Lutsk - History

History

According to legends Luchesk was founded in the 7th century. The first known documental reference is from the year 1085. The town was the capital of Halych-Volynia until the foundation of Volodymyr-Volynsky.

The town was founded around a wooden castle built by a local branch of the Rurik Dynasty. At certain times the stronghold was the capital of the duchy, but since there was no need for a fixed capital in medieval Europe, the town did not become an important centre of commerce or culture. In 1240 the nearby town was seized and looted by the Tatars, but the castle was not harmed. In 1321 George son of Lev, the last of the line, died in a battle with the forces of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the castle was seized by the Lithuanian forces. In 1349 the town was captured by the forces of Casimir III, but it was soon retaken by Lithuania.

During the period of Lithuanian rule the town began to prosper. Lubart, son of Gediminas, erected the Lubart's Castle as part of his fortification undertaking. Vytautas the Great founded the town itself by importing colonists (mostly Jews, Tatars, and Karaims). In 1427 he transferred the Catholic bishopric from Volodymyr-Volynskyi to Luchesk. Vytautas was the last monarch to use the title of "Duke of Volhynia" and to reside in Lubart's Castle. The town grew rapidly, and by the end of the 15th century there were 19 Orthodox and two Catholic churches. It was the seat of two Christian bishops, one Catholic and one Orthodox. Because of that the town was sometimes nicknamed the Volhynian Rome. The cross symbol of Lutsk is featured on the highest Lithuanian Presidential award, the Order of Vytautas the Great.

In 1429 Lutsk was the meeting place selected for a conference of monarchs hosted by Jogaila and Sophia of Halshany to deal with the Tartar threat. Among those invited were Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Vasili II of Russia, the king of Denmark Eric of Pomerania, Grand Master of the Livonian Order Zisse von Rutenberg, Duke of Szczecin Kazimierz V, Dan II the Hospodar of Wallachia and Prince-electors of most of the countries of Germany.

In 1432 Volhynia became a fief of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Lutsk became the seat of the governors, and later the Marshalls of the Land of Volhynia. That same year, the city was granted Magdeburg rights. In 1569 Volhynia was fully incorporated into the Polish kingdom and the town became the capital of the Volhynian Voivodeship and the Łuck powiat (Polish administrative unit). After the Union of Lublin the local Orthodox bishop converted to Greek-Catholicism.

The town continued to prosper as an important economic centre of the region. By the mid-17th century Łuck had approximately 50,000 inhabitants and was one of the largest towns in the area. During the Khmelnytskyi Uprising the town was seized by the forces of Colonel Kolodko. Up to 4,000 people were slaughtered, approximately 35,000 fled, and the town was looted and partially burnt. It never fully recovered. In 1781 the city was struck by a fire which destroyed 440 houses, both cathedrals, and several other churches.

In 1795 as a result of Partitions of Poland, Lutsk was annexed by the Russian Empire. The Voivodeship was liquidated and the town lost its significance as the capital of the province (which was moved to Zhytomyr). After the November Uprising (1830–1831) efforts increased to remove Polish influence and Russian became the dominant language in official circles, though the population continued to speak Ukrainian, the Polish population Polish, and the Jewish population Yiddish, if only in private circles. The Greek Catholic churches were turned into Orthodox Christian ones, which led to the self-liquidation of the Uniates here. In 1845 another great fire struck the city, resulting in a further depopulation.

In 1850 three major forts were built around Lutsk, and the town became a small fortress called Mikhailogorod. During the First World War the town was seized by Austria-Hungary on August 29, 1915. The town sustained a small amount of damage. During more than a year of Austro-Hungarian occupation Lutsk became an important military centre with the headquarters of the IV Army under Archduke Josef Ferdinand stationed there. A plague of epidemic typhus decimated the city's inhabitants.

On June 4, 1916 four Russian armies under general Aleksei Brusilov started what later became known as the Brusilov Offensive. After up to three days of heavy artillery barrage, the Battle of Lutsk began. On June 7, 1916 the Russian forces reconquered the city. After the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1917 the city was seized by Germany on February 7, 1918. On February 22, 1918 the town was transferred by the withdrawing German army to the forces loyal to Symon Petlura. On May 16, 1919 it was captured by Polish forces under General Aleksander Karnicki.

After World War I Lutsk was designated by the newly-reborn nation of Poland as the capital of the Volhynian Voivodeship. It was connected by railroad to Lviv (then Lwów) and Przemyśl and several factories were built both in the city and on its outskirts. The 13th Kresowy Light Artillery Regiment was stationed in the city centre. In 1938 the construction of a large modern radio transmitter began in the city (see Polish Radio Lutsk). As of January 1, 1939 Łutsk had 39,000 inhabitants (approximately 17,500 Jews and 13,500 Poles). The powiat formed around the town had 316,970 inhabitants, including 59% Ukrainians, 19.5% Poles, 14% Jews and approximately 23,000 Czechs and Germans.

In 1939 as a result of the Invasion of Poland and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Lutsk, along with the rest of western Volyn, was annexed by the Soviet Union. Most of the factories (including the almost-finished radio station) were dismantled and sent to Russia. Approximately 7,000 of the city's inhabitants (mostly Poles) were sent to Kazakhstan and 1,550 were arrested by the NKVD.

After the start of Operation Barbarossa the city was captured by the Wehrmacht, but not before thousands of Polish and Ukrainian prisoners were shot by the retreating NKVD. Upon Nazi occupation most of the Jewish inhabitants of the city were forced into a ghetto and then murdered at the Polanka hill near the city. During the massacres of Poles in Volhynia approximately 10,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the area.

Following the end of the war the remaining Polish inhabitants of the city were expelled, mostly to the areas sometimes referred to as the Polish Regained Territories. The city became an industrial centre in the Ukrainian SSR. The major changes in the city's demographics had the final result that by the end of the war the city was almost entirely Ukrainian.

As one of the largest cities in Western Ukraine, Lutsk became the seat of a General Consulate of Poland in 2003.