Olyka

Lutsk district, Volyn region

Volynia region - list of settlements and location of objects

Olyka, 2009, 2024

Sources:
- Jewish encyclopedia of Brockhaus & Efron;
- Russian Jewish encyclopedia;
- The All South-Western Territory: reference and address book of the Kyiv, Podolsk and Volyn provinces. Printing house L.M. Fish and P.E. Wolfson, 1913

Photo:
- Eugene Snaider (2009)
- Anna Wolf
- Biblioteka Narodowa Polona. Olyka
- Volyn Heritage. Olyka
- Henryk Poddembski (1925), Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
- Solomon Yudovin (1913), the archive of An-sky expedition

The village of Olyka was founded in the early Middle Ages as one of the villages belonging to the Kievan Rus'. It was first mentioned in 1149 in the Hypatian Chronicle. In the 14th century it was conquered by Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the village grew rapidly and became a centre of local magnates, initially the family of Kishka and, after 1533, the Radziwills.

In the second half of the 16th century, during the Protestant Reformation, the town became one of the most important centres of Calvinism in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its growth was halted by the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648, during which the town was captured by Cossacks, plundered and burnt. However, it was soon rebuilt and in 1654 it received city rights. As the main seat of one of the branches of the influential Radziwill family, Olyka became one of the most important political and trade centres of all of Volhynia.

In the Third Partition of Poland (1795), the town was annexed by the Russian Empire and became part of the Volhynian Governorate. After the Polish-Bolshevik War, the town was restored to Poland.

After World War II the area was annexed by the Soviet Union and incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR. Since 1991 it is a part of independent Ukraine.


Radzivill Castle

In 1847, 1161 Jew lived in Olyka,
in 1897 - 2606 (61.9%),
in 1921 - 2086 (48.1%),
in 1939 - about 2500 Jews.

The first mention of the Jews in Olyka dates back to 1577. During the “Khmelnitchina” period, Jews from Zaslavl (modern Izyaslav) and other nearby settlements found refuge in the olique.

On June 10, 1655, as a result of the attack of drunken Ukrainians on a funeral procession, many Jews were beaten, and the corpse was defiled.

In 1717, one Jewish family moved from Olyka to Mezhibozh.

In the beginning of the 19th century Hirsch-Leyb Landa founded Hasidic dynasty in Olyka.

In the middle of the 19th century the rabbi in Olyka was Shmuel Segal. In 1847, 2 synagogues operated in the town, there was a Jewish cemetery.
In 1886, a Jewish almshouse worked in the town.
In 1896 there were already 4 synagogues.

The main activities of the Jewish population in 19 - beginning ofthe 20 centuries were trade and crafts. In 1914, the Jews were owned a pharmacy, a forest warehouse, a brewery, a beer warehouse, a tavern and 37 shops (including all 14 manufactory and all 14 grocery). The Jew was the only tooth doctor in Olyka; Jewish doctor worked in a town hospital.
There was also a Jewish hospital in Olyka.


Market day in Olyka, 1925

Trade areas, beginning of the XX century

Olyka in the 1913 directory. It can be seen that all shops in the town belonged to Jews


Olyka, 1913. Photo by An-sky expedition	Mikvah, 1913


Jews in the mill, 1913. Photo by An-sky expedition	Hay processing mill, 1913. Photo by An-sky expedition

At the beginning of the 20th century, 9 synagogues operated in Olyka.

On November 27, 1917, a pogrom occurred in the town.

In 1921, with the help of the Joint, a Jewish cooperative bank was opened. At the same time, a school was founded with teaching in Hebrew, in 1927 - a kindergarten with teaching in Hebrew.

In the 1920-30s, the department of Yeshiva from Novogrudok acted in Olyka, as well as branches of various Jewish parties and organizations.

The last head of the Hasidic dynasty in Olyka was Alter-Yosef Landa.

After the occupation by the Wehrmacht troops in Olyka in July 1941, 11 Jews were killed, on August 1, 1941 - approx. 700 Jews.

At the end of March 1942, a ghetto was created, which contained about 3,500 Jews, including from the surrounding settlements.

An underground group acted in the ghetto.

In the summer of 1942, the ghetto was eliminated, prisoners, with the exception of artisans, were shot.

In 1942, a partisan group, almost completely consisting of Jews, began to operate in Olyka's area.

In 1944, on the eve of the liberation, 130 Jewish craftmans were shot.

Today, Jews do not live in Olyka.


Synagogue in Olyka, 1913	Olyka, children in the synagoguе, 1913	Synagogue in Olyka, 1925

Aron kodesh in the synagogue in Olyka, 1925	Fragment of the Aron kodesh. The Griffins and the Birds are visible	Amud in the synagogue in Olyka, 1925

Olyka. the synagogue is visible on the left. On the right on the background - Beit-midrash. 1913

In addition to the castle, you can see another interesting structure in Olyka - the impressive collegial church of St. Trinity. It was considered one of the most beautiful structures in the territory of the Commonwealth. The church looks like the Roman Church Il-Juzu, built by the Order of the Jesuits in 1584 and adopted for the canon for Jesuit temples throughout Europe, as well as in Latin America.


Church of St. Trinity, 2020s	Church of St. Trinity, 2009	Church of St. Trinity, 1918

Bell tower, 2009


Church of St. Trinity, 2009