Middle Ages Ovruch originated as an important town of
Kievan Rus', first mentioned as
Vruchiy in 977. Later after the sack of
Iskorosten it became the capital city of the
Derevlians. Saint
Hyacinth of Poland evangelized in the town between 1222 and 1234. In 1483,
Crimean Tatars destroyed the settlement.
Early modern period From the 16th century the town was governed by
starosts, and it flourished and became a subregional center. According to the
Treaty of Lublin (1569), Owrucz passed to
Poland within the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The town further blossomed as the seat of county
sejmiks. In 1641, Polish King
Władysław IV Vasa granted Owrucz city rights. It was a
royal city of Poland. After the
Second Partition of Poland in 1793 it was annexed by the
Russian Empire. In 1881, it had a population of 5,941.
Modern era The city suffered from the man-made famine
Holodomor of 1932-1933. In 2008, the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide published the National Book of Memory of the Victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine. Zhytomyr region - Zhytomyr. According to historical records, more than 1517 people died during Holodomor in 1932-1933. The command of the Soviet
15th Rifle Corps was based in Ovruch shortly before the Soviet
invasion of Poland at the start of
World War II in September 1939. The 15th Rifle Corps invaded towards
Dawidgródek,
Kamień Koszyrski and
Włodawa.
Mordechai Schlein, a Jewish-Belarusian partisan, blew up a restaurant with about 200 German officers in it. During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, on March 6, at 2:32 a.m., enemy forces launched 3 bomb attacks on the residential sector of Ovruch. A total of 45 private houses were damaged, 5 of which were completely destroyed. There was also significant damage to 43 apartments in a multi-storey building, the premises of a children's and youth art center, a music school and a gym. Around 20:30, Russian troops conducted 6 more air strikes. Three civilians were killed. As a result, the building of the Ovruch Employment Center was completely destroyed. Also damaged were the premises of the Ovruch City Hospital, the Centers for administrative services, apartments in 8 multi-storey buildings, about 5 private houses, one of which was completely destroyed, and 2 more are in disrepair. ==Architecture==