Ilya (Iĺja)
Ilya (Il'ya, or Ilja; І́лья, Илья́, Ilia, Ilija) is a village in Belarus, near Minsk, first mentioned in historical records dating from the late 15th century. Between the end of World War I and 1939, it was part of Poland. It was a significant Jewish shtetl until 1942, when nearly all of its Jewish citizens were murdered in the town square.
The first record of Ilya was in 1473, where it is mentioned as belonging to Bogdan Sakovich, governor of Braslaw for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1564, Ilya is first mentioned as a town. According to the 1650 inventory, the location included a market square and three streets, 93 yards and 10 public houses. There was also a newly built church, as the previous church burned down shortly before the inventory.
According to the 1882 Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland, the town began as a manor of a Radziwiłł prince, and as early as 1634, there was both a Christian church and Jewish synagogue. According to folklore, the prince named his manor and a nearby rivulet "Ilya" after a dream in which the prophet Elijah (Ilya) came to him.
By the 19th century, there was also a yeshiva in Ilya. There is a prominent Catholic church in the village, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, designed by August Klein completed in 1909. The church survived as a dairy during the Soviet era, but was restored in 1993.
Citizens of the town participated in the January Uprising, rebelling against the Russian Empire. A monument was erected to honor the participants in the 1920s.
The first record of Ilya was in 1473, where it is mentioned as belonging to Bogdan Sakovich, governor of Braslaw for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1564, Ilya is first mentioned as a town. According to the 1650 inventory, the location included a market square and three streets, 93 yards and 10 public houses. There was also a newly built church, as the previous church burned down shortly before the inventory.
According to the 1882 Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland, the town began as a manor of a Radziwiłł prince, and as early as 1634, there was both a Christian church and Jewish synagogue. According to folklore, the prince named his manor and a nearby rivulet "Ilya" after a dream in which the prophet Elijah (Ilya) came to him.
By the 19th century, there was also a yeshiva in Ilya. There is a prominent Catholic church in the village, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, designed by August Klein completed in 1909. The church survived as a dairy during the Soviet era, but was restored in 1993.
Citizens of the town participated in the January Uprising, rebelling against the Russian Empire. A monument was erected to honor the participants in the 1920s.
Map - Ilya (Iĺja)
Map
Country - Belarus
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| 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 |