Hlukhiv - History

History

First noticed by chroniclers as a Severian town in 1152, Hlukhiv became the seat of a branch of the princely house of Chernigov following the Mongol invasion of Rus. Between 1320 and 1503 it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before being conquered by the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1618 it became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (in the Czernihów Voivodeship of the Crown of Poland) and was granted Magdeburg Rights in 1644 by Władysław IV Vasa. 1654 it became part of Russia in accordance with the Treaty of Pereyaslav. In 1664, during the siege of Hlukhiv the Russo-Cossack garrison of the town successfully defended against a superiour Polish army which suffered great losses during the following retreat. Hlukhiv was revived by Peter the Great who transferred the hetman's capital from Baturin to Hlukhiv in 1708. It served as the capital of the Cossack Hetmanate in 1708-22 and 1727-34. Under the last hetmans of Ukraine, the town was remodeled in the Baroque style. Subsequently it declined in consequence of frequent fires, so that very few of its architectural gems survive.

Since the first school of singing in the Russian Empire was established there in 1738, the town has a rich musical heritage. Composers Dmytro Bortniansky and Maksym Berezovsky, whose statues grace the Bortniansky Square of Hlukhiv, are believed to have studied there.