Vyshnivets is better known as a family estate of the Polish royal house of Wiśniowiecki (originally Ruthenian princes), which is known for switching from Eastern Orthodoxy to Catholicism (as part of Polonization) as well as the Cossack Hetman Dmytro "Baida" Vyshnevetsky, who established the first Zaporizhian Sich on the island of Small (Mala) Khortytsia on the Dnipro River in 1552 in defense of the lands.
The town served as a family seat of the PolishprincelyWiśniowiecki family, as of the 15th century, and its name was adopted by the family. The town was noted for its extensive cherry orchards.[4] In the mid-1500s, one of the family's descendants, Dmytro Vyshnevetsky (1516-1563) established the Zaporozhian Cossack stronghold on the Small Khortytsia Island. His grandson Jeremi Wiśniowiecki (1612-1651) was also a distinguished military commander. During the time of the leadership of Princes Michael and Valusah Wiśniowiecki, as of 1674, the town was on the verge of becoming a Russian capital.[4][5]
Architectural landmarks in the town include a 15th-century Vyshnivets Palace; and palace and park, constructed in the 18th century by the Vyshnevetskyi family.
Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the town was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941. The town was directly in the path of the German invasion of Russia in June 1941, following the repudiation by Germany of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact.[4]
On August 11–12, 1942, German troops and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police executed nearly 2,700 Jewish men, women and children. Of those executed, approximately 900 were children.[7][8] It is estimated that less than 100 of the town's Jewish residents ultimately survived the Holocaust.[4]
In February 1944, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army attacked the monastery of Barefoot Carmelites in Vyshnivets, about 300 people, monks and people who wanted to hide in the monastery were murdered. The identity of 45 murdered people was established, the other victims remain nameless.[9]
Post-1945
In 1960, Vyshnivets was changed from the status of a village, to that of an urban-type settlement. The population of the town was 3,469 as of 1994.
Until 18 July 2020, Vyshnivets belonged to Zbarazh Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ternopil Oblast to three. The area of Zbarazh Raion was split between Kremenets and Ternopil Raions, with Vyshnivets being transferred to Kremenets Raion.[10][11] On 26 January 2024, a new law entered into force which abolished the urban-type settlement status, and Zaliztsi became a rural settlement.[12]
^Gembarzewski, Bronisław (1925). Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831 (in Polish). Warszawa: Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej. p. 12.
^Władysław Siemaszko, Ewa Siemaszko; Ludobójstwo dokonane przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na ludności polskiej Wołynia 1939–1945, Warszawa 2000, Wydawnictwo "von Borowiecky"; ISBN83-87689-34-3, s.473
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