The hometown of Oleksandr Ponomaryov used to have a different name: why it was renamed

Today, 10 August, Ukrainian singer Oleksandr Ponomarov celebrates his birthday. The artist was born in a city that is now well known to all Ukrainians, but more than 70 years ago it had a completely different name.

This is about Khmelnytskyi, which today is one of the largest regional centers in western Ukraine. 24 The channel tells how the name of Oleksandr Ponomaryov's native city changed over time.

What names Khmelnytskyi had in the past

The history of modern Khmelnytskyi begins from a small settlement Ploskyrov, which was also called Ploshkyrovtsy. According to Khmelnytskyi City Council, the first known written mention of it dates back to 10 February 1431 of the year.

The exact time of the settlement's founding is unknown. At the same time, historians suppose that people could have lived on this territory much earlier.

Where Khmelnytskyi is located: see on the map

Fuel

Average prices at the Amic Energy network of gas stations as of

During the next centuries, Ploskyrov remained a small settlement. In the period from 1493 to 1793 year, the number of its inhabitants did not exceed 3 thousand people.

Development of the settlement was hampered by its geographical location. Ploskyrov was located near the Black Path, along which Crimean Tatars often traveled. Due to constant raids, the population decreased, and the settlement repeatedly declined.

Already in 1795 year, after Podolia was annexed by the Russian Empire, the Podolsk Governorate was formed. It was then that the city appeared in documents under the name Proskurov.

Proskurov on the map / Photo Wikipedia

There are no exact documentary records about when and why exactly the name transformation from Ploskyrov to Proskurov occurred. Therefore, researchers cannot say for sure whether this happened due to an error in documents or the name was changed consciously.

At the same time, the new toponym quickly stuck. In particular, it was consonant with the word "proskura" — a Christian ritual small loaf.

When Proskurov became Khmelnytskyi

As Khmelnytskyi RBA writes, the final name change occurred on 16 January 1954 of the year. Then the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR adopted a decree to rename the city of Proskurov to Khmelnytskyi. At the same time, Kamianets-Podilskyi Oblast was renamed to Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

This decision was made on the eve of the 300-year anniversary of the Pereiaslav Council, which the Soviet authorities then interpreted as the "reunion" of Ukraine with Russia. The new name for the city was given in honor of hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

Interestingly, there is no direct connection between the Ukrainian hetman and the city itself. No known fact from Khmelnytsky's life indicates that he stayed in Ploskyrov or Proskurov.