Volodymyr is a city in western Volyn, the center of Volodymyr Raion, where about 38,000 people live. From 1944 to 2021, it was named Volodymyr-Volynskyi. This is one of the oldest cities in Ukraine and the former capital of the Principality of Volodymyr, so people come here primarily for ancient history.
The City of Prince Volodymyr
Archaeologists have found traces of settlements here from the Copper Age. According to legend, the city was founded by Volodymyr the Great and named after him. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Volodymyr was the capital of one of the strongest principalities of Rus. In 1340, boyars poisoned the last ruler of the Kingdom of Rus, Yurii II, here.
After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, the city passed to the Russian Empire and was named Volodymyr-Volynskyi to distinguish it from Vladimir-on-Klyazma. In 2021, the historical name was returned to the city.
What to See
The Uspenskyi Cathedral, or Mstyslav's Temple, built in 1160 by Prince Mstyslav Iziaslavych, is the main landmark of the city. At the end of the 19th century, it was restored. Nearby are the earthen ramparts of the castle from the 13th and 14th centuries and a 10th-century settlement.
It is also worth seeing the 13th- and 14th-century St. Basil's Church, the 1752 Church of Saints Joachim and Anne, the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ (a former 18th-century church), the walls of the Capuchin monastery, and the former Lutheran church. In total, the city has 23 architectural monuments, eight of which are of national significance.
Museums
The Volodymyr History Museum tells about the princely era, archaeological excavations on the ramparts, and the 20th-century city. In Zaturtsi, half an hour from Volodymyr, is the memorial museum of Viacheslav Lypynskyi, a historian and political thinker. Nearby nature conservation sites include Slavic Park, the Giant Oak natural monument, and the Mochyska reserve.
Volodymyr on Video
Nearby
A few kilometers away is the Zhymne Monastery. Read more about the region in the article about Volodymyr Raion.
How to Get There
From Lutsk, take the H22 highway, about an hour. The railway connects the city with Kovel.
