The earliest recorded mention of Buchach is in 1397, almost fifty years after Galicia was conquered by Poland. It was during this time that the area experienced a large influx of Polish, Jewish and Armenian settlers. Buchach in particular became home to a large Jewish community, and is thus considered to be a shtetl.
Its founders were leading Polish aristocrats, and among its early settlers were Jews, coming to inhabit a predominantly Ukrainian rural milieu. By way of contrast with the mainly Slavic peasant populations, the Jewish settlers in the lands of the eastern Galicia were townspeople and skilled craftsmen. Among them were individuals experienced in trade and finance. Polish kings and princes welcomed the contribution of Jews to the colonization of their eastern realms, and encouraged them to settle and offered them protection. With the unification of Poland and Lithuania in 1569, the newly united kingdom extended from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Owing to its importance as a market town, Buchach had become a prominent trading centre linking the Poland and the Ottoman Empire.
During Cossack uprisings of the mid-17th century Buchach successfully defended itself, with Jews joining in the defence of the town. Large numbers of Jewish refugees from the areas laid waste by Bohdan Khmelnytsky and his warring Cossacks sought sanctuary in Buchach. In 1672 and again in 1675 the town was captured by the Ottoman Turks. Under the leadership of the organized Jewish community, the Kehila, Jews joined with the Poles in its defence. After the war, Treaty of Buchach was signed and Podolia was ceded by Poland to Ottoman Empire in 1672.
In 1772, Galicia was annexed by Austria as part of the First Partition of Poland.
Industry came to Buchach around the end of the 19th century. Among the small-scale industries there included a brickwork, and candle and soap factory, (modern) flour mills, a textile plant, and a necktie factory. The town also boasted a
