Zviahel (original) (raw)

City in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine

City in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine

Zviahel Звягель
City
Flag of ZviahelFlagCoat of arms of ZviahelCoat of arms
Zviahel is located in Zhytomyr OblastZviahelZviahelLocation of ZviahelShow map of Zhytomyr OblastZviahel is located in UkraineZviahelZviahelZviahel (Ukraine)Show map of Ukraine
Coordinates: 50°35′0″N 27°38′0″E / 50.58333°N 27.63333°E / 50.58333; 27.63333
Country Ukraine
Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast
Raion Zviahel Raion
Hromada Zviahel urban hromada
First mentioned 1256
City status 1795
Government
• Mayor Volodymyr Zahryvyi
Area
• Total 2,667 km2 (1,030 sq mi)
Elevation 218 m (715 ft)
Population (2022)
• Total 55,086
• Density 21/km2 (53/sq mi)
Postal code 11700—11709
Area code 1811000000
Website http://novograd.osp-ua.info/

Zviahel (Ukrainian: Звягель, IPA: [ˈzʲʋʲɑɦelʲ]; Yiddish: זוויל, romanized: Zvil) is a city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. The city serves as the administrative center of Zviahel Raion (district). Population: 55,086 (2022 estimate).[1]

The city is located on the main route to Kyiv ( E40) near its crossing at the Sluch River. Located on Sluch, the city geographically is located on the eastern border of historical Volhynia (Volyn) or Volhynia Superior.

The city has previously been known as: Возвягель Vozviahel, Звяголь Zviahol, Zviahel, Звягаль Zviahal, Dzwihel, Novohrad-Volynskyi.

Originally known as Zviahel, the city was renamed to Novohrad-Volynskyi (Новоград-Волинський) in 1795 after annexation of territories of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Russian Empire soon after the third Partition of Poland.[2]

Since the 1991 Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine there have been several attempts to rename the city.[3] Public discussions on renaming the city to Zviahel began in April 2022.[3] On 16 June 2022 the city council renamed the city again to Zviahel.[3] The decision was supported by 22 of the 30 deputies present, while four deputies opposed and abstained.[3] The name change was then to be approved by the deputies of the Zhytomyr Oblast Council[3] and the final decision on renaming the city had then to be made by the Ukrainian parliament,[3] which took place on 16 November 2022.[2]

1994–2022 Coat of arms of Novohrad-Volynskyi

On 31 March 2022 the city council had removed the letter Z (which was a reference to the name Zviahel and it was placed on the bell symbol) from its coats of arms.[4] This was done because letter Z was widely used by the invading Russian army during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has become a propaganda tool in Russia.[4]

The city was mentioned in the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle under the year of 1256 as the town of Zviahel. The original settlement was an Old Ruthenian town of Bolokhiv Land located on the right bank of Sluch.[5] In 1257 it was razed by Daniel of Galicia.

The next mentioning of the settlement is found in 1432 as a rebuilt one on the left bank upstream from the original site.[5] Since 14th century it belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania owned by Zwiahelski princely family.[5] In 1501 to 1554 the town belonged to Ostrogski princely family.[5] In 1507 Konstanty Ostrogski built here a castle.[5] After formation of Volhynian Voivodeship, it was located in Lutsk County. Following the 1569 Union of Lublin it was passed on to the Crown of Poland.[5]

During the Khmelnytsky Uprising, Cossacks destroyed portion of the city's fortification and burnt down the Catholic church (kosciol).[5] In September 1648 in the city was formed an insurgency group of local peasants led by Mykhalo Tysha.[5] In 1650s in Zwiahel existed Zwiahel Regiment.[5]

In 18th century the city belonged to Lubomirski princely family.[5]

The city had an important Jewish community. In the late 19th century it was home to 9,378 Jews, more than half the population of the town. Pogroms killed approximately 1,000 Jews in 1919.[6] After the Treaty of Riga, Novohrad-Volynskyi became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. By the start of World War II only 6,840 Jews remained, (30% of the total population). Hundreds of Jews were murdered in mass executions perpetrated by an Einsatzgruppen in 1941. Many survivors were imprisoned in harsh conditions in a ghetto and murdered in November 1942,[7] and an important part of the town was destroyed during the war.

In February 2013, the Novohrad-Volynskyi city council decided to dismantle the monument to Lenin, which was installed in front of the city council building, and move it to Slavy Park with extra-budgetary funds.[8][9] After that, the local communists sued, but the cases were lost in the first instance and in the Court of Appeal of the Zhytomyr Oblast.[10] A sundial installation was installed instead of the Lenin monument.[11]

In 2015, Viktor Veselskyi was elected to the post of mayor. In connection with the Law of Ukraine on decommunization in the city, the Soviet names of streets, alleys, squares and boulevards were renamed.[12]

On 16 June 2022, the local council decided to return the historical name Zviahel to the city, and it was also proposed to change the name of the Novohrad-Volynskyi Raion (district) to Zviahel Raion.[13] In November, the draft law was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.[14] By the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine dated 16 November 2022, the historical name of Zviahel was returned to the city.[15]

Climate data for Novohrad-Volynskyi (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −1.0(30.2) 0.3(32.5) 5.5(41.9) 14.0(57.2) 20.5(68.9) 23.0(73.4) 24.8(76.6) 24.3(75.7) 18.7(65.7) 12.5(54.5) 4.8(40.6) 0.1(32.2) 12.3(54.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.3(26.1) −2.8(27.0) 1.5(34.7) 8.6(47.5) 14.6(58.3) 17.3(63.1) 19.1(66.4) 18.2(64.8) 13.2(55.8) 7.8(46.0) 2.0(35.6) −2.2(28.0) 7.8(46.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.9(21.4) −5.6(21.9) −1.8(28.8) 4.0(39.2) 9.1(48.4) 12.2(54.0) 14.1(57.4) 13.1(55.6) 8.9(48.0) 4.2(39.6) −0.3(31.5) −4.4(24.1) 4.0(39.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 37.8(1.49) 37.1(1.46) 37.4(1.47) 41.9(1.65) 52.6(2.07) 86.9(3.42) 92.4(3.64) 63.5(2.50) 56.6(2.23) 40.8(1.61) 44.3(1.74) 43.3(1.70) 634.6(24.98)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.2 9.4 9.1 8.2 8.5 10.6 10.4 8.2 8.8 7.7 8.6 10.0 108.7
Average relative humidity (%) 83.6 81.7 77.2 68.3 67.9 72.8 74.1 74.1 78.4 79.9 84.4 85.4 77.3
Source: World Meteorological Organization[16]

Twin towns – sister cities

[edit]

Zviahel is twinned with:[17]

  1. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [_Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022_] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) In Ukraine, the city of Novohrad-Volynskyi was renamed, Ukrainska Pravda (16 November 2022)
  3. ^ a b c d e f (in Ukrainian) Novohrad-Volynskyi was renamed Zviahel – deputies returned the historical name of the city, Suspilne Movlennia (16 June 2022)
  4. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) Change of symbols: in Zhytomyr region the letter "Z" was removed from the coats of arms of one of the communities, Suspilne Movlennia (31 March 2022)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zvizdetskyi, B. Vozvyahl (ВОЗВЯГЛЬ). Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. 2003
  6. ^ Ron Doctor (30 September 2018). "Zhvil, Novohrad-Volins'kyy, ShtetLinks - JewishGen.org". Kehilalinks.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  7. ^ המכון הבין-לאומי לחקר השואה – יד ושם. Yad Vashem (in Hebrew).
  8. ^ "У Новоград-Волинську демонтують пам'ятник Леніну". Новий Погляд. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  9. ^ "У Новоград-Волинському пам'ятник Леніну пав жертвою поступу нації вперед". УНІАН. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Александр Радчук. "Свобода" отсудила право снести памятник Владимиру Ленину". Коммерсантъ Украина. № 128 (1831). 1 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013. (in Russian)
  11. ^ "Леніна у Новограді-Волинському замінить годинник". 1.zt.ua. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Перелік вулиць, провулків, майдани та бульварів міста з уточненими назвами станом на 29.01.2021". 04141.com.ua. 21 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Депутати Новоград-Волинського проголосували за перейменування міста на Звягель". Інтерфакс-Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Новоград-Волинському хочуть повернути історичну назву: пропозиція вже в Раді". РБК-Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Про перейменування міста Новоград-Волинський Новоград-Волинського району Житомирської області". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  16. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Міста-партнери Звягелю". novograd.osp-ua.info (in Ukrainian). Novohrad-Volynskyi. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2020.