Ratne

Rural locality in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine

Place in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine

Ratne Ратне
Downtown Ratne
51°39′00″N 24°32′00″E / 51.6500°N 24.5333°E / 51.6500; 24.5333
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Volyn Oblast
Raion	Kovel Raion
Hromada	Ratne Hromada
Founded	13th Century
Rural council	Ratne Rural Council
Government
• Mayor	Vitaliy Biryuk (Fatherland)
Area
• Total	7.46 km² (2.88 sq mi)
Population (2022)	9,577
Postal code	44100
Area code	+380 3366

Ratne (Ukrainian: Ратне; Polish: Ratno; Yiddish: ראטנא Ratno) is a rural settlement in Volyn Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Volhynia. Population: 9,577 (2022 estimate).^[1]

History

Ratne is mentioned in old Ruthenian documents at the end of 12th - beginning of 13th centuries. It served as a border town where Great Prince kept his garrison (rat). The town was devastated during the Mongol invasion. In the 13th century the town housed the Ratne monastery whose hegumen was Peter of Moscow. After the Galicia-Volhynia Wars, in 14th century the territory around Ratne was annexed by the Kingdom of Poland.

Ratne was granted Magdeburg city rights by Polish King Władysław III in the 15th century. From 1366 until the partitions of Poland it was part of the Chełm Land. It was a royal city of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. From 1921 to 1939 it was part of the Volhynian Voivodeship of Poland.

The city had a significant Jewish population before World War II. During the war, the Jewish community suffered many attacks.^[2] The biggest massacre was on August 25, 1942.^[3] Some 1,300 persons were taken to the quarry outside the town and there fire was opened on them. A few dozen artisans remained in the town but by March 1943 these had been gradually killed off.^[4]

Of those who had fled some 30 families gathered in the forest. They succeeded in obtaining a few arms and they set up a sort of camp. During the next three months nearly all of them were slaughtered. A handful from Ratne and the surrounding villages joined various Soviet partisan units.

Until 26 January 2024, Ratne was designated urban-type settlement. On this day, a new law entered into force which abolished this status, and Ratne became a rural settlement.^[5]

Gallery

Church of Nativity of the Virgin
Ratne holocaust memorial
Graves of World War II soldiers in Ratne

References

^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
^ "Volin, Ukraine (Pages 75-90)".
^ "Prokhid".
^ "Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Ratno, Ukraine".
^ "Что изменится в Украине с 1 января". glavnoe.in.ua (in Russian). 1 January 2024.