Hoshcha (Ukrainian: Гоща; Polish: Hoszcza) is a rural settlement in Rivne Oblast (province) in western Ukraine.

Hoshcha
Гоща
Hoszcza
Flag of Hoshcha
Coat of arms of Hoshcha
Hoshcha is located in Rivne Oblast
Hoshcha
Hoshcha
Location of Hoshcha in Ukraine
Hoshcha is located in Ukraine
Hoshcha
Hoshcha
Hoshcha (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 50°35′55″N 26°40′31″E / 50.59861°N 26.67528°E / 50.59861; 26.67528
Country Ukraine
Province Rivne Oblast
District Hoshcha Raion
Founded1152
Town status1957
Government
 • MayorMykola Panchuk
Area
 • Total7.09 km2 (2.74 sq mi)
Elevation192 m (630 ft)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total5,121
 • Density720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
35400
Area code+380 3650
Websitehttp://rada.gov.ua/

It serves as the administrative center of Hoshcha Raion (district), housing the district's local administration buildings.

Its population was 5,121 at the 2001 Ukrainian Census.[2] Current population: 5,260 (2022 estimate).[3]

History

edit

Hoshcha was first founded in 1152 and it acquired the status of an urban-type settlement in 1957. On 26 January 2024, a new law entered into force which abolished this status, and Smyha became a rural settlement.[4]

 
A monument in Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv in memory of the Jews of Hoshcha who were murdered in the Holocaust

The jewish community

edit

At the outbreak of World War II, Jewish refugees from the area arrived in the town. On June 29, 1941, after Operation Barbarossa, the town was bombed by German planes, killing 165 Jews. On July 4, the Germans entered the town, and began abducting Jews there for forced labor, and murdering other Jews. The town's Jews were soon ordered to wear an armband with a Star of David, and a Judenrat was appointed in the town. Later, the town's Jews were transferred to an open ghetto.

In the first collection carried out by Ukrainian police in the town, on May 20, 1942, about 400 Jews were murdered. In the second gathering, held on September 25, 1942, about 350 Jews were murdered. In the third gathering held on November 14, 1942, 123 Jews were murdered. And about twenty Jewish professionals left in the town were murdered on July 17, 1943.

On January 18, 1944, the town was liberated by the Red Army. About twenty of the town's Jews survived hiding in the woods. Due to hostilities on the part of the local Ukrainians, these did not return to live in the town.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Hoshcha (Rivne Oblast, Hoscha Raion)". weather.in.ua. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Hoshcha, Rivne Oblast, Hoshcha Raion". Regions of Ukraine and their Structure (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Retrieved 5 February 2012.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Что изменится в Украине с 1 января". glavnoe.in.ua (in Russian). 1 January 2024.
  5. ^ The village of HOSZCZA at the "Jewish Heritage Center of Poland" website
edit