Berdychiv
Berdychiv
(byĭrdē`chĭf), Rus. Berdichev, city (1989 pop. 92,000), in central Ukraine, on the Hnylopyat River. It is a rail junction and the industrial and trade center of an area where sugar beets are raised. Engineering, sugar refining, tanning, and the manufacture of foodstuffs are the major industries. Founded in the 14th cent., Berdychiv passed to Lithuania in 1546 and to Poland in 1569; Russia acquired it in 1793. During the 18th cent., Berdychiv was an important Ukrainian commercial city and a center of Jewish HasidismHasidismor Chassidism
[Heb.,=the pious], Jewish religious movement founded in Poland in the 18th cent. by Baal-Shem-Tov. Its name derives from Hasidim. Hasidism, which stressed the mercy of God and encouraged joyous religious expression through music and dance, spread
..... Click the link for more information. . Landmarks include a fortified Carmelite monastery (17th cent.) that is now a museum.