thumb|right|280px|Old town hall in Pidhaytsi.Pidhaytsi (, ) is a small
city in the
Ternopil Oblast (
province) of western
Ukraine. It is the
administrative center of the
Pidhaietsky Raion (
district), and is located at around . Pidhaytsi is situated
ca. 15.5 mi south of
Berezhany, 43.5 mi from
Ternopil and
ca. 62 mi south-east of
Lviv. During Soviet rule (1945–1991) it was part of
Berezhanskyi Raion. In 1939 Pidhaytsi obtained the status of a city
[ ]. Some years ago it was separated into an independent Pidhaytsi district. In 1698, the
Battle of Podhajce took place here.
The current estimated population is around 3,300 (as of 2001). There is a small river near the city named
Koropets river. Remarkable that the name is similar to the surname that can be found among the local population,
Koropetskyi,
Koropetska.
History
According to the sources, Pidhaytsi is one of the oldest settlements in the area. It was established in 1445
. First written records of it date to
1463, from the moment the Catholic Church (in the form of a cross) was built by regional governor
Potocki. In modern period, Pidhaytsi belonged to the most important “urban centers” in western part of
Podolia (viz. easternmost lands of
East Galicia in later definition). In the early period town was governed on the basis of Ruthenian and Polish law. In 1539 it was granted
Magdeburg law. Next to the Catholic church (now a ruin) is obelisque to Polish writer
Adam Mickiewicz erected in 1897 on the occasion of 100 years since his birth (now in a desolate state). In one of Pidhaytsi houses resided famous Polish composer
Frederick Chopin. Because of the
Tatar invasions and its precarious location on Poland’s main route to the South, the city was surrounded by series of ramparts and rows with water. Most of the key monuments (churches, synagogue) were all built in impressive defensive style.
Jewish community
thumb|280px|Pidhaytsi Jewish cemetery - panorama (summer 2004)Prior to the
Second World War, Pidhaytsi had a significant Jewish community. The population census of 1765 lists 1,370
Jews in the
kahal district of Pidhaytsi and 1,079 Jews lived in Pidhaytsi itself. A century late town’s Jewish population significantly increased and numbered
ca. 6,000 Jews in Pidhaytsi and 8,212 Jews in Pidhaytsi district (9.33% of whole population in the area). In the 20th century Pidahytsi's importance declined and the number of the Jews decreased to 2,827 according to the census of 1931. Pidhaytsi
Synagogue (between 1621 and 1648), and the local Catholic parish church (1634) are the oldest buildings in the city. The synagogue is closed and in ruined condition. In the post war years, the synagogue territory was turned into market by the communists.
With the break of the Second World War there was a large influx of
Jewish refugees from the west and the number of the Jews in the town at the time of Nazi annihilation was higher than 3,000. Pidhaytsi
Judenrat was headed by
L. Lilienfeld. Due to the refugee and hygienic problems, in the winter of 1941–42 many of town Jews died of hunger and
typhus epidemic. In
1941, on
September 21 (
Yom Kippur – Jewish most revered holiday, the day of atonement from sin) over 1,000 Jews were sent to the
Belzec extermination camp and on
October 30, 1,500 more Jews were deported to face death in
Belzec extermination camp.
People
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