Zvenyhorod (Kyiv region)

Zvenyhorod (Kyiv region). A fortress somewhere to the south or southeast of Kyiv that protected the capital of Kyivan Rus’ from nomadic hordes. To distinguish it from other medieval towns of the same name, it is usually called Zvenyhorod Kyivskyi. Its exact location has not been determined. The fortress is mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle as the site of Vasylko Rostyslavych's blinding in 1097, as an object of contention between Yurii Dolgorukii and Iziaslav Mstyslavych in 1150–1, and as the site of a battle with the Cumans in 1234. The fortress was probably destroyed by the Mongols in 1240.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]