Pages Navigation Menu

Berdichev

Posted by on Apr 7, 2014 in Shtetls, Zhytomyr region | 6 comments

Barditchev (Yiddish), Berdyczow (Polish), Бердичев – Berdichev (Russian), Бердичів (Ukrainian) Berdychiv is a city in the Zhytomyr region.  The city’s estimated population is 78 523 (2013). Before 1917, it was a center of Uezd (county) in Kiev gubernia. How it all began Jews were first mentioned in Berdichev in 1593. Towards the mid-eighteenth century, the city became one of the main Jewish centers of Ukraine, earning the esteemed title “Jerusalem of Volhynia.” From 1785, Berdichev was home to Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, a prominent Hassidic leader, as well as Rabbi Yitzhak Ber Levinzon, a famous advocate of Jewish Enlightenment. My locationGet Directions In 1797, prince Radziwill granted seven Jewish cloth merchants the monopoly of the cloth trade in Berdichev. In 1798, a Jewish printing press was established in the city, one of the greatest in Russia. The ideas of enlightenment...

Read More

Narodichi

Posted by on Sep 25, 2013 in Shtetls, Zhytomyr region | 3 comments

  Naroditch (Yiddish), Народичи – Narodichi (Russian), Народичі – Narodychi (Ukrainian) Narodichi is a district center in the Zhytomyr region. It is known from the XV century. In the XVI-XVIII centuries it was in the Ovruch uezd of Kiev province within the Commonwealth, which became a part of the Russian Empire in 1793. In the XIX to early XX century, it was a shtetl in the Ovruch district of Volyn province. My locationGet Directions Beginning The first mention of a Jewish community in Narodichi was in 1683.  In 1875 the chief rabbi of Narodichi was Elia-Leib Juravel (1847 – ? ). The main occupations of the Jewish population in XIX-early XX century were crafts and trade. Jews owned the only pharmacy, the two bakeries, all 9 hotels, a mill and 44 shops in Narodichi. They also owned all 24 grocery shops, all...

Read More

Kanev

Posted by on Jun 8, 2012 in Cherkasy region, Shtetls | 8 comments

Kaniow (Polish), Канiв – Kaniv (Ukrainian), Канев – Kanev (Russian) Kanev is a historic city located in Cherkassy region of central Ukraine, center of Kanev district. Kanev is located on the Dnieper River. The city’s estimated population is 25 224 (as of 2015). In XIX – beginning of XX century it was center of Kanev Yezd of Kiev Gubernia. Beginning Jewish settlement began in the end of the XVII century or the beginning of the XVIII. My locationGet Directions From 98 (including the surrounding villages) in 1765, the Jewish population grew to 1,635 in 1847 and 2,682 (30% of the total population) in 1897. In 1910, the town had a synagogue, two prayer houses, two male and one female government-sponsored schools. Before WWI most of the petty trade in town was in Jewish hands, all groceries and textile shops...

Read More