Like the history of the whole region, the history of Khmelnitsky goes back to ancient times. On the territory of the current administrative center of Khmelnitsky region were found settlements and household items of the Scythian period (VII-III centuries BC), settlements of the Chernyakhov culture (III-V century AD), bronze mining items, which are more than 2 thousand years old, large settlements of the early Iron Age (I century BC), as well as ancient burial mounds of VII-III centuries BC. All these unique finds and attractions of Khmelnytskyi were discovered in the micro-districts of the city.
The modern history of Khmelnitsky has about 600 years. The city originated under the name Ploskirov tentatively in the early XV century — the exact date is not known, and for the first time in the documents it is mentioned in 1493 (as Proskurov). The first building was a wooden fortress with a guard garrison, at that time about 100 people lived here. The main settlement of Ploskirov began in 1434, when the town became part of Poland. The first inhabitants chose the land on the right bank of the Southern Bug River, surrounded by swamps on other sides, and a moat was dug around the town for additional protection.
However, the small town suffered from Tatar raids, and peasant uprisings, which were repeatedly raised against the Poles, did not contribute to the prosperity of Proskurov either.
The freedom of the city in 1648-1654 during the War of Liberation led by the ataman Bogdan Khmelnitsky was defended by all the inhabitants of the city. As a result, after the war with the Turks, only a few people remained from the entire population in 1672, almost all of them were exterminated by the Turks.
Proskurov again passed to Poland in 1699 and began to be settled by Polish settlers, who formed the basis of the Catholic population of the city. Until 1795, when the city became part of Russia, Proskurov belonged to Poland,
it was alternately claimed by the Polish princes Zamoyski, including Princess Zamoyska herself — the mother of the King of Poland.
Another period of prosperity of the city occurred when it became the center of Proskurov district of Podolia province within Russia. Fairs and weekly trade took place in the city up to 14 times a year, and in 1870 the railroad was launched. The city turned into an industrial center.
Evidence of this period of prosperity were administrative buildings and mansions of the XIX-early XX centuries in the style of eclecticism, art nouveau and baroque, which today form the architectural face of the city and attract tourists. The tallest building built at that time was the building of the fire station. Now these buildings house museums, theater, city council, as well as other public institutions. Many mansions are decorated with memorial plaques in honor of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Reflection of the Soviet stage of the city’s development is also its current name — Khmelnitsky, it was given to the city in 1954 in honor of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, to whom a monument was erected here in 1993.
Khmelnitsky also had a hard time during the Second World War, when the city was captured by the Germans. A concentration camp was organized on its territory, where 65 thousand people died in 3 years. The old buildings left after the fire of 1822 were destroyed by the Germans.
That is why the oldest architectural monuments of the town, despite the 600-year history of the town, are Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, built in 1837, the building of the former real school in 1905, the city house of culture, where the first theater of the city was opened in 1892, as well as art museum in 1903.
The city’s location in the thick of military events determined its complicated fate. During its existence Khmelnitsky was often subjected to 
attacks, sieges, was conquered and subjugated, but now prosperity and well-being have returned to it. The city looks confidently into the future and welcomes guests who come here every year to admire the local nature, to see the sights of Khmelnytskyi and nearby areas, among which the ancient castle of XIV century — Medzhybozh fortress, where Bogdan Khmelnytskyi stayed more than once, stands out.
The modern city beauties are also interesting, among which one cannot but single out such unusual architectural works as the only monument to Baron Munchausen in Ukraine, a monument made of the wreckage of «SS-19» — strategic intercontinental missile, a monument to the military men who died in local conflicts in the form of a huge hand rearranging the figure of a soldier on a chessboard in the form of a planet, with the caption: «The rulers are wrong — the people suffer».