Berazino
Encyclopedia
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The population is 13,300 (1998 census).
History
Although there are no documented points to determine the original founding date of the settlement on the territory of the present Berazino, it is believed that it originated as a trading post on the River Berezina which was part of the historic route "from Varyags to Greeks" of the Kievan Rus. The first chronicles of a settlement date from 1501, which is believed to be the present date of its founding.During the middle of the 16th century, the city belonged to one of the mightiest dynasties of the Great Duchy of Lithuania - the Sapieha Family, who controlled many other territories in Central Belarus. In 1641 the Duke Kazimierz Leon Sapieha
Kazimierz Leon Sapieha
Kazimierz Leon Sapieha was a nobleman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Royal Secretary and Grand Writer of Lithuania from 1631, Court Marshal of Lithuania from 1637, Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania from 1645.Son of Lew Sapieha. Studied abroad. Sejm...
built a wooden Catholic Church which became one of the central attractions of the town. In the course of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
The Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, also called Thirteen Years' War, First Northern War, War for Ukraine was the last major conflict between Tsardom of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1655 and 1660, the Second Northern War was also fought in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,...
the city was captured by Russian-Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
forces in 1655, but was taken away from them and in 1661 became part of the Minsk Voivodeship
Minsk Voivodeship
Minsk Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413 and later in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth till the partitions of the Commonwealth in 1795...
.
During the Northern War in 1708, upon Charles XII's attempt to storm into the Rzecz Pospolita, releasing the Russian/Rzecz Pospolita blockade in neighbouring Barysaw, the Swedish king used Berazino to cross the Berezina River instead, however the conquest ended with the Battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
further south.
In 1793 the town was annexed by Imperial Russia as part of the Second Partition of Poland
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
. There are different versions of who owned the town after the Sapieha Family. The most logical version by berezino.net is that Sapieha owned the town until partition took place in 1793, and Berezino was granted by emperess Ekaterina II to Ludwik Count Tyszkiewicz. From him, the Berezino estate went to his daughter Anna Tyszkiewicz (married 1st time Potocka, 2nd time Wasowicz.) Anna Tyszkiewicz-Potocka-Wasowicz should be remembered in Berezino particularly well since she resuscitated the Roman Catholic Church in 1803, and built the Palace well before 1850. She tried to revive the Berezino region economically by starting a carpet factory in Horenichi village, but the investment didn't survive for long. The town was under French/Polish command in 1812 during Napoleon's Eastern Campaign, where his failed advance on Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
was defeated fully by the forces of General Barclay de Tolly in early 1813. The town was in Potocki family possession well until June 1920, when the Bolshevik Red Army attacked Poland and subsequent peace treaty changed the Soviet-Polish borders as the place become part of Soviet territory. Last legal owner was Antoni-Ludwik Potocki.
During the latter half of the 19th century, the town profited from its geographical position and in 1897 was noted to have 4871 residents, of which 3377 were Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. By the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it became a large river port which loaded goods (mostly salt and timber) and shipped them down the river to the Baltic Ports. Also the liquor and alcohol industry began to be developed, including the Potocki's Vodka Distillry (est. 1893). It is considered the brilliant investment by Potocki family---to date, the most profitable enterprise, supplying much of the town budget and tax revenues.
In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, the town changed hands several times, including German and Polish armies during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
and the Polish-Bolshevik War. Finally on June 7, 1920 Berazino became part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. From June 17, 1924 as a separate raion centre in the Barysaw District and in June 1927 - Minsk District. Eventually the town grew, and on 15 February 1938 became part of the Mogilev Province
Mogilev Province
Mogilev Province or Mahiloŭ Province may refer to one of the following*Mahilyow Voblast of Belarus or Byelorussian SSR*Mogilev Guberniya of Russian Empire...
. During that time, mass industrialisation took place, and the position of the river port allowed a development of shipbuilding, wheel, textile and liquor factories, as well as smaller workshops for automobiles and wood fabrics. The population also rose from 2,968 in 1930 to 4,800 in 1939.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the city was occupied by Nazi Germany, which completely changed the town's make-up by killing all Jews, and was liberated by the 2nd Byelorussian Front on 3rd of July 1944 during operation "Bagration".
In September of that year the town became part of the Berazino raion of Minsk Province
Minsk Province
Minsk Province may refer to:* Minsk Province of Belarus*Minsk Governorate , of Russian Empire...
, and on July 7, 1968 became a city. Presently, the town occupies an area of 1.9 square kilometres and its population is 13.3 thousand people (1998).
Industry
All of Berazino's products are sold abroad and in Belarus; the most notable production plants are:- Crystal raw alcohol and wine materials
- Madikor construction material fabric
- Timber production plant Berezinsky leskhoz
- Dairy plant Berezinsky Syrodelny Zavod with famous cheeses and bifidum bacteria drinks
- Textile fabric Berzka
In addition, there are a few other factories. including mineral water bottling, several bakeries and smaller local fabrics.
Education and culture
The city has three schools, one of which specializes in future pedagogical training. In addition there is what is known as a Centre of intellectual development, formally a school specializing in Physics and Mathematics: the centre focuses on developing youth talent, and helps guide the youth towards the correct institute for higher education in main urban centres of Belarus.The central house of culture is the main point which also groups 22 rural points, altogether comprising 32 libraries, arts and music schools.
The town is the birthplace of personages such as the physicist Alexandr Borisovich and the Israeli Hebrew actress Hanna Rovina
Hanna Rovina
Hanna Rovina , written also Hannah, Hana, or Chana Rovina or Robina, Israeli actress, is recognised as the original "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre".-Biography:Born in Belarus in the Russian Empire, she originally trained as a kindergarten teacher, at a course for...
.
Health and welfare
The city has a central hospital with 4 additional local clinics and 26 rural health centres. Presently, there are 55 doctors and 243 nurses.Athletically oriented, the city has 22 gymnasiums, 10 football fields, two stadiums, three archeries and one pool. Many famous athletes are natives of Berazino, including Georgy Zhukovsky, Belarusian champion and part of the national team for waterpolo, Nikolay Khokol, world champion for rowing, and Valentina Sakhonchik, multiple champion of the USSR for velosports.
Attractions
In total there are 110 memorials compromising sculptures, monuments and plaques. 68 buildings are deemed as architectural heritage, including the famous House of Duke Pototsky, which is very much neglected by the government. A few decades more without restoration services, the building will surely collapse. The original wooden Roman Catholic Church, founded by L. Sapieha in 1641, and upgraded by countess Anna Potocka-Wasowicz in 1802, burnt down in a huge town fire in 1914.The Berazino region also sports huge hunting and fishing resources.
People from Berazino
- Alexander ParvusAlexander ParvusAlexander Lvovich Parvus , born Israel Lazarevich Gelfand , was a Marxist theoretician, a Russian revolutionary, and a controversial activist in the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
, Russian revolutionary - Hanna RovinaHanna RovinaHanna Rovina , written also Hannah, Hana, or Chana Rovina or Robina, Israeli actress, is recognised as the original "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre".-Biography:Born in Belarus in the Russian Empire, she originally trained as a kindergarten teacher, at a course for...
, Israeli actress - Stanislaw SzostakStanislaw SzostakStanislaw Szostak was a colonel of the Polish Armoured Corps.He was born in Berazino, today's Belarus, the son of Władysław and Maria Nieciejowska of Hrynica. He was injured in a car accident and died in 1961...
, Polish military commander
External links
- Unofficial page of Berezino Town - full source of the city (pics, religions, history, culture)
- City Portal
- Photos on Radzima.org
- ShtetlShtetlA shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
s of Belarus. Berezino, Borisov uyezd, Minsk gubernia. Also known as Berezin