Evidence of the early settlement in the region around Nadvirna dates back to 2000 BC. Numerous finds of
Bronze Age artifacts attest to a vibrant culture. The town was built around the Pniv castle. The
Pniv () Castle was probably built in the second half of the 16th century by the
Stolnik of
Halych (Halicz), Paweł Kuropatwa, as a residence of his family. The castle was successfully defended in 1621, in 1648, and in 1676, during the
Polish–Ottoman War (1672–76). Abandoned in the 18th century, it turned into a ruin. The town itself is first mentioned in chronicles dating back to 1589, in an act describing an attack on the inhabitants by
Tatars. In the second half of the 16th century the town received self-governing status. In the period of Halych, the town was situated on a major trading route and a taxation office was located there. The shield of the Kuropat family has been adopted for use by the town of Nadvirna. After an attack by the Tartars, the Kuropat family built a more inaccessible fortress in 1589. In 1621, the
Opryshky under the leadership of
Hrynia Kardash had their base of operations close by. In 1648 the inhabitants took part in the Cossack insurrection under
Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Soldiers from Nadvirna joined the forces of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in his drive to
Lviv. In the 17th century the town became an important centre for the building professions and also an important centre for trade. Trade from
Hungary to central Ukraine traveled through Nadvirna. In 1805, a court was set up in the town. In the 19th century the trades began to be replaced by factory manufacturing. One of the largest factories in
Galicia for the construction of farm machinery was built in 1843. These machines were demonstrated at the second world exhibition held in Vienna in 1844. In 1870 a match factory was built in the town. In 1886 deposits of oil were discovered locally. In 1893 a railway line was built to
Stanislaviv. The first train traveled the line on 21 October 1894. In the late 18th century, Count
Ignacy Cetner founded here a tobacco field, excavated local salt deposits, and invited German settlers. After
World War I and the
Polish–Ukrainian War, Nadwórna returned to Poland, where it remained until the 1939
Invasion of Poland. During
World War I, the
2nd Brigade of the Polish Legions operated in the area of Nadvirna. In the winter of 1914/1915, the brigade faced here the
Imperial Russian Army, which planned to cross the
Carpathian Mountains, and enter
Hungary. In 1929, in a nearby village of Starunia, almost complete
Woolly rhinoceros was found, preserved in
ozokerite. This unique trove, one of its kind, is now kept at
Kraków’s Nature Museum. Altogether, in 1907 – 1932, four rhinoceroses and one mammoth were found in the area of Nadvirna. In the interbellum period, the mammoth and one of the rhinoceroses were kept at the Dzieduszycki Nature Museum in
Lviv (then Lwow). After
World War II, they remained in the city, and are still kept in the now-Ukrainian museum. In June 1941, some 80 inmates of the local
NKVD prison were murdered along the Bystrytsya river, their bodies were unearthed and properly buried in July 1941. Among the victims were women and children (see
NKVD prisoner massacres). During the war, almost all of the 4500 Jewish residents of Nadvirna, men, women, and children, were murdered by Germans and by Ukrainian townspeople and police. In 1945, Polish residents of the town were forced to leave the area and the handful of survivors of the Jewish population did not return. Most of the Poles later settled in
Prudnik and
Opole. Nadvirna has a Greek-Catholic church and a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the name of the Trinity built in 1599. A Roman Catholic parish was formed in 1609. In the 16th and 17th centuries most of the population of 2233 was illiterate. In the 18th century a school was built to serve 100 students using a German and a Jewish curriculum. == Population ==