Kamai ( be, Камаі; russian: Камаи) is an

agrotown An agro-town is an agglomeration in a rural environment with a population of several thousands but whose workforce's main occupation is agriculture. An agro-town also lacks the administrative, commercial and industrial functions that are usually ...

Pastavy District Pastavy District is a second-level administrative subdivision (raion) of Belarus in the Vitebsk Region. The center is the town of Pastavy Pastavy ( be, Паставы, lt, Pastovys, russian: Поставы, pl, Postawy) is a city in the Vit ...

Vitebsk Region Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region (oblast ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. It serves as the administative center of Kamai

selsoviet Selsoviet ( be, сельсавет, r=sieĺsaviet, tr. ''sieĺsaviet''; rus, сельсовет, p=ˈsʲelʲsɐˈvʲɛt, r=selsovet; uk, сільрада, silrada) is a shortened name for a rural council and for the area governed by such a cou ...

. It is located near the border with Lithuania. The village is known for its fortified church of St. John the Baptist.

History

The village is mentioned for the first time in the beginning of the 16th century, when it was a part of

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

. In 1550 it is a populated place in Ashmiany paviet of Vilna Voivodeship. In 1603-1606 Jan Rudomin Dusiacki built here a stone catholic church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. In 1643 a hospital for men and women was created. In 1795 it became a part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1863-1864 inhabitants of the village took action in the national movement for independence against Russia. In the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

Kamai was part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

became part of

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

. After Belarus gained independence, it's a village in Pastavy Rajon. In 2000s it joined the state program for rural development and became an

References

External links

{{Commons category inline, Kamai
Photos of Kamai at globus.tut.by

Agrotowns in Belarus Populated places in Vitebsk Region Vilnius Voivodeship Sventsyansky Uyezd Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939) Pastavy District Belarus–Lithuania border