Olonets (russian: Оло́нец; krl, Anus, olo, Anuksenlinnu; fi, Aunus, Aunuksenkaupunki or Aunuksenlinna) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of
Olonetsky District Olonetsky (masculine), Olonetskaya (feminine), or Olonetskoye (neuter) may refer to:
*Olonetsky District, a district of the Republic of Karelia, Russia
*Olonetskoye Urban Settlement, a municipal formation incorporating the town of Olonets and eight ...
of the
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, located on the
Olonka River
The Olonka (russian: Олонка) is a river in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It gave the name to the town of Olonets by the river and eventually to the surrounding territory (Olonets Governorate, Olonets Krai, now Olonetsky District). It flo ...
to the east of
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...
. Population:
History
Olonets is the oldest documented settlement in
Karelia
Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
, mentioned by
Novgorodian sources as early as 1137. Its history is obscure until 1649, when a fortress was built there to protect the
Grand Duchy of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
against the
Swedes
Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
. The same year it was granted
town privileges
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
. Until the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
, Olonets developed as a principal market for Russian trade with
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. To the south from the town, there sprawled a belt of fortified abbeys, of which the
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery
Alexander-Svirsky Monastery (Александро-Свирский монастырь) is a Russian Orthodox monastery situated deep in the woods of the Leningrad Oblast, just south from its border with the Republic of Karelia. The golden age o ...
was the most important.
In the 18th century, Olonets' importance shifted from trade to ironworking industries. In 1773, it was made the seat of
Olonets Governorate
The Olonets Governorate or Government of Olonets was a '' guberniya'' (governorate) of north-western Imperial Russia, extending from Lake Ladoga almost to the White Sea, bounded west by Finland, north and east by Arkhangelsk and Vologda, and sou ...
. Eleven years later, however, the seat was moved to
Petrozavodsk
Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...
and Olonets started to decline.
Modern Olonets is classified as a historical town of the Republic of Karelia and is the only town in the republic where
Karelians
Karelians ( krl, karjalaižet, karjalazet, karjalaiset, Finnish: , sv, kareler, karelare, russian: Карелы) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russi ...
are in majority (over 60% ).
Administrative and municipal status
Within the
framework of administrative divisions, Olonets serves as the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of
Olonetsky District Olonetsky (masculine), Olonetskaya (feminine), or Olonetskoye (neuter) may refer to:
*Olonetsky District, a district of the Republic of Karelia, Russia
*Olonetskoye Urban Settlement, a municipal formation incorporating the town of Olonets and eight ...
, under which it is directly subordinated.
[Law #871-RZK] As a
municipal division, the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of Olonets, together with eight rural localities, is incorporated within Olonetsky Municipal District as Olonetskoye Urban Settlement.
[Law #813-RZK]
Notable people
*
Walery Mroczkowski
Walery Karłowicz Mroczkowski (6 April 1840 – 1 October 1889) was a Polish insurgent in the 1863 January Uprising. He was arrested and imprisoned by the Prussian authorities. Upon release in 1865, he was sent into exile and travelled to Italy, ...
(1840-1889) was born in Olonets. He was an insurgent in the 1863
January Uprising
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
. After prison, he was exiled and became a noted
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
in
Bakunin's close circle. Latterly, he worked as a photographer in France, using the pseudonym, "
:Fr: Valerien Ostroga".
*
Witold Pilecki
Witold Pilecki (13 May 190125 May 1948; ; codenames ''Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold'') was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader.
As a youth, Pilecki joined Polish underground sc ...
(1901–1948) was born in Olonets. He was an army officer and a member of
Armia Krajowa
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
who got himself arrested in order to infiltrate the Nazi operation in
Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
. He escaped from the camp and was one of the first direct witnesses of the
Final Solution
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
which he reported to his
Underground superiors. He took part in the
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
. After WWII he was tried and executed by the Polish communist regime in 1948. He was a decorated Polish National hero.
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Olonets is
twinned with:
*
Hyrynsalmi
Hyrynsalmi is a municipality in Finland and is part of the Kainuu region.
The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
The world champi ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
*
Mikkeli
Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 i ...
, Finland
*
Puolanka
Puolanka ( sv, Puolanka, also ) is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
...
, Finland
*
Ristijärvi
Ristijärvi is a municipality of Finland.
It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in Kainuu in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is water. The populatio ...
, Finland
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in the Republic of Karelia
Olonetsky Uyezd