Volozhin is a city in the Minsk region of Belarus. The administrative
center of the Volozhinsky district. It is located 76 km northwest of
Minsk, on the Minsk-Grodno highway, on the Volozhinka River. According
to written sources, it has been known since the 14th century as a small
settlement that belonged to the Monvids, Vereiskys, Gashtolds, Slushki,
Radziwills, Czartoryskis, and Tyszkiewicz.
The population is
10,064 people (as of January 1, 2023).
Jewish Theological Academy (Yeshiva)
Church of St. Joseph
The
building of the former Volozhin yeshiva, st. Kirova, 2 — Sign
"Historical and cultural value" Historical and cultural value of the
Republic of Belarus, code 612Г000072
Church of Saints
Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena
Memorial sign (star) on
Freedom Square, where 160 Soviet soldiers are buried, including Hero of
the Soviet Union Vasily Shcherbina.
Tyszkiewicz Palace. The Volozhin
Palace of the Tyshkeviches was built in the style of classicism. The
year of his “birth” can be considered 1803, when the Vilnius headman,
Count Joseph (Jozef) Tyshkevich, bought the city of Volozhin for 100
thousand gold coins and immediately began building his own residence.
The architect Kossakovsky was entrusted to build the palace and park
ensemble, whose project was most liked by the owner of the future
estate. A historical place was chosen for the new residence - where the
medieval castle used to be. The imposing count's residence was completed
in three years and proudly stood "in the heart" of Volozhin. The central
part of the palace was occupied by a two-story greenhouse with a
spherical dome. Here the best gardeners grew orange trees, heat-loving
and capricious palm trees and other exotic luxury. Behind the palace, a
landscape park descended to the river, founded back in the 12th century,
where it was pleasant to hide in the shady coolness of the trees on a
summer afternoon. The palace complex itself consisted of three two-story
buildings. Their architecture is typical of classicism: developed
porticos, skillfully traced decorative elements, laconic frames of
openings. There was nothing superfluous in the decor, and all the
details were organically combined with each other. The most elegant is
the central part of the building, it is elegantly decorated with columns
and stucco. The Tyshkevich Palace has been perfectly preserved to this
day and is a true decoration of the ancient city of Volozhin.
State Institution "Volozhinsky Museum of Local Lore"
State
Institution of Culture "Volozhinsky Regional Center of Culture"
The
People's Literary and Art Association "Run" operates at the regional
center of culture
Events
In 2000, 2007 and 2014 festival "Adna zemlya"
The coat of arms was approved by the decision of the Volozhin
District Executive Committee dated June 15, 1998 No. 9. Registered in
the Stamp Matrikul of the Republic of Belarus on June 22, 1998 No. 17.
The flag was established by Decree of the President of the Republic
of Belarus dated December 1, 2011 No. 564 and registered in the State
Heraldic Register of the Republic of Belarus on December 5, 2011 No.
B-205. Approved by the decision of the Volozhin District Executive
Committee dated January 22, 2009 No. 46.
Known since the 14th century. The name of the city of Volozhin and
the river Volozhynka comes from the Finno-Finnish *valg, valkea -
“white, light”. In the second half of the XV century. Volozhin belonged
to the Monvid family, the first governors of the Vilna; then moved on to
the Gashtolds. In 1542, Stanislav Gashtold, governor of Trotsky and
Novogrudsky, husband of Varvara Radziwill, died childless. Volozhin
passed into the possession of King Sigismund the Old.
In 1543
King Sigismund the Old handed over to his son Sigismund Augustus.
Since the 16th century in the Novogrudok Voivodeship of the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania. Center for trade in livestock and agricultural raw
materials.
In 1614, the future Kastelyan Vilna and the future
great Lithuanian hetman Christopher Radziwill sold Volozhin to Alexander
Slushka.
In 1681, Joseph Boguslav Slushka founded a Bernardine
monastery with a theological school in Volozhin.
In 1790, there
were 186 smokes in Volozhin.
Since 1793, as part of the Russian
Empire, in the Oshmyany district.
On March 10, 1803, Adam
Czartoryski sold Volozhin for 100,000 złoty red heads to the headman of
Veliatich, Joseph Ignatius Tyszkiewicz.
At the beginning of the
19th century, a complex of palace buildings in Tyszkiewicz with a park,
a church with a belfry gate, a synagogue, an ancient church (1866),
shopping arcades, etc. were built. There were 2446 inhabitants.
In 1861, the Volozhin estate in the Oshmyany district belonged to Count
Tyshkevich. The estate had 3,788 male serfs (including 28 yards) and 843
yards, of which 282 yards were made and 561 were dues. In total, there
were 16,855 acres of convenient land on the estate (4.45 acres per
capita). Monetary dues were paid according to the amount of allotted
land, 2 rubles per tithe. Construction - 12 days. Delivery of one sazhen
of firewood from the yard. One road to Vilna. Watchmen 3 turns, 3 days
each. Natural duties were performed from each yard: a chicken, 10 eggs,
5 pounds of hay, 20 sacks of straw. The brining took place for 104 days
for male serfs and 52 days for female souls. Squeeze was 22 days for
male and female working souls.
In 1865, a fire destroyed more
than 100 buildings in the town.
The city is famous for its
yeshiva, which existed, intermittently, until the outbreak of World War
II. In 1897, there were 4,534 inhabitants in the city, including 2,452
Jews.
February 19, 1918 occupied by German troops.
In
1920-1939. as part of Poland, the center of the county of Novogrudok
Voivodeship.
Since 1939, as part of the BSSR, since January 15,
1940, the regional center. In 1939, 6.8 thousand inhabitants.
June 25, 1941 was occupied by German troops. Released on July 5, 1944 by
units of the 3rd Guards Tank Corps (corps commander of the Guards, Major
General of the Tank Forces Vovchenko Ivan Antonovich) of the 5th Guards
Tank Army:
3rd Guards Tank Brigade (Commander of the Guards
Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Gritsenko Konstantin Andreevich);
18th
Guards Tank Brigade (Commander of the Guards Brigade Lieutenant Colonel
Vasily Ivanovich Esipenko);
2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade
(Commander of the Guards Brigade, Colonel Dolganov Dmitry Nikiforovich).
In 1940-1944 - in the Baranovichi region, in 1944-1960 - in the
Molodechno region, from January 20, 1960 - in the Minsk region. From
December 25, 1962 to January 6, 1965 - in the Molodechno region.
It is impossible to judge the urban development of the settlement due to
the lack of cartographic materials, plans or projects for redevelopment
of the late 18th-19th centuries. Literary sources do not shed light on
the group of monumental buildings that have survived since the beginning
of the 19th century. The layout of Volozhin is compact and regular in
its central part. The master plan of the city was developed in 1971. The
main street - now Sovetskaya - coincides with the route of the road
leading from Minsk to Grodno and Vilnius and cuts the city into two
parts. The rectangular planning system is formed by duplicating,
parallel (Sovetskaya, Partizanskaya, etc.) and transverse (Kirov,
Nekrasov, etc.) directions. Such a planning organization is typical of
small settlements, which were ordered in the 19th century according to
the simplest geometric patterns. At present, a complete fragment of the
southern side of Svobody Square has been preserved from the historical
development of the city, including the palace buildings of Tyszkiewicz,
a church, a belfry gate, separate residential buildings (No. 13), and
the remains of a park. The square has long been the central core of
Volozhin. This was facilitated by its location in the head part of the
city at high elevations, near the relief difference.
The largest industrial enterprises of Volozhin are OJSC Volozhinsky Flax Plant (primary processing of flax), OJSC Volozhinsky Rayagropromtechnika, Republican Unitary Enterprise Volozhinsky Zhilkommunkhoz, Volozhinsky branch of OJSC Molodechno Dairy Plant.
There are 3 kindergartens, a gymnasium, 2 secondary schools and an agricultural college (formerly a professional lyceum; former rural vocational school No. 208) in the city