ternopil.eu

For the first time Ternopil was mentioned in 1540, when the Polish King Sigismund I Old gave Jan Amor Tarnowski, a Polish nobleman and statesman, a permission for the founding of the town and possession of the land around it. The construction ternopil.eu
of the fortress on the bank of the Seret River lasted eight years. It was built to protect the southeastern borders of the Polish Kingdom from the raids of the Crimean Tatars.

However, people began to settle on this territory much earlier due to a favorable combination of fertile lands on the left bank of the Seret and dense forests in which it was possible to hide. The town’s territory was already inhabited about 12 thousand years ago. In this area there was also the ancient Russian fortress of Topilche (Sopilche), which was destroyed during the campaign of Batu to the Carpathians in the winter of 1240-1241.

In the 16th century, Ternopil occupied a small territory. The town was surrounded by the lake and marshes on three sides, from the east it was fortified by a wide dry moat with ramparts, palisade, two towers on the corners. During the 16th-17th centuries, it was repeatedly subjected to raids of Crimean Tatars.

More historical facts…

Ternopil streets
Pedestrian street in Ternopil
Pedestrian street in Ternopil

Author: Vladimir Zaranok

Cobbled street in Ternopil
Cobbled street in Ternopil

Author: Vladimir Zaranok

Ternopil cityscape
Ternopil cityscape

Author: Tvardovskiy M.

Origin of the name
The founding of towns in the Kingdom of Poland and the Commonwealth took place on the basis of royal privileges. Quite often the founder gave his name to the new town. Ternopil (originally Tarnopol) was founded by the Polish nobleman and statesman Jan Amor Tarnowski. So the name of the town is a combination of the family name of Tarnowski and the Greek abbreviated ending “-pol” (“polis” literally means town in Greek).

In turn, the family name of Tarnowski is derived from the name of their home town — Tarnov. Also, in honor of Tarnowski, the town of Tarnobrzeg and Tarnogrud founded by them were named. August 9, 1944, according to a special decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the name of the city was slightly changed from Tarnopol to Ternopol (Ternopil in Ukrainian).

Ternopil features