Chyhyryn

Chyhyryn (Ukrainian: Чигирин; Turkish: Çigirin or Çehrin; Russian: Чигирин; Polish: Czehryń).

The area (1320–1569) had been part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was ceded to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (in the Kijów Voivodeship [Kyiv or Kiev] of the Crown of Poland) before the Union of Lublin. It was granted Magdeburg Rights in 1592 by Sigismund III Vasa.

Chyhyryn on the Tiasmyn. A fragment of the Tractus Borysthenis Vulgo Dniepr at Niepr dicti map by Joannii Janssonii (Amsterdam, 1663)

Chyhyryn is first mentioned as a fortified Cossack winter station. In 1638, Bohdan Khmelnytsky became its starosta (regional leader), and in 1648 it became the newly elected Hetman's residence and the capital of the Cossack state, the Zaporozhian Host. During the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681) it was the center of two bloody campaigns (1675–76 and 1677–78). In 1678 the castle of Chyhyryn was blown up by the retreating Russian garrison that was stationed there, while the Turkish forces sacked the rest of the city. After this, it gradually lost its significance. The city fell under Ottoman occupation but was later recovered by the Cossacks while the Ottomans were busy in the Battle of Vienna. It remained the center of the Chyhyryn regiment until 1712 and upon the final incorporation into the Russian Empire (1793) it became part of the Kyiv region.

In 1917 a congress of Free Cossacks took place in Chyhyryn. At that congress by tradition Pavlo Skoropadsky was elected as the Hetman of the Cossacks (later in 1918 in Kyiv, he was elected the Hetman of Ukraine as well).

During World War II, Chyhyryn was occupied by the German Army from August 7, 1941 to December 12, 1943.

In 1989 the population of the city was 12,853.[3]

Until 18 July 2020, Chyhyryn served as an administrative center of Chyhyryn Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Cherkasy Oblast to four. The area of Chyhyryn Raion was merged into Cherkasy Raion.[4][5]

The Trinity Monastery, built near Chyhyryn in 1627, was later destroyed by the Soviet authorities. Other historical landmarks, such as the town hall and Khmelnytsky's palace, did not survive either. After Ukraine regained independence, Hetman's residence was restored and became a museum.

• Georgy Danilov, linguist
• Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman
• Kateryna Yushchenko, scientist

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  Main square of Chyhyryn
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  Entrance of the restored Bohdan Khmelnytskyi residence
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  Bohdan Khmelnytskyi residence
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  St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Chyhyryn
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  A statue near the church
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  Taras Shevchenko monument in Chyhyryn
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  View of Chyhyryn from the city's Castle Hill
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  Remnants of Čyhyryn Fortress on the Castle Hill
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  Bohdan Khmelnytskyi monument in Chyhyryn

• Chyhyryn in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
• Soviet topographic map 1:100,000
• Media related to Chyhyryn at Wikimedia Commons