Kaniv
Канів | ||
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![]() The Heorhiivskyi (Uspenskyi) Cathedral in Kaniv. | ||
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![]() Map of Ukraine of Kaniv within Cherkasy Oblast. | ||
Country Oblast Raion |
![]() ![]() Kaniv Raion | |
First mentioned | 1078 | |
City rights | 1796 | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Nikolenko Victor Volodymirovich | |
Area | ||
• Total |
17.42 km2 (6.73 sq mi) |
Kaniv (Ukrainian: Канів|; Russian: Ка́нев, translit. Kanev; Polish: Kaniów) is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. The current estimated population is 26,426 (as of 2005). The city was called Kaniv because of the manufacture of knives during the 15th century.
Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, considered a founder of Ukrainian literature, is buried on a hill overlooking the Dnieper in Kaniv, and the city houses a memorial museum dedicated to him.
Industry in the city includes: Kaniv's hydro-electric power plant located on the Kaniv Reservoir on the Dnieper, the a fruit and vegetable, condiments factory, large milk and cheese factory, poultry processing.
Administrative status[]
Kaniv is the administrative center of the Kaniv Raion (district). However, the city is a city of oblast subordinance, thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the raion administration housed within the city itself.
History[]

Coat of arms of Kanev under the Russian Empire (1852).

Catherine II leaving Kaniów in 1787, Jan Bogumił Plersch.
The town was first mentioned in a chronicle of 1149, although some believe that it had been founded as early as the 10th century; its name is derived from the personal nickname Kanya ('buzzard').[1] M.P.Yanko in his Toponymic dictionary of Ukraine says that the name is derived from Turkish word meaning the place of Khan. In the Middle Ages it was located on the Road from Varangians to Greeks. Initially part of Kievan Rus', in the 14th century it was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was sacked by the Ottoman Turks in 1458.
In 1569, Kaniv came under the rule of Poland, and it was also one of the centers of Cossack culture and military life. In 1600, it received the Magdeburg Rights, but the city's prosperity was halted by successive plagues, fires, and Cossack unrest. During The Deluge the town was captured by the forces of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in 1648. In 1768, it was captured by one of the leaders of the Koliyivschyna, Maksym Zalizniak. As an effect of a pogrom, most of the local szlachta and Jews were killed. Following the Second Partition of Poland the town with large parts of other territories came under the control of the Russian Empire. In 1787, Kaniów was visited by Catherine II. She met there with Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski.
During the later stages of the Great War, on May 11, 1918, the town was the seat of the Battle of Kaniów, in which the forces of the 2nd Polish Corps and the Polish Legions under Józef Haller de Hallenburg failed to break through the Austro-German lines to the Russian side. During the Second World War, Kaniv was a site of tragically unsuccessful drop of Soviet paratroopers.
In 1978, Oleksa Hirnyk burned himself to death in protest of Russification in Kaniv, on a hill near Shevchenko's tomb. In 2007, he was honored as a Hero of Ukraine.
Monuments[]
- Second World War Memorial Park;
- Monument of Taras Shevchenko;
- Monument to St.Makariy of Kaniv;
- Alley of Glory(Park Slavy);
International relations[]
Twin towns — Sister cities[]
Kaniv is twinned with:
City | Country | Year of Signing |
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Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia | ![]() |
|
Sonoma, California | ||
Lambersart, Nord-Pas-de-Calais | ![]() |
References[]
- Notes
- ^ E.M. Pospelov, Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira (Moscow, 1998), p. 186.
- Bibliography
- (1972) Icтopia мicт i ciл Укpaїнcькoї CCP - Черкаськa область (History of Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR - Cherkasy Oblast), Kyiv. (Ukrainian)
- Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
External links[]
- Kaniv in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- Details about paratroop operations in 1943 that included battle in Kanev
- klymenko.data-tec.net — Kaniv photogallery(Ukrainian)/(Russian)
- knyazhagora.com.ua — Hotel in Kaniv (Ukrainian)
- JewUa.org - History of Jewish community in Kaniv
Template:Cherkasy Oblast
This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Kaniv. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |