Hlybokaye
Within the city limits there are two smaller lakes: Kahalnaye (Кагальнае) and Grand (Вялікае) from which the Birchwood river originates (Бярозаўка, Brzozówka in Polish). The first written records about the settlement date back to 1514. During World War II in occupied Poland the town's district of Berezwecz was the location of a massacre of up to 2,000–3,000 Polish prisoners by the Soviet NKVD secret police, and during the Nazi occupation from July 1941 to July 1944 several thousand Jews were murdered. As late as 2009 the remains of more than 20 victims probably shot by NKVD after the takeover of the area from Poland were again discovered in a basement of a local church.
The first mention of Hlybokaye in historical sources comes from 1414, and this date is considered as the year it was founder. In 1514, Hlybokaye was included in the documents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as consisting of a manor house and a property owned by Zianowicz family. Jews first settled in Hlybokaye during the 17th century, and by the end of the 19th century represented about 70% of the town's 5,600 residents.
Map - Hlybokaye
Map
Country - Belarus
Flag of Belarus |
Until the 20th century, different states at various times controlled the lands of modern-day Belarus, including Kievan Rus', the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid the Civil War, ultimately ending in the rise of the Byelorussian SSR, which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. After the Polish-Soviet War, Belarus lost almost half of its territory to Poland. Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939, when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland, and were finalized after World War II. During World War II, military operations devastated Belarus, which lost about a quarter of its population and half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
BYN | Belarusian ruble | Br | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
BE | Belarusian language |
RU | Russian language |