Berdychiv [key], Rus. Berdichev, city, in central Ukraine, on the Hnylopyat River. It is a rail junction and the industrial and trade center of an area where sugar beets are raised. Engineering, sugar refining, tanning, and the manufacture of foodstuffs are the major industries. Founded in the 14th cent., Berdychiv passed to Lithuania in 1546 and to Poland in 1569; Russia acquired it in 1793. During the 18th cent., Berdychiv was an important Ukrainian commercial city and a center of Jewish Hasidism. Landmarks include a fortified Carmelite monastery (17th cent.) that is now a museum.
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