Founding
village in Halych Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine
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Mariiampil (Ukrainian: Маріямпіль), or formerly Marynopil (Ukrainian: Маринопіль) is a village (a former township) in Ivano-Frankivsk Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (province) on the left bank of the Dnister. Mariiampil belongs to Dubivtsi rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.
The name derives from the Christian name Mary. Based on the folk legend (from the book "Культурні грона Дністра", Kul'turni groda Dnistra), during the time of the Tatar raids, the Polish leader (wojewoda), Jan Kajetan Jabłonowski was fleeing the Tatars on his horse. Having crossed the Dnister, this horse could not jump onto the bank. Despairing of being caught by the Tatars, Kaietan yelled "Jesus-Maryja" and the horse carried him to dry land. In thanks giving to God, Jan Kajetan founded on the either bank of the river, the cities of Jesupol, in honour of Jesus and Marijampol, in honour of Mary, the Mother of God.
Most researchers believe that this settlement was named by the hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski. The Polish researcher W. Urban found in the ancient documents of the parish of Marijampil that in 1691, the town of Božyj Vydok was renamed as Marijampol by Stanislaw Jablonowski. This name was chosen since this hetman brought to the town the miraculous icon of "Our Lady of the Knight" ("Рицарської Богоматерi", Rytsars'koi Bohomateri) that had followed him in all his military campaigns, especially his campaign in defence of Vienna in 1683.
Around 1694, the neighbouring town in honour of Jesus was named "Jesupil".
In 1946, after the Western oblasts of Ukraine were reestablished as part of the Soviet Union, Marijampol was renamed Marynopil. In 2003, after a townwide referendum, the town administration decided to return to its historic name of Mariyampil (Ukrainian version of Polish name). In February 2004, this was confirmed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Name variations include Marinopol', Marijampol, Mariyampol', Marynopil, Mar'yampol', and Mar'yampol.
Mariyampil is at the same time an ancient and new settlement. It is an ancient town due to the fact that the area has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic era and through the existence of the Kingdom of Galicia. It is a new settlement since its current history only dates from 1691, when on the ruins of the pagan town of Chortopol' (Ukrainian for Devil's Town), the town, with a Christian name of Marijampol, was built.
From the top of the Castle Hill (Zamkova hora), it is possible to see the Dnister valley (Dniester Canyon). The view from the hill breathes of its history about the kings and their (boyars), about the Tatar and their raids, about the religious growth and years of neglect.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the first town was built during the times of Ruthenian Kingdom of the 12th to 13th century. It was founded on the high bend on the Dnister river and, thus, the town was well fortified. It has been suggested that the town was called Chortopil. Based on the folklore tale recorded by I. Drabčuk, the castle was built by either king Danylo of Halych or one of his sons in the 13th as a defensive outpost. According to further legends, since the 13th, in the courtyard of the castle, a deep, 207 ft (63 m) well was built by Tatar captives. This well was forgotten and covered in the 20th century. Unfortunately, historical information about these times is scarce. Obviously, the mysterious Chortopil managed to exist into the 15th century, whereupon it was ruined during one of the Tatar raids.
About half a mile away (500–900 m) from this place along the Dnister, near a Tatar encampment, in the 15th century, the town of Delijiv – Vovchkiv was built. The first historical mention of this settlement can be found in 1404, when the lord of Vovchkiv, a "dibr Vovce" Dobeslav out of Delijiv had to send seven of his subjects to the court in Halych. For the existence of this town from at least 1378, the judicial document, "Acts of the lands and towns," from the middle of the 15th century. In them, a Jan with the surname of Bylinka, who was adjudicated to have the privilege of "Vovce," given to him by the king Wladyslaw Opolczyk (1372–1380) and a document affirming this signed by the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon.
In the 16th century, Vovchiv grew tremendously. In 1594, together with its neighboring town of Cheshybisy (today Yezupil) was burned by the Tatars. Beginning in the 1630s, this settlement belonged to the princely (szlachta) family of Theodor-Andrzej Belzecky. In 1638, he helped Vovchiv in obtaining the Magdeburg City Rights. In the 1670, the Polish king John III Sobieski granted the settlement the Magdeburg Rights. The nucleus of the city was the wooden castle called Bozhy Vydok (Heavenly View), that was built by Belezecky on one of the foothills.
The second half of the 17th century was extremely difficult for Galicia: military campaigns, Tatar raids, epidemics, fires, and civil strife. In 1655, the inhabitants of Vovchkiv and neighbouring towns, raided the castle of Jesupol, destroying its gate and taking the treasure of the former szlachta. In two years time, the raids of the renegade Cossack leader Anton Sichlos ruined the towns of Jesupol and Vovchkiv-Bozhy Vydok. The worst came in 1676 when the Ottoman armies with their allies the Crimean Tatar besieged the castle and burnt the town and castle to the ground.
In 1691, the Polish king gave the ruined town of Vovchkiv-Bozhy Vydok to the Krackowian, castellan, hetman Stanislaw Jan Jablonowski (1634–1702) with the privilege of building a fort on this location. It is not known who suggested that the castle be built on a hill of the bend in the river, that made this place an impregnable fort. The fort had four tall towers. There were two entrances to the castle through strong doors and a draw bridge. The walls of the fort were up to 10 ft thick and 15 ft tall. The southern and southeasterly sections of the fort were protected by a large, deep moat. At the foot of the hill, a square market place was built. The first inhabitants were the villagers from the former town of Bozhy Vydok. Later settlers from Masuria settled in Vovchkiv, which was now called Mariyampil.
Due to the work of the Stanislaw Jan Jablonowski, the town not only obtained its name, but also the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Marijampil, the main religious object of this settlement.
The Polish ducal dynasty of Jablonowski ruled Marijampol for almost 190 years and they saw its large growth. On the death in 1702 of Stanislaw Jan Jablonowski, his son, Jan Stanislaw Jablonowski, Ruthenian voivode, a scholar and a writer, inherited the town. Under his supervision, the wooden (Roman Catholic) church of Holy Trinity, which now housed the Icon of the Mother of God, was built.
Around 1703, Marijampol had its own crest, which was used as the town seal. At first, the crest consisted of the Lamentation of Mary over the crucified body of Christ; later, the crest was an icon of the Our Lady with Christ. The field of the crest was blue with the figures in gold. Later, the family crest of the Jablonowski was added as a separate crest. In 1736–1741, the grandson of Stanislaw Jan Jablonowski, Jan Kaietan Jablonowski (1699–1764) set aside money for the construction of a stone church of the Holy Trinity. In 1742, he built in Marijampol, a Capuchin Monastery along with the (Roman Catholic) church of St. Anthony, at first out of wood and later out of stone. The stone buildings were completed by 1757. In 1753, next to the monastery, one of the many centres of higher learning in Galicia was built. At first, it solely consisted of a collegium of classical studies, but later the study of rhetoric was added. In 1746, under the patronage of Therese of Wilgorsly, the wife of Jan Kaietan Jablonowski, a hospital for the poor and a school for princely (szlachta) orphans was built. The Sisters of Mercy of the Order of Charity were in charge of this establishment.
In 1772, the Galician lands became a part of the Austrian empire. In time, Marijampol become the administrative center for the local district. For the next 150 years, a military garrison was stationed in the local castle. The town continued to expand by area and population. In 1775, there were 1,332 inhabitants and 218 buildings in Marijampol. In accordance with the decree of the Austrian king about closing small monastic establishments, the Capuchin monastery was abandoned. Later, the Austrian government gave the monastery to the Sisters of Mercy, and around the church of St. Anthony a Greek-Catholic community developed.
The first mention of churches in Marijampol can be traced to the 1742 founding document of Kaietan Jablonowski to the Capuchins, which mentions that the monastery was to be built next to a "Ruthenian" (Orthodox) church. At the end of the 18th century, there were two churches in Marijampol: the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the center of the town and the Church of St. Nicholas. In 1790, the first church was in a state of severe neglect, while the second had burned down. Thus, due to the lack of a religious place for the inhabitants, they petitioned the Austrian king to permit them to build a new church. The authorities gave the inhabitants the church of St. Anthony. The 130-year common use of this church by both the Roman Catholics and Greek-Catholics was the source of many disagreements and legal cases of both courts in Halych and Lviv. To these religious problems, even the emperor and parliament were dragged into. The authorities attempted to be even-handed when dealing with the two sides.
Marijampol played an important role in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1809, a 4,000-strong, pronapoleonic, gathering of Polish partisans under the command of P. Strizewsky gathered in the local fortress. Against them an 8,000-strong Austrian army, consisting of corps under the generals Merfeld, Kesler, and Ederman, could not dislodge the army from the fortress. The Austrian artillery was called in and, in addition to the damage to the surrounding buildings, it managed to cause some damage to the fortress. At the same time, word came to the generals that Napoleon Bonaparte and Francis II had agreed to a peace treaty. Thus, the Polish army left the fortress. In order to avoid a similar repeat, the Austrian government in 1817 decreed that the walls of the fortress be torn down. In the 1820s, the Jablonowski family taking advantage of the large amount of building material that could be obtained from the ruins of the fortress, built in Marijampol a typical, contemporary palace, which has survived to today in ruins.
The European Spring of Nations in 1849 touched the life of Marijampol. A large influence on the socio-political life had the family Zaklynskiy. One of the most notable members was Hnata Onufriyovych Zaklynska (1818–1866), a member of the Greek-Catholic parish of Marijampol at the end of the 1840s. Together with her husband, Joseph Katherine, they organized in the town a reading room, a choir, and a drama group. Another prominent member was Father Vasyl Motiuk (1853–1934), a Greek-Catholic pastor. For 50 years from 1884, he organized a church choir which was well known beyond the confines of the town. Motiuk was the starter of many social organizations, especially the reading club of Prosvita (Enlightenment) in 1899. Based on the plan given by the engineer Volodymyr Sichynsky, the members of the club met in a single-story building that became a meeting place for the drama group, the choir, a store, and a credit union.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Mariiampil”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.