Baturyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Coat of Arms | |
|---|---|
 |
|
Baturyn (also spelled Baturin; Ukrainian and Russian: Батурин), is a town located on the Seym River in the Chernihiv Oblast (province) in northern Ukraine with a population of about 3,600.
[edit] History
According to some modern writers, the origins of Baturyn date back to 11th century as a fortress built by the Grand Principality of Chernigov. The contemporary name for the settlement is first mentioned in the 17th century documents. In 1648 it is transformed into a Cossack company regional center (sotnia), as the Cossack state (the Zaporizhian Host) gained control over the territory from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and in 1669–1708 it was the capital of the Hetmanate, an autonomous Cossack republic in Left-bank Ukraine.
The town prospered under the rule of hetman Ivan Mazepa, with its area increasing and the population growing to 20,000. Baturyn had 40 churches and chapels, 2 monasteries and a college for government officials and diplomats. In 1708, the Cossack Ukraine was caught in the midst of the Great Northern War with Mazepa supporting the Swedes contrary to his obligation of the treaty with Russia. The town was razed to the ground by the Russian army of Alexander Menshikov in retribution for this alliance. About 6,000 inhabitants and defenders were said to be slaughtered.
The town was rebuilt only in the 1750s, and served as the capital of hetman Kyrylo Rozumovsky (Kirill Grigorievich Razumovsky) until 1764, when Russian empress Catherine II abolished the Cossack state and incorporated it in the form of several gubernias, regular administrative subdivisions of the Russian Empire. Following Rozumovsky's death, the town lost its importance and is now a tiny agrarian settlement. His palace, designed in the Baroque style by Andrey Kvasov and rebuilt in the Neoclassical style by Charles Cameron in 1799-1803, stands in ruins. The oldest extant building in Baturyn is the house of Vasily Kochubey.
[edit] External links
- Baturyn article in Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- "Baturyn: historic capital of the Kozak Hetman state." The Ukrainian Weekly
- Baturyn coat of arms (17th Century)
- "Excavations in Baturyn, Ukraine"
