Volodymyr-Volynskyy

Volodymyr-Volynskyy (vŭl'ədyē'myĭr-vəlyĭn'skyē), Pol. Włodzimierz, Rus. Vladimir-Volynski, city (1989 pop. 38,000), NW Ukraine. It was founded in the 9th cent. and supposedly refounded in 988 by the Grand Duke Vladimir I (Volodymyr I) of Kievan Rus. It became an Eastern Orthodox bishopric and the capital of the grand duchy of Volodymyr or Lodomeria. The settlement was fortified and became a large trading center between the 10th and 13th cent. Originally dependent on Kiev, the duchy became independent in 1154 and for some time included all of Volhynia. It was united with the duchy of Halych in 1188 to form the Halych-Volhynian duchy, of which it was the capital from 1300. The city passed to Lithuania in the late 14th cent. It changed hands often, but finally went to Russia in 1795. The Treaty of Riga (1921) awarded the city to Poland, but it was included in Ukraine in 1939. Notable architectural monuments are the Dormition Cathedral (1157-60), remains of old fortress walls (12th-13th cent.), a rotunda church (13th-14th cent.), and a 16th-century bishop's palace (restored in the 19th cent.).