Vasylkiv

Vasylkiv Василькiв
Flag Coat of arms
Vasylkiv Location of Vasylkiv
Coordinates: 50°10′42″N 30°18′57″E / 50.17833°N 30.31583°ECoordinates: 50°10′42″N 30°18′57″E / 50.17833°N 30.31583°E
Country Oblast Raion	Ukraine Kiev Oblast Vasylkivskyi Raion
First mentioned	988
Magdeburg law	1586
Area
• Total	29.6 km^2 (11.4 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	36,672
Postal code	8600 — 8612
Area code(s)	+380 4571

Vasylkiv (Ukrainian: Василькiв, translit. Vasyl’kiv) is a city located on the Stuhna River in Kiev Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Vasylkivskyi Raion (district) though it does not belong to the raion. A settlement with an over 1000 years history, it was incorporated as a city in 1796. The city hosts the Vasylkiv air base since the Cold War. Population: 36,672 (2013 est.)^[1].

History

The exact date of the settlement's foundation is unknown but, according to the Primary Chronicle, it was the place where Vladimir the Great's numerous wives were living. After the Christianization of Kiev, Vladimir built there a fortress and named it Vasilev, after his patron saint - Saint Basil (Vasily). It was a birthplace of Saint Theodosius, and there is a Ukrainian baroque church (1756–58) commemorating this saint.

In 1658, the Russian military commander Yuri Baryatinsky defeated the army of hetman Ivan Vyhovsky's brother Konstantin near Vasylkiv, after the Ukrainian hetman switched the sides in favour of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Throughout the times, an obscure place, almost forgotten in spite of the glorious history and connection to many earlier historic events, it was put back on the map by an anecdotal story related to Catherine II of Russia. As per legend, while passing through it during the night, the carriage lost one wheel. Catherine II woke up from the sudden jerk, and asked the name of the town. When she fell asleep again, her servants repaired the wheel and the carriage moved again. She woke up again and upon learning that it is still Vasilkov, she remarked : "A large town, indeed".

Gallery

• 
  A street in downtown Vasylkiv.
• 
  City panorama.
• 
  Remnants of the medieval defensive walls in the city.
• 
  Sts. Anthony and Theodosius Cathedral in Vasylkiv (18th-century architecture).
• 
  St. Nicholas church in Vasylkiv (18th-century architecture).
• 
  Former synagogue, later "Vasylkiv-2" rail station terminal (19th-century architecture).
• 
  Stugna River in Vasylkiv.
• 
  Vasylkiv Air Force College building.
• 
  One of Vasylkiv's schools.
• 
  Children dance studio lesson in Vasylkiv's Culture House.

People from Vasylkiv

• Mykola Melnychenko - security services and politics personality
• Oleksiy Radzievskyi - prominent Ukrainian medic

References

1. "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

External links

• vasylkiv.today - the first independent news portal and social network of Vasylkiv (Ukrainian)
• vasilkov.com.ua - Vasylkiv city website (Ukrainian)
• kyiv-obl.gov.ua - Site about Vasylkiv on Kiev Oblast's Administration website (Ukrainian)

• Soldatenko, Valeriy. A large town of Vasilkov in Zerkalo Nedeli, January 26 - February 1, 2002. Available in Russian and Ukrainian
• Vasilkov, of Kiev Guberniya, an article in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (Russian)