Ukraine: Radomysl
Radomysl is a town west from Kiev in the Zhitomir Oblast, locates on a tributary of the Dnepr River. It dates back to 1150 and was a prominent town under the Great Duchy of Lithuania in 14-16th centuries (coincidentally, Great Duchy of Lithuania doesn’t have much to do with today’s Lithuania and was more like the predecessor of Belarus, as Belarusian was the national language of this medieval Slavic state with ethically diverse population). After being under Poland, it went to Russian empire in the 18th century. By this time, Radomysl was over 80% Jewish, but the Russian pogroms reduced it to 35%, Soviet power further brought it down to 20%, and finally German Nazi and collaborating Ukrainians Police (UP) annihilated it to 0%. The main attraction in town is the Radomysl Castle, a beautiful red-brick estate estate on a lakeshore. Supposedly, there’s a interesting icon museum inside but everything is shut for coronavirus. There’s also a 19th century cathedral and a brewery making a lager-like Radomysl beer.
