Rylsk was first mentioned in a
chronicle in 1152 as one of the
Severian towns.[citation needed] It had become the seat of an
appanage principality by the end of the 12th century before coming into the hands of
Lithuanian rulers sometime in the 14th century. The
Polish king
Casimir IV made a grant of it to
Dmitry Shemyaka's son Ivan, who had settled in Lithuania. Ivan's son Vasily defected to the
Grand Duchy of Moscow, but Lithuanians held the town until 1522.
Soviet authority in Rylsk was established in November 1917. During
World War II, the town was occupied by the
German Army from October 5, 1941 to August 31, 1943.
The town does not retain many marks of antiquity. Its oldest buildings are three churches of the monastery of St. Nicholas, all erected in the mid-18th century. Some of the most prominent buildings in the town were commissioned by the Shelikhov merchants who traded with Alaska Natives in North America in the late 18th century, the most famous of whom,
Grigory Shelekhov, was born in the town. A monument was erected to his memory on the central square. The foremost of the town's churches are the Uspensky Cathedral (1811) and the Pokrovsky Cathedral (1822), both designed in a vernacular
Neoclassical idiom and furnished with very lofty belltowers.
Губернатор Курской области. Постановление №489 от 6 ноября 2008 г. «Об утверждении реестра административно-территориальных единиц населённых пунктов Курской области», в ред. Постановления №26-пг от 29 января 2013 г. «О внесении изменений и дополнений в Постановление Губернатора Курской области от 06.11.2008 №489 "Об утверждении реестра административно-территориальных единиц населённых пунктов Курской области"». Вступил в силу 6 ноября 2008 г. (Governor of Kursk Oblast. Resolution #489 of November 6, 2008 On the Adoption of the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and Inhabited Localities of Kursk Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #26-pg of January 29, 2013 On Amending and Supplementing Resolution #489 of the Governor of Kursk Oblast of November 6, 2008 "On the Adoption of the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and Inhabited Localities of Kursk Oblast". Effective as of November 6, 2008.).
Курская областная Дума. Закон №60-ЗКО от 1 декабря 2004 г. «О границах муниципальных образований Курской области», в ред. Закона №127-ЗКО от 17 декабря 2012 г. «О внесении дополнения в статью 1 Закона Курской области "О границах муниципальных образований Курской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Курская правда", №248, 18 декабря 2004 г. (Kursk Oblast Duma. Law #60-ZKO of December 1, 2004 On the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Kursk Oblast, as amended by the Law #127-ZKO of December 17, 2012 On Amending Article 1 of the Law of Kursk Oblast "On the Borders of the Municipal Formations of Kursk Oblast". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).