Balta

Balta stands on the Kodyma River in the borderlands of Podolia. For much of its history the river divided two settlements: Ottoman Balta on one bank and Józefgród, belonging to the Polish Crown, on the other. The frontier made the crossing a meeting place for merchants and a point of friction between rival powers. In 1768 Russian troops pursuing Polish confederates crossed the frontier and burned Balta. The incident helped bring on war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Józefgród received a town charter in 1776; by the end of the century both banks had come under Russian rule, and the settlements were united in 1797.