Dubno is the regional centre in Rivne region (Ukraine) which is situated on the banks of the Ikva River, at the crossroads of the Kyiv — L'viv and TernopiT — Brest motorways. There is a railway branchline, Zdolbuniv — L'viv near the town.
Written chronicles mention the town Dubno for the first time in 1100 AD. The historical border of the town was shaped in the XV—XVIII centuries. The remnants of Middle-age town fortifications have survived until this day, showing themselves in certain places in western and northern directions. The former road from Lutsk, which stretches from the suburd of Zabrama into the modem street of Danila Galitskogo, was partition off by the Lutsk Brama (Lutsk Gate) in the XVI century. The Lutsk Brama is well preserved even today, and now is partly re-built.
The eastern border of Dubno was a castle. It is of historical construction from the XVII—XIX centuries, but was originally shaped at the end of XV c. From the north, the town was protected by the XVII—XVIII cc monastery, and from the north-west direction by the XVII century Bemandin monastery. The island settlements of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Save (Saviour?) Transfiguration and also the Pidbortsy and Strakliv monasteries were situated near the town's fortifications. The former suburbs of Zabrama, Vygnanka, Sourmychy, Pidbortsy, Strakliv have joined with town now.
The dominant architecture of Dubno is made up mostly of religious buildings and the Castle, which is joined now to the State Historical and Cultural Reserve of the town, which was founded in June of 1993 by the decree of the cabinet of ministers of the Ukraine. Worthy of mention are the parallel circuits of underground communication trenches, which intersect the central part of the town.
Archeological investigations, which were made in the town and suburbs, principally had an acquaintance aspect. They revealed settlements from the early and late bronze era, the Chemyakhivska culture, and the culture of the spherical amphora. In the Dubno area have been found Roman coins from the II century AD.
The archeological excavations were developed by scientists, M. Ostrowski, M. Smishko, I. Sveshnikoff, V. Seledets, and V. Gupalo.
In the first part of the XVII century, Dubno was destroyed by the Baty-khan horde. In the second part of the XVII century Dubno belonged to the Galitsko-Volynske princedom.
Ancient Dubno is a town on a crossroad of epochs, at an intersection of historical and geographical events. Every famous event, which took place in Eastern Europe, didn't avoid Dubno. Ukrainian hetmans, Russian emperors, Polish kings and leaders of Cossack-peasants rebels, Italian architects, famous writers such as Taras Shevchenko and Onore de Balsack, composer Mykola Lysenko and commander Mikhail Kutuzov have all visited this town.
At the end of the XVIII century there were wide known contract fairs in Dubno. In the Lubomirski Palace, which is a part of the Dubno castle was a Polish theatre conducted by Woicech Boguslawski together with a very popular actor of that time, Kazimerz Owsinski.
Adornments to the town are the Middle Ages synagogue and Roman-Catholic Cathedral. There are some civil buildings from the XVIII century and the first part of XX century in Dubno.
In the Middle Ages, Dubno was one of the largest cultural and economic centres in the Volyn region. In Dubno were living and working, Melentiy Smotricki, Kasyan Sakovych, Iov Zalizo (Pochaiv's). In Dubno also lived the Superior of the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery and representative of the first Ukrainian poets, Father Vitaliy. The famous handwritten Gospel by the celibate priest Arseniy was also created in Dubno. It is now located in the Russian State Library in Moscow.
The end of the second Millennium was commemorated by the 900th anniversary of Dubno and by the International Jubilee Science Theoretical Conference "Dubno and World".
In the third millennium, Dubno joins its remembrance of its heroic past with the hope of its renovation and a happy future.