And the train went quietly to Berdichev… (part 1)
Shufutinsky probably wrote his "Quiet, like in paradise. At the edge of the place the stars shine brightly. I cut myself, I sing to myself. . . ”Not only about Berdichev's Jews, because our city has always been considered the unofficial Jewish capital. And by the wit of the dialogues of Dorochka and Sarochka at the Berdichev bazaar, we could easily give a head start to Odessa Privoz. Of course, now you will not meet the most colorful characters from the "early" time. But we are still very, very, believe me, I still know what I'm talking about.
Because, as it is sung in a promo video about Berdichev: “This city is the best city on Earth! ». And everyone can and can see this by coming here and walking along our Berdychiv "Broadway" - boulevards stretching from the station to the city center, admiring Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish churches and historical monuments, sitting down to rest by the fountains in Central Square.
Well, what can I say about the city in which I live? Is it only that this city is famous all over the country for its beer, and in perestroika times - also low-alcohol beverage "Teteriv", which was bottled in "champagne" bottles and brought in incredible quantities to Moscow and St. Petersburg by our local "korobeiniki" -workers.
Or the fact that a world-class Jewish saint is buried here, and we would have overtaken Uman in the number of Hasidic pilgrims, if not for the position of the city authorities, rightly believing that their annual (Hasidic, not government) invasion of Uman to our city is just can not stand. Another thing is that it was here at the end of the year that Honore de Balzac finally became the legal husband of Evelina of Ghana, whose estate "Verkhivnya" is very close.
By the way, the guides like to tell the story of how after the wedding Balzac came out of the church and the Berdychiv Jewish tailor standing in the crowd of onlookers asked him where Monsieur sewed his coat so wonderfully. After hearing Balzac's answer "In Paris", the Berdychiv resident clarified the distance between Berdychiv and Paris. And when the answer came, he expressed his admiration for the French capital: "Just think, such a wilderness, and so well sewn! »).
Or maybe it's worth talking about the miraculous Catholic icon, which is worshiped every year by believers not only from Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Belarus, but also America, France, Argentina, Germany, etc. , etc. And what else is in this city the action of the old film "Commissar" with N. Mordyukova and R. Bykov took place. Or that there is a circus studio "Rhizome" in Berdichev, a good half of which are members of the "Cirque du Soleil".
Its founder - Antoliy Zalevsky - is famous all over the world (see video) and any performance of "Rhizome" is not just another circus, it is a symbiosis of circus and theatrical art, which takes the soul so long that it hurts the heart. And in our city every year there is an international tournament among young people in boxing class "A" for the prize of the Klitschko brothers, and the international tournament "Memorial of Lonsky" in high jump. By the way, the Ukrainian world champion in this sport Yura Krymarenko is from Berdychiv.
Located in the south of the Zhytomyr region, very beautiful and cozy, in a good way provincial and small, it is rightly considered a "city of four cultures", because here for centuries peacefully and neighborly lived and live Ukrainians, Poles, Russians, Jews . I do not belong to the natives of Berdychiv - Berdychiv woman in the first generation, but I love this city and I am proud of it.
Probably, it would be correct to write about Berdichev from the point of view of an ordinary traveler, who always cares where to live, what to eat, and, most importantly, what to see.
You can come to Berdichev by car (distance to Kiev - 180 km, roads on a longer section of the road in the state of "zer gut"), bus / minibus (from Kiev - from the bus station or from the city "Zhytomyrskaya"), the ticket costs 57 UAH. By and large, you can easily see almost all the more or less interesting places in 1 day.
- You know, I was in Berdichev that week, so there I saw Karl Marx alive in the tram!
"Oh, it can't be! " Shaw, is there already a tram in Berdichev? ! ! (from urban folklore).
Alas, our trams do not run. Municipal transport is represented by buses, minibuses and just taxis. Travel in public transport (bus, minibus) - 2 UAH. In a taxi - the minimum rate is 12 (attention, twelve! ) UAH.
Right now, with the drumming voice of a professional guide, I will briefly conduct a HISTORICAL EXCURSION.
The first written mention of our city dates back to 1545. At that time, the city was located in the border area between Polish and Ukrainian lands, which in principle largely determined the entire course of its history.
In 1627, one of the descendants of the Lithuanian princes Tyszkiewicz Janusz built a monastery in Berdichev for the Order of Barefoot Carmelites. The Carmelite Monastic Order played a very significant role in the spread of Catholicism in the Ukrainian lands. The history of the order dates back to 1156, when a community of hermits was established on Mount Carmel, the charter of which, approved in 1224 by Pope Honorius III, was very strict. 20 years later, in 1247
Pope Innocent IV softened the current charter, which led to the division of the order into those who remained living in the former austerity - "barefoot Carmelites" and those who adopted the new relaxed rules - "shoe Carmelites".
In the monastery donated by Tyszkiewicz, the Berdychiv "barefoot" Carmelites began in 1643 to build an underground Mariinsky church and a number of outbuildings, the monastery complex was surrounded by high ramparts with cannons and surrounded by a deep moat. Janusz Tiszkiewicz presents the church with an ancient icon of the Mother of God, which has long been considered miraculous. Many pilgrims from all over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came to worship the icon. In 1756 the first coronation of the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God of Berdychiv took place.
In the early 1840s, a stone “upper” church was built over the lower church according to a design by Jan de Witte (also the author of the Dominican Cathedral in Lviv) and G. Tarnowski. In 1754 the temple was consecrated.
In 1758, a printing house began to operate at the monastery, where books were published in Latin, Polish, Hebrew, German, French and Russian.
At the end of the XVII century. after the annexation of the Right Bank to Russia, Berdichev became a town in the Zhytomyr district of the Volyn province. During this period there are brick and tanneries, breweries, mills, 6 hat, 4 soap, carriage, furniture factories. Since 1765, about 10 fairs a year have been held in Berdichev, the most famous of which was the 6-week summer Onufriev Fair. In terms of turnover, it was compared with Leipzig. At this time in the city live 40 thousand. residents (and in Kiev at the same time - 50 thousand). One of the largest Ukrainian cities of the time, Berdichev was divided into New and Old City.
From 1870, Berdichev was part of the route of the Indian Telegraph Calcutta-London, stagecoaches ran Berdichev-Zhytomyr, Berdichev-Rovno, the city passed the St. Petersburg-Warsaw highway.
In the middle of the XIX century. With the transfer of the Onufriev Fair to Kyiv, the construction of the Kyiv-Odessa and Kyiv-Brest railways, new shopping centers appeared, and Berdichev lost its commercial role.
From the end of the XVIII century. the city becomes one of the centers of Hasidism. In 1785, Levi Yitzhak Ben Meir Berdichevsky was elected rabbi. His grave in Berdichev is a place of pilgrimage for Hasids around the world.
Jews have left Berdichev an invaluable architectural heritage, and in our city you can still find whole neighborhoods with ancient Jewish buildings: old shops, office buildings, houses, cramped courtyards…
Frederic Chopin, Sholom Aleichem Taras Shevchenko, and surgeon Nikolai Pirogov visited Berdichev at different times.
The fate of the Rubinstein family is connected with the city, which gave the world the famous composer and musician Anton Rubinstein. The English writer of Polish descent Joseph Conrad was born in Berdichev.
In 1923 Berdichev became the district center.
During World War II, the city was occupied by the Germans from the summer of 1941 to January 1944. During the war, the Nazis destroyed 38 thousand. Berdichev Jews.
Currently, Berdichev has about 30 different industrial enterprises, polytechnic, pedagogical and medical colleges, 3 secondary vocational schools, 2 children's art schools, 34 libraries, and the Berdichev History Museum.
