It is assumed that the name is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*věno" (вѣно), meaning "a bride price."

This name can be explained by the fact that Vinnytsia and the surrounding land were captured by Lithuanian Duke Algirdas in the 14th century, and then, they were given to his nephews.

English sources used the Russian-derived Vinnitsa from the early 19th century until the 1990s and Winnica or Winnicza (from Polish) before that, reflecting the ultimate political authorities of those respective eras.

[7][8] A long-lasting warm summer with a sufficient quantity of moisture and a comparatively short winter is characteristic of Vinnytsia.

[12] Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1363–1569 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569–1672 Ottoman Empire 1672–1699 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1699–1793 Russian Empire 1793–1917 Russian Republic 1917 Various Ukrainian states 1917–1920 Soviet Ukraine 1920–1922 Soviet Union 1922–1991 (Occupied by Nazi Germany between 1941–1944) Ukraine 1991–present Vinnytsia has been an important trade and political center since the fourteenth century, when Fyodor Koriatovych, the nephew of the Lithuanian Duke Algirdas, built a fortress (1363) against Tatar raiders on the banks of the Southern Bug.

The original settlement was built and populated by Aleksander Hrehorovicz Jelec, a hetman under Lithuanian Prince Švitrigaila.

In the 15th century, Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon granted Vinnytsia Magdeburg city rights.

In February 1651, during the defense of the city, Ivan Bohun's Cossack regiment defeated a 20,000-strong Polish army.

The 1st Infantry Regiment of the Polish Crown Army was stationed in the city in 1788 before it was relocated to Piotrków Trybunalski.

On 16 May 1920, a meeting was held in Vinnytsia between the heads of Ukraine and Poland, Symon Petliura and Józef Piłsudski.

While Vinnytsia had a pre-war Jewish population of over 34,000, only 17,000 of these Jews remained, with the rest of them successfully being evacuated to the interior of the Soviet Union beforehand.

[18] Nazi atrocities were committed in and near Vinnytsia by Einsatzgruppe C. In 1942 a large part of the Jewish quarter of Yerusalimka was destroyed by Germans.

[20] Hitler's accommodation consisted of a log cabin built around a private courtyard with its own concrete bunker.

[21] The complex included about 20 other log buildings, a power station, gardens, wells, three bunkers, a swimming pool, and wire and defensive positions.

[25][26] After the end of World War II, Vinnytsia was the home for major Soviet Air Forces base, including an airfield, a hospital, arsenals, and other military installations.

[30][31] On 12 October 2022, a pilot Vadym Voroshylov (call sign Karaia) destroyed 5 "Shahed 136" drones near Vinnytsia.

Due to damage to the plane, Vadym ejected in Vinnytsia oblast, having previously diverted the fighter jet from the settlement.

[55] This sector is represented, in particular, by the following companies: Gemicle, Playtika,[56] Onseo,[57] EPAM Ukraine,[58] Infopulse, Avenga, Ajax System, Sigma Software, Ciklum, N-iX, RIA Internet Group.

The main office of LetyShops,[59] the largest cashback service in Ukraine, the leader in this market segment, is located in the city.

Vinnytsia is considered the long-time political base for Ukrainian oligarch and former President Petro Poroshenko.

There are numerous monuments (soldiers in Afghanistan, Sich Riflemen, killed police officers, victims of NKVD's purge), and the Alley of outstanding countrymen are objects of leisure and recreation: a summer theater, a stadium, an ice club, a city planetarium, a fountain, a chess club, Mini-Vinnytsia open air museum, numerous attractions and gaming machines.

For more than 70 years of its history, the Central Park has always been a place of celebrations and recreation for the residents and for holding local/municipal events and holidays.

For example, trains to Przemyśl (Poland) and from Sofia (Bulgaria), Chisinau (Moldova), Bratislava (Slovakia), Belgrade (Serbia), Budapest (Hungary) transit through Vinnytsia.

[69] Since 2015, "Vinnytsia Transport Company" began manufacturing VinWay trams based on Tatra KT4SU wagons and VinLine trolleybuses.

Today, the hospital is a multidisciplinary, highly specialised, curative and preventive health care institution, whose mandate is to provide medical assistance to patients in 22 specialized areas.

During the Soviet Union, "Niva" from Vinnytsia was on good terms, not among the best, but it showed decent results against the background of other clubs of the Ukrainian SSR.

2 leading Ukrainian teams are registered here: "Hockey Club Olympia-Kolos-Sequoia" (HC OKS-SHVSM) [76] and "Dynamo-ShVSM-VDPU".

This men's basketball team twice won silver medals and once - bronze of the higher league of the championship of Ukraine in 2018.