Vinnytsia, Ukraine

🇺🇦 Vinnytsia also known as Vinnytsya or Vinnitsa, is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative centre of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance. It also serves as an administrative centre of Vinnytsia Raion, one of the 27 districts of Vinnytsia Oblast, though it is not a part of the district.

The city's roots date back to the Middle Ages. It was under Polish control for centuries until the Russian Empire annexed it in 1793. During the 1930s and early 1940s the city was the site of massacres, first during Stalin's purges and then during the Holocaust in Ukraine and the Nazi occupation. A Cold War–era airbase was located near the city.

Currently, Vinnytsia is developing as one of the most comfortable cities for life in independent Ukraine.

Name Ukrainian transcriptions • National, BGN/PCGN: Vinnytsia • ALA-LC: Vinnytsi͡a • Scholarly: Vinnycja

The name of Vinnytsia appeared for the first time in 1363. It is assumed that the name is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*věno" (вѣно), meaning "a bride price". This name can be explained by the fact that Vinnytsia and the surrounding land were captured by Lithuanian Duke Algirdas in the 14th century, and then, they were given to his nephews.

In addition to the Ukrainian Вінниця (Vinnytsia), in other languages of the region, the name of the city is Russian: Винница, romanized: Vinnitsa, Polish: Winnica, Lithuanian: Vinica, German: Winniza, Romanian: Vinița and Yiddish: וויניצע, romanized: Vinitse. English sources used the Russian-derived Vinnitsa from the early 19th century until the 1990s and Winnica or Winnicza (from Polish) before that, reflecting the ultimate political authorities of those respective eras.

Geography: Location Vinnytsia is located about 260 km (160 mi) south-west of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, 429 km (267 mi) north-northwest of the Black Sea port city of Odesa, and 369 km (229 mi) east of Lviv.

It is the administrative centre of Vinnytsia Oblast (province), as well as the administrative centre of the surrounding Vinnytsia Raion within the oblast. The city itself is directly subordinated to the oblast.

Ecology and climate change On 28 January 2022, Vinnytsia City Council announced Vinnytsia Green Deal by signing the Declaration and approving the Roadmap of measures for the implementation of its principles and approaches within the community.

History Vinnytsia has been an important trade and political centre since the fourteenth century, when Fyodor Koriatovych, the nephew of the Lithuanian Duke Algirdas, built a fortress (1363) against Tatar raiders on the banks of the Southern Bug. The original settlement was built and populated by Aleksander Hrehorovicz Jelec, a hetman under Lithuanian Prince Švitrigaila. Aleksander Jelec built the fort, which he commanded as starosta afterwards.

In the 15th century, Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon granted Vinnytsia Magdeburg city rights. In 1566, it became part of the Bracław Voivodeship. Between 1569 and 1793 the town was a part of Poland. In 1648, Vinnytsia found itself at the epicenter of the Cossack uprisings led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In February 1651, during the defense of the city, Ivan Bohun's Cossack regiment defeated a 20,000-strong Polish army. Vinnytsia was part of the Hetman state until 1667, and during 1672-1699 was a part of the Ottoman Empire (and still part of the historic region of Podolia). During Polish rule, Vinnytsia was a Polish royal city. On 18 March 1783, Antoni Protazy Potocki opened the Polish Trade Company in Vinnytsia. The 1st Infantry Regiment of the Polish Crown Army was stationed in the city in 1788 before it was relocated to Piotrków Trybunalski.

After the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 the Russian Empire annexed the city and the region. Russia moved to expunge the Roman Catholic religion. Catholic churches in the city, including what is currently the Transfiguration Cathedral, were converted to Russian Orthodox churches.

In the Russian census of 1897, Vinnytsia had a population of 30,563. It was the third largest city in Podolia region after Kamianets-Podilskyi and Uman. After railway connections were completed in 1871, Vinnytsia developed rapidly economically and infrastructurally. The city architect Hryhorii Artynov erected a number of buildings (a water tower, a theater, churches, hotels and mansions), which still shape the city image.

During the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1920, Vinnytsia was chosen three times as the seat of government structures of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The residence of the Directory was Savoy Hotel, which turned the city into a de facto capital. On May 16, 1920, a meeting was held in Vinnytsia between the heads of Ukraine and Poland, Symon Petliura and Józef Piłsudski.

Soviet Vinnytsia became an industrial giant with an emphasis on sugar production, but it experienced the terrible famine of 1932-1933 in the shadow of its prosperity.

The Vinnytsia massacre was the mass execution of between 9,000 and 11,000 people in Vinnytsia by the Soviet secret police NKVD during the Great Purge in 1937–1938.

History: World War II Vinnytsia was occupied by German troops on 19 July 1941 during World War II. While Vinnytsia had a pre-war Jewish population of over 34,000, only 17,000 of these Jews remained, with the rest of them successfully being evacuated to the interior of the Soviet Union beforehand. Virtually all of the Jews who remained in Vinnytsia under Nazi occupation were subsequently murdered in the Holocaust. Nazi atrocities were committed in and near Vinnytsia by Einsatzgruppe C. In 1942 a large part of the Jewish quarter of Yerusalimka was destroyed by Germans. Related to that period is one infamous photo, The Last Jew of Vinnytsia.

Adolf Hitler sited his eastern headquarters, Führerhauptquartier Werwolf or Wehrwolf, at the Wehrmacht headquarters near the city. The complex was built in 1941–1942 by Russian prisoners of war. Many of them were subsequently killed. Hitler's accommodation consisted of a log cabin built around a private courtyard with its own concrete bunker. The complex included about 20 other log buildings, a power station, gardens, wells, three bunkers, a swimming pool, and wire and defensive positions.

Hitler spent a number of weeks at Wehrwolf in 1942 and early 1943. The few remains of the Wehrwolf site, described in one report as a "pile of concrete" because it was destroyed by the Nazis in 1944, can be visited. Plans to create a full-fledged museum had not come to fruition as of August 2018.

Later Soviet era After the end of World War II, Vinnytsia was the home for major Soviet Air Forces base, including an airfield, a hospital, arsenals, and other military installations. The headquarters of the 43rd Rocket Army of the Strategic Rocket Forces was stationed in Vinnytsia from 1960 to the early 1990s. The 2nd Independent Heavy Bomber Aviation Corps, which later became 24th Air Army, was stationed in Vinnytsia from 1960 to 1992.

Independent Ukraine The Ukrainian Air Force Command has been based in Vinnytsia since 1992. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the command centre was significantly damaged by Russian cruise missiles on 25 March 2022.

On 14 July 2022 the centre of the city was attacked with three Russian cruise missiles. Missiles hit the local NeuroMed clinic and House of the Officers, which was currently used as a concert hall. Due to the strike 27 people were killed (three children among them), 80 were hospitalized. The next day the Russian Ministry of defense said that the target was top-ranking Ukrainian military officers and representatives of foreign military industry companies.

On 12 October 2022, a pilot Vadym Voroshylov (call sign Karaia) destroyed 5 "Shahed 136" drones near Vinnytsia. Due to damage to the plane, Vadym ejected in Vinnytsia oblast, having previously diverted the fighter jet from the settlement. For this, he was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Education and science Educational institutions of the city of Vinnytsia: • 58 preschool education institutions (56 communal, 1 state and 1 private forms of ownership). Electronic registration is available for enrolling children in communally owned pre-school education institutions; • 45 institutions of general secondary education (37 communal and 8 private forms of ownership). • 8 institutions of state-owned professional (vocational and technical) education; • 3 community-owned out-of-school education institutions: ◦ Vinnytsia City Palace of Children and Youth; ◦ Vinnytsia city centre of artistic and choreographic education of children and youth "Barvinok"; ◦ Center for Extracurricular Education "School of Success".

There are many universities and research institutions in Vinnytsia: • Mykola Pirogov Vinnytsia National Medical University; • Vinnytsia National Agrarian University; • Vinnytsia National Technical University; • Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University; • Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University, evacuated from Donetsk in 2014 due to Russian armed invasion in eastern Ukraine; • Vinnytsia European University; • Vinnytsia Institute of Trade and Economics of Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics; • Vinnytsia Institute of Economics and Social Sciences.

There is also the Regional Universal Scientific Library named after prominent local historian Valentyn Otamanovskyi in Vinnytsia.

Economy Vinnytsia is an industrial centre in Ukraine.

There are the Roshen confectionery corporation, the Crystal diamond polishing corporation, RPC Fort largest Ukrainian firearms manufacturing corporation, Analog corporation, Mayak corporation, Budmash corporation, Agregat corporation, Pnevmatika corporation, PlasmaTec corporation etc.

Industrial parks and investments There are 3 industrial parks on the territory of Vinnytsia City Territorial Community that are included in the Register of Industrial Parks of Ukraine: Vinnytsia Industrial Park (with an area of 35.7 ha), Industrial Park Vinnytsia Cluster of Refrigeration Engineering (with an area of 19.27 ha), Industrial Park Winter Sport (with an area of 25 ha). The facilities of UBC Cool (production of refrigeration equipment for food and beverages), KNESS (production of solar panels) are already operating on the basis of industrial parks, HEAD plant (production of equipment for winter sports) is under construction.

Digital economy Vinnytsia is among the tops five cities in terms of the number of specialists in IT. This sector is represented, in particular, by the following companies: Gemicle, Incoresoft, Delphi Software, Playtika, Onseo, Astound Commerce, EPAM Ukraine, Spilna Sprava, Infopulse, SteelKiwi, Exadel, Ciklum, Lampa, R4x, RIA Internet Group. The main office of LetyShops, the largest cashback service in Ukraine, the leader in this market segment, is located in the city.

Also in Vinnytsia, the project of the Innovation and Technology Park ″Krystal″ is being implemented.

Clusters As part of the decentralized cooperation program between the city of Vinnytsia and Vinnytsia region with the city of Dijon, the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, AgroVin agricultural cluster was created in March 2021. The participants of the agrocluster are processing enterprises of the city of Vinnytsia, agricultural producers and specialized scientific institutions (Agrana Fruit Ukraine LLC, Vinnytsia Food and Gustatory Factory PJSC, Agroposluhtransservis LLC,Dibrova LLC, Organik-d LLC, Vinnytsia National Agrarian University, Institute of Fodder and Agriculture of Podillia National Academy of Sciences).

Vinnytsia Instrumentation and Automation Cluster was created in February 2021 by local enterprises (Promavtomatyka-Vinnytsia LLC, Innovinprom LLC, Maitek Plus LLC, Grampis LLC, Tiras LLC, Vinaerogis LLC, and others) that work in the instrument-making industry and are engaged in the automation of production with the aim of creating competitive products, creating jobs for the best local graduates, promoting the definition and implementation of smart specialization of the city territorial community and the region.

Military The headquarters of the Ukrainian Air Force is situated in Vinnytsia.

Parks and squares Park of Culture and Recreation named after Mykola Leontovych located in Vinnytsia city between the streets Soborna (center), Mahistratska and Khmelnytske Shose.

The park is 40 hectares.

There are numerous monuments (soldiers in Afghanistan, Sich Riflemen, killed police officers, victims of NKVD’s purge), and the Alley of outstanding countrymen are objects of leisure and recreation: a summer theater, a stadium, an ice club, a city planetarium, a fountain, a chess club, Mini-Vinnytsia open air museum, numerous attractions and gaming machines.

For more than 70 years of its history, the Central Park has always been a place of celebrations and recreation for the residents and for holding local/municipal events and holidays. It became a fine tradition to hold folk festivals and all major holidays in the Park, in particular on the City Day, Europe Day, Independence Day, and more.

Buildings and structures • Saint Nicholas Church is considered to be the oldest building in the city — built in 1746 in the place of older one; • The Transfiguration Cathedral, built in Vinnytsia in 1758 by Italian architect Paolo Fontana; • Church of the Holy Virgin Mary Angelic, built in 1748—1761 as Capuchin monastery; • The National Pirogov's Estate Museum and church where his embalmed body preserved. Built in 1866—1885, opened for visitors as a museum in 1947; • The Literary and Memorial Museum of a “great Sun Worshiper”,a classical author of Ukrainian literature Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, built in 1860-1890th and opened for visitors as a museum in 1927; • Vinnytsia water tower, built in 1912 by city main architect Hryhorii Artynov; • Savoy Hotel, built in 1912—1913; • Vaksman family's real estate, built in 1915 in Art Nouveau style. Address: 24, Symona Petliury Street. Built by architect Moisey Aaronovitch Vaksman. Architectural landmark; • TV Tower Vinnytsia — the tallest guyed tubular steel mast in the world, built in 1961; • The new Greek Catholic Church at South Bug river, built in 1993—1996; • Baptist Church ″Evangelical House″– reportedly one of the largest Evangelical Church buildings in Europe, built in 1996; • Seventh-day Adventist Church, built in 2000th; • Multimedia Fountain Roshen, built in 2011, it is considered one of the largest floating fountains in Europe. It is the major multimedia attraction in the city.

In the city, numerous historical buildings are being repaired and new ones are being built.

Transport: Air Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport (IATA: VIN, ICAO: UKWW) is situated near Vinnytsia.

Transport: Rail There is a railway station in Vinnytsia, which is a part of 'South-Western Railway'. In 2013 it was named among 10 biggest railway stations in Ukraine. The current Vinnytsia railway station was built in 1952 and is the 4th railway building in Vinnytsia. The previous three were destroyed.

Vinnytsia is an important transport hub for internal and external railway connections. Most of the international trains which cross through Ukraine have a stop in Vinnytsia. For example, trains from Moscow and Saint Petersburg (Russia), Minsk (Belarus), Sofia (Bulgaria), Chisinau (Moldova), Bratislava (Slovakia), Belgrade (Serbia), Budapest (Hungary) transit through Vinnytsia. For internal railway connections, Vinnytsia is also an important transport point for trains heading to Western Ukraine (Lviv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi), the South (Odessa), as well as to Central Ukraine (Kyiv).

Transport: Tram The tram is the most popular public transport in Vinnytsia. There are six tram routes in Vinnytsia: 1 The railway station (Zaliznychnyi vokzal) – Elektromerezha; 2 Barske Shose – Vyshynka; 3 Vyshynka – Electromerezha; 4 Barske Shose – the Railway station (Zaliznychnyi vokzal); 5 Barske Shose – Elektromerezha; 6 The railway station (Zaliznychnyi vokzal) – Vyshynka.

Many trams in Vinnytsia are donations from the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ), the public transport operator of Zürich, Switzerland. In the early 2000s, the VBZ donated its 1960s Karpfen and Mirage rolling stock to Vinnytsia, and they will do so again in 2022 with 35 Tram 2000 vehicles. The Swiss trams retain their blue and white liveries in Vinnytsian service.

Transport: Bus There are the central bus station and the Western bus station in Vinnytsia.

Healthcare As for the 2022, the city's healthcare system is represented by more than 40 treatment and preventive medical institutions, 16 of which are communally owned by the city of Vinnytsia. There are more than 60 private medical institutions.

Vinnytsia Regional Clinical Hospital named after Mykola Pirogov of Vinnytsia Regional Council was founded in Vinnytsia in 1805 as the first municipal hospital, and under the name of Mykola Pirogov has been operating since 1917. Today, the hospital is a multidisciplinary, highly specialised, curative and preventive health care institution, whose mandate is to provide medical assistance to patients in 22 specialized areas. 12 clinical departments and cycles of Vinnytsia National Medical University named after Mykola Pirogov are located in the centres and departments of the hospital.

Vinnytsia Regional Clinical Treatment and Diagnostic Center for Cardiovascular Pathology is a specialized medical facility that provides routine and emergency medical care to patients with diseases of the circulatory system. The institution has 5 departments and a clinical diagnostic laboratory, where 186 medical workers work. The operating units of the centre provides coronary angiography (diagnostics of heart vessels), stenting of damaged arteries, open heart surgery.

Sport FC Nyva Vinnytsia (former "Locomotive") was created in 1958. During the Soviet Union, "Niva" from Vinnytsia was on good terms, not among the best, but it showed decent results against the background of other clubs of the Ukrainian SSR. Vinnytsia won the championship of the republic twice, in 1964 and 1984, and in 1972 and 1973 Lokomotiv even won the Cup of Ukraine. On 2 January 2021, Niva player Artur Zahorulko became the club's president.

Vinnytsia is the base of the Ukrainian field hockey. 2 leading Ukrainian teams are registered here: "Hockey Club Olympia-Kolos-Sequoia" (HC OKS-SHVSM) and "Dynamo-ShVSM-VDPU".

Vinnytsia is known for playing sports such as basketball. There are two professional teams: the women's "Vinnytsia Lightnings" and the men's "Vinnytsia Bisons". "Vinnytsia Bisons" is a fairly well-known brand in Vinnytsia and Ukrainian sports. This men's basketball team twice won silver medals and once - bronze of the higher league of the championship of Ukraine in 2018. Mykola Zdyrka, head coach of "Bisons", is a master of sports.

In 2006, the first American football championship of Ukraine took place, in which "Vinnytsia Wolves" took second place. In 2013, 6 "Wolves" players were invited to be selected for the national American football team of Ukraine. Three of them became part of it. In 2014, the team started playing in the higher league, where they played in the group stage with Kyiv "Bandits", Odesa "Pirates" and Kyiv "Vityaz". 2017 — silver medalists of the ULAF Championship of Ukraine. The youth teams of the Vinnytsia Wolves sports club, which formed the basis of two national flag football teams of Ukraine, became participants in the New Generation Bowl 2022 and returned home with achievements. The U15 national team won the silver cup of the tournament, and the U17 team won the bronze. Wolves Cheerleaders is the best cheerleading team in Ukraine.

Theaters • Vinnytsia State Academic Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Sadovskyi, founded in 1910; • Vinnytsia Academic Regional Puppet Theater "Zolotyi Kliuchyk" — one of the oldest in Ukraine (founded in October 1938); • Vinnytsia Regional Philharmonic named after Mykola Leontovych, founded in 1937.

Culture: Museums • The National Pirogov's Estate Museum; • Vinnytsia Regional Museum of Local Lore; • Vinnytsia Regional Art Museum; • Military-historical Museum of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; • Vinnytsia Literary and Memorial Museum of Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi; • Oleh Lutsyshyn Pottery Museum; • Vinnytsia Tram Museum; • AutoMotoVeloFotoTeleRadio Museum; • Museum of the Ukrainian postage stamp named after Yakiv Balaban; • Museum of transport models; • Holocaust Museum in Vinnytsia; • Museum of Jewish life.