Vinnytsia is a city in the central part of Ukraine, the center of Vinnytsia region. Located on the banks of the Southern Bug. The small rivers Tyazhilivka, Vinnychka and Vyshenka flow through the city.

The population of the city in 2013 was more than 370 thousand people. Local residents are called Vinnytsia. People call Vinnytsia Venice.

These lands were inhabited since ancient times. Settlements of the Scythian and Old Russian times were discovered on the current territory of the city. In the 9th century, the Ulychi and Tyver tribes, which were part of Kyivan Rus, settled here. Later, this region passed to the Principality of Galicia-Volyn.

After the Mongol-Tatar invasion, life left the banks of the Southern Bug for a while. After the victory of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd over the Tatars in 1362, Podillia came under the rule of the Lithuanian principality. The nephews of Prince Olgerd, Fedor and Kostyantyn Koryatovych, began to build fortress cities on these lands. Vinnytsia was among them.

Of the many versions explaining the name of the city, the most likely are those based on the words: "vinnitsa" - a distillery where wine beer was brewed, and "wine" in Old Slavonic - dowry, dowry, received by the Koriatovychs. And according to another version, the name of the city comes from the Vinnytsia River.

Vinnytsia officially became a city in the 15th century, at the same time Magdeburg law was obtained. In 1569, the city became part of Poland, and in 1598 it became the center of the Bratslav Voivodeship. After the second partition of Poland (1793), Podillia and Bratslav Region went to Russia and formed the Podilska Province. Vinnytsia became a provincial city, but was later transferred to the category of a district city.

An important stimulus for the development of Vinnytsia was the construction of the Kyiv-Balta-Odesa railway near the city in 1870. Since 1914, Vinnytsia has been the administrative center of Podilsk province.

During the Civil War, power in the city changed hands several times. Soviet power was finally established in Vinnytsia in 1920.

The "calling card" of the city is the Arch in Tspkiv. Gorky and Pozhezhna Kalancha in the park named after Kozytskyi Among other attractions of the city is the M.I. Manor Museum. Pirogov, the House of A. A. Brusylov, the House-Museum of M. M. Kotsyubynskyi, a complex of religious and fortification buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries. Not far from the modern city center is the old Jewish quarter - Yeerusalymka. The ruins of Hitler's secret residence - "Werewolf" became a reminder of the events of the Second World War.

The names of famous people are connected with Vinnytsia: Mykola Ivanovich Pirogov (surgeon and anatomist), Petro Ilyich Tchaikovsky (composer), Mykola Oleksandrovich Shchors (red commander) and others.

Vinnytsia residents celebrate City Day in September. Usually, the celebrations begin with prayers in the city's churches and the laying of flowers at the Glory Memorial in Kozytskyi Square.

The coat of arms of the city was approved on May 16, 1993. On a red background, a silver cross, the lower part of which is divided and turns into two hooks, below it are crossed curved sabers. In the large coat of arms, an Old Lithuanian warrior and a Cossack act as shield bearers.

The flag of Vinnytsia was approved by the decision of the city council No. 28 of May 16, 1993 (according to the Vinnytsia website - May 28, 1993). The author of the flag project is Yu. Legun. It is a square canvas of red color. In the center are the elements of the city coat of arms. The canvas has a border of right triangles on three sides. The width of the border is 1/8 of the width of the flag. The red color symbolizes the bravery, courage and fearlessness of the city's residents in the fight against invaders; white color - purity of thoughts.