Its older name was Monastyryshche (Монастирище),[3] which gave rise to the Yiddish name Monastrishtsh.
Prior to the war in 1939, the town had 1741 Roman Catholics (Poles), 408 Greek-Catholics (Ukrainians), and 1,310 Jews. The local Roman Catholic church has existed since 1702.
The first written mentions appear in documents from 1433 and 1437, referencing it as the property of the knight Sigismund.[4] From 1454 to 1465, Monastyryska was owned by Teodorik Buchatsky-Yazlovetsky, later by Mykhailo "Muzhyla" Buchatsky, and from 1468, it was possessed by Jan of Yazlovets. By 1478, Jan of Porokhova had ownership. In 1454, it is noted as a town with Magdeburg rights and a castle.[4]
For most of its history, the city belonged to the Kingdom of Poland. From the mid-14th century to 1772 (see Partitions of Poland), it was part of Ruthenian Voivodeship. Monastyryska received a town charter in 1454, and in February 1653, a battle between Polish and Cossack troops took place here, during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. The Polish army under Stefan Czarniecki failed to capture the town, defended by Ivan Bohun.
Since 1991, it has belonged to independent Ukraine.
Until 18 July 2020, Monastyryska was the administrative center of Monastyryska Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ternopil Oblast to three. The area of Monastyryska Raion was merged into Chortkiv Raion.[5][6]
Monastyryska has one of the largest Roman Catholic cemeteries in the region of Podole, with more than 2,000 stone tombs. The cemetery has the burial chapel of the Potocki family as well as a military chapel, where veterans of the January Uprising and soldiers of the World War IPolish Legions rest.
for centuries, the town was one of seats of the Potocki family, to which it belonged until 1844. Among famous members of the family from Monastyryska is Józef Makary Potocki, Count Antoni Potocki.
UkraineCrown of the Kingdom of Poland 1454–1569
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569–1772
Habsburg monarchy 1772–1804
Second Polish Republic ca. 1919–1945
Soviet Union 1939–1941
Nazi Germany 1941–1944 (occupation)
Soviet Union 1945–1991
Ukraine 1991–present
