Bar (Ukrainian: Бар; Polish: Bar; Russian: Бар) is a town located on the Riv River in Vinnytsia Oblast, the central Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Podolia. It served as the administrative center of the former Bar Raion until 2020. The town's estimated population is 15,337 (2022 estimate).^[1]

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Quick Facts Бар, Country ...

Bar Бар
City
The Saint Anne Church in Bar
Flag Coat of arms
Bar Show map of Vinnytsia Oblast Bar Show map of Ukraine
Coordinates: 49°04′30″N 27°40′34″E
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Vinnytsia Oblast
Raion	Zhmerynka Raion
Hromada	Bar urban hromada
First mentioned	1401 (as Rov castle)
Magdeburg law	1540
City rights	1938
Named for	Bari in Italy
Government
• City Head	Artur Anatoliyovych Tsitsyurs'ky
Area
• Total	5.95 km2 (2.30 sq mi)
Population  (2022)
• Total	15,337
• Density	2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	23000-23005
Area code	+380-4341
Sister cities	Kwidzyn in Poland, Bari in Italy
Website	http://www.bar-city.gov.ua/

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Bar began as a small trade outpost known as Rov, within the Duchy of Podolia in the 13th century. Rov was noted for the first time in 1401.^[2] In 1537, the Polish Queen Bona Sforza renamed the settlement Bar, after her hometown of Bari, Italy.^[2] Bar's highest mountain was renamed after Queen Sforza in 2018 to commemorate her role in naming the town.^[3] In 1540, King Sigismund I the Old of Poland granted the nearby town city rights.^[4]

In the 1630s, Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan built a fortress in Bar and made note of the town his book Description d'Ukranie.^[2][5][6] The Bar fortress was besieged several times in its history. In 1648, during the Khmelnytsky Uprising, was captured by Cossacks led by Maxym Kryvonis and was severely damaged.^{[citation needed]}

Bar as a town was described by a number of travelers and historians, including Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan^{[7][8][circular reference]} in 1650, Evliya Çelebi^[9][10] in 1656, and Ulrich von Werdum^{[11][12][circular reference]} in August 1671.

In 1672, Bar was captured by the Ottoman Empire and became a seat of the sanjak in Podolia Eyalet with nahiyas of Bar, Dırajna, Zinkuv and Popovçi.^[13] On November 12, 1674, the town and the fortress were liberated by John III of Poland after a four-day siege. However, the Ottomans would then recapture the city in 1675 and hold it until 1686, with nominal control through 1699.

On February 29, 1768, the Bar Confederation, an alliance of Polish nobles, was founded by Adam Krasiński, Bishop of Kamenets, Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, Casimir Pulaski, Moritz Benyowszki and Michał Krasiński within the Bar fortress.^[14][15] After the Second Partition of Poland, the town was ceded to the Russian Empire and made part of the Podolia Governorate.

After 1922, Bar became part of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR.^[16][17] In 1991, following the fall of the Soviet Union, the town became part of the independent Ukraine.^[18][19]

The town had a historical Jewish population, with 3,869 Jews within the city in 1939.^[20][21][22] On July 16, 1941, during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the town and established ghettos, killing many of Bar's Jewish residents.^[20] In 1999, there was an estimated Jewish population of 199.^[20][23]

Bar currently has two large memorials situated within the city center, which are dedicated to those killed during WWII.

A number of scientists were born, or have lived in Bar, including:

• Viktor Bunyakovsky, physicist and mathematician, who created scientific school.
• Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov, physishian, who considered to be the founder of modern field surgery.

Bar has a lot of religious traditions. It is a center of Ukrainian culture^[57] and an attractive tourist destination with a large number of old Ukrainian cathedrals and the new churches such as:

The St. Assumption Orthodox Church, built by Tymofiy Matkovsky in 1755–1757 at the same place, where the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church was founded in 1700.^{[58][59][non-primary source needed][60]}

The Assumption Orthodox Cathedral is considered as one of the most remarkable architectural achievements and one of the oldest buildings in Bar, Ukraine, which has changed, reflecting the historical developments in Ukraine over the centuries. The old altar at the Assumption Orthodox Cathedral is made of special wood with the metallic decorations and the religious paintings.

The Holy Trinity Orthodox Church was founded in the early 17th century. The first written memories about the Assumption Orthodox Cathedral (the St. Uspensky Orthodox Church), which was created at the Trinity Orthodox Church place, are related to 1719. ^{[citation needed]} The interesting fact is that the new architectural design of the St. Uspensky Orthodox Cathedral was developed, and then, the actual cathedral was constructed, using the stone, in 1755 – 1757. As it is described in the historical documents in 1771 and 1783, the Assumption Orthodox Cathedral had a high altar with the Savior icon and the two other altars.

Vasyl Matkovsky was a priest at the Assumption Orthodox Church in Bar on that time. In 1795–1809, Ioan Sinitsky became a priest at the Assumption Orthodox Church in Bar. At the same time, Fedir Batulinsky, priest (1800–1802) and Stefan Batulinsky, priest (1804–1820) conducted their religious missions at the Assumption Orthodox Church in Bar. Pavlo Batulinsky (1838–1844) served as a priest at the Assumption Orthodox Church in Bar, and then he became a key owner and a cathedral bishop in Kamyanets soon after that. Vasyl Kuzminsky, as a priest in 1844–1849 and Simeon Karchevsky, as a priest in 1849–1861 worked to continue the religious missions at the Assumption Orthodox Church in Bar. In addition, Simeon Karchevsky was a head of the Bar Orthodox Religion School at the same time. Hryhoriy Yankovsky, as a priest in 1861–1881, Ivan Korchynsky, as a priest (1881–1892), Pavlo Savluchynsky, as a priest (1892), Afanasiy Dvernytsky, as a priest (1892–) were recognized for their outstanding religious mission services at the Assumption Orthodox Church in Bar.

The Assumption Orthodox Church was closed for the renovation in 1838–1851. The full restoration of the Assumption Cathedral was also done in 1975. The “gold plated” domes were installed and the façade renovation works were completed at the Assumption Orthodox Cathedral in 2013. ^{[citation needed]}

At present time, there are the two old icons at the Assumption Orthodox Cathedral in Bar, Ukraine: The St. Michael Myrlikiys’ky Miracle Man icon, created in Bari, Italy in the 16th century and presented by Bona Sforza; and The God's Mother icon with the silver frame, created in the 17th century, which saved the cathedral from the fire in 1737 and 1760.^[61]

Priests at Assumption Orthodox Cathedral in City of Bar in State of Ukraine 1795–2016. ^{[62] [63] [64]}

Presently, all the Orthodox church members strictly follow the Orthodox religion old traditions in Bar.

The first international conference: "Spiritual Treasure of Podillya" to celebrate the 260 years anniversary from the moment of St. Assumption Orthodox Church foundation as well as the 130 years anniversary from the moment of "The God’s Mother" icon recognition as a miracle creating icon was held in Bar on October 12, 2017. ^[65]

The Bar Orthodox Women Monastery, made of red bricks, was in the process of construction under the management by Viktor Terletsky, priest and under the patronage by Simeon, Archbishop of Vinnytsia and Bar (former Archbishop of Vinnytsia and Mohyliv-Podilsky) at Harmaky near Bar since December 10, 2002. The St. Bar Orthodox Women Monastery is intended for the females only. It was opened in Bar in 2018.

The Roman Catholic St. Michael Cathedral, built in 1550 (the soft wood); and then, it was renamed as The Roman Catholic St. Anna Cathedral, re-built in 1811 (the stone); it was renovated by Y. Tamanchuk, architect, in 1900 – July 26, 1906 (the red bricks)^[66][67] The old altar at the St. Anna Catholic Cathedral is made of the stone and special wood with the old religious icon placed on the top of altar.

There is an organ to perform the organ music at the religious ceremonies at the Roman Catholic St. Anna Cathedral. A number of the professional organ musicians can play the organ music at the religious ceremonies at the Roman Catholic St. Anna Cathedral. ^{[citation needed]}

The Dekanat of Bar includes the following The Ukrainians with the Polish and Italian family roots, who belong to the Roman Catholic religion, like to visit the Roman Catholic St. Anna Cathedral regularly. ^{[citation needed]} Polish and Italian tourists visit the Roman Catholic St. Anna Cathedral occasionally. ^{[citation needed]} The Polish young volunteers of the Roman Catholic religion come to Roman Catholic St. Anna Cathedral with the aim to help with the reconstruction and renovation works during the Summer time frequently.

The former St. Pokrovsky Monastery, which is now known as the Benedictine Sisters-Missioners Monastery. In the beginning, the first monastery was founded by Knight Vereshagin in the woods near Semenivky not so far away from Bar. Then, the monastery was initially founded and built by Karmelits in Bar in 1551. It was re-built by Karmelits under Zholtkevsky supervision in 1616. It was re-built, using the stone, by Dominicans in 1701–1787. The history of old monastery has the four periods: 1) Karmelits' period, 2) the Dominican perioid, 3) the Orthodox period (since 1838), 4) the Catholic Basilian period (since 1991). During the newest historical period, Cyril Podolsky initiated the foundation of the St. Pokrovsky orthodox monastery for males in 1837. The monastery was re-organized for females and chaired by Sister Melitina on July 20, 1881. The red bricks cathedral with the bells was built in 1908. The monastery was closed in 1959–1991. The Benedictine Sisters-Missioners of Bar re-opened the monastery in 1996.^[68][69]

The Old Bar Fortress, initially built in 1537,^[37][38] and later re-designed by Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan in the 1630s.^[2] The Old Bar Fortress is surrounded by the old cathedrals and other religious buildings. There is an old green trees park with the numerous pathways inside the fortress.

The Greek-Catholic church, opened in a newly reconstructed cathedral in 1996. The new altar at the Greek Catholic Cathedral is made of wood with the metallic decorations.

The St. Michael Orthodox Church in the beginning of vulytsia Bunyakovska is being re-built. The idea is to re-create the old St. Michael church, which was built at this place a few hundreds years ago. Mr. Pogrebnyak, businessman is a main sponsor of construction works.

The old historical castles in Bar require more investments.^[70]

The Synagogue There was an oldest Synagogue in Bar, which was built in 1717.^{[71][72][73][74] [75][76] [77]} Since old time until present time, the Bar's Jewish people community is well known for its contributions to the social, cultural, financial, economical and political fields in the Ukrainian society and abroad. The information on the Bar's Jewish people community is collected at various resources.^{[78][21][22][79]}

According to the Encyclopaedia Vocabulary by Andreevsky I E (editor) published in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1891,^[46] the total population was 13,761 people, and the Jewish population was 51% of total population in 1891 in Bar. In 1900 in Bar, the total population included: 7865 Jewish people, 2803 Orthodox people, 765 Catholic people. The Jewish community was some of the tens of thousands people in Bar before the World War II (5720 people in 1926).^[22] There were many old synagogues in Bar before the World War II. The five thousands people were killed by the fascists during the period of occupation in Bar, Ukraine in 1941–1942.^[23] A special commemoration ceremony is usually organized in connection with the Holocaust Memorial Day in Bar, Ukraine on January 27 every year.^[80][81] Recently, Mr. Cor Roos, accountant and writer from The Desert Rose Foundation in The Netherlands presented his historical books about the Holocaust in Ukraine in 1941 - 1944 during his visit to the Bar city library.^[82]

The old synagogues were fully destroyed during World War II.^{[83] [84] [85] [86] [87]}

Presently, there is a growing collaboration between the Bar Jewish community and the Vinnytsia Jewish community, aiming to recognize the famous American Jewish people from Ukraine,^[88] tell stories about the many other famous Jewish people around the World^[89] and build a new synagogue in Bar.^[90][91][92]

The Baptist Church was established in Bar in the 1990s. The red-bricks cathedral is in a process of construction at the end of Bunyakovsky Street in Bar since 2000.

The Evangelist Church is situated in a small building in Bar since the beginning of the 1990s.

The economy includes the ten main sectors such as the agriculture, building construction industry, machine design industry, information technologies (IT) industry, food processing industry, wood processing industry, public utilities industry, domestic/international trade, transportation services industry, financial services industry, tourism industry, education industry.^[115]

Industrial companies in Bar include the Bar Industrial Machinery Plant.^[116]

The food processing industry is represented by the Pfanner apple juice international firm, which exports the concentrated apple juice to Austria mainly. There is the Barchanka big bottled mineral water company.^[117] There is the Solodka Planeta cakes producing company.^[118] There are the milk processing factory, the meat processing factory, and the fish processing factory in Bar.

The IT industry includes a number of small IT services companies (the software design) and Internet providing companies (the optical/wireline/wireless access to the Internet).

The financial industry is represented by a number of Ukrainian banks, which provide the corporate finance services and the personal finance services in the city.^[119]

There are several big trade centers such as the Econom food trade chain,^[120] the Gusi-Lebedi electronics/furniture trade chain,^[121] big market, hundreds of medium & small shops and drugstores.

The tourism industry includes several hotels and motels.

A relatively short distance from Bar, there is a natural gas compressor station, which pumps natural gas over the transcontinental Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline and the Union pipeline to the Polish, German and other European customers,.^[122][123]

Many cities provide the encyclopedic information on the cuisine, created in the course of history. The Ukrainian cuisine has formed and evolved in the historical process of the food selection and preparation through many centuries.^[158]

Bar's traditional cuisine includes pork, beef, chicken, fish, potato, grains, rice, mushrooms and various vegetables. Bar's cuisine, includes borsch or Ukrainian red soup with meat, beets, cabbage, mushrooms, potato; the Ukrainian ukha soup with the fish; the Ukrainian "shi" soup with sauerkraut; Ukrainian varenyky with meat, potato and cheese; the Ukrainian holubtsi with pork and beef, rice, carrot; the Ukrainian kotleta-po-Kyivs'ky with the pork and beef meet, the Ukrainian pork and beef sausages; Ukrainian smoked pork and beef sausages; Ukrainian shashlyk with pork and beef meat prepared on an open fire; grilled chicken with red pepper sauce; grilled duck with apples and black pepper; Ukrainian pierogi with meat, apples, and cherries; Ukrainian pizza with meat, vegetables and cheese.^[159][160]

Potato with mushrooms, or macaroni and cheese, or pasta with cheese, or "kartoplyanyky" / "deruny" / "draniki" with grated potato and onions, or rice with green peas are normally provided as the garnish.

Bar's Jews have their own cuisine, based on the fish, chicken and vegetables products mainly. Stuffed pike from Riv river, cooked in the oven and liverwurst is also eaten.^{[citation needed]}

There are many restaurants and cafés, which serve the Ukrainian traditional food, tea, coffee in the city.

The map of Ukraine was created by using the "kartoplyanyky" / "deruny" / "draniki", made of potato, in Bar in 2018.^[161]

According to the Statistics Department, there are the following race groups in the city (see the diagram).^[162] Bar population has the White, Asian, Black, Mixed, Arab and other racial groups.

• Danylo Nechay, a Ukrainian Cossack military commander and political activist, was born in Bar in 1612.
• Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi, architect, was born in his parents family from Bar in Litkovychi in 1713.
• Viktor Bunyakovsky, noted as a mathematician of the 19th century, was born in the city in 1804.
• Joseph Barondess, a writer, a labor leader and a political figure in New York City's Lower East Side Jewish community in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century, was born in Bar in 1867.^[163] Joseph Barondess organized the Hebrew Actors' Union, which played an important role at Broadway in New York in 1900, and at Hollywood in Los Angeles, California at later years. The Hollywood was created by Louis B. Mayer from MGM and some others.
• Mykhailo Hrushevsky, first President of the State of Ukraine, who wrote a number of books and articles about Bar in 1892–1895. There is the Mykhailo Hrushevsky monument in Bar.
• Batsheva Katznelson, an Israeli politician, who served as a member of the Knesset for the General Zionists between 1951 and 1955, was born in Bar in 1897.^[164]
• Jacobo Timerman was born in Bar in 1923, and became internationally renowned as an editor and journalist in Argentina.
• Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky wrote a few of his well-known writings while living in Bar. His house is a place of interest for the Ukrainian and foreign tourists and it is under reconstruction.^[165]
• Mykola Leontovych, a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, and music teacher of international renown, spent a part of his childhood together with his family in village of Shershni in Bar's suburbs in Bar's district in 1879 - 1887.
• Igor Vovkovinskiy, the current tallest man in the United States, was born in Bar before immigrating to the country.
• Vladimir Triandafillov, was a Soviet military commander and theoretician.
• Leon Malyi, Roman Catholic prelate, the Titular Bishop of Tabunia and Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Lviv.

This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2016)

Bar is twinned with:^{[48][unreliable source?]}

More information City/Town, County / District / Region / State ...

City/Town		County / District / Region / State		Country
Kwidzyn	,	Pomeranian	,	Poland	,
Rybnik	,	Silesian	,	Poland	,
Bari	,	Apulia	,	Italy	,

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• Church of the Intercession with cells
• Podolia, Bar

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• List of castles in Ukraine
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