

; across the river lies the Romanian town of Chilia Veche (Old Kiliia). The

Chilia branch The Chilia branch (; ) is one of three main distributary channels of the river Danube that contributes to forming the Danube Delta. Lying at the northernmost area of the delta, the distributary creates a natural border between Romania and Ukra ...

of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

river, which separates Ukraine from Romania, is named after it. Population:

History

A town on the Romanian side of the Chilia branch of the Danube, now known as '' Chilia Veche'' ( uk, Cтapa Кілія, translit. ''Stara Kiliia'') or "Old Chilia", was founded by the Greek Byzantines – κελλία, ''kellia'' in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

being the equivalent of "granaries", a name first recorded in 1241, in the works of the Persian chronicler

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb ( fa, رشیدالدین طبیب;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, fa, links=no, رشیدالدین فضل‌الله همدانی) was a statesman, historian and physician in Ilk ...

. Kiliia is therefore sometimes referred to as ''Nova Kiliia'' meaning "New Kiliia". In the place that is now Kiliia, a large colony was established by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

, known as "Licostomo" and headed by a consul (a representative of the Republic in the region). From that time, only the defensive ditches of a Genoese fortress remained. The city was founded by Stephen the Great of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, in order to counteract the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

which had taken control over Chilia Veche in the 15th century. It was a major

n port. However, it was eventually conquered by the Ottomans in 1484, who kept it until 1790, when it was taken by Russian army under the command of the general

Ivan Gudovich Count Ivan Vasilyevich Gudovich (russian: Граф Ива́н Васи́льевич Гудо́вич, tr. ; 1741–1820) was a Russian noble and military leader of Ukrainian descent. His exploits included the capture of Khadjibey (1789) and ...

during

Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 involved an unsuccessful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to regain lands lost to the Russian Empire in the course of the previous Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). It took place concomitantly with the Austro ...

. The ''Times'' of London reported that "35,000 of the inhabitants were involved in a general massacre," an incident that had "been celebrated in prose and poetry." "The Seat of War on the Danube," ''The Times,'' December 29, page 8
/ref> The city was given back to the Ottomans in 1792, but retaken by the Russians in 1806 and awarded to them officially in 1812. Kilianova

After being bombarded by the Anglo-French fleet in July 1854 during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, it was given to Romania in the

Treaty of Paris (1856) The Treaty of Paris of 1856 brought an end to the Crimean War between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom, the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The treaty, signed on 30 March 1856 at ...

. In 1878, Kiliia was transferred back to Russia together with

. Between 1918 and 1940 it was again part of Romania, then integrated in the Soviet Union and the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

(it was briefly held yet again by Romania, from 1941 to 1944, during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

), and passed on to independent Ukraine after the Soviet downfall. The oldest building in Kiliia is the semi-subterranean church of St. Nicholas, which may go back to 1485, although an old inscription in the church claims that it was founded on 10 May 1647.

Notable residents

* Ihor Nesterenko (born 1990), Israeli-Ukrainian basketball player in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

Gallery

File:Собор вночі.jpg, Intercession of the Theotokos Church File:В современности.jpg, St. Nicholas Church File:Покровська (старообрядницька) церква - купол, Кілія.JPG, Skyline of Kiliia from one of the churches File:Kherson-28102009(093).jpg, Tombstone in

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located on the Black Sea and on the Dnieper River, Kherson is the home of a major ship-building industry and is a regional economic centre. I ...

of soldier fallen in the siege of Kiliia File:Stamp of Moldova 207.gif, Kiliia Fortress

References

{{coord, 45, 27, N, 29, 16, E, display=title, region:UA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Cities in Odesa Oblast Castles in Ukraine Castles in Moldavia Territories of the Republic of Genoa Populated places on the Danube Romania–Ukraine border crossings Port cities and towns in Ukraine Port cities of the Black Sea Cities of district significance in Ukraine Ismail County Izmailsky Uyezd Cities in Izmail Raion