Waukawysk

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Waukawysk | Wolkowysk
Ваўкавыск | Волковыск
( Belarus. ) | ( Russian )
coat of arms
coat of arms
 flag
flag
State : BelarusBelarus Belarus
Woblasz : Flag of Hrodna Voblasts.svg Hrodna
Coordinates : 53 ° 10 ′  N , 24 ° 28 ′  E Coordinates: 53 ° 10 ′  N , 24 ° 28 ′  E
Area : 79  km²
 
Residents : 43,815 (2019)
Population density : 555 inhabitants per km²
Time zone : Moscow time ( UTC + 3 )
Telephone code : (+375) 1512
Postal code : 231900
License plate : 4th
 
Website :
Waukawysk (Belarus)
Waukawysk
Waukawysk

Waukawysk ( Belarus. Ваўкавыск ; Lithuanian Valkaviskas, Russian Волковыск [ Wolkowysk ], Polish Wołkowysk ) is a city in the Republic of Belarus in the Hrodsenskaja Woblasz . The city had 43,815 inhabitants on January 1, 2019 and is the administrative center of Waukawysk Raion .

geography

The city is located in the west of the country between the cities of Hrodna , Brest and Baranavichy on the Ros' river . The EU's external border with Poland runs almost 40 km to the west . To the south is the Waukawysk ridge.

In the city center of Waukawysk

history

The oldest traces of settlement can be found on the edge of today's urban area on several hills. The still unfortified settlements existed from the 10th to the 13th century.

Waukawysk was first mentioned in writing in 1005. Based on this note in the so-called Turauer Chronik , the millennium of the city was celebrated in 2005.

Another mention can be found in the Hypatius Chronicle from 1252. At that time, Waukawysk was the center of a principality. The only prince known from the written documents, Gleb, was a vassal of the Duke of Halych-Volodymyr and took part with other princes in a campaign against the Yatwingers .

Since the beginning of the 14th century, Waukawysk belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1410 it was destroyed by knights of the Teutonic Order. The city was rebuilt by 1430 and the Grand Duke Vytautas inaugurated a Catholic church. In the 15th century Waukawysk center was first a Starostwo and from 1507 then a Powiat in the Nawahrudak Voivodeship .

In 1503 the settlement was granted Magdeburg city rights.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the city was destroyed several times by acts of war.

In 1795, due to the third partition of Poland, Waukawysk fell to Russia.

During Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812, the Russian General Bagration temporarily had his command post in a manor in the city. During this war, too, the city suffered severe damage.

In 1885 Waukawysk was connected to the railway network with the opening of the Baranavichy - Bialystok railway line . This led to a rapid economic boom and population growth. While the settlement still had 3,472 inhabitants in 1860, 18,900 people were already living in the city in 1913.

From 1921 to 1939 Waukawysk belonged to Poland and was the administrative center of a powiat in the Bialystok province.

Due to the German-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939, the city fell to the Soviet Union and was incorporated into the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic . On January 15, 1940, the city became the administrative center of the Rajon of the same name. From June 28, 1941 to July 14, 1944, Waukawysk was occupied by German troops.

During this time, the city and the surrounding area belonged to the CdZ area Bialystok, so they were subject to a civil German occupation administration without being formally incorporated into the German Empire.

In the city there was a prisoner of war camp 281 , Wolkowysk , for German prisoners of war of the Second World War . Seriously ill people were cared for in the prisoner of war hospital 3470 .

coat of arms

Description: In blue a silver wolf looking back (Belarusian воўк , Lithuanian vilkas ).

traffic

Waukawysk is located on a branch line from Baranavichy to Hrodna and on the road from Polish Bialystok to Baranavichy.

Town twinning

Vawkavysk maintains the following cities partnerships :

Personalities

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Website of the national statistical authority of Belarus accessed on July 30, 2019 (Russian)
  2. ↑ André Böhm, Maryna Rakhlei: Belarus Trescher Publishing, 2016, ISBN 978-3-89794-271-4 , S. 318th
  3. ↑ AILokotko, ONKnyazeva, among others: Tourist Mosaic of Belarus , Minsk 2013, ISBN 978-985-08-1571-2 , p. 342f.
  4. ^ Kurt W. Böhme: The German prisoners of war in Soviet hands. A balance sheet (= on the history of German prisoners of war of the Second World War , vol. 7), published by Erich Maschke on behalf of the Scientific Commission for the history of German prisoners of war . Verlag Ernst and Werner Gieseking, Bielefeld 1966, p. 201.
  5. ↑ Vladimir: Sister Cities

Web links

Commons : Waukawysk  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files