Orikhiv

Name

There are several versions of the origin of the name of the city of Orekhov. One version says that most of the settlers who settled on the banks of the Kinska river were from the village of Orekhovka in Poltava Governorate and in memory of their homeland they named the new settlement Orekhov when in 1787 the natives of those places massively moved to new lands. According to one version, the settlement was named after a beam in which many Peanuts grew, thickets of hazel, groundnuts and water nuts, which were abundant in the shallow reaches of the then full-flowing Kinska River.

Geography

The city of Orikhov is located on the left bank of the Kinska river—a left tributary of the Dnipro, 63 km southeast of the regional center and around 70 km from Melitopol. Upstream at a distance of 2 km is the village of Mala Tokmachka, downstream at a distance of 1 km is the village of Novopavlivka, on the opposite bank— the village of Preobrazhenka.

History

18th and 19th century

Orikhiv was founded in about 1783 near the Konka river. It is situated about 50 km southeast of Zaporizhzhia (formerly Aleksandrovsk), and almost the same distance north of the Molochna Kolonia (literally, 'milk colony'). On 19 February 1801, the state-owned village was transferred to the category of cities and became the new center of the Mariupol district which was formed in 1797 with the village of Tokmak as its center.

In 1818 Orikhiv appeared to be a place where Russian Imperial military personnel were stationed; an officer from Orikhiv came out to finalize arrangements for the tsar's visit to Lindenau in May of that year. As early as 1836 a "Salt Road" (Tschumakemveg) connected Orikhiv with Perekop to the south, the road running through the Molochna Kolonia. This road was still shown on maps of 1852. In 1850 Orikhiv was within the boundaries of Taurida Govenorate, near its northeastern border. A railway constructed to connect Aleksandrovsk, now Zaporizhzhia, to Berdyansk, it went through Orikhiv, presumably to help development of the city and give easy port access at Berdyansk.

The first Mennonites likely settled in Orikhiv as early as the 1830s. By 1852 there were two windmills in Orikhiv owned by Mennonites (Kornelius Ediger and Kornelius Heinrichs) as well as a treadmill and oil press operated by Aaron Wiens. In the 1860s a number of families moved from Schoenwiese of the Chortitza Colony to Orikhiv. Among these was Johann Heinrich (Ivan Andreievitch) Janzen, who built two large steam-powered flour mills and encouraged other Mennonite businessmen to follow his example.

By 1874 the small Mennonite community, in cooperation with the equally small Lutheran group, had built a church and a school. Apparently the Mennonites and Lutherans had joint services in the church, but for major festivals the Mennonites tended to go to their home churches, for many this being Schoenwiese in the Chortitza Colony. They also went back to their home churches to allow the young people to meet prospective marriage partners.

In 1874 Johann Heinrich (Ivan Andreievich) Janzen was elected mayor of Orikhiv. Despite some opposition from the business community because Janzen was German, the governor of the province encouraged him to continue in his position. Orikhiv was one of the few cities with a positive balance sheet despite an aggressive school building program. Janzen retired in 1899. At the end of the nineteenth century, of a population of 10,000, there were only about 200 "Germans" in total (called niemsty), which included approximately equal numbers of Mennonites and Lutherans. Only one Mennonite estate, Rosenheim (Epp) was listed as being close to Orikhiv, while Wintergruen Estate was 14 verst (15 kilometres) east-southeast of the city. These estates no longer exist.

20th century

Peter Kondratyevitch Pavlenko was principal of the Halbstadt Zentralschule in 1909 and 1910, also teaching in the areas of mathematics and pedagogy; before that he had been on the faculty of the secondary school in Orikhiv. In 1918–1919 Orikhiv was in the centre of the area controlled by the anarchist Nestor Makhno, so it likely suffered the usual consequences of being occupied by his army. During the subsequent Civil War it was overrun a number of times as the vicissitudes of war caused frequent changes in the struggles between the Whites and the Reds. Orikhiv was the base from which the Red Army surged southward to finally defeat the Mennonite Selbstschutz – eventually leading to the capitulation in Gnadenfeld, Molotschna (today Bohdanivka).

Orikhiv attained city status in 1938. In 1972 it was the capital of the Orikhiv Raion of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The population was 21,200 in 1990. Main industries produced clothing, machinery and building supplies. There is a metallurgy plant, Orikhiv Quarry of Molding Materials, which deals with refractory materials, and a sugar refinery. The city also has a regional museum. There are no obvious traces of the Mennonite past remaining.

Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)

Early in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as many residents as possible were evacuated from Orikhiv. By late April 2022, Russian lines were three miles away and Russian artillery was shelling the town constantly. On 7 May 2022, around 21:00, Orikhiv hospital was shelled by Russian forces. According to the local government, Russian forces wanted to finish off the wounded and kill civilian doctors. On 21 May, local media reported that as a result of the Russian shelling, the gymnasium, and the building of the city executive committee were destroyed.

According to OCHA, by 17 August the town's population had dwindled to 6,000. As of October 2022, Russian forces were regularly shelling Orikhiv; according to the city's deputy mayor, 70% of Orikhiv had been destroyed.

In April 2023, Orikhiv's deputy mayor Svitlana Mandrich reported that Russian missile strikes had been so constant that the 2,000 residents who remained in Orikhiv rarely left their basement shelters. She reported that 30 civilians had been killed in Orikhiv since the shelling began. In June 2023, CNN reported that only 1,400 civilians remained in the city, mainly living in basements and makeshift bunkers. In October 2023 it was reported that the Russians were bombing the city 25 to 30 times a day and that there were very few undamaged houses in the city.

In January 2024, it was reported that not a single high-rise building in Orikhiv was left standing and that the city had been without gas and electricity since March 2022. On 21 February 2024, a Russian 550-pound glide bomb tore through the dome of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary located in the center of Orikhiv. In March 2024, Orikhiv was characterized by The Economist as a "ghost town", as an estimated 1,000 civilians remained in the city, with every building said to have been either damaged or destroyed.

Industry

The Institute for the Production of Fertilizer Spreaders was closed due to staff outflow and a decline in production. Due to the dire economic situation in Ukraine, the state-owned Orselmash plant suspended operations in the late 1990s. The plant boasted unique equipment: gear-cutting machines and a line of six 1,000-ton embossing presses. In the early 2000s, the Orikhov Agricultural Machinery Plant "Agrotech" resumed its work.

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and active military action in the Orekhov area, the plants ceased production. Part of the Orekhovselmash building was damaged by Russian artillery shelling.

Transport

The city of Orikhov has a railway station Orikhovska on the Kryvyi Rih — Zaporizhzhia — Polohy. The city is crossed by the national highway N-08 (Boryspil — Zaporizhzhia — Mariupol), as well as the territorial highways T-0812, T-0815 and T-0408. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, bus services to Dnipro, Berdyansk, etc. were operated from the Orikhov bus station.

Education

• Municipal institution "Support institution of general secondary education "Suzir'ya"" (destroyed on 3 April 2023);
• Orikhiv secondary school of I-II grades No. 3;
• Orikhiv educational complex No. 2;
• Orikhiv secondary school of I-III grades No. 5;
• VSP "Orikiv College of the Dmytro Motorny State Technical University";
• Orikhiv vocational lyceum No. 33.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, the population was 17,986 people. Ethnic groups according to the same census:

Native language according to the 2001 Ukrainian census:

Notable people

• Vsevolod Lazaryan — Soviet mechanical scientist – was born in the city.
• From 1929 to 1935, priest Ivan (Blyumovich) served in the city.
• Prikhodko, Ivan Prokofievich — a native of the city, Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Glushchenko, Andrei Aleksandrovich — Ukrainian footballer
• Dudka, Valery Aleksandrovich — Soviet and Ukrainian footballer

Gallery

File:Orihiv Memorial'niy Komplex 01 (YDS 0446).jpg|World War II memorial in the city.

File:Orihiv Shevchenka 11 Sadyba Genriha Yantsena 05 Detail YDS 0390).jpg| Detail of mansion house of Heinrich Janzen city mayor of Orikhiv in 1874-1899

File:Orihiv K.Marksa 48 K.Libknehta 31 Kontos'kiy Budynok Yantsena 01 (YDS 0432).jpg|Office house of mills of Heinrich Janzen

File:Orihiv Shevchenka 1 Mis'ka Uprava (YDS 0383).jpg|Old town council

File:Orihiv Shevchenka 16 Zhinocha Gimnazia (YDS 0405).jpg|Old Gymnasium for girls

File:Orihiv Shevchenka 16 Komplex Zhinochoyi Gimnaziyi ta Cholovichogo Real'nogo Uchylyscha 02 (YDS 0400).jpg|Old non-classical secondary school for boys

File:Orihiv Poshtova Stantsiya 01 (YDS 0375).jpg| Post station

File:Orihiv Lenins'kyh Kursantiv 40 Pershiy Traktyr 03 (YDS 0372).jpg|First victualling-house in Orikhiv

References

References

1. "Оріхів — місто на межі: як живе та виглядає прифронтовий населений пункт на Запоріжжі".
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20131001060321/http://vmelitopole.ru/art-book6-3.php Административное подчинение и учреждения], vmelitopole.ru (archived version)
3. (26 April 2022). "Standing in the path of war, a small Ukrainian town braces as Russians advance.". The New York Times.
4. (8 May 2022). "Російські війська завдали удару по лікарні Оріхова, – ФОТО {{!}} Перший Запорiзький".
5. (8 May 2022). "Рашистські війська завдали удару по лікарні Оріхова (фото)". Перший Запорізький.
6. (22 May 2022). "В Оріхові в результаті ворожих обстрілів зруйновано гімназію та старовинну будівлю міськвиконкому". 061.ua.
7. (13 August 2023). "Храми, палаци та маєтки. Найкрасивіші пам'ятки України, зруйновані Росією під час війни". BBC.
8. (19 August 2022). "Ukraine: Situation Report, 17 Aug 2022 [EN/UK/RU] – Ukraine {{!}} ReliefWeb".
9. (31 July 2022). "У Запорізькій ОВА показали наслідки ворожих обстрілів міста Оріхів (фото)".
10. (19 October 2022). "Russia shells Orikhiv for 7 hours, 8 injured, ruined houses, power and water outages".
11. (11 October 2022). "Війська РФ завдали удару по Запорізькій області, є загиблі і постраждалі – ОП".
12. Hochman, David. (November 2022). "AARP The Magazine Special Report: Part 1: War's Terrible Toll on Ukraine's Elders: "Older Ukrainians are suffering in unique, terrible ways. This is one family's fight for survival.": Tamara's Choice". AARP.
13. "Оріхів у Запорізькій області зруйновано на 70% – влада міста".
14. Query, Alexander. (4 April 2023). "Stranded civilians brave shelling, return to Ukraine's front-line towns". [[Kyiv Independent]].
15. (10 June 2023). "'What is there to be afraid of?' Ukrainians in battered southern town hopeful about counteroffensive".
16. Tucker, Maxim. (4 October 2023). "'Our allies ask us to advance with a gun at our backs'". [[The Times]].
17. (22 January 2024). "How does the frontline town of Orikhiv live?".
18. "Once the center of Ukraine's hopes, the town of Orikhiv now lies in ruins".
19. "A grinding, difficult war on Ukraine's southern front". The Economist.
20. Lozovoy N.. (22 November 2010). "Stepan Kravchun: "In Ukraine, a cow will soon be listed in the Red Book"". [[Establishment (newspaper).
21. "Modern harvesting equipment is being manufactured at the Orikhov Agricultural Machinery Plant (photo)".
22. "Two men were killed in Gulyaipole as a result of enemy shelling {{!}} First Zaporizhzhya".
23. "Національний склад міст".
24. "Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України".