Kapyl ( be, Капы́ль, Kapyĺ, russian: Копыль, Kopyl; pl, Kopyl; lt, Kapylius; yi, קאפּוליע) is an urban settlement and the capital of
Kapyl District
Kapyl District is a second-level administrative subdivision (raion) of Minsk Region, Belarus. The capital of the town is Kapyl.
Notable events in history
The district was the main theatre of military operations during the Slutsk uprising, a pr ...
in
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 is located west-northwest of
Slutsk
Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population is ...
and south-southwest of
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
.
The current population estimate of 9,900 for the town is based on the provisional figures from the 2009 census.
The postal codes for Kapyl are 223910 and 223927.
Kopyl raion page at Minsk Oblispolkom
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
website accessed 13 July 2010
History
Kapyl, first mentioned in 1274,
[Kopyl Region Executive Committee website retrieved 20 July 2010](_blank)
/ref> was a walled town that was noteworthy by the 14th century, and is listed in the atlas of Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ...
of 1574. During the 14th century the town was part of the 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 1395 it came into the possession of Prince Vladimir Olgerdovich
Vladimir Olgerdovich ( be, Уладзімір Альгердавіч, lt, Vladimiras Algirdaitis, pl, Włodzimierz Olgierdowic, uk, Володимир Ольгердович; died after 1398) was the son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and ...
and his heirs, the Olelkovich
The House of Olelkovich ( be, Алелькавічы, lt, Olelkaičiai, pl, Olelkowicze, uk, Олельковичі) was a 15th–16th-century princely family from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their main possession was the Duchy of Slutsk–Ka ...
family, where it remained until 1612. Kapyl was part of the dowry of Zofia Olelkowicz Słucka and was one of the seven fortified towns left to her husband Janusz Radziwill upon her death in 1612.
Kapyl was attacked by the Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different numerous times and was sacked on at least one occasion during the 16th century.
On August 27, 1652, Kapyl received the Magdeburg Law
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within c ...
and gained its own seal, a coat of arms depicting a hunting horn on a gold field. With this privilege came the right to hold fairs and weekly auctions. During the 16th century weaving became established in the town, including the production of velvet. Six guilds came into existence as a result of the growth of the weaving industry.
After the Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War ...
in 1793 Kapyl became 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. ...
. From 1832 it became a personal holding of Prince Wittgenstein. During the 19th century local businesses included a brewery, 2 water mills, and 6 shops. Other local institutions included 3 schools, churches (including a Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
church), and 2 Jewish synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s.
Towards the end of the 19th century Kapyl had over 350 houses and over 2000 inhabitants. At that time a majority of the town's population was Jewish. By 1900 the Jewish population was 2,671.
In 1924, Kapyl became the capital city of the Kapyl District.
During 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 ...
the Slutsk-Kapyl area was the subject of a German military operation code-named Erntefest II (Harvest Festival) which ended in February 1943. Although ostensibly aimed at suppressing the activities of Soviet partisans in the area the operation resulted in the deaths of 2,325 of the local inhabitants (against the loss of six German soldiers), which can only be characterized as a campaign of genocide and terror.
One of Kapyl district's major architectural monuments is a 19th-century church in the town itself.
Personalities
Kapyl is also known as the birthplace of Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim ( yi, , he, מנדלי מוכר ספרים, also known as Moykher, Sfarim; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich ( yi, , russian: Сол ...
.
Sister cities
* Joniškis
Joniškis (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Juonėškis'') is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis i ...
, Lithuania
See also
List of towns with German town law
A list of towns in Europe with German town law. The year of law granting is listed when known.
Schleswig law
german: Schleswiger Recht)
*Schleswig
Lübeck law
(''Lübisches Recht'')
*Klaipėda (''Memel''), 1258
*Braniewo (''Braunsberg''), 125 ...
References
Further reading
Geographical Dictionary of Polish Kingdom and other Slavic countries (in Polish), vol 4, edited by F. Sulimirskiego, B. Chlebowski, W. Walewski, Warsaw 1883, pp 386-387.
External links
*
*
Kopyl raion page
at Minsk Oblispolkom
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
website
Rodoh Forum: Major Antipartisan Operations in Belorussia
Kopyl Region Executive Committee
{{Authority control
Populated places in Minsk Region
Kapyl District
Towns in Belarus
Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795)
Slutsky Uyezd
Holocaust locations in Belarus