Vyshnivets

The area was first mentioned in 1395 soon after annexation of the Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia by the Kingdom of Poland when the first defensive castle was constructed in the area by Dmytro Korybut who had acquired the land from Great Prince Vitautas[3]

The town is located on the Horyn River, a right tributary of the Prypiat. Before World War II the village was located in Poland.

The town served as a family seat of the Polish princely Wiśniowiecki family, as of the 15th century, and received its name from the family. The town was noted for its extensive cherry orchards.[4] In the mid-1500s, one of the family's descendants, Dmytro Vyshnevetsky (1516-1563), was distinguished by his service to Ivan the Terrible. His grandson, Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, also known as Yarema Vyshnevetsky (1612-1651) was also a distinguished military commander. During the time of the leadership of Princes Michael and Valusah Wiśniowiecki, as of 1674, the town was on the verge of becoming a Russian capital.[4][5]

Architectural landmarks in the town include a 15th-century Vyshnivets Palace; and palace and park, constructed in the 18th century by the Vyshnevetskyi family.

The town fell in the Wołyń Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic during the Intewar Era, before falling to the Soviets in 1939. From 1941, it has been associated with the Holocaust. Prior to the commencement of World War II, approximately 5,000 persons of Jewish faith were residents of the town.[4] The town was directly in the path of the German invasion of Russia in June 1941, following the repudiation by Germany of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact.[4]

On August 11–12, 1942, German troops and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police executed nearly 2,700 Jewish men, women and children. Of those executed, approximately 900 were children.[6][7] It is estimated that less than 100 of the town residents of Jewish faith ultimately survived the Holocaust.[4]

In 1960, Vyshnivets was changed from the status of a village, to that of an Urban-type settlement. The population of the town was 3,469 as of 1994.

Until 18 July 2020, Vyshnivets belonged to Zbarazh Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ternopil Oblast to three. The area of Zbarazh Raion was split between Kremenets and Ternopil Raions, with Vyshnivets being transferred to Kremenets Raion.[8][9]

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  The Wiśniowiecki family palace.
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  Vyshnivets Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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  The Voskresenska Church of the town.