Bar

Bar. Map: IV-8. City (2001 pop 17,284) in eastern Podilia on the Riv River (a tributary of the Boh River), a raion center in Vinnytsia oblast. Bar is first mentioned as Rov in 1425; in 1537 it was renamed Bar by the Polish queen Bona, and a fortress was constructed there. In the 1630s Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan built a castle there. Because of its location on the border between Poland and Turkey, it was the site of frequent battles. In 1768 Bar saw the inception of the Polish confederation (see Confederation of Bar). When it belonged to the Russian Empire, it was a town in Mohyliv-Podilskyi county. In March 1919 Bar was the site of battles between the Zaporozhian Corps of the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic and Bolshevik forces. In the summer of 1919 it was the headquarters of the general staff of the Ukrainian Galician Army. The city has grown slowly (1860 pop 8,100; 1897 pop 10,000; 1968 pop 12,000). It has a machine-building factory, sugar refinery, distillery, and clothing and furniture factories.