Merefa

Merefa
Мерефа
Church of the Nativity of Theotokos in Merefa
Church of the Nativity of Theotokos in Merefa
Coat of arms of Merefa
Coat of arms
Merefa is located in Kharkiv Oblast
Merefa
Merefa
Merefa is located in Ukraine
Merefa
Merefa
Coordinates: 49°49′N 36°03′E / 49.817°N 36.050°E / 49.817; 36.050
Country Ukraine
OblastKharkiv Oblast
RaionKharkiv Raion
HromadaMerefa urban hromada
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
21,202
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Map

Merefa (Ukrainian: Мeрeфa) is a city in Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Merefa hosts the administration of Merefa urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.[1] Population: 21,202 (2022 estimate).[2]

History

It was a village in Kharkovsky Uyezd of Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire.

City since 1938.[3]

In January 1989 the population was 28,952 people.[4][3] In 1992-1996, the Avangard football club of Merefa played in the national championship of Ukraine (third and second league in 1996/97) as a team that won the Kharkiv Oblast Football Championship (4 times in a row) and won prizes in transitional tournaments.

In January 2013 the population was 22,280 people.[5]

On March 17, 2022, at about 3:30 am, Russian servicemen shelled the town of Merefa, Kharkiv district, destroying a secondary school and a house of culture. 15 people were killed. 25 people were injured, 10 of them in serious condition.[6]

Name

Etymologists have not reached a final conclusion, but it is believed that the name originated from the Old Slavic "mьrRs" (to fade), which is derived from the Ukrainian merekhtyty (to flicker; barely visible). Another version is a hydronymic from "merecha" (Ukrainian for forest thicket; dense shrubbery in a swampy lowland), which is based on the Proto-Slavic "merRja" (Ukrainian for swampy place).[7] Among the analogies is also merechytysia (to be seen), which is related to the root mereka ("delusion, ghost") derived from the Proto-Slavic morkъ (морок).[8]

Demographics

Distribution of the population by ethnicity according to the 2001 census:[9]

Ethnic groups in Merefa
percent
Ukrainians
 
 85.20%
Russians
 
 12.65%
Gypsies
 
 0.62%
Belarusians
 
 0.25%
Armenians
 
 0.20%
Georgians
 
 0.14%
Tatars
 
 0.10%
Azerbaijanis
 
 0.06%

Transport

  • a railway station[3]
  • A school in Merefa
    A school in Merefa
  • Entrance to Avanhard Stadium, Merefa
    Entrance to Avanhard Stadium, Merefa

References

  1. ^ "Мерефянская громада" (in Russian). Портал об'єднаних громад України.
  2. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Мерефа // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 1. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.794
  4. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу
  5. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2013 року. Державна служба статистики України. Київ, 2013. стор.100
  6. ^ "Унаслідок ворожого обстрілу Мерефи 15 людей загинули, 25 поранені - прокуратура". Інтерфакс-Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  7. ^ Етимологічний словник української мови : в 7 т. / редкол.: О. С. Мельничук (гол. ред.) та ін. — К. : Наукова думка, 1989. — Т. 3 : Кора — М / Ін-т мовознавства ім. О. О. Потебні АН УРСР ; укл.: Р. В. Болдирєв та ін. — 552 с. — ISBN 5-12-001263-9.
  8. ^ Лучик В. В.. Етимологічний словник топонімів України / В. В. Лучик; відп. ред. В. Г. Скляренко. — К. : ВЦ «Академія», 2014. — 544 с. (325 с.) — ISBN 978-966-580-454-3
  9. ^ "Національний склад міст". Datatowel.in.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-12-10.