Sightseeing Trips to Kamyanets Podilskiy

Kamyanets-Podilskiy is an ancient (at least 940 years old) town located 90 km north-east of Chernivtsi. A major settlement of the Kievan Rus Galicia-Volynia Principality on the trade route from Kyiv to the Balkans in 11-14 c.c., Kamyanets fell under the Lithuanian rule in mid-14th c. In 1430, it was taken over by Poland.

As the city served as a strategic fortification on the southern border, Kamyanets was repeatedly attacked by Tartars, Moldavians and Ottoman Turks. In 1672, it fell under a Turkish seige, but in 1699 was returned to Poland. It then was captured by Russians, and in 1797 it became an administrative center of the Podolia Province (gubernia) of the Russian Empire. It became a major center of trade, culture and education.

After the Russian October Revolution, the city was the capital of the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR) for almost eight months in 1919. In the Soviet time it also was an administrative center of the province for some time. Having lost this status, Kamyanets-Podilskiy lost some of its importance, but it still remains an exciting attraction for thousands of tourists.

By a coincidence, during World War II, the Old Town of Kamyanets-Podilskiy was turned into a ghetto by the Nazi. By August 1941, the town set the tragic record of the first five-figure massacre of Jewish population - 23,600 people. During the war, 85,000 people were murdered.

Kamyanets-Podilskiy

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