| Vilshana | |
| Native Name: | Вільшана |
| Native Name Lang: | uk |
| Settlement Type: | Rural settlement |
| Pushpin Map: | Ukraine Cherkasy Oblast#Ukraine |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Vilshana in Ukraine |
| Coordinates: | 49.2097°N 31.2089°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Oblast |
| Subdivision Type2: | Raion |
| Subdivision Name2: | Zvenyhorodka Raion |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1598 |
| Leader Title: | Town Head |
| Leader Name: | Volodymyr Yarovyi |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation M: | 231 |
| Population Total: | 2919 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Timezone Dst: | EEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +3 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 19523 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | +380 4734 |
| Website: | http://rada.gov.ua/ |
Vilshana (Ukrainian: Вільшана) is a rural settlement in Zvenyhorodka Raion, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vilshana settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.[1] Population:
Archeological excavations have demonstrated that the area of Vilshana was inhabited over 5,000 years ago. By around the second-to-fifth century CE, it was inhabited by Slavs. It became part of the Kievan Rus', near its southern border.
Vilshana is first mentioned in written sources in 1598 as the town (mistechko) of Olshana.
From 1923 to 1931, Vilshana served as the administrative center of . As a result of the Holodomor, a manmade famine in Soviet Ukraine in 1932–1933, 82 people are confirmed to have died in Vilshana. In 1935, Vilshana again became the administrative center of the re-established Vilshana Raion. During World War II, Vilshana was occupied by Nazi Germany between 28 July 1941 and 5 February 1944. In 1959, Vilshana Raion was again abolished. From 1965 onward, Vilshana was designated an urban-type settlement.[2]
Until 18 July 2020, Vilshana belonged to Horodyshche Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Cherkasy Oblast to four. The area of Horodyshche Raion was split between Cherkasy and Zvenyhorodka Raions, with Vilshana being transferred to Zvenyhorodka Raion.[3] [4] On 26 January 2024, a new law entered into force which abolished the status of urban-type settlements in Ukraine, so Vilshana became a rural settlement.[5]
According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, Vilshana had a population of 3,653 people, predominantly ethnic Ukrainians.[2]