Kozelets

Kozelets’ Козелець
Urban-type settlement
The city's main street, with the belltower in the background.
Flag Coat of arms
Kozelets’ Location of Kozelets in Ukraine
Coordinates: 50°54′0″N 31°07′0″E / 50.90000°N 31.11667°E / 50.90000; 31.11667Coordinates: 50°54′0″N 31°07′0″E / 50.90000°N 31.11667°E / 50.90000; 31.11667
Country	Ukraine
Province	Chernihiv Oblast
District	Kozelets Raion
First mentioned	1098
Magdeburg rights	1656
Town status	1924
Government
• Head	Petro Fedchenko
Area
• Total	8.44 km2 (3.26 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	8,305
• Density	1,037.67/km2 (2,687.6/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	17003
Area code(s)	+380 4646
Website	http://rada.gov.ua/

Kozelets (Ukrainian: Козелець; Russian: Козелец) is a historic town located in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Kozelets is located on the Oster River, a tributary of the Dnieper. The city's estimated population is 8,305 (as of 2007).

The town was first mentioned in written documents in 1098, but its status as an urban-type settlement (a step below that of a city) was granted in 1924.^[1] It serves as the administrative center of the Kozelets Raion (district) housing the raion's administrative structure.

Notable attractions in the city includes the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin designed in the Ukrainian Baroque style by architects Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi and Andrei Kvasov according to a plan by imperial architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Kozelets also houses several local food industries, and a veterinary technicum.^[2]

History

Kozelets was first mentioned in 1098 as a fortified town in the East Slavic state of Kievan Rus'.^[2] During times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Kozelets was known by the name Kozlohrad (Ukrainian: Козлоград).

The town's main cathedral, designed by Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi and Andrei Kvasov.

In the beginning of the 17th century, Kozelets was an important regional trade center.^[3] The town was also a sotnia town in the Pereiaslav and Kiev Regiment of the Cossack Hetmanate during the 17-18th centuries.^[4]

In 1656, Kozelets was granted the Magdeburg rights. The Kozelets Cossack Rada elected Yakym Somko as the Hetman of the Cossacks in 1662.^[5][6] After the Tatar invasion of 1669, Kozelets was partially destroyed.

The city also served as a regional center of the Kiev, Malorossiya, and Chernigov Governorates of the Russian Empire during the 18-19th centuries.^[2] At the end of the 19th century, Kozelets's population was 5,420.^[7]

After the breakup of the Russian Empire leading to the Russian Civil War, Kozelets became a part of the Soviet Union. In 1924, its status as a city was removed and given that of an urban-type settlement. During World War II, the Nazi Einsatzgruppen executed 125 of the towns's Jews, a population which numbered 2,000 before the war.^[8]

Attractions

The cathedral's hand-crafted iconostasis was made in Italy.

Being a regimental Cossack town, Kozelets has some important architectural monuments. This includes the Regimental Chancellery Building (the current town hall), the Darahan Mansion complex, the Saint Michael's Church (built in 1784) and the Ascension Church (1864–66).^[2]

The town's main cathedral and architectural attraction is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. The cathedral was built in the mid-18th century in the late Ukrainian Baroque style by architects Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi and Andrei Kvasov,^[9][10] according to a project by imperial architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.^[11] Funds for the construction of the cathedral were provided by Alexey and Kyrylo Rozumovsky (the latter was appointed Hetman in 1750).^[10]

People from Kozelets

List of famous people from Kozelets:

• Yevstafiy Bogomolets (between 1750 and 1755 – 1811) - the mayor of Kozelets in 1789, direct ancestor of academician Alexander Bogomolets (1881-1946) and Olga Bogomolets (1966), MD, the founder of Radomysl Castle.^[12]
• Yuriy Levitansky (1922-1996), Russian poet.
• Boris Mankevsky (1883-1962), Ukrainian neurologist;^[13]
• Vladimir Negovsky (1909-2003), Russian pathophysiologist;^[13]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kozelets.

• "Urban-type settlement Kozelets, Chernihiv Oblast, Kozeletskyi Raion". Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
• "Kozelets - Danivka - Lemeshi". Progylka.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
• Zharikov, N. L., ed. (1983-1986). "Kozelets, urban-type settlement". Monuments of urban development and architecture in the Ukrainian SSR. 1-4. (in Russian). Kiev: Budivel'nyk. p. 300. LCCN 84179019. Retrieved 2007-12-13.  Check date values in: |date= (help)
• The Official Site of Radomysl Castle

v t e Populated settlements of Kozelets Raion Administrative center: Kozelets Cities Oster Towns Desna Kozelets Village councils Berlozy Bileiky Bilyky Bobruiky Birky Bryhyntsi Bulakhiv Chemer Danivka Karpylivka Khreshchate Kipti Koropie Kosachivka Krasylivka Krekhaiv Lemeshi Lykholitky Maksym Morivsk Nadynivka Nichohivka Novyi Shliakh Odyntsi Ozerne Olbyn Oleksiivshchyna Omelianiv Parkhymiv Patiuty Petrivske Pidlisne Prohres Pyliatyn Savyn Skrypchyn Stavyske Syrai Vovchok Yevmynka