Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi

Coordinates: 46°11′N 30°21′E / 46.183°N 30.350°E / 46.183; 30.350
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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Bilhorod
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Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
Білгород-Дністровський
Cetatea Albă
UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
67700—67719
Area code+380 4849
ClimateCfb
Websitehttps://bilgorod-d.gov.ua/

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (Ukrainian: Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, IPA: [ˈb⁽ʲ⁾iɫɦorod d⁽ʲ⁾n⁽ʲ⁾iˈstrɔu̯sʲkɪj]; Romanian: Cetatea Albă; Russian: Белгород-Днестровский, romanizedBelgorod-Dnestrovskiy), historically known as Aq Kirmān (Turkish: Akkerman) or by other names, is a port city in Odesa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the right bank of the Dniester Estuary leading to the Black Sea,[2] in the historical region of Budjak. It also serves as the administrative center of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion and is coterminous with Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.[3] It is the location of a large freight seaport. Population: 47,727 (2022 estimate).[1]

Name

The city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi is also referred to by alternative transliterations from Ukrainian as Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky. Dnistrovsky was added to differentiate it from Belgorod (in Ukrainian Bilhorod), a city in Russia, when both were a part of the Soviet Union.

Previous names
  • Ophiussa (Οφιούσσα),[4][5] Phoenician colony (meaning "city of snakes" in Greek)
  • Tyras (Τύρας), Ancient Greek colony (also the Greek name for the River Dniester)
  • Turis, Antes name
  • Asprokastron (Ἀσπρόκαστρον, "White Castle"), Greek name in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.[6] Name attested from 944 to 1484 AD.
  • Maurokastron (Μαυρόκαστρον, "Black Castle"), Greek name of a Roman/Byzantine fort in Late Antiquity on a site directly opposite Asprokastron, but usually taken together.[6]
  • Album Castrum ("White Castle"), Latin name
  • Cetatea Albă ("White Citadel"),
    Romanian
    name
  • Moncastro, Italian corruption of Maurokastron used by Genoese traders and during Genoese rule (14th–15th centuries)[6]
  • Turla, Turkic
  • Akkerman,
    Ottoman Turkish ("White Castle")[7]
    and Russian name until 1944
  • Aqkermen, Crimean Tatar name
  • Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy, Russian (Бе́лгород-Днестро́вский, "White city on the Dniester")
  • Weißenburg, ("White Castle"), German name

The town became part of the Principality of

Alexander the Good and in 1440 under Stephen II of Moldavia.[2] It fell to Ottoman conquest on August 5, 1487. The city was known in Romanian as Cetatea Albă[2] with other languages using the Turkish name, Akkerman, or variations of the Turkish name. Since 1944 the city has been known as "Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi" (Білгород-Дністровський), while on the Soviet geography maps often translated into its Russian
equivalent of "Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy" (Бе́лгород-Днестро́вский), literally "white city on the Dniester".

The city is known by translations of "white city" or "castle" in a number of languages including Белгород Днестровски (Belgorod-Dnestrovski) in Bulgarian, Akerman (Акерман) in Gagauz, Białogród nad Dniestrem in Polish, Walachisch Weißenburg in Transylvanian German,[8] Dnyeszterfehérvár in Hungarian and עיר לבן (Ir Lavan) in Hebrew.

In Western European languages, including English, the city has typically been known by the official name of the time or a transliteration derived from it.

The city's former name Akkerman is still extensively used as a nickname in informal speech and in local media.

History

Ancient Greek colonies on the northern coast of the Black Sea, 8th to 3rd century BC

In the 6th century BC,

Late Antiquity, the Byzantines built a fortress and named it Asprokastron ("White Castle" - a meaning kept in several languages), but it passed out of their control in the 7th-15th centuries under control of Bulgaria, the cities called Belgorod (white city), as it was the border of the Bulgarian empire.[6] The Voskresensk Chronicle lists Bilhorod "at the mouth of the Dniester, above the sea" among the towns controlled by Kievan Rus'[citation needed
].

In the 13th century the site was controlled by the

Genoese colony.[6] Sfântul Ioan cel Nou (Saint John the New), the patron saint of Moldavia, was martyred in the city in 1330 during a Tatar
incursion. In 1391, Cetatea Albă was the last city on the right bank of the Dnister to be incorporated into the newly established Principality of Moldavia, and for the next century was its second major city, the major port and an important fortress.

In 1420, the citadel was attacked for the first time by the

Alexander the Kind
.

In the 15th century, the port saw much commercial traffic as well as being frequently used for passenger traffic between central Europe and Constantinople. Among the travellers who passed through the town was John VIII Palaiologos.[6] Following the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II brought in colonists from Asprokastron to repopulate the city.[6]

In 1484, along with

Stephen the Great was unable to aid in its defence, being under threat of a Polish invasion. The citadel surrendered when the Ottomans claimed to have reached an agreement with Prince Stephen, and promised safe passage to the inhabitants and their belongings; however, most of the city-dwellers were slaughtered. Later, attempts by Stephen the Great to restore his rule over the area were unsuccessful. Cetatea Albă was subsequently a base from which the Ottomans were able to attack Moldavia proper. In 1485, Tatars setting out from this city founded Pazardzhik in Bulgaria. In 1570 (Hijri 977) the town of Akkerman was inhabited by Muslims, Christians and Jews. It had 55 Muslim households in 25 neighbourhoods and 113 Non-Muslim households in 9 neighbourhoods and it was a "has" of the Sultan, a land property that was directly owned by the Sultan. The castle of Akkerman also had a Jewish congregation and a Roma congregation.[9]

It was established as the fortress of Akkerman, part of the Ottoman defensive system against Poland-Lithuania and, later, the Russian Empire. Major battles between the Ottomans and the Russians were fought near Akkerman in 1770 and 1789. Russia conquered the town in 1770, 1774, and 1806, but returned it after the conclusion of hostilities.[10] It was not incorporated into Russia until 1812, along with the rest of Bessarabia.

On 25 September 1826, Russia and the Ottomans signed here the

hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia be elected by their respective Divans
for seven-year terms, with the approval of both Powers.

During the

Ukrainian SSR
, and after 1991, nowadays Ukraine.

Until 18 July 2020, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi was incorporated as a

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Municipality. The municipality was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Odesa Oblast to seven. The area of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Municipality was merged into Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion.[11][12]

Jewish history

In Jewish sources, the city is referred as Weissenburg and Ir Lavan (meaning "white castle" in German and "white city" in Hebrew) as well as Akerman (אַקערמאַן).

Khazar Jews in the town as early as the 10th century. In 1897, 5,613 Jews lived in the city (19.9% of the total population). The town Jewish community was influenced mainly from the Jewish community of nearby Odesa. During a pogrom in 1905, eight Jews living in the city were killed. During World War II, most of the Jews living in the city fled to nearby Odesa, where they were later killed. The 800 Jews who were left in the city were shot to death in the nearby Leman River.[13]
Around 500 of the prewar town Jews survived the war, and around half of them returned to the city.

Demographics

As of 1920, the population was estimated at 35,000. 8,000 were

According to the 2001 Ukrainian census,[14] the majority of the city's population are Ukrainians (63%). Other important communities include Russians (28%), Bulgarians (3.7%) and Moldovans/Romanians (1.9%). The language situation is notably different, with Russian-speakers representing a majority (54%), followed by speakers of Ukrainian (42%), Bulgarian (1.6%) and Romanian (1.3%).

Geography

Climate

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb bordering on Dfa.).

Climate data for Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.5
(34.7)
2.1
(35.8)
5.9
(42.6)
12.9
(55.2)
19.1
(66.4)
23.5
(74.3)
25.9
(78.6)
25.5
(77.9)
21.2
(70.2)
15.1
(59.2)
8.9
(48.0)
4.4
(39.9)
13.8
(56.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.1
(30.0)
−0.4
(31.3)
3.1
(37.6)
9.6
(49.3)
15.6
(60.1)
19.7
(67.5)
21.9
(71.4)
21.5
(70.7)
17.3
(63.1)
11.6
(52.9)
6.1
(43.0)
1.8
(35.2)
10.6
(51.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −3.7
(25.3)
−2.9
(26.8)
0.4
(32.7)
6.4
(43.5)
12.1
(53.8)
16.0
(60.8)
17.9
(64.2)
17.5
(63.5)
13.5
(56.3)
8.2
(46.8)
3.4
(38.1)
−0.7
(30.7)
7.3
(45.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 35
(1.4)
36
(1.4)
27
(1.1)
31
(1.2)
39
(1.5)
48
(1.9)
49
(1.9)
36
(1.4)
38
(1.5)
25
(1.0)
38
(1.5)
42
(1.7)
444
(17.5)
Source: Climate-Data.org[15]

Notable people

Gallery

  • The citadel of Akkerman fortress
    The citadel of Akkerman fortress
  • The excavations of Tyras
    The excavations of Tyras
  • View of the fortress from the sea
    View of the fortress from the sea
  • The walls of the fortress
    The walls of the fortress
  • Aerial photo of the fortress
    Aerial photo of the fortress
  • High school building
    High school building
  • Synagogue
    Synagogue
  • Local museum
    Local museum
  • Jaroszewicz Manor
    Jaroszewicz Manor
  • Ascension Cathedral
    Ascension Cathedral
  • St. John Church
    St. John Church
  • St. Nicholas Church
    St. Nicholas Church
  • Armenian Dormition Church (14th century)
    Armenian Dormition Church (14th century)
  • Temple of Salvation and a shopping center
    Temple of Salvation and a shopping center

See also

References

  1. ^ a b 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 c d Kaba, John (1919). Politico-economic Review of Basarabia. United States: American Relief Administration. p. 15.
  3. ^ "Белгород-Днестровская городская громада" (in Russian). Портал об'єднаних громад України.
  4. ^ Масляк, П. О. "Тринадцять назв одного міста (Білгород-Дністровський)". Пізнавальний сайт "Географія" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ Mercator, Gerard (1595). Atlas (1st ed.). Duisberg.
  6. ^ .
  7. ^ C. Blackie, Etymological Geography (London: Daldy, Isbister, & Co., 1876), p. 19.
  8. p. 106.
  9. .
  10. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Akkerman". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 457.
  11. ^ "Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ". Голос України (in Ukrainian). 18 July 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Нові райони: карти + склад" (in Ukrainian). Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України. 17 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Gale - Product Login". go.galegroup.com.(subscription required)
  14. ^ "All-Ukrainian population census-". www.ukrcensus.gov.ua.
  15. ^ "Climate: Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

External links

Media related to Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi at Wikimedia Commons