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Lutsk (, ; see below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. It is the
administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...
of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a population of A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1085, Lutsk historically served as an administrative, cultural and religious center in Volhynia. The city contains several landmarks in various styles, including
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
,
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and Neoclassical, the most known being the medieval Lubart's Castle.


Names and etymology

Lutsk is an ancient Slavic town, mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle as Luchesk in the records of 1085. The etymology of the name is unclear. There are three hypotheses: the name may have been derived from the Old Slavic word ''luka'' (an arc or bend in a river), or the name may have originated from ''Luka'' (the chieftain of the '' Dulebs''), an ancient Slavic tribe living in this area. The name may also have been created after ''Luchanii'' (Luchans), an ancient branch of the tribe mentioned above. The city of Lutsk is also historically known by different names in other languages – , ; ; as well as a number of other names.


History

According to the legend, Luchesk dates from the 7th century. The first known documentary reference dates were from the year 1085. In the 11th century, along with the region of Volhynia, the town was contested by the Kyivan Rus' and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. The town served as the capital of the Principality of Halych-Volynia (founded in 1199) until the rise of Volodymyr. The town grew around a wooden stronghold built by a local branch of the Rurik Dynasty. At certain times the location functioned as the capital of the principality, but the town did not become an important centre of commerce or culture.


Grand Duchy of Lithuania

In 1240, Mongols seized and looted the nearby town but left the castle unharmed. In 1321, George, son of Lev, the last prospective heir of Halych-Volynia, died in a battle with the forces of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
n forces seized the castle. In 1349, the forces of King Casimir III of Poland captured the town, then Lithuania soon retook it, but it remained contested by Lithuania and Poland until 1382. The town began to prosper during the period of Lithuanian rule. Prince Lubart (died 1384), son of Gediminas, erected Lubart's Castle as part of his fortification programme. From 1385, it was part of the Polish-Lithuanian union, yet it remained an object of Lithuanian-Polish rivalry. Polish King
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...
appointed Polish starosts, brought in Dominican monks and staffed the Catholic bishopric, intending to connect it to the Polish Archdiocese of Lwów, while Lithuanian Duke Vytautas sought to diminish Polish influence and develop the city to become Lithuania's second capital after
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. Vytautas invited colonists (mostly
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, Tatars, and
Crimean Karaites Crimean Karaites or simply Karaites (Crimean Karaim language, Karaim: Кърымкъарайлар, ''Qrımqaraylar'', singular къарай, ''qaray''; Trakai dialect: ''karajlar'', singular ''karaj''; ; ; ), also known more broadly as Eastern E ...
). In 1427 he transferred the Catholic bishopric from Volodymyr to Luchesk. Vytautas was the last monarch to use the title of "Duke of Volhynia" and to reside in Lubart's Castle. The town grew rapidly, and by the end of the 15th century, there were 19 Orthodox and two Catholic churches. It was the seat of two Christian bishops, one Catholic and one Orthodox. Because of that, the town was sometimes nicknamed "the ''Volhynian Rome''." The cross symbol of Lutsk features the highest Lithuanian Presidential award, the Order of Vytautas the Great. In 1429 Lutsk was the meeting place selected for a conference of monarchs hosted by
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...
and Sophia of Halshany to deal with the Tatar threat. Those invited to attend included Sigismund, King of Hungary and Bohemia; Grand Duke Vasili II of Russia; Eric of Pomerania, king of
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
; the Grand Master of the Livonian Order Zisse von Rutenberg; the Duke of
Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...
Casimir V; Dan II, the ''Hospodar'' of Wallachia; and Prince-electors of most of the countries of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.


Kingdom of Poland

In 1432, Volhynia became a
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Lutsk became the seat of the governors, and later the Marshalls of the Land of Volhynia. That same year, the city was granted Magdeburg rights by King Władysław II Jagiełło. It was one of the minor centers of Armenians in Poland, with an Armenian church. In 1497, Alexander Jagiellon confirmed the city's old privileges. In 1569, Volhynia was fully incorporated into the Polish kingdom and the town became the capital of both the Łuck powiat and Volhynian Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. After the Union of Lublin, the local Orthodox bishop converted to Eastern Catholicism. The city continued to prosper as an important economic centre of the region. By the mid-17th century, Łuck had approximately 50,000 inhabitants and was one of the largest towns in the area. During the Khmelnytsky Uprising, the town was seized by the forces of Colonel Kolodko. Up to 4,000 people were slaughtered, approximately 35,000 fled, and the city was looted and partially burnt. It never fully recovered. In 1781, the city was struck by a fire which destroyed 440 houses, both cathedrals, and several other churches. In 1788, Łuck was the 25th largest city of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. The city embraced the Constitution of 3 May 1791.


Russian Empire

In 1795, as a result of the Third Partition of Poland, the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
annexed Lutsk. The Voivodeship was liquidated and the town lost its significance as the capital of the province (which was moved to
Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...
). After the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
(1830–1831), efforts increased to remove Polish influence. Polish schools were closed in 1831 and Catholic monasteries were seized in 1840–1853. Russian became the dominant language in official circles. Though, the Ukrainian population continued to speak Ukrainian; the Polish population spoke Polish; and the Jewish population spoke
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
(only in private circles). The Greek Catholic churches was turned into Orthodox Christian ones, which led to the self-liquidation of the Uniates here. In 1845, another great fire struck the city, resulting in further depopulation. In 1850, three major forts were built around Lutsk, and the town became a small fortress called ''Mikhailogorod''. Neglected under Russian rule, by the late 19th century, the city lost its leading economic position in Volhynia to Rivne, Kovel and Zdolbuniv. During the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the town was seized by
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
on 29 August 1915. The town sustained a small amount of damage. During more than a year of Austro-Hungarian occupation, Lutsk became an important military centre with the headquarters of the IV Army under Archduke Josef Ferdinand stationed there. A plague of epidemic typhus decimated the city's inhabitants. On 4 June 1916, four Russian armies under general Aleksei Brusilov started what later became known as the Brusilov Offensive. After up to three days of heavy artillery barrage, the Battle of Lutsk began. On 7 June 1916 the Russian forces reconquered the city. After the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1917, the city was seized by Germany on 7 February 1918. On 22 February 1918 the town was transferred by the withdrawing German army to the forces loyal to Symon Petlura.


Second Polish Republic

During the Polish-Bolshevik War, on 16 May 1919, Lutsk was taken over by the forces of Poland's Blue Army after a heavy battle with the Red Army. The city was devastated and largely depopulated. It witnessed the Soviet counter-offensive of 1920 and was taken on 12 July 1920. It was recaptured by Poland's 45th Rifles regiment and field artillery on 15 September 1920. According to American sociologist Alexander Gella "the Polish victory ver the Red Armyhad gained twenty years of independence not only for Poland but at least for an entire central part of Europe.Aleksander Gella (1988), ''Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors'', SUNY Press,
Google Print, p. 23.
/ref> Łuck was designated by the newly-reborn nation of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
as the capital of the Wołyń Voivodeship. The city was connected by railroad to
Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
(then Lwów) and Przemyśl. Several brand new factories were built both in Łuck and on its outskirts producing farming equipment, wood, and leather products among other consumer goods. New mills and breweries opened. An orphanage was built, and a big new bursary. The first high school was soon inaugurated. In 1937, an airport was established in Łuck with an area of . The 13th ''Kresowy'' Light Artillery Regiment was stationed in the city, together with a ''Łuck'' National Defense (Poland) Battalion. In 1938, construction of a large modern radio transmitter began in the city (see Polish Radio Łuck). As of 1 January 1939 Łuck had 39,000 inhabitants (approximately 17,500 Jews and 13,500 Poles). The powiat formed around the town had 316,970 inhabitants, including 59% Ukrainians, 19.5% Poles, 14% Jews and approximately 23,000
Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
and
Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
.


World War II

On Thursday 7 September 1939, at about 5 p.m., the Polish government, which had left
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
the day before, arrived at Łuck. German intelligence quickly found out about it, and the city was twice bombed by the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
, on 11 and 14 September. After panzer units of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
had crossed the Bug river, on 14 September the government of Poland left Łuck and headed southwards, to Kosów Huculski, which at that time was located near the Polish–Romanian border. As a result of the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
from both sides and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Łuck, along with the rest of western Volyn, was annexed by the Soviet Union. Most of the factories (including the almost-finished radio station) were dismantled and sent east to Russia. Approximately 10,000 of the city's Polish inhabitants (chiefly ethnic Poles, but also Polish Jews) were deported in cattle trucks to
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
and 1,550 were arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
.Tadeusz Piotrowski (1998),
Poland's Holocaust
' (Google Books). Jefferson: McFarland, pp. 17-18, 420. .
After the start of
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
the city was captured by the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
on 25 June 1941. Thousands of Polish and Ukrainian prisoners were shot by the retreating NKVD responsible for political prisons. The inmates were offered amnesty and in the morning of ordered to exit the building en masse. They were gunned down by Soviet tanks. Some 4,000 captives including Poles, Jews and Ukrainians were massacred.Piotrowski 1998, p. 17
The Murder of the Jews of Lutsk
at Yad Vashem website
Upon Nazi occupation, most of the Jewish inhabitants of the city were forced into a new Łuck Ghetto and then murdered at the execution site on Górka Połonka hill not far from the city.Andrzej Mielcarek
Wieś i kolonia Hnidawa, inaczej Gnidawa, powiat Łuck
Interactive 1936 map included. ''Strony o Wołyniu'' Wolyn.ovh.org in Polish. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
In total, more than 25,000 Jews were executed there at point-blank range,Yad Vashem, Note: village Połonka ( or it

subdivision) is misspelt in the documentary, with the testimony of eyewitness Shmuel Shilo. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
men, women and children.YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
Lutsk.
Ghetto history. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
The Łuck Ghetto was liquidated entirely through ''the Holocaust by bullets''. Retrieved 20 July 2015. In 1941–1942, the German occupiers also operated a forced labour camp for Jews in the city. During the massacres of Poles in Volhynia approximately 10,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the area. It was captured by the Red Army on 2 February 1944.


Postwar

After the end of the war, the remaining Polish inhabitants of the city were expelled, mostly to the areas that are sometimes referred to as the Polish Regained Territories. The city became an industrial centre in the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
. The major changes in the city's demographics had the final result that by the end of the war, the city was almost entirely Ukrainian. During the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the city hosted the Lutsk air base. As one of the largest cities in western Ukraine, Lutsk became the seat of the General Consulate of Poland in 2003. On 21 July 2020, a hostage crisis took place, involving a man armed with a firearm and explosives who stormed a bus and took 16 people hostage at about 9:25 a.m. Police said that they had identified the hostage-taker and that he had expressed dissatisfaction with "Ukraine's system" on social media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that shots gas had been heard and that the bus had been damaged. The incident led to police blocking off the city centre. The standoff was eventually resolved after several hours, with all of the hostages being freed and the hostage taker being arrested. On 11 March 2022, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army fired four missiles at Lutsk military airfield killing two Ukrainian servicemen and wounding six. On 28 March, Lutsk was struck by another Russian missile.


Population

As of 1 January 2022, the population of the Lutsk city territorial community was 244,678 people, and 215,986 people in the city of Lutsk.


Ethnic groups

Distribution of the population by ethnicity according to the 2001 Ukrainian census:


Language

Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census: According to a survey conducted by the International Republican Institute in April-May 2023, 98% of the city's population spoke Ukrainian at home, and 1% spoke Russian.


Geography


Climate

Lutsk has a humid continental climate (''Dfb'' in the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
).


Industry and commerce

Lutsk is an important centre of industry. Factories producing cars, shoes, bearings,
furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
, machines and
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
, as well as weaveries, steel mills and a chemical plant are located in the area. * VGP JSC – manufacture of sanitary and hygienic products * LuAZ – automobile-manufacturing plant, part of Bogdan group * SKF – manufacture of bearings, seals, lubrication and lubrication systems, maintenance products, mechatronics products, power transmission products and related services globally * Modern-Expo Group – one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of equipment (metal shelving, high racks systems, checkouts, catering equipment,
refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...
equipment, POS-equipment and guidance systems) for
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
and
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
use in Central and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. * Lutsk is the capital of the Drupal web development


Places of interest

* Lubart's Castle. The Upper Castle from the 13th century and the Lower Castle from the 14th century * Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral. A Catholic cathedral built 1610 as a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
church, reconstructed in 1781 * Great Synagogue built in 1626–1629 * Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral built 1755 as a church and monastery of Bernardines * Lutheran Church * Complex of Lutsk Orthodox Fellowship *
Market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
* Lesya Ukrainka street *Monasteries, both Catholic and Orthodox: Basilians (17th century), Dominicans (17th century), Trinitarians (18th century) and Charites (18th century) *Two 16th century Greek-Catholic churches *Lutsk compact overhead powerline, a powerline of an unusual type. * One of the longest buildings in the world: Apartment house on Sobornosti av. and Molodi st. (50.761219°N, 25.368719°E) Length: 1750 m. File:Луцк. Собор Петра и Павла..jpg, St. Peter and Paul Cathedral Собор святих Петра і Павла (Луцьк) - Підземелля - Крипта Магдалини.jpg, Cells of the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral File:07-101-0021 Синагога.jpg, Great Synagogue File:СоборЛуцькГол-2.jpg, Holy Trinity Cathedral File:Luts'k Karayims'ka 16 Kirkha 04 (YDS 8005).jpg, Lutheran church


Theatres and museums

*Drama Theatre, built in 1939 (uk) *Children's Puppet Theater *Museum of Regional Studies. Address: Shopena St. 20 *Museum of Ukrainian army and ammunition opened in 1999. Address: Lutsk, vul. Taborishi 4 *Museum of Volyn Icon was opened in August 1993. A relatively small museum in the centre of the town. Has some interesting and very old icons. Address: vul. Yaroshchuka 5. (behind the Lesia Ukrainka Volyn State University)
THE KORSAKS’ MUSEUM OF THE CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN ART
. Address: vul. Karbysheva 1


Religion

The city was the episcopal seat of the Eparchy of Lutsk–Ostroh in the Ruthenian Uniate Church. The city was also the centre of the short-lived Ukrainian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Volhynia, Polesia and Pidliashia. Currently, it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lutsk and of the Exarchate of Lutsk in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the former Catholic
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
of the Holy Trinity is the seat of the Eparchy of Volhynia.


Notable people

* Shlomo Ben-Yosef (1913–1938) a member of Revisionist Zionist underground group Irgun. * Volodymyr Bondar (born 1968), politician, Governor of Volyn Oblast 2005-2007 * Benedykt Chmielowski (1700–1763), a Polish priest, author of the encyclopedia, Nowe Ateny * Count Włodzimierz Czacki (1834–1888) a Polish
Cardinal (Catholic Church) A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...
from 1882 * Alojzy Feliński (1771–1820), Polish scientist and writer * Abraham Firkovich (1786–1874) a Karaite writer and
Hakham ''Hakham'' (or ''Chakam(i), Haham(i), Hacham(i), Hach''; ) is a term in Judaism meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise th ...
and collector of ancient manuscripts * Shlomo Flam (died 1813), Hasidic rabbi and maggid in Lutsk * Kateryna Gornostai (born 1989) is a Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and film editor. * Bolesław Kontrym (1898–1953), a Polish Army officer, a participant in the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
* Mikołaj Kruszewski (1851–1887), a Polish linguist, co-inventor of the concept of
phoneme A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...
s * Dinora Pines (1918–2002), British physician and psychoanalyst, especially feminine psychology * Krystyna Piotrowska (1938–2022), Polish geologist, cartographer, professor * Oleksandr Polozhynskyi (born 1972), a Ukrainian singer and presenter * Volodymyr Runchak (born 1960) a Ukrainian accordionist, conductor and composer * Shmuel Shilo (1929–2011), an Israeli actor, director and producer * Florian Siwicki (1925–2013), a Polish military officer, diplomat and communist politician. * Zalman Sorotzkin (1881–1966), an Orthodox rabbi who served as the rabbi of Lutsk and author * Mordecai Sultansky (ca. 1772–1862), Karaite Jewish
hakham ''Hakham'' (or ''Chakam(i), Haham(i), Hacham(i), Hach''; ) is a term in Judaism meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise th ...
and scholar * Tartak (founded 1994), music band; all members were born in Lutsk * Shimshon Unichman (1907–1961), Israeli politician and member of the Knesset * Svitlana Winnikow (1919–1981), engineer, first woman professor of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University * Oksana Zabuzhko (born 1960), contemporary Ukrainian poet, writer and essayist * Svetlana Zakharova (born 1979), a Ukrainian prima ballerina with the
Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest Ballet company, ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it ca ...
* Joseph Zinker (born 1934), Gestalt psychology therapist, painter and sculptor.


Sport

* Peter Bondra (born 1968), Ukrainian-born Slovak ice hockey player * Oleksandr Chyzhevskyi (born 1971) football coach and former player with 513 club caps. * Iurii Kostiuk (born 1977) a Ukrainian biathlete and gold medallist at the Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Paralympics * Volodymyr Mozolyuk (born 1964) is a Ukrainian retired footballer with over 540 club caps. * Anzhelika Savrayuk (born 1989), Italian rhythmic gymnast, team bronze medallist at the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
* Vyacheslav Shevchuk (born 1979) is a retired footballer with 34 club caps and 56 with
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
* Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (born 1979), a footballer with 533 club caps and 144 for
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...


In popular culture

The NKVD and Nazi massacres are mentioned in the Prix Goncourt awarded novel '' The Kindly Ones'' by Jonathan Littell. Lutsk is a location taken over by post-apocalyptic slavers in the sci-fi/adventure novel ''The Crisis Pendant'' by Charlie Patterson.


Twin towns – sister cities

Lutsk is twinned with: * Bandırma, Turkey *
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...
, Poland * Brest, Belarus *
Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...
, Poland *
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
, Lithuania *
Kyjov Kyjov (; or ''Geyen'') is a town in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monum ...
, Czech Republic * Lippe (district), Germany * Lublin, Poland * Olsztyn, Poland *
Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
, Poland *
Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...
, Poland * Trakai, Lithuania * Xiangtan, China * Zamość, Poland *
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, USA


Gallery

File:Lutskadministr.jpg, Volyn's regional administration in Lutsk File:ЛуцькКафГол.jpg, Kafedralna street File:ЛуцькВоліГВ.jpg, Modern architecture File:Монастир Домініканів.jpg, Dominican monastery File:ЛуцькБрВиг.jpg, Orthodox Fellowship building File:ЛуцькГалВ.jpg, Daniel of Galicia street File:ЛуцькЛесіКрилова.jpg, Lesya Ukrainka street


References


External links

* *
Official tourist websiteLutsk - historical description
(in Ukrainian)
Orthodox Lutsk
(in Ukrainian)

* *


Bibliography

* {{Authority control Magdeburg rights Cities in Volyn Oblast Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Holocaust locations in Ukraine Oblast centers in Ukraine Sites of World War II massacres of Poles