Zhovkva

Zhovkva Жовква
Zhovkva main market square
Flag Coat of arms
Zhovkva Location of Zhovkva
Coordinates: 50°4′0″N 23°58′0″E / 50.066667°N 23.966667°E / 50.066667; 23.966667Coordinates: 50°4′0″N 23°58′0″E / 50.066667°N 23.966667°E / 50.066667; 23.966667
Country Oblast Raion	Ukraine Lviv Oblast Zhovkivskyi Raion
Founded	1597
City rights	1603
Area
– Total	7.64 km2 (2.9 sq mi)
Population
– Total	13,316
– Density	1,742/km2 (4,511.8/sq mi)
Postal code	80300—80304
Area code(s)	+380 3252
Sister cities	Kraśnik

Church of St. Lawrence

Synagogue, one of the few examples of Renaissance Jewish architecture

Zhovkva (Ukrainian: Жовква; Polish: Żółkiew; Yiddish: Zholkva) is a city in the Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine, north of Lviv. It is the administrative center of the Zhovkivskyi Raion (district). The current estimated population is 13,500.

History

The site of Zhovkva has been inhabited since the 14th century. In 1594, the Polish military commander Stanisław Żółkiewski fortified the settlement and built Żółkiew Castle.^[1] Due to its strategic location at the intersection of important trade routes, the town prospered.

In the 17th century, it became the royal residence for King John III Sobieski of Poland, and a hub of religious life, arts and commerce.^[1] From its earliest days, the population was a mix of Poles, Ukrainians and Jews. Landmark buildings include a fortress-like synagogue, churches and monasteries.^[1]

Before World War II, the town's 4,500 Jews accounted for nearly half the population, but few survived the Holocaust. The synagogue was blown up by the Nazis in 1941, leaving only the outside walls. In 2000, the building was declared one of the world's most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund.^[1]

In 1951, while under Soviet occupation, Zhovkva was renamed Nesterov after the World War I aviator Pyotr Nesterov who became the first to perform a suicide plane crash in the history of aviation near Zhovkva. The name Zhovkva was restored in 1992.

Sights

The Collegiate Church of St. Lawrence, a domed church from the 17th century built by the Italian architect and mason Paweł Szczęśliwy ("Paolo the Lucky"), was turned into a warehouse under Soviet rule. After Ukraine declared independence in the early 1990s, the church was restored.^[1]

The town center of Zhovkva was declared a heritage site in 1994, and restoration work is now under way.^[1] Zhovkva Castle, the town's oldest and largest building, is being converted into a culture and conference hall.^[1]

Treasures

• Relics of Saint Parthenius, 3rd century Christian martyr from Rome, whose relics were moved to Zhovkva in 1784. They are kept at the local Church of Holy Heart of Jesus, run by Ukrainian Greek-Catholic monks of the Basilian order.

Notable residents

• Zbigniew Burzyński
• Clara Kramer, Holocaust survivor
• Salcia Landmann, researcher of Yiddish culture
• Jakub Ludwik Sobieski, Jakub Sobieski
• Włodzimierz Puchalski
• Stanisław Żółkiewski
• Włodzimierz Stożek
• Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi
• Nachman Krochmal, Jewish philosopher
• Jacob ben Wolf Kranz, maggid

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} For a fortress town, a slow but ambitious second renaissance

External links

Media related to Zhovkva at Wikimedia Commons

• (Polish) Żółkiew (Zhovkva) in the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1895)
• castles.com.ua - Zhovkva
• ua.vlasenko.net - Pictures of Zhovkva