Vasylkiv


Vasylkiv is a city located on the Stuhna River in Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Vasylkivskyi Raion 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.

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. It was a birthplace of Saint Theodosius, and there is a Ukrainian baroque church 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

People from Vasylkiv