Vladimir Vasilkovich

Vladimir Vasilkovich or Volodymyr Vasylkovych (Old Ruthenian: Володимерь, Володимѣръ; ) was a son of Vasilko Romanovich. He succeeded his father as the prince of Volhynia when the latter died in 1269, and was famous for numerous constructions and reconstructions of town fortifications in Volhynia.

Biography The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle described Volodymyr Vasylkovych as a tall man with curly yellow hair, beautiful appearance and shaved beard. He was reported to have avoided drinking alcohol, possessed a gentle character and was a skilled hunter.

A nephew of Daniel Romanovich, Volodymyr headed the Principality of Volhynia after the death of his father in 1269 and established his residence in Liuboml. During his rule, Volodymyr subdued the tribes of Yotvingians and engaged in wars against Lithuanians, Poles and Hungarians. He was known as a patron of religion, and gifted one of the churches in his capital 34 books with valuable decorations. Volodymyr was married to Olga, the daughter of the prince of Bryansk, and had a stepdaughter called Iziaslava.

After the prince's death, his body was put into a coffin, but remained unburied, either because his body had been discovered to be incorrupt, which could be a ground for canonization, or because his cousin Mstislav Danylovich, who became his heir, couldn't attend the funeral. The burial finally took place on 6 April 1289, 118 days after the original ceremony.

In 2012 synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate canonized Volodymyr Vasylkovych as a right-believing prince.