Ostroh

Ostroh Острог
—  City  —
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Ukraine (blue) with Rivne Oblast and Ostroh (red).
Coordinates: 50°20′0″N 26°31′0″E / 50.333333°N 26.516667°E / 50.333333; 26.516667
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Rivne Oblast
Raion	Ostroh Raion
First mentioned	1100
City rights	1795
Government
– Mayor	Taras Pustovit
Area
– Total	10.9 km2 (4.2 sq mi)
Population (2001 census)
– Total	14,801
– Density	1,358/km2 (3,517.2/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	35800—35807
Area code(s)	+380 3654
Sister cities	Sandomierz, Bieruń[1]
Website	http://www.ostroh.rv.ua/

Ostroh (Ukrainian: Острог; Russian: Острог, Ostrog, Polish: Ostróg) is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine, located on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion (district) and is itself designated as a special administrative subordination within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 14,801 (as of 2001).

History

The Mezhyrich Monastery in the 2000s.

The Hypatian Codex first mentions Ostroh in 1100, as a fortress of the Volhynian princes. Since the 14th century, it was the seat of the powerful Ostrogski princely family, who developed their town into a great centre of learning and commerce. Upon the family's extinction in the 17th century, Ostroh passed to the princes Lubomirski. In the 16th century, first East Slavic books, notably the Ostrog Bible, were printed there. The town formerly had a sizable Jewish community, whose rabbis included Kalonymus Haberkasten, Samuel Edels, and Solomon Luria. A Jewish community existed in Ostroh already in the first half of the 15th century and perhaps earlier. At the beginning of WWII two thirds of the town's population of ca. 15,000 was Jewish. In Breslov Chassidus, this town has some significance, as it was the place where Rebbe Nachman's magnum opus, "Likutey Moharan" (Anthology of Our Teacher, Rebbe Nachman) was first printed.

Landmarks include the Ostroh Castle on the Red Hill, with the Epiphany church (built in the fifteenth century) and several towers. To the north-west from the castle stand two sixteenth-century towers. The suburb of Medzhirichi (or Międzyrzec) contains the Trinity abbey, with a fifteenth-century cathedral and other old structures.

The Ostroh Academy was established in Ostroh in 1576 as the first higher educational institution in Ukraine.

See also

• Ostrogski family
• Ivan Fyodorov (printer)
• Ostroh Castle
• Ostroh Academy

References

1. ^ "Sister cities" (in Ukrainian). Official website of the Ostroh City Council. http://www.ostroh.rv.ua/cities_brothers. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 

External links

• "Main" (in Ukrainian). Official website of the Ostroh City Council. http://www.ostroh.rv.ua/. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
• "City of Ostroh Rivne Oblast" (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. http://gska2.rada.gov.ua:7777/pls/z7502/A005?rdat1=26.10.2007&rf7571=27996. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
• "Ostrih" (in Ukrainian). art.lutsk.ua. http://art.lutsk.ua/art/ostrog/index.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
• "Ostrog town for tourists" (in Ukrainian). Informational and entertaining site of Ostrog town for tourists. http://ostrog.rv.ua/. Retrieved 2009-04-17. 
• "Ostroh free classifieds newspaper" (in Ukrainian). Ostroh free classifieds newspaper. http://www.davajka.com.ua/. Retrieved 2010-10-05. 

• Ostroh landmarks
• 

  Entrance to the Orthodox cathedral complex.

• 

  Epiphany Cathedral (ca. 1521, restored 1887-91)

• 

  Tatar Gate Tower (ca. 1500)

• 

  Lutsk Gate Tower (ca. 1500)

• 

  Trinity Church of Mezhyrich Monastery (15th century)

Coordinates: 50°20′N 26°31′E / 50.333°N 26.517°E / 50.333; 26.517