Local history
Information about the town – Ukraina / Житомирська область (obwód żytomierski)
The origin of the town's name, Berdyczów, is uncertain.Most probably, in 1430, the Lithuanian King Švitrigaila granted the land, by the Piat and Hujwa Rivers, to Kalenik, the governor of Putywla and Zwenigrod. Kalenik was the founder of the Tyszkiewicz family.
According to local legend, where Berdyczów lies today, there was once a chutor (a Ukrainian farm and homestead), named after one of its servants, Berdycz. Half a century later, the site contained a rich settlement, whose heirs were Kalenik's gandchildren.
However, the town did not enjoy its prosperity for very long. In 1483, it was destroyed by the Crimean Tartars. Rebuilt, it was then repeatedly captured and devastated by the Kossack, Muscovite and Ruthenian armies during border riots. From 1546, Berdyczów lay within the borders of the Ruthenian Provincele and belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.1]. Following the Union of Lublin (1569), it found itself within the Bracławski province of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Changing fortunes meant that this small town,within which various cultures co-existed and trade routes crossed, had an exceptional opportunity to develop.
The first inhabitants of Berdyczów were Ruthenians and Lithuanians. The number of Poles living there grew from the time of the Union of Lublin.
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