History
Berdyansk city by its birth is obliged to earl Vorontsov who being again appointed the governor general, has sent expedition to the Sea of Azov. Expedition's task was to find a place for building of new seaport. In the autumn of 1824 the captain Kritsky, supervising this expedition, in the report has informed on several prospective places, but the best was a place closed from the sea by the Berdyansk Spit. In an official report to Vorontsov Kritsky has written: "the Berdyansk Spit surpasses extremely by quality Obitochnaya Spit, and on it you can get landing stage and port which unless will concede to Sevastopol..." And here on 3 November 1827 the certificate about dissociation of the land for a mooring and a city has been issued. From this day also conducts the family tree Berdyansk. Same year on the bank of a gulf the landing stage has been built. Has grown here and the small settlement which has begun the future city.
Its original name was Kutur-Ogly. The neighbouring settlement arisen due to these foundations was known under the name Berdy. The name of the city was changed to Novo-Nogaisk in 1830 (meant "New Nogaisk") (see Nogai). Its present name was given to the city in 1841 by the special decree of Nicholas I. The name "Berdyansk" is derived from the name of the river Berda falling into the sea not far from the city. Between 1939 and 1958 the city was known as Osipenko, named after Hero of the Soviet Union Polina Osipenko. This name is now used by the nearby village Osipenko, where Polina Osipenko was born.
Solemn opening of a mooring on July, 1st, 1830 has taken place. The authority of new port quickly dews, and in 1835 Berdyansk has received the city status. In 1838 its population consist of 3200 inhabitants, and in 1842 Berdyansk became the district centre. Then, on 31 January 1845, the first arms of Berdyansk and the Berdyansk district have been founded. In the top strip, in a green field a silver nogay's nomad tent and the black plough, meaning a seminomadic life lodged in this district Nogays and employment with tillage of other local residents, and in the bottom part, on a blue field, - a black anchor which symbolised affinity of the given district to the sea are represented. By this time the customs outpost here has been opened. From Mariupol and Odessa some foreign representatives (negotiators) with their offices on purchase and grain sending for the seas-oceans here have moved.
In 1838 the Nizhneberdyansky beacon has been built which representing itself 23-metre octahedral whitestone tower with an orange strip in the middle. The first beacon fires the sailing ships, have seen in 1840. After almost half a century, in 1883, on change to oil lamps the electric have come. The Beacon-veteran reconstructed and equipped with the new equipment, and nowadays keeps watch, showing the way to the ships to native coast.
The city developed and grew. In the centre private residences of the nobility, merchants, priests, office accommodations were built. And on suburbs arose Berdyansk outskirts: Sailor's, German, Soldier's (more known as Liski), the Dog gully, Gavrilovka, Near and Far Makorty. In April, 1862 by tsar Alexander II with assistance of mayor N.Kobozev have been confirmed the plan of district city Berdyansk. By the plan the street were straight and leading to the sea. This layout has remained up to now in the central part of a city. It was forbidden to build houses above the second floor. Fine buildings decorated Berdyansk: Winter theatre, town council building, hotel "Bristol", boys' classical gymnasium, Voznesensky cathedral and Lutheran church. The seaport quickly developed. In 1869 breakwater building has come to the end. This construction made from stone in length of 640 metres with two port fires on the ends - indexes of pass to the harbour, located on distance 859 metres from coast, and until now truly serves for dockers. In the evening when the sun is gone for a breakwater, it can admire from the Seaside square or from quay in the Gorky street. The rumour about a new seaside seaport city was carried far beyond the district. One behind another in Berdyansk appeared trading consulates of Greece, England, Italy, Spain, Austro-Hungary, France, Denmark and other states. The increasing importance of port was underlined in 1867 by the memorable book of Taurian province: "Already there is no doubt, that for all Azov coast the Berdyansk port will be that Odessa for the Black Sea coast".
In 1876 the participant of the Sevastopol defence, rear admiral P.P.Schmidt have been appointed to a post of the town governor and the chief of port. The person of progressive sights, he has made much for port and city development. Everyone who stood at a wheel of the city power, have left the trace in city history. N.S.Kobozev, I.F.Matias, I.F.Gemmerle, V.I.Sahanev, K.P.Konstantinov, K.S.Argiropulo, I.D.Demetriadis, V.E.Gaevsky, V.I.Apopov and other people known at that time, promoted growth and city prosperity. Soon in a city there were small industrial enterprises, banks have opened. In all Europe D.Grievza's factory on manufacturing harvesters was known. Factory of farming machines have opened by Schröder and Matias. There was cordage factory of Venz and Yanzen,Selstrem's candle-wax works Sels, Litsmen sausage factory, Fetter's brewery, Klavdin macaroni factory, Ediger's printing house. Italians have constructed city power station. Berdyansk turned to a port-industrial and trading-merchant city. By this time in the city there were two daily newspapers, three libraries, four bookshops worked. In the city was a waterpipe and illumination. To 1899 Berdyansk has received a railway communication. In the beginning of the 20th century the city population numbered 26,500. In the city was about ten orthodox temples, two Jewish and one Karaite synagogues, boys and female grammar schools, nautical classes, city college, some credit institutions. Except the extensive export trade which main subject were grain and a flour, Berdyansk conducts large enough inland trade. It becomes the considerable distributive market of the received goods for wide neighbourhood. To the beginning of the 20th century Berdyansk has got lines of a trading merchant city-port with the developed industry, that, naturally, has affected its infrastructure - in Berdyansk there were newspapers, bookshops and libraries worked, the waterpipe functioned, the city has been electrified, railway building has come to the end.
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1860 | 10,100 | — |
| 1897 | 26,500 | +162.4% |
| 1926 | 26,400 | −0.4% |
| 1939 | 52,000 | +97.0% |
| 1959 | 65,000 | +25.0% |
| 1970 | 100,000 | +53.8% |
| 2001 | 121,000 | +21.0% |
Note: Historical population record is taken out of Encyclopedia of Ukraine (English).
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