Mozyr is a city in the Gomel region of Belarus. The administrative
center of the Mozyr region. The population is 105,321 people (as of
January 1, 2023).
It is located on a hilly area within the Mozyr
ridge. The city is located 133 km west of Gomel and 285 km southeast of
Minsk, 9 km is the satellite town of Kalinkovichi.
The largest
port in Belarus, Pkhov, on the Pripyat River, is located on the
territory of the settlement. The area of Mozyr is 4418 hectares.
The architectural and planning system of the city is determined by the
complex terrain (the Pripyat River, many ravines). The cultural,
political, historical center of Mozyr - Lenin Square - is located on the
banks of the Pripyat. Sovetskaya Street runs along the river,
perpendicular to which other streets rise deep into the city along the
channels and slopes of ravines.
The memorial complex "Mound of Glory" was opened in 1967. The “Mound
of Glory” is a multi-composition structure: a 45-meter stele, a cube on
a granite pedestal with a howitzer of the 1938 model, the burial place
of the soldiers of the Soviet army and partisans of the Polessky
partisan formation, who died during the liberation of Mozyr in 1944.
Monument to Vera Zakharovna Khoruzhey.
Castle Hill.
St. Michael's
Church (founded in 1645 as a Bernardine monastery).
Church of St.
Michael the Archangel, founded in 1743.
New Apostolic Church (opened
on August 23, 1997 and located on Ulyanovsk street opposite school No.
14).
St. Nicholas Church.
St. George's Church (burned down by
vandals in 2006. A new stone church was built on this site).
The
building of the former children's hospital.
Former city mansion, st.
Ryzhkova, 11 — Sign "Historical and cultural value" Historical and
cultural value of the Republic of Belarus, code 312Г000861
Commemorative signs
Artillery gun. In the city center in a park area
on the Pripyat embankment, a self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery
mount of 37 caliber was installed. This is a reminder of the feat of the
anti-aircraft gunners of the 546th anti-aircraft artillery regiment
Memorial sign to the victims of Chernobyl (opposite the district
executive committee)
Memorial plaque in honor of I. D. Vetrov
Lost Legacy
Mozyr castle
Often the name of the city is explained from the ethnonym Mazury, but
the name Mozyr appeared much earlier than the ethnonym. This
contradiction removes the explanation of the name from the Finno-Ugric
term mosar - “swamp; swampy lowland, overgrown with grass, bushes.
The name of the city can also be associated with the Turkic-Iranian
words mozra - village, farm, settlements; mozor, mazar - grave, hill;
Mozhary is an area with hills, hills, which corresponds to the very
dissected relief of Mozyr and its environs.
The coat of arms and the flag created today as the official symbol of the city of Mozyr were approved by the decision of the XII session of the City Council of Deputies dated March 27, 2001 No. 58. Registered in the Heraldic Matrikul of the Republic of Belarus on May 18, 2001 No. 61.
Mozyr is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. It was first mentioned
in written sources in 1155, when the Prince of Kiev Yuri Dolgoruky
handed it over to the Novgorod-Seversky prince Svyatoslav Olgovich. It
was part of the Kyiv (until 1161), Chernigov and Turov principalities
(since 1161). In 1240-41 Mozyr was ravaged by the Tatars.
From
the middle of the XIV century, as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,
from 1569 - the Commonwealth. Since 1566 - the center of the Mozyr povet
(county) of the Kyiv province (and since 1569 - the Minsk province). In
1577 Mozyr received Magdeburg rights. Privilei Mozyr is in the National
Historical Archive of Belarus.
As a result of a fire at the
beginning of the 17th century, the Mozyr castle and part of the city
burned down. In this regard, in 1609-1613. decrees were adopted,
according to which the inhabitants were ordered to rebuild the castle
and city squares. Time after time, the Mozyrs rose up against the gentry
and the administration of the Commonwealth, in particular during the
Mozyr uprising of 1615. In 1648, the Mozyr land joined the Khmelnytsky
uprising. After the re-occupation of Mozyr in 1649, the Lithuanian army,
led by hetman Janusz Radziwill, staged a massacre of the population in
the city, exactly as in Turov, Rechitsa, Bobruisk and Pinsk.
Mozyr received city status in 1756. After the second partition of the
Commonwealth (1793), Mozyr became part of the Russian Empire, becoming
the center of the Mozyr district of the Minsk province. In 1916-1917,
Mozyr housed the headquarters of a special-purpose river flotilla, whose
combat boats controlled the Pripyat basin and prevented the advance of
German troops deep into the territory of the Russian Empire.
In
December 1917, Soviet power was established in Mozyr. From February to
December 1918 the city was occupied by German troops. From December 1918
to March 1920, the city was part of the Ukrainian People's Republic,
being the provincial center of the Polesye district. From March 5 to
June 29, 1920 Mozyr was briefly occupied by Polish troops.
Since
1924 Mozyr has been a district center. In 1926-1930, 1935-1938 Mozyr was
the center of the Mozyr district of the Byelorussian SSR, from 1938 to
1954 it was the center of the Polessye region of the Byelorussian SSR.
In 1954, Mozyr and the Mozyr region became part of the Gomel region.
During the Great Patriotic War
During the Great Patriotic War,
Mozyr was occupied by German troops from August 22, 1941 to January 14,
1944. Released during the Kalinkovichi-Mozyr operation by the troops of
the 61st Army of the Belorussian Front under the command of K.K.
Rokossovsky. The Mozyr partisan brigade, led by Alexander Lukich
Zhilsky, participated in the liberation of the city.
By order of the
Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the honorary name "Mozyr" was given to:
55 rifle division;
415 rifle division;
3 Guards Cavalry Divisions;
4th Guards Cavalry Division;
14 Guards Cavalry Division;
15th
Guards Cavalry Division;
17th Guards Cavalry Division;
1816
self-propelled artillery regiment;
6 breakthrough artillery
divisions;
145th Guards Anti-tank Artillery Regiment;
6 Guards
Mortar Regiment;
7 Guards Mortar Regiment;
810 to a separate
reconnaissance artillery battalion;
20 separate flamethrower
battalion;
344 engineering battalion;
234th Fighter Aviation
Division;
79th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment;
519 Fighter
Aviation Regiment.
The Jews, who before the war made up 36.09% of
the total population of Mozyr, were almost all killed by the Nazis in
the Mozyr ghetto.
With the advent of the invaders, Vasily
Ivanovich Kritsky, one of the leaders of the anti-Nazi underground, was
appointed burgomaster of Mozyr. Kritsky and the allies, who had taken
positions in the city government, were arrested in August 1942 and shot.
As part of the Republic of Belarus
On June 10, 2019, Mozyr took
over the torch relay of the II European Games.
For the high
performance achieved during the republican review of the sanitary
condition and improvement of settlements of the Republic of Belarus in
2021, Mozyr was recognized as the winner in the II category (a city with
a population of more than 50 thousand people) together with the city of
Bobruisk.
For the high performance achieved during the republican
review of the sanitary condition and improvement of settlements of the
Republic of Belarus in 2022, Mozyr was again recognized as the winner in
the II category (a city with a population of more than 50 thousand
people) together with the city of Bobruisk.
The city has enterprises of the oil refining, chemical and
petrochemical industries, as well as machine-building, woodworking and
food industries.
Joint-Stock Company "Mozyr Oil Refinery"
produces motor gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, bitumen, paraffin,
sulfur, sulfuric acid. The enterprise operates both on Russian and
Belarusian oil.
More than 22 billion tons are explored reserves
of rock salt in the republic (including the Mozyr rock salt deposit -
600 million tons). On the basis of the Mozyr deposit, the largest
production facility in the country was created - the open joint-stock
company Mozyrsalt, which produces edible salt (without additives,
iodized, fluorinated, iodized-fluorinated, preventive).
The Mozyr
Machine-Building Plant (part of the MTZ holding), the Belaruskabel cable
plant, and the Mozyrselmash plant (manufacturer of heating equipment)
operate.
A variety of printed products are produced by the Mozyr
enlarged printing house.
JSC "Mozyr distillery" (previously -
fodder yeast plant and plant "Ethanol").
Woodworking association
"Mozyrdrev".
In 1944, a sewing workshop was formed, later a
factory, and now - OAO Mozyr Sewing Factory Nadex. There was a knitting
company "Slavyanka", which produces children's clothing, but was closed
in 2011 due to bankruptcy.
Mozyr Brewery, founded in 1885,
produces sbiten, mead, kvass and other soft drinks.
The fuel and
energy industry is represented by the Mozyr CHPP. The Druzhba oil
pipeline was laid not far from the city.
In 2014, the Mozyr
Woodworking Plant for the production of wood-based panels was launched.
In 2014, industrial organizations of the region produced products
(works, services) in actual prices in the amount of 7.2 trillion rubles,
produced consumer goods in the amount of 462.2 billion rubles.