Khmilnyk

Khmilnyk (Ukrainian: Хмільник, Russian: Хмельник, Polish: Chmielnik) is a resort town in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. The population is 27,900 (2001).

The town is situated in the upper part of the river Southern Buh, 67 km (42 mi) to the north east of Vinnytsia. It is one of the oldest towns of Podillia. According to the historical meaning it stands in one line with such towns as Kamyanets-Podilsky, Bratslav and Ladyzhyn.

Early history
The town was first mentioned in writing in 1362. Prince Algirdas gathered a large army for the Battle of Blue Waters, in which he defeated Kotlubug, Kachubej, and Dmytro, who owned Podillia. The town includes an island which served as a hiding place for raiders during the Tatar invasions. This island was called Khmilnyk for the hop plants which grew there in abundance; in Ukrainian, "khmilnyk" means hop garden). Khmilnyk is situated not far from "Black way", the road often used by Tatar hordes.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
In 1434, Khmilnyk became part of Poland's Khmilnyk district of Podillia province. After the town got the Magdeburg rights in 1448, different crafts and trade grew. Poland considered Khmilnyk to be an advanced post of its possessions, so the town was strengthened. In 1534, the Polish king fortified the town with a stone wall with towers and a castle.

After the Brest union in 1596, oppression of the local inhabitants grew, which caused rebellions against the gentry. In 1594, Khmilnyk was captured by Cossack detachments of Severyn Nalyvajko. In 1637, the Cossacks returned with Pavlyuk as their leader. In the period of the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648-1654), rebellious detachments of Khmilnyk people joined the army of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Maksym Kryvonis captured the castle. More than once, the town was the place of battles between Cossacks and gentry armies. As a result, the town was devastated.

In 1672-1699, Khmilnyk was possessed by the Turks. They fortified the castle, built a mosque, and made secret passages. Endless battles between Turks and Poles resulted in the decay of crafts, and the town's population shrank. In 1699, Khmilnyk again became part of Poland.

Russian Empire period
In 1793, Khmilnyk and Podillya towns were joined to the Russian Empire. After the formation of Bratslav province on May 22, 1795, Khmilnyk became one of its district towns, and the coat of arms was consolidated into it on January 22, 1796. In 1797 Catherine II presented Khmilnyk and its districts, with a population of 6070 people, to Count Bezborodko.

On June 9, 1804, Khmilnyk became part of the Lityn district of the Podillia province and remained in this position until the October Revolution. There were four Orthodox churches there until 1910. With industrial development, the town population grew, and in 1915 Khmilnyk had 18,300 people. In 1878, a weaving mill was founded, and in 1905, a brewery, sawmill and iron foundry began operations. There were 1616 craftsmen, which included 470 sewers, 250 tailors and 230 furriers. At the beginning of the twentieth century Khmilnyk had undergone social changes. The economic decay of 1907-1910 was paused by some economic revivals. In 1911, there were 22 enterprises and 67 different workshops dealing with processing products of cattle-breeding, woodwork, metal and many independent craftsmen.

In the 1920s, Soviet authorities settled in Khmilnyk to control the population and discourage intellectuals. Churches were closed down. But in the 1930s, a new page in the history of Khmilnyk began - it became a resort.

World War II
Khmilnyk was devastated in World War II. In June 1941 the front came close to Khmilnyk, and on July 16, the German army captured the town.

On February 18, 1944 after the battle near Korsun-Shevchenkivsky, the First Ukrainian front was assigned the Proskuriv-Chernivtsi operation, which was decisive for the liberation of the town and whole district. On the morning of March 10, soldiers of 71st and 276th divisions captured the left part of Khmilnyk and the Mazurivka and Sydoryha settlements. After violent fights on March 18, 1944 the town and district were liberated from German invaders.

The Jewish population of the occupied town was decimated in a violent genocide. On two bloody Fridays (January 9 and 16, 1942), German divisions killed more than 8 thousand of the town's inhabitants. In Khmilnyk a total of 11,760 innocent victims were shot to death. To commemorate this, on July 18, 2002, the Sorrow Memorial was opened in Khmilnyk.

In 1934, scientists found medicinal radon water while searching for drinking water in Khmilnyk. Since 1970, Khmilnyk has been the spa resort town of state importance.

Khmilnyk is modern balneological resort with 7 health-centres. This gives it the possibility to treat about 50 thousand people from Ukraine and other countries every year. The main medical factor of the resort (like in Baden-Baden) is mineral radon water. It is formed during circulation of drinking water through granites of Ukrainian crystal shield. Radon therapy contributes to development of defensive and compensative machenisms in the human organism during different diseases and recovery processes.

The effectiveness of this water, when coupled with modern equipment and techniques, and high professional level of doctors, is high.

The list of diseases, under which treatment in the Khmilnyk resort is indicated:
- Diseases of locomotorium
- Cardiovascular system diseases
- Nervous system diseases
- Respiratory organs diseases: a chronic bronchitis with asthmatic displays.
- Gynecologic diseases
- Male sexual sphere disease
- Skin diseases: psoriasis (the stationary form), neurodermite, eczema, dry form, trophic ulcers.
- Endocrine system diseases: diabetes (mild and average forms), hyperthyroidism of І — ІІ stages and obesity of І — ІІ stages

Khmilnyk has architecture and historical monuments to be proud of: Saint Trinity Church built in 1603 and restored in 1729, 4 Orthodox churches built between 1801-1910, a Turkish mosque and the palace of K.I. Ksido. Monuments to Bogdan Khmelnitsky were built to commemorate his leadership in the liberation war of the Ukrainian people against Polish social and religious oppression (1648-1654). There is also a red-granite statue of Lenin, seated; the statue sits on the top of a hill and is very close to all of the main government buildings such as City Hall, the statue also overlooks the Centr (the main commercial and financial district of town) as well as the Southern Bug river and the castle. There is a monument to soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic war, the Glory Monument to War Heroes, an obelisk to soldiers of 18th army, 71st and 276th divisions that liberated Khmilnyk in March 1944. In 1991 Taras Shevchenko monuments were built.

Famous people connected with Khmilnyk
- Oleksandr Korniychuk - Ukrainian writer
- Pelageya Lytvynova-Bartosh (1833-1904) - ethnographer and folklore researcher.
- Ian Murphy - journalist, lived in Khmilnyk during 1990 and retains close contacts in the town
- Ignacy Jan Paderewski - polish composer and politician
- Vasyl Poryk - hero of Soviet Union, national hero of France during World War II
- Emiliya Savinska - educationalist and English language translator
- Mykhaylo Stelmah - famous Ukrainian writer
- Kari Tamlinska - entrepreneur and nightclub manager, spent her formative years in Khmilnyk

Saint Trinity Church
The church was built in 1603. During the time when the Tatars owned Podillia (1672-1699) it was ruined. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the church was repaired, and in 1728 it was sanctified a second time.

The church is a four-pillar basilica in the Toscana baroque style. Side niches are joined by cross-like cranes and the central niche has a semicircle crane. During the 1930s and 1940s, the church was twice closed by communists. On the place of the altar a blacksmith's shop was formed and prisoners worked there.

In the 1970s, the central entrance to the church yard was closed due to widening of the road. Now the central gates are situated on the other side. When the weather is fine, everybody in Khmilnyk can hear the ringing of the bells, recently donnated to the church by the Polish.

Castle tower and Secret Passages
In the center of Khmilnyk, above the river, an eightside building with loop-holes and counterforts can be seen. This is the only preserved castle tower (out of 6). In 1534, the king fortified the castle in order to defend it from numerous attacks from the Turks and the Tatars. The castle was built on the hill and town was surrounded with stone walls. A channel dug between the South Bug and Tasthusha rivers turned the town and fort into an island.

During the nation-liberation war (1648-1654), the castle was devastated by Cossacks. In 1672-1699, the castle was owned by Turks. They strengthened defensive buildings,built a mosque and secret passages passing under the river and leading to the outscirts of the city. These passages were later abandoned, used as storehouses and made into a nightclub. Unfortunatley the section that passed under the river has since collapsed and been flodded. Only a small part is now excesible from the Стара Фортреця restaurant(Stara Fortretsia- meaning old fortress) located directly under the castle. In the eighteenth century, the castle lost its defensive meaning and was gradually ruined. The preserved mosque tower was restored many times and between 1804-1917 it was turned into an Orthodox Church. In the last years, some rooms of the lower floor were made into a restaurant (the "Стара Фортреця" restaurant mentioned above).

Palace of K.I. Ksido
Near the castle tower is an interesting building. At first sight it seems to be old. This is the palace of the local landlord K.I. Ksido. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the building of big palace and park complex according to the project of the famous Russian architect I.O.Fomin began in Khmilnyk, but it was not finished. The complex consists of the palace and an arc-like Venice bridge across the river.

The palace is a bright example of neoclassical architecture in Ukraine. It united forms of Renaissance and Classicism. The building has two floors, and is quadratic, with towers on the main facade and corners. There was a dome rotunda on the roof but it was knocked off by Soviet aviation during World War II.

From 1920 to 1964, the building was used for agronomic and electronic schools, storehouses, a mill, and several different establishments. Since 1964 it has been used as a hotel; however, now the building is in very poor condition and needs major repair.

Khmilnyk: History-Culture-Tourism, 2007