Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast''; pl, Obwód Grodzieński; lt, Gardino sritis) is one of the

regions of Belarus At the top level of administration, Belarus is divided into six ''oblasts'' (''voblasts'' or provinces). The city of Minsk, has a special status as the capital of Belarus. Minsk is also the capital of Minsk Region.Grodno, is the biggest city in the region. It lies on the

Neman River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

. It borders Minsk Region to the east,

Brest Region Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cent ...

to the south, Poland ( Podlaskie Voivodeship) to the west and Vitebsk Region and Lithuania (

Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The ma ...

and Vilnius counties) to the north. Grodno's existence is attested to from 1127. Two castles dating from the 14th - 18th centuries are located here on the steep right bank of the Nemen. One of the city's surviving masterpieces is the 12th century

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Church of St Boris & St Gleb (Kalozhskaya Church), which is the second oldest in Belarus.

History

This region was the westernmost "borderlands" of the

Early East Slavs The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the Sla ...

(tribal union

Dregovichs The Dregoviches or Dregovichi (Belarusian: дрыгавічы, ''dryhavičy'', ; russian: дреговичи, dregovichi; ua, дреговичі, drehovychi) were one of the tribal unions of Early East Slavs, and inhabited the territories d ...

?) on the lands of the

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number o ...

in the 6th-9th centuries. In the 12th-14th centuries it was part of the area sometimes known as

Black Ruthenia Black Ruthenia ( la, Ruthenia Nigra), or Black Rus' ( be, Чорная Русь, translit=Čornaja Ruś; lt, Juodoji Rusia; pl, Ruś Czarna), is a historical region on the Upper Nemunas, including Novogrudok (Naugardukas), Grodno (Gardinas) a ...

, that was fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) by the rulers of Lithuania in the 13th century. In 1413, the area around Grodno, part of the

Duchy of Trakai Duchy of Trakai was a subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The Duke of Trakai was an important position held either by the Grand Duke of Lithuania himself or his second-in-command. History After th ...

, was transformed into newly established Trakai Voivodeship. Grodno became the seat of Grodno County. In 1441, Magdeburg Law charter was granted to the capital by

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the mo ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania and future King of Poland. In 1444, Grodno received its coat of arms from Casimir's hands as well as substantial trade privileges. The strong economic development of the area continued during the reign of Casimir's son - Duke

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jagie ...

who founded the first solid bridge over the

as well as Monastery of Order of Saint Augustine and Monastery of Polish '' Ordo Fratrum Minorum''. Later,

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...

Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, placed in Grodno her royal residence. According to medieval surveys, Grodno had 35 streets and 700 houses in 1558. The golden age of Grodno falls on the reign of

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586 ...

King of Poland, which is between 1576 and 1586. During his reign, Grodno became royal headquarters and began to host sessions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Senate and Parliament. In 1580, on king's order the castle of Grodno was rebuilt in Renaissance style of architecture, by Scoto di Parma. At the beginning of the 17th century, Grodno was one of the most developed and important cities in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, traditionally recognized as the third capital of the commonwealth. Deterioration of province status began with

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

which put Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in long-lasting and exhausting military conflict with

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in ...

and Swedish Empire. Between 1765 and 1780, the province regained some of its previous status when

Antoni Tyzenhaus Antoni Tyzenhauz (1733 – March 31, 1785) was a noble from the Tyzenhaus family, son of Benedykt Tyzenhauz. As a personal friend of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Tyzenhaus became Treasurer of the ...

the Treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Administrator of Polish Royal Estates, was governing the capital and the province. Around 50 new economical endeavours were undertaken by Tyzenhaus in the region, new manufactures, mills and workshops have been built. As part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forming the Grand Duchy's

Trakai Voivodship lt, Trakų vaivadija pl, Województwo trockie , conventional_long_name = Trakai Voivodeship , common_name = Trakai , subdivision = Voivodeship , nation = Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1569) Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) , year_ ...

, and due to subsequent Partitions of Poland, the whole of the Grodno region was finally annexed by Russian Empire by the end of 1795. The city of Grodno then became a seat for

Grodno Governorate The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...

. During World War I the governorate was occupied by Germany. German troops entered Grodno city on 3 September 1915, plundering the ''Library of Dominicans Order''. During the German occupation, Polish citizens of Grodno region were persecuted and had restricted civil rights. At the end of the war, the

Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...

declared its independence from Soviet Russia in March 1918 in Minsk. Grodno was the site of the last stand of the BNR's Council (''

Rada The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...

''). Soon, the Council was forced to flee as Soviet troops invaded the region and the city in 1919. The same year

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

broke out and lasted until 1921. Under the terms of Peace Treaty of Riga the region and the city returned to Second Polish Republic which claimed rights to this territory as a successor to Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and as a victorious side of the

. By 1939, the Grodno city had 60,000 inhabitants, with Poles and Jews accounting for 60% and 37% of the population, respectively. During Polish rule Grodno was centre of Grodno County in Białystok Voivodeship, but some parts of present Grodno Region was in the voivodeships of

Nowogródek Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

and Wilno. After World War II started, on 17 September 1939, the Grodno area was invaded by Soviet Union and incorporated by force to the Soviet Union as part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Grodno was located in the newly established

Belastok Region Belastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast ( be, Беластоцкая вобласць, Biełastockaja vobłasć, russian: Белостокская Область, pl, Obwód białostocki) was a short-lived territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet ...

. Thousands were imprisoned or deported to Siberia or Kazakhstan. In the early summer of 1941 the region fell under Nazi German occupation. In November 1941, German occupants established the

Grodno Ghetto The Grodno Ghetto ( pl, getto w Grodnie, be, Гродзенскае гета, he, גטו גרודנו) was a Nazi ghetto established in November 1941 by Nazi Germany in the city of Grodno for the purpose of persecution and exploitation of Je ...

for Jewish citizens of Grodno and rest of the region population. In 1942, after a year of severe persecution and planned starvation of ghetto inhabitants, 10,000 Jews from Grodno were deported to the German concentration camp of

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

and murdered there. Next year, in 1943, survivors of remaining 17,000 of ghetto inhabitants were again deported to

as well as to Treblinka extermination camp and

Białystok Ghetto The Białystok Ghetto ( pl, getto w Białymstoku) was a Nazi ghetto set up by the German SS between July 26 and early August 1941 in the newly formed District of Bialystok within occupied Poland. About 50,000 Jews from the vicinity of Białyst ...

. Although on 13 March 1943, German troops reported the end of extermination and described Grodno city as ''judenrein'', around 50 Jews survived the extermination, also hidden by non-Jewish families. Polish and Soviet underground acted in the region. Villages like Dziarečyn, which originally had large Jewish populations, were greatly reduced. As a result of Joseph Stalin's policy of expansion to the west, it was decided during the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the pos ...

that the Polish eastern border shall be set along the so-called "original"

Curzon Line The Curzon Line was a proposed demarcation line between the Second Polish Republic and the Soviet Union, two new states emerging after World War I. It was first proposed by The 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston, the British Foreign Secretary, ...

. Based on this decision, the left-bank part of Grodno town would be kept within the borders of Poland. It is actually not clear till today, how the original Curzon Line near Grodno has been moved by around 20 km to the west. When the so-called "mistake" (today regarded rather as deliberate sabotage within British ministry structures) became obvious to negotiators, Stalin refused to correct the mistaken line. Despite multiple and desperate appeals from Polish citizens of Grodno, the whole Grodno region, (including ethically Polish till today) Sapotskin Triangle, was incorporated to the

Soviet Belarus The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

and many Poles emigrated or were expelled. In 1944

was dissolved and Grodno Region established. Since 1991 the Grodno Region constitutes one of 6 regions of independent Belarus.

Heritage and tourism

Main tourist attractions in the region are numerous old architectural constructions such as castles in

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to& ...

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithu ...

Novogrudok Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

. A part of

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest; lt, Baltvyžių giria; pl, Puszcza Białowieska ; russian: Беловежская пуща, Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a forest on the border between Belarus and Poland. It is one of the last and largest remaining pa ...

is situated here, but the tourist excursions start from the

part of the National Park. Zhyrovichy Monastery is also a destination for religious travellers. The

Mir Castle Complex The Mir Castle Complex ( be, Мірскі замак, romanized: ''Mirski zamak'', russian: Мирский замок) is historic fortified castle and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belarus. It is located in the town of Mir, in the Kareličy D ...

and

Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park (Russian:"Białowieża ...

are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are such objects of Belarusian Cultural heritage list, as the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua in Kamienka, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, St Andrew's Church in

Slonim Slonim ( be, Сло́нім, russian: Сло́ним, lt, Slanimas, lv, Sloņima, pl, Słonim, yi, סלאָנים, ''Slonim'') is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus, capital of the Slonimski rajon. It is located at the junction of the Ščar ...

, Church of the Holy Trinity in Gierviaty, etc. There are about 45 travel agencies in Grodno Region, half of them provide agent activity, the other half are tour operators.

Demographics (2002)

The province covers an area of 25,100 km² and has a population of 1,065,100, giving a population density of 42/km². About 63.5% live in cities and towns, while 36.5% live in rural areas. Females account for 53% of the region's population and men 47%. There are about 310,000 children under 19, and about 240,000 people aged over 60. Nowadays, Belarusians account for 62.3% of the population. The region is a home to significant minority populations: * Poles (24.8%), * Russians (10%), * Ukrainians (1.8%), * Jews (0.4%), * Tatars (0.2%), * Lithuanians (0.2%), * other nationalities (0.4%). Whereas Belarus as a whole is primarily

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

, Grodno Region has two major religions, Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox. There are 449 religious communities and 18 denominations, 2 Russian Orthodox eparchial districts, 1 Orthodox nun sorority, 2 Catholic monk brotherhoods, 1 Catholic nun sorority, 2 Orthodox and 4 Catholic

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

, 165 Orthodox and 169 Catholic churches. The Catholic minority is made up mostly of Poles, although the identifier "Pole" has also been historically applied to Catholic

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

. There are a number on national minority associations: 6 Polish, 6

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

, 4 Jewish, 1

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

, 1

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

, 1

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, 1 Georgian, 1 Chuvash. Belarusians in Hrodzienskaja voblasć, Belarus (2009 census).png, Belarusians in the region Poles in Hrodzienskaja voblasć, Belarus (2009 census).png, Poles in the region Russians in Hrodzienskaja voblasć, Belarus (2009 census).png, Russians in the region

Administrative subdivisions

The Grodno Region is subdivided into 17

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

( rajons), 194 selsoviets, 12 cities, 6 city municipalities, and 21 urban-type settlements.

Districts of Grodno Region

* Ashmyany District *

Astravyets District Astravyets District ( be, Астраве́цкі раён, russian: link=no, Острове́цкий райо́н) – a district (rajon) in Grodno Region of Belarus. The administrative center is Astravyets. History 1940, January 15 – est ...

* Byerastavitsa District * Dzyatlava District * Grodno (Hrodna) District *

Iwye District Iwye District ( be, Іўеўскі раён, Iŭeŭski rajon) is a district (rajon) in Grodno Region of Belarus. The administrative center is Iwye. Another notable settlement is Hieraniony (''Gieraniony''), a small historic town with two Category ...

Karelichy District Karelichy District ( be, Карэліцкі раён) is a district (rajon) in Grodno Region of Belarus. The administrative center is Karelichy. Notable residents * Jan Bułhak (1876, Astašyn village –1950), photographer, ethnographer and ...

* Lida District * Masty District *

Navahrudak District Novogrudok District ( be, Навагрудскі раён, Наваградзкі раён) - a district (rajon) in the Grodno Region of Belarus. The administrative center is Novogrudok. Notable residents * Fabijan Abrantovič (1884, Vierask ...

Shchuchyn District Shchuchyn District ( be, Шчучынскі раён) is a district (rajon) in Grodno Region, Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республ ...

* Slonim District *

Smarhon' District Smarhon' District ( be, Смаргонскі раён) is a district (rajon) in Grodno Region of Belarus. As of the Belarus Census (2009), 2009 census the population was 55,296. The administrative center is Smarhon’. Main sights * Ogiński ...

* Svislach District * Vawkavysk District * Voranava District *

Zel’va District , image_skyline = Зэльва. Касцёл Святой Тройцы (01).jpg , image_caption = , imagesize = 250px , image_flag = Zelva flag.svg , image_seal = Zelva coat.svg , subdivision_type = CountrySub ...

Cities and towns

Population of cities and towns in Grodno Region:

Economy

In 2016, Grodno Region produced 10.9% of industrial output of Belarus. The biggest company was a nitrogen fertilizer producer Grodno Azot (16% of regional industrial output). In 2017, the biggest taxpayer of the region was Grodno tobacco factory. Average salary (before income tax) in the region in 2017 was 700 BYN, or lower than average salary in Belarus (820 BYN). The highest salary in the region was recorded in Grodno (810 BYN). Unemployment rate in 2017 was estimated at 4.4%, but only 0.8% of population of employable age was registered as unemployed.Regions of the Republic of Belarus 'Регионы Республики Беларусь'' — Vol. 1. — Minsk: National Statistics Committee of Belarus, 2018. — P. 165—168.

References

External links

Grodno Regional Executive Committee
, in Belarusian, Russian, English and Chinese {{coord, 53, 45, N, 25, 20, E, region:BY-HR_type:adm1st_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Regions of Belarus