The Mystery of the First Written Mention of Uman

When we imagine the first written mention of an ancient city, we usually picture grand royal charters or solemn decrees. But with Uman, everything began in a far more captivating way—with a roaring court scandal!

According to official records, the name of our city first appeared on paper on August 10, 1616, in the documents of the Lublin Tribunal. And it was a lawsuit regarding... a secret escape of peasants.

A few years prior, the nobleman Walenty Aleksander Kalinowski erected a fortified castle on the border with the Wild Fields and declared the creation of a safe town, promising protection and privileges to its settlers. Rumors spread instantly, and the peasants belonging to the neighboring nobleman Branicki didn't hesitate—they simply showed a clean pair of heels and fled to the new castle.

The outraged landlord took the matter to court, demanding the return of the runaways, and it was in these very legal papers that officials first penned the name of the city.

Interestingly, in the documents of that period, the city was recorded as Human—with the initial letter "H" (Г). For the Ukrainian language and local dialects, such a prothetic "h" sound was entirely natural, so for a long time in ancient sources and folk songs, the city was known by that very name, until the familiar form without the initial letter eventually took root.

This ancient legal document amazingly captures the very character of our city from the earliest days of its existence.

The official history of Uman began not with a dry command from above, but with a real-life moment—the human drive for freedom and safety. Even then, over 400 years ago, Human acted as a true magnet for those who were not afraid to take risks for a better fate, and the very dispute over the runaways only confirms how rapidly this young borderland town grew and gathered strength.

Visit Uman to walk the streets of a city whose story began with such bold steps!