Turiisk

Kovel district, Volyn region

Volhynia region - list of settlements and location of objects

Turiisk, 2024

Sources:
- Virtual Shtetl. Turiisk;
- The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, vol. 3, eds. Sh. Spector, G. Wigoder, New York 2001, p. 1351;
- 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;
- Jewish encyclopedia of Brockhaus & Efron

Photo:
- European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. Turyysk Jewish Cemetery;
- Center for Jewish Art. Turiisk (Turzysk, Trisk)
- Sergey Kravtsov, Center for Jewish Art. Merchants' Shtibl in Turiisk
- Muzeum Historii Żydow Polskich POLIN. Oddział Ha-Szomer ha-Cair w kostiumach na Purim

Turiisk (Ukrainian: Турійськ) is an urban-type settlement in Volyn Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Volhynia.

First Jews settled in the private town of Turzysk (Turiisk) in the mid-16th century.

In the 18th century, the town became an important centre of Hasidism. In the 1830s, a Hasidic dynasty was founded there by Abraham Twerski (d. 1889), known as the Maggid of Turiisk (Trisker Maggid), scion of the famous lineage of Twersky tzaddikim – descendants of Nachum of Chernobyl.

The religious leader established his court in a complex of buildings comprising a synagogue, a mikveh, meeting rooms, and residential buildings. The tzaddik attracted thousands of pilgrims to Turzysk. Many local Jews made a living by providing services to the visitors.

In 1921, only 1,081 Jews lived in Turzysk, but they made up 72% of the town’s population. Nonetheless, the town lost its previous importance after the tzaddik had moved to Kovel (Ukr. Ковель).

The community became divided between Hasidim and Zionists. There was a Yiddish school in the town, followed by a Tarbut school founded in 1922, which at its peak had 200 pupils.

Several Zionist youth movements were active. The local branch of the Hashomer Hatzair, founded in 1930, had 100 members.

In 1897, the town had 1,713 Jewish inhabitants, constituting 58.3% of the total population.

In 1913, Jews owned a pharmacy, 11 grocery stores, 4 metal goods stores, 7 manufactory stores, soap shop, meat store, kerosene warehouse


Ohel of Rabbi of Trisk in the Old Jewish cemetery in Turiisk, 2019		Merchants' Shtibl in Turiisk, 2011

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

German troops entered Turzysk on 28 June 1941. Jews were forced to perform slave labour. On 23 August 1942, they were all were driven out of the town and murdered.
The total number of local Jewish victims of the German occupation may have amounted to as many as 9,000 people.

Turiisk. Ha-Shomer Ha-Tsair members in costumes on Purim, 1930


Jewish Cemetery, 2019		Memorial to the Shoah victims, 2019