Khotyn (, ; , ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, it has a population of 11,124. Current population: Khotyn, first chronicled in 1001, is located on the right (southwestern) bank of the Dniester River, and is part of the historical region Bessarabia. Important architectural landmarks within the city include the Khotyn Fortress, constructed in the 13-15th centuries (new fortress started in 1325, major improvements in the 1380s and 1460s), and two 15th century constructions by Moldavia's ruler Stephen the Great: the Prince's Palace (Palatul Domnesc) and the city's clock tower. Historically, the town was part of the Principality of Moldavia (1359–1432, 1459–1538, 1541–1562, 1572–1615, 1617–1620, 1621–1673, 1674–1684, 1699–1712) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1432-1459, 1538–1541, 1562–1572, 1615–1617, 1620–1621, 1673–1674, 1684–1699). For most of the period after 1514, Moldavia was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which also ruled Khotyn directly (1711–1812). Subsequently, it was part of the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (1812–1917), Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918), Romania (1918–1940, 1941–1944), the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union (1940–1941, 1944–1991) and independent Ukraine (1991–present). Name Khotyn (; ; ; ; ) was conquered and controlled by many different states, resulting in many name changes. Other name variations include Chotyn, or Choczim (especially in Polish). History Early history: 11th–15th centuries Khotyn, located on cliffs above the Dniester, is sometimes conflated with a sound-alike locality mentioned in 1001, a minor settlement of Kievan Rus'. Archaeological excavations found that the Kievan town covered the area of some twenty hectares. It later became part of the Principality of Halych and its successor, Halych-Volhynia. The town was an important trading center due to its location by a river crossing. A Genoese trading colony was established there by the 13th century. Khotyn was first mentioned in 1310, as a residence of a catholic bishop, being held in the first half of the 14th century by the Kingdom of Poland, which intended to impose Catholicism on the local Vlach (Romanian) communities, mentioned there in the 10th-13th centuries. The first fortifications date back from this period. In 1351, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania conquered the area, only to give it three years later to the Romanians, who formed their own independent principality