Mukacheve

Mukacheve (Ukrainian: Мукачеве (Mukacheve), Ruthenian: Мукачів (Mukachiv), Hungarian: Munkács, Slovak and Czech: Mukačevo, German: Munkatsch, Yiddish: Minkatsh) is a city in Zakarpattya region of western Ukraine.

Earlier it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary (11th century - 1918 and 1938-1944) and of Czechoslovakia (1918 - 1938 and 1944 - 1945).

History

Early history

For early history (Great Moravia, Kievan Rus) see Carpathian Ruthenia.

Middle Ages

In 1397, the town and its surrounding was granted by king Sigismund of Luxemburg to the Ruthenian prince Theodor Koriatovich, who settled many Ruthenians in the territory.

In 1445, the town became a free royal town.

The castle of Mukacheve/Munkács played an important role during the anti-Habsburg revolts in this territory and present-day Slovakia (1604 - 1711), especially at the beginning of the anti-Habsburg Revolt of Imre Thököly (1685-1688), as well as at the beginning of the revolt of Ferenc II. Rákóczi (early 18th century).

In 1726, the castle and the town, before 1711 owned by the Rákóczi family, was given by the Habsburgs to the Schönborn family, who were responsible for an expansion of the town. They also settled many Germans in the territory, thereby causing an economic boom of the region.

The Mukacheve castle, until then a strong fortress, became a prison from the end of the 18th century to 1897. The Greek national hero Alexander Ypsilanti was imprisonned here from 1821 to 1823.

20th century

After the American Rusyns had agreed with Tomas Masaryk to incorporate Carpathian Ruthenia into Czechoslovakia, in 1919 Mukacheve along with whole Carpathian Ruthenia was occupied by Czechoslovak troops and then officially became a part of Czechoslovakia by the Treaty of Trianon, signed on June 4th 1920.

By the Vienna Award (Vienna Arbitration) of November 1938, the town, along with the remaining southern Carpathian Ruthenia, became part of Hungary again. After the Nazis came into power 1944, the Jewish citizens of the town were deported to concentration camps.

Near the end of 1944, the Soviet Army arrived to Carpathian Ruthenia (at that time part of Czechoslovakia again) and the territory became part of the Soviet Union by a treaty between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union of 1945. High numbers of Hungarians and Ruthenians were deported to Siberia and mostly never returned.

Today Mukacheve has mainly Ukrainian and Ruthenian inhabitants, a small community of Hungarians, and a small Jewish Community.

Since 2002, Mukacheve has been the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese comprising Transcarpathia.

Jews

This city was the only one in Hungary with Jewish majority until 1944, when all the Jews were deported to Auschwitz by the Eichmann Commando, after former Axis ally Hungary was occupied by Germany on March 19th 1944. The Hungarian Jewish community was the last deported in Europe.

de:Mukatschewe

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