Berdychiv, Historical city in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine
Berdychiv is a city in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine, where several streets lead from the center toward neighborhoods with residential blocks and low buildings. Remains of an old fortress stand today alongside later structures, and the banks of the Hnylopiat River cross through the urban area.
In 1430, Grand Duke Vytautas granted land rights to a Lithuanian nobleman named Kalinik, founding the settlement as a military outpost. Over the centuries, the city changed hands several times and developed into a religious center with monasteries and pilgrimage sites.
The Roman Catholic church bears the name of Saint Barbara, a Christian martyr from the third century. Local residents still attend services and quiet moments in the houses of worship, and the Carmelite convent remains a religious reference point for believers from the region.
The city is accessible by rail from several directions, with the station serving as a regional hub. Visitors can walk through the old town to explore churches, monastery complexes, and fortress remnants in reasonable condition.
French writer Honoré de Balzac married Eveline Hanska in 1850 at the local church after a relationship that had lasted eighteen years. Balzac died only five months after the wedding in Paris, making this union one of the shortest marriages in literary history.
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