Understand
This is one of the earliest towns in Ukraine, first mentioned around 1060 as a Slavic town controlled by Lithuanians, but evidence suggests that the Dacians and later the Trypillians had lived there in prehistorical times. The town is a natural crossroad for trans-Carpathian and trans-Ukrainian trade, which attracted Germans, Armenians, Lithuanians, Jews, Ukrainians, Russians and Romanians to live here until World War II. Now, the town is almost exclusively Ukrainian.
A large fortress was built here to watch over the River Smotrych and some evidence suggests that a fortress has existed on this natural outcropping of rock since 2 millennia ago.
