# Zolkiev <table class="place-meta"> <tr><td>Hebrew / Yiddish</td><td dir="rtl">זאלקווא (Zolkva)</td></tr> <tr><td>Local name(s)</td><td>Zhovkva / Жовква (Ukrainian); Żółkiew (Polish); Nesterov (Soviet, 1951–1992)</td></tr> <tr><td>Region (today)</td><td>Lviv Oblast, Ukraine</td></tr> <tr><td>Coordinates</td><td>50°04′N 23°58′E</td></tr> </table> <table class="place-meta place-eras"> <tr><th>Era</th><th>Town name</th><th>Country / jurisdiction</th></tr> <tr><td>1594–1772</td><td>Żółkiew</td><td>Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Ruthenian Voivodeship)</td></tr> <tr><td>1772–1918</td><td>Żółkiew</td><td>Austria-Hungary (Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria)</td></tr> <tr><td>1919–1939</td><td>Żółkiew</td><td>Second Polish Republic (Lwów Voivodeship)</td></tr> <tr><td>1939–1941</td><td>Zhovkva</td><td>Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR)</td></tr> <tr><td>1941–1944</td><td>Zolkiew</td><td>Nazi Germany (District Galicia, General Government)</td></tr> <tr><td>1944–1991</td><td>Zhovkva / Nesterov (from 1951)</td><td>Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR)</td></tr> <tr><td>present</td><td>Zhovkva</td><td>Ukraine — Lviv Oblast</td></tr> </table> ## Overview Zhovkva (Yiddish **Zolkva**, Polish Żółkiew) was founded in 1594 by the hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski as a Renaissance "ideal city" about 25 km north of Lviv. Jews settled from 1600 and the community grew into a major Galician centre, celebrated for its monumental fortress synagogue financed by King John III Sobieski and built 1692–1700, and for its Hebrew printing houses. On the eve of the Nazi occupation Jews numbered around 4,500, nearly half the town. German forces entered on 29 June 1941; the synagogue was blown up, and in 1942 the Germans, with Ukrainian auxiliary police, deported some 3,200 Jews to the Bełżec extermination camp, with further shootings locally. Fewer than 100 of the town's Jews survived. Under Soviet rule the town was renamed Nesterov (1951–1992) before reverting to Zhovkva; the restored Great Synagogue survives as one of the finest in Ukraine. <small>Sources: Wikipedia — Zhovkva; YIVO Encyclopedia — Zhovkva; JGuide Europe / Shtetl Routes — Zolkiew (Zhovkva); KehilaLinks — Zhovkva.</small> ## People with events here | Person | Event | | --- | --- | | [[David Katvan (d.1698)]] | Died 1698 | | [[Tauba (d.1717)]] | Died 1717 | | [[Leon Chajes (b.1828)]] | Born 1828 | | [[Yita Shifra Chajes (b.1837)]] | Born 1837 | | [[Isaac Yitzchak Chajes (b.1842)]] | Born 1842 | | [[Wolf Chajes (b.1845)]] | Born 1845 |