Khust


Khust is a city located on the Khustets River in Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. It is near the сonfluence of the Tisa and Rika Rivers. Serving as the administrative center of Khust Raion, the city itself does not belong to the raion and is designated as a city of oblast significance, with the status equal to that of a raion. Population:
Khust was the capital of the short-lived republic of Carpatho-Ukraine.

Origin of name

The name is most possibly related to the name of the stream Hustets or Husztica, whose meaning is "kerchief". It is also conceivable that the name of the city comes from a Romanian traditional food ingredient – husti.
There are several alternative names used for this city: Ukrainian /Rusyn: Хуст, Romanian: Hust, Hungarian: Huszt, Czech and Slovak: Chust, חוסט, Chust.
There is also one fairy tale about the town's name: Once chort was walking around the town and then mountain had appeared. A moment later, it fell down on his tail. He shouted “Hvust”. Another chort heard “Khust” … In that way, the name of the town was formed.

History

The settlement was first mentioned as terra Huzth, in 1324. Its castle, supposed to be built in 1090 by king St. Ladislaus of Hungary as a defence against the Cumans and destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Hungary, was mentioned in 1353. The town got privileges in 1329.
In 1458 King Matthias imprisoned his uncle, the rebellious Mihály Szilágyi in the castle. In 1514, during György Dózsa's peasant revolt local peasants captured the castle. In 1526 the area became a part of Transylvania.
The army of Ferdinand I captured the town in 1546. In 1594 the Tartars destroyed the town, but could not take the castle. The castle was besieged in 1644 by the army of George I Rákóczi, in 1657 by the Polish, in 1661–62 by the Ottoman and Tartar hordes. Count Ferenc Rhédey, the ruling prince of Transylvania and high steward of Máramaros county died in the castle on May 13, 1667.
The castle surrendered to the Kurucs on August 17, 1703, and the independence of Transylvania was proclaimed here. It was the last castle the Habsburgs occupied when suppressing the freedom fight of the Kurucs, in 1711. The seriously damaged castle was struck by lightning and burnt down on July 3, 1766; a storm brought down its tower in 1798, it has been in ruins ever since then. Khust was renamed as Csebreny in 1882 during Magyarization process.
In 1910 Khust had 10,292 citizens, 5,230 Ruthenians, 3,505 Hungarians and 1,535 Germans. Until the Treaty of Trianon it belonged to Hungary and was the seat of the Khust district of Máramaros county. After World War I, in summer 1919 the Rumanian troops took over the territory. But according to the St.-Germain treaty Czechoslovakia received the city, as part of newly formed Podkarpatsko region. Czechoslovakia had to provide the region a wide autonomy, but autonomy was realised only in 1938. In Autumn 1938 an autonomous government was organised. The day after the collapse of Czechoslovakia on March 14, 1939, the Khust city government proclaimed, by the will of the local population, independence as Carpathian Ukraine on March 15, 1939. Next day, on March 16, 1939, Hungarian troops invaded Khust and claimed it as part of Hungary. On October 24, 1944, Soviet troops occupied the city, and annexed it into the Soviet Union. The Soviet government deported much of the city's German and Hungarian populations.

WWII and the Holocaust

Prior to 1939, Jews thrived in Khust and owned many businesses. When the city became part of Hungary in March 1939 again, many Jewish citizens were forced into labor camps. A ghetto was established, and Jews from other regions were forced to live there. Additional ghettos were established neaby in Iza and Szeklence. By April 1944, all Jewish residents were killed at Auschwitz.
Prior to the war, there were 8 synagogues in the city. One, built in the 19th century, survives and is in use today. A "twin" synagogue was destroyed by the Soviets after the war.

Yeshiva

In 1861, Rabbi Moshe Schick, known as the "Maharam Schick" established – what was at that time – the largest yeshiva in Eastern Europe, in Khust. This yeshiva had over 800 students.

Rabbis

it had 31,900 inhabitants, including:
Until the 19th century the city's population also included ethnic Romanians.

Climate

Khust has an oceanic climate.

Tourist sights