Volyn province is one of the administrative units in the south-west of the Russian Empire. The province was occupied by the territory of the historical region of Volyn. Until the end of the 18th century, the center was Izyaslav, after which the status passed for nine years to Novograd-Volynsky. Already in 1804, the title of the center of the Volyn province was assigned to Zhytomyr.
General information and history of the province
The area of the Volyn province occupied more than seventy thousand square kilometers, about three and a half million people lived here. Volyn (Zhytomyr) province was located near the border of the state with the Austrian Empire. The southern territories of the region were adjacent to the Carpathian mountains. The local landscape in the past and today is mainly elevations, in contrast to the north of the province.
Edge nature
The northern lands of the Volyn province are occupied by swamps and sandstones, the middle territories are made up of loam and sandy loamy soils with rocky areas, and the southern lands are occupied by chernozem. A large territory of the region is also occupied by woodland, especially the northern region. Volyn province is famous for its rivers, most of which flow into the Pripyat River. The exception in this case is the Western Bug and the Dnieper tributary - Teterev. As navigable places it was possible to use the waters of the Western Bug, Goryn and Styr.
Household and attractions
Most of the population was engaged in agriculture. Volyn province specialized mainly in the cultivation of winter rye and wheat, barley, buckwheat and oats, millet and peas, potatoes, and sugar beets. In addition, the cultivation of industrial crops — tobacco and hops — was widespread. The southern territories were also a place for the development of garden crops - grapes, apricots and peaches. The woodland was great for breeding bees and selling honey and wax. Cattle breeding included raising horses, sheep, pigs and cows. Basically, significant volumes of the obtained wool were supplied to the domestic market of the Russian Empire, and some went for sale to Austrian territories. Volyn province was also the site of the opening and development of sugar, sawmills and other industrial facilities.
Among the attractions should be noted the famous Pochaev Lavra - a place of pilgrimage for the Orthodox, as well as the monastery famous in the region. In addition, the city of Radivilov was known.