Nizhyn

Nizhyn (Ні́жин, ˈn(j)iʒɪn) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It hosts the administration of Nizhyn urban hromada which is one of the hromadas of Ukraine and was once a major city of the Chernigov Governorate. Nizhyn has a population of The earliest known references to the location go back to 1147, when it was briefly mentioned as Unenezh. In the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Nizhyn was granted Magdeburg rights (1625) as a self-governing town. In 1663 Nizhyn was the place of the Black Council of Ukrainian Cossacks, which elected Bryukhovetsky as the new Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host thus conditionally dividing Ukraine (Cossack Hetmanate) into left-bank Ukraine and right-bank Ukraine. It was also the seat of a major Cossack regiment (until 1782). Nizhyn was once a major center of Hasidic Judaism and is the site of the Ohel (tomb) of the Hasidic master, Rabbi Dovber Schneuri of Chabad-Lubavitch. The city also housed the thriving Greek community, which enjoyed a number of privileges granted by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In the 19th century Nizhyn became an uyezd capital of the Chernihiv Governorate and the biggest city in the guberniya. In 1805, the Bezborodko Lyceum was established there (today — Nizhyn Gogol State University); its graduates include Nikolai Gogol whose statue graces one of city streets as well as Yevhen Hrebinka among other graduates. Nizhyn has also long been noted for its famous cucumbers. During World War II, Nizhyn was occupied by the German Army from 13 September 1941 to 15 September 1943. Jews first settled in Nizhyn at the beginning of the 19th century after the partition of Poland. The town grew to become a center for the Chabad Hasidim of Ukraine. Dovber Schneuri, the second Chabad rebbe, is buried here. By 1847, 1,299 Jews had registered as residents. In 1897, 24% of the population, or 7,361 residents, were Jewish.