Trypillia - History

History

The extensive Neolithic ancient ruin located near Trypillia was the location of the initial Ukrainian discovery by the Czech archeologist Vicentiy Khvoika of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture that existed between 5400-2700 BCE, which covered an area of 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi), and encompassed present-day southern Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. Khvoika reported his findings in 1897 to the 11th Congress of Archaeologists, marking the official date of the discovery of this culture. Initially named the Trypillian culture (or Tripolie in Russian), it eventually was determined that it and the Cucuteni culture of Romania were the same. Today the commonly accepted term for this culture combines both names, hence Cucuteni-Trypillian.

The name of Trypillia means "three fields" in Slavic languages and is unrelated to Tripoli. It was first mentioned by Kievan chroniclers in connection with the Battle of the Stugna River in 1093. During the 12th century, Trypillia was a fortress which defended approaches towards Kiev from the steppe. One of its rulers was Mstislav the Bold. During the subsequent centuries, the town dwindled into insignificance. In 1919 it was the venue of the Trypillia incident, in which Ukrainian forces under Danylo Terpylo massacred a unit of Bolsheviks.