Romen

Romen stands beside the river from which it takes its name, in the Sula basin of left-bank Ukraine. It is recorded in 1096, when the fortified settlements of Kyivan Rus' faced the steppe to the south. Over the centuries the town passed through Mongol, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian spheres of rule. By 1638 it had about six thousand inhabitants, making it a major settlement of its region. Its position amid the river valleys helped sustain the market and the communities that grew around it. In 1781 Empress Catherine II granted the town a charter.