Bilohiria

Medieval and early modern period

The region surrounding Liakhivtsi was known to be settled by at least the 12th century,^[8] when residents of the Kyiv area migrated west to Volhynia and beyond.^[9] The Mongol invasion of 1260 subjected the area to rule of the Mongol khan.^[10] Lithuanian control over the region took place in the 14th century. The settlement of Liakhivtsi (Ukrainian: Ляхівці; Polish: Lachowce) was founded in 1441 on Bilohiria's modern-day territory.^[11] Jews were expelled from the region in 1495, but were allowed to return a few years later. The settlement received the Magdeburg rights in 1583.^[12]

Between the 16th and 18th centuries the village was a centre of Socinianism. Remains of a castle fortification from that period have been preserved to this day.^[13]

Polish influence increased over the 15th and 16th centuries, with Poland taking official control in 1569 with the Treaty of Lublin. Cultural life in Volhynia flourished under Polish rule, interrupted by the 1648 Chmielnicki Khmelnytsky Uprising massacres, which killed many Jewish residents. Additional settlements formed in the 1660s.

19th century

Volhynia was transferred to Russian control in 1793, where it remained until the interwar period.

In 1885, Liakhivtsi was the administrative center of the Liakhivtsi volost of the Ostroh povit. During that time, the settlement's population consisted of 2,368.^[14]

The Russian Empire Census of 1897 reported the town's population as 5,401. At that time, 3,890 of the inhabitants belonged to the Eastern Orthodox faith, while 1,384 were of the Jewish faith.^[15]

20th century

In the 20th century, the region was populated by both ethnic Ukrainians and Poles, whose populations struggled against each other. At the same time, Germany and the Soviet Union that were struggling for influence in the greater region.^[16] World War II brought these conflicts to the forefront. Nazi Germany occupied the region in June 1941. World War II ended in tragedy for the Jews of Lechowitz. German forces invaded Russia in June 1941, and within a year, murdered virtually the entire Jewish population of Lechowitz. A memorial ^[17] exists today in the forests outside of town, where 2,300 Jews from Lechowitz and nearby towns were murdered by German forces.^[18] A small number of Jews from Lechowitz survived World War II.

The entire region fell under Soviet rule following the end of World War II. In 1960, Bilohiria received the status of an urban-type settlement. Bilohiria became part of independent Ukraine after the state declared independence in August 1991.

Modern time

Until 18 July 2020, Bilohiria was the administrative center of Bilohiria Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Khmelnytskyi Oblast to three. The area of Bilohiria Raion was merged into Shepetivka Raion.^[19][20]

Until 26 January 2024, Bilohiria was designated urban-type settlement. On this day, a new law entered into force which abolished this status, and Bilohiria became a rural settlement.^[21]