The city of memory and Jewish traces: why Uhnev remains the smallest city in Ukraine

Uhnev — a city in the Lviv region — holds a rare status for Ukraine. It is the smallest city in the country by population. Less than a thousand people live here, and it is on such a scale that the layers of history, including Jewish history, are particularly clearly visible.

Formally, Uhnev has remained a city since medieval times. It has not lost this status despite changes in borders, wars, or the Soviet period. And this is an important detail: we are not talking about a dying village, but about a city with a historical right to its name.

Geography played a decisive role. The Polish border is about three kilometers away. For centuries, this was a border area of trade, crafts, and coexistence of different communities. Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews lived here side by side, forming a complex but stable urban environment.

In the past, Uhnev was known for its shoemakers. Local craftsmen made warm boots with characteristic yellow or red trimming. They were valued for their practicality and comfort. Shoe trade connected the city with neighboring regions, including places with compact Jewish communities, where crafts and trade were part of everyday economy.

The architecture of Uhnev still looks disproportionate to its current scale. The central dominant is a 17th-century church, built in 1695 by the design of Wojciech Lenartowicz with funds from Christopher Dunin. Massive walls and towers remind of a time when the city was wealthy and strategically significant.

The Jewish history of Uhnev is a separate, painful layer. Before World War II, Jews made up a significant part of the city’s population. There was a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery, shops, and workshops. The Jewish community was integrated into city life — not as an exception, but as an integral part of it.

Today, fragments of that world remain. The ruins of the synagogue and the old cemetery are silent witnesses of the destroyed community. The Holocaust and subsequent events completely changed the demographics of Uhnev. The city survived but lost one of its key components.

That is why Uhnev is perceived not just as the smallest city in Ukraine, but as a place with a high concentration of memory. Here, on a small territory, traces of Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish history are concentrated — without pomp, without reconstructions, almost without tourists.

Such cities rarely make the news, but they allow us to understand the real scale of losses and preserved heritage. Uhnev is an example of how the history of the Jewish community of Ukraine is inscribed in a specific place, not just in archives and memorials. It is important to talk about this today — this is exactly how NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency works, bringing back into focus cities where the past is still present in the landscape and the silence of the streets.