- Konotop
Infobox City
settlement_type =
subdivision_type = Country
official_name = Konotop
native_name = Конотоп
subdivision_name = Ukraine
image_
subdivision_type1 = Oblast
region_type_local = Raion
subdivision_name1 = Sumy
region_link = Sumy Oblast
region_name_local = Konotopsky Raion
population_total = 95900
population_as_of = January 1, 2004
area_total_km2 = 103
established_date = 1635
established_title =Founded
elevation_m = 171
latd = 51| latm = 13
latNS = N
longd = 33
longm = 12
longEW = E
website = http://www.konotop-rada.gov.ua/|Konotop ( _uk. Конотоп) is a city in northern
Ukraine within theSumy Oblast . Konotop is the center of theKonotop Raion (district ), and is located about 129km fromSumy , the Oblast capital. It is host to Konotop air base.History
During the beginning of the
17th Century ,Ukrainian Cossacks were first based in that area. The settlement was first mentioned in1635 in various documents asNovoselitsa . In1642 a Polish fortress was built in that place named after the riverKonotopka . Probably the river disappeared, and another one was created, Yezuch. The fortification became a key point in the struggle against the Moscow state. Some historians suppose that Konotop was inhabited even before the Tatar-Mongolian invasion. A legend says that during the Tatar cavalry movement in this region many horses and warriors drowned in the swamps, that's why the area was named "Konotop" - a swampy land or a horse-ford where horses drowned.There is another legend about the origination of the name. According to it, there was an accident with tsaritsa (queen), whose carriage and escort got stuck and drowned in this swampy land. The tsaritsa was rescued, but her possessions and guards were lost. She asked, "what is this place, where horses drown?" So it was called Konotop.
In
1659 theBattle of Konotop took place near the city, in which Poles, Crimean Tatars, andUkrainian Cossacks lead byIvan Vyhovsky defeated Russian-Ukrainian forces. In1782 Konotop was granted municipal rights.Economy and Transport
Konotop is an important mechanical engineering center, food production center, and an important transportation center. Various railroad connections from Konotop are:
Bakhmach -Kiev , andBryansk -Sumy /Belgrade . The city has atram way, which is the smallest city in the country with its own tram system.External links
* [http://www.konotop-rada.gov.ua/ Official website]
* [http://konotop-city.info/ Unofficial website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.