thumb|1773 map of the Nizhyn fortress and its citadel
Nizhyn (, ; ) 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
History
The earliest known references to the location go back to 1147, when it was briefly mentioned as Unenezh. At that time it belonged to the Principality of Chernigov. It was destroyed by Tatars during the 13th century. Around 1500 the territory was ceded to the Tsardom of Moscow, where it stayed until the Treaty of Deulino. The town was restored in the early 17th century, and in 1618 fell under the rule of Poland. Stepan Khruscheov (1672–1673), Prince Vladimir Volkonskiy (1673–1675), Prince Semeon Zvenigorodskiy (1673–1675), Avraam Khitrovo (1689–1692), and Ivan Saveolov the Younger (1692–1697).
Located on a crossing of trade routes, during the 17th and 18th centuries Nizhyn was one of the biggest trading centres in Left-bank Ukraine.The city was famous for its fairs, which took place on Pokrova Day and were the biggest event of this type in the whole Left-bank Ukraine. Nizhyn also housed a thriving Greek community, enjoyed a number of privileges in trade and self-government granted by Bohdan Khmelnytsky In 1687 the local Greeks established their own brotherhood, and during the early 18th century they became fully independent from the regimental administration. Between 1785 and 1870 a separate Greek magistrate functioned in the city.
With the opening of Black Sea ports, Nizhyn's importance as a trading point declined, and in 1847 its fairs were abolished. Many Greek merchants left the city, moving to Taganrog, Mariupol and Odesa. Until the Revolution of 1917 it remained a center of vegetable and tobacco trade.
In 2017, Ukraine issued a postage stamp featuring the coat of arms of Nizhyn.
Until 18 July 2020, Nizhyn was designated as a city of oblast significance and did not belong to Nizhyn Raion even though it was the center of the raion. As part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Chernihiv Oblast to four, the city was merged into Nizhyn Raion.
Jewish population
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. Jews first settled in Nizhyn at the beginning of the 19th century after the partition of Poland. By 1847, 1,299 Jews had registered as residents. In 1897, 24% of the population, or 7,361 residents, were Jewish.
A wave of pogroms severely affected the Jewish population in 1881 and 1905. One group of emigrants settled in Philadelphia and founded the Neziner Congregation in 1896.
During their retreat from the Germans in the spring of 1918, the Red Army carried out additional pogroms. During World War II, the region was occupied by German Army, who murdered all Jews in the area. Only those who escaped survived.
In 1959, 1,400 Jews lived in Nizhyn, about 3% of the town's population. In 2005, Nizhyn population reached 80,000. Only about 300 Jewish families lived in the city.
Modern times
The city of Nizhyn is one of the ancient cities of Ukraine. The architectural complex of the city forms an expressive ensemble of an ancient trade city. The experts' estimates distinguish more than 300 ancient buildings, where 70 are of a great cultural and historical value. The expressive 200 years ensemble of Post Station (the only one preserved in Ukraine) deserves special mention. Nizhyn is a city of students (each fifth inhabitant of Nizhyn is a student). The following educational establishments operate in Nizhyn – State University named after Gogol; Agro-technical College, faculty of Kremenchyk Institute of Economy and New Technologies, College of Culture and Arts named after Zankovetska, Medical College, Nizhyn Professional Lyceum of Services, Nizhyn Agrarian Lyceum, vocational college, Lyceum at the university. There are four club institutions, the Drama Theater named after Kotsiubynskyi, the Choreographic school and park landscapes in the city.
The city boasts 38 libraries with the total fund of 17,365 thousand books, which caters for 44,429 readers, more than a dozen of museums, including Nizhyn Regional museum with the following sections: art, history, Nizhyn Post Station, with about 31 thousand of exhibits of the main fund, the Museum of the History of School No.3, the Museum of the History of School No.7 with a room of M. V. Nechkina, the Korolyov Museum in School No.14, the Glory Museum of Agrarian and Technical Institute, the Museum-Chemists shop named after M. Ligda. The following institutions function at Nizhyn State Pedagogical Institute named after Gogol: The Museum of Gogol, Art Gallery, the Museum "Rare book", zoological museum, and botanical museum.
Nizhyn is a well-known industrial center, where 16 industrial enterprises, which belong to 8 branches, operate. Nizhyn is also an attractive tourist city. It is included into the tour "Necklace of Slavutych".