Kiliia

For other uses, see Kilia (disambiguation).

Kiliia Кілія
City
Old street with the view at the St. Nicholas Church
Coat of arms
Kiliia Location in Ukraine Kiliia Kiliia (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 45°27′N 29°14′E
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Odesa Oblast
Raion	Izmail Raion
City founded	862
Government
• Mayor	Pavlo Boychenko
Area
• Total	19.5 km2 (7.5 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population  (2021)
• Total	19,116
• Density	980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	68300 - 68303
Area code	+380 4843

Kiliia or Kilia (Ukrainian: Кілія́, romanized: Kiliia, pronounced [k⁽ʲ⁾i.l⁽ʲ⁾iˈjɑ]; Romanian: Chilia Nouă) is a town in Odesa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine. It is located in the Danube Delta, in the Bessarabian historic district of Budjak; across the river lies the Romanian town of Chilia Veche (Old Kiliia). The Chilia branch of the Danube river, which separates Ukraine from Romania, is named after it. Population: 19,116 (2021 est.).

History

Historical affiliations

Byzantine Empire Until 1361
From 1361 til 1412 contested between
 Kingdom of Hungary, Wallachia,
 Poland and the Ottoman Empire
Principality of Moldavia 1412-1448
Kingdom of Hungary 1448-1465
Principality of Moldavia 1465-1484
Ottoman Empire 1484–1812
Russian Empire 1812–1856
Principality of Moldavia 1856–1859
Romanian United Principalities 1859–1878
Russian Empire 1878–1917
Moldavian Democratic Republic 1917–1918
Kingdom of Romania 1918–1940
Soviet Union 1940–1941
Kingdom of Romania 1941–1944
Soviet Union 1944–1991
Ukraine 1991–present

A town on the Romanian side of the Chilia branch of the Danube, now known as Chilia Veche (Ukrainian: Cтapa Кілія, translit. Stara Kiliia) or "Old Chilia", was founded by the Greek Byzantines – κελλία, kellia in Greek being the equivalent of "granaries", a name first recorded in 1241, in the works of the Persian chronicler Rashid-al-Din Hamadani. Kiliia is therefore sometimes referred to as Nova Kiliia meaning "New Kiliia".

In the place that is now Kiliia, a large colony was established by the Republic of Genoa, known as "Licostomo" and headed by a consul (a representative of the Republic in the region). From that time, only the defensive ditches of a Genoese fortress remained.

The city was founded by Stephen the Great of Moldavia, in order to counteract the Ottoman Empire which had taken control over Chilia Veche in the 15th century. It was a major Moldavian port. However, it was eventually conquered by the Ottomans in 1484, who kept it until 1790, when it was taken by Russian army under the command of the general Ivan Gudovich during Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). The Times of London reported that "35,000 of the inhabitants were involved in a general massacre," an incident that had "been celebrated in prose and poetry." The city was given back to the Ottomans in 1792, but retaken by the Russians in 1806 and awarded to them officially in 1812.

Kiliya in the 15th century

After being bombarded by the Anglo-French fleet in July 1854 during the Crimean War, it was given to Romania in the Treaty of Paris (1856). In 1878, Kiliia was transferred back to Russia together with Budjak. Between 1918 and 1940 it was again part of Romania, then integrated in the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR (it was briefly held yet again by Romania, from 1941 to 1944, during World War II), and passed on to independent Ukraine after the Soviet downfall.

The oldest building in Kiliia is the semi-subterranean church of St. Nicholas, which may go back to 1485, although an old inscription in the church claims that it was founded on 10 May 1647.

Notable residents

• Ihor Nesterenko (born 1990), Israeli-Ukrainian basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League

Gallery

• 
  Intercession of the Theotokos Church
• 
  St. Nicholas Church
• 
  Skyline of Kiliia from one of the churches
• 
  Tombstone in Kherson of soldier fallen in the siege of Kiliia
• 
  Kiliia Fortress