Krolevets

Krolevets [Krolevec’]. Map: II-14. Town (2001 pop 25,200) and raion center in Sumy oblast. Established in 1601, it was mentioned in 1638 in Hetman Yakiv Ostrianyn's decree as a county town. In 1644, under Polish rule, it was granted the rights of Magdeburg law and was fortified. Under the Hetman state it was a company center in the Nizhyn regiment (1650–1781). Under Russian rule it was a county town in Chernihiv gubernia (beginning in 1802). In the 18th and 19th centuries it was an important commercial center as the site of a large annual fair. Since the 16th century Krolevets and its vicinity have been known for their decorative weaving of embroidered cloths (see Rushnyk), shirts, kerchiefs, and spreads. In the Soviet period this cottage industry was replaced by a weaving artel and, in the 1960s, by a factory. A trade school trains future artisans. The city's industries also produce metal parts, moldings, bricks, hemp products, and foodstuffs.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1989).]