Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of

Polesia Polesia, also called Polissia, Polesie, or Polesye, is a natural (geographic) and historical region in Eastern Europe within the East European Plain, including the Belarus–Ukraine border region and part of eastern Poland. This region shou ...

, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Pinsk Marshes and is southwest of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. As of 2025, it has a population of 124,008. The historic city has a restored city centre, with two-storey buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The centre has become an active place for youths of all ages with summer theme parks and an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

stadium, which houses the city's football club, FC Volna Pinsk.

History

Timeline up to WWI

*1097 – the first mention of Pinsk * 1241 – transfer of the Orthodox diocese from Turov * 1316 – after this date, Pinsk was incorporated into the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

* 1396 – a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church and a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery were erected * 1492 – Pinsk becomes a royal city, first owned by King

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

* 1569 – Pinsk becomes a seat of the poviat * 1581 – king Stephen Báthory grants Pinsk city rights * 1642–1646 - Saint

Andrew Bobola Andrew Bobola, Society of Jesus, SJ (; 1591 – 16 May 1657) was a Polish missionary and martyr of the Society of Jesus, known as the Apostle of Lithuania and the "hunter of souls". He was beaten and tortured to death during the Khmelnytsky Upri ...

stayed in the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

monastery in Pinsk and nearby, conducting evangelistic activity * 1648 – rebellion of the city and admission of

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

forces under the command of Colonel Maxim Hładki. The slaughter of burghers not of the Orthodox religion. The assault of Janusz Radziwiłł's troops on the city, under the command of the hetman Hrehory Mirski of about 1200–1300 people, ended with the capture of the city. The city was burned to the ground and about 1/3 – 1/2 of the inhabitants were killed (it is estimated that on the eve of the

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

, Pinsk had about 10,000 inhabitants) * 1655 –

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

and

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

attacked the city and murdered many inhabitants. * 1657 – in mid-May Zdanowicz's cossacks (about 2,000) destroyed the city and murdered many Roman Catholics. Jesuits, incl. Fr. Simon Maffon and Saint Andrew Bobola * 1660 – Cossacks attacked Pinsk, robbed a Jesuit college and church, and murdered, among others Fr. Eustachy Piliński * 1662 – return of the Jesuits to Pinsk, fire of the monastery after a year * 1666 – foundation of the Dominican monastery * 1690 – foundation of the Karolin settlement by Jan Karol Dolski * 1695 – construction of a church and castle in Carolina by Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki * 1706 – from May 5 to June 3. The capture of Pinsk by King of Sweden

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

. Blowing up the castle of Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki * 1707 – the occupation of Pinsk by the army of General Halast and General Hołowina * 1709–1710 and in 1716: a great epidemic with thousands of victims * 1717 – construction of the Bernardine monastery * 1734 – construction of a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

monastery * 1756 – construction of the Mariavite Order emonastery * 1767 – construction of the Ogiński Channel * 1775 – construction of the Royal Canal * 1793 – the Second Partition of the Commonwealth. Pinsk now belongs to

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. * 1795 – establishment of the Catholic diocese of Pinsk (previously Pinsk was in the diocese of

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

) * 1799 – the incorporation of Karolina into Pinsk * 1796 – the liquidation of the Uniate diocese of Pinsk * 1799 – liquidation of the Pinsk Catholic diocese (it was moved to Minsk) * 1812 – in July, Pinsk was taken by Napoleon's army * 1850 – a

candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

and

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

was established * 1882 – a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line was brought from Żabinka and a

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

factory was opened * 1885 – construction of a river

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

in Leszcze * 1907–1909: a provincial circle of the Polish Education Association in Minsk operated in the city, which organized lectures on Polish literature and vocabulary, which, according to a report by the Russian police, "increased Polish national consciousness". * 1909 – during the local elections 22 Belarusians (orthodox), 7 Poles (catholics), 2 Jews and 1 representative of other nationalities were elected to the city council * 1915 – Russian authorities abandon the city escaping from advancing German forces

WWI and Polish–Soviet War

Pinsk was occupied by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

on 15 September 1915, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the German defeat, Pinsk became the subject of dispute between the Belarusian People's Republic and the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

, both short-lived. Pinsk was taken by the advancing Red Army on 25 January 1919, during the Soviet westward offensive of 1918–19. It was retaken by Polish troops on 5 March 1919 during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

but was retaken by the Red Army on 23 July 1920 and finally retaken by the Polish on 26 September 1920. Pińsk became part of the reborn

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1920 when the Polish-Soviet War ended with the

Peace of Riga The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators o ...

, signed in March 1921. Like many other cities in Eastern Europe, Pinsk had a significant Jewish population before World War II. According to the Russian census of 1897, out of the total number of 28,400 inhabitants, Jews were approximately 74% of the population (21,100 persons), making it one of the most Jewish cities under tsarist rule. During the Polish-Soviet War, 35 Jewish civilians from Pinsk were executed by the Polish Army in April 1919 after being accused of collaborating with Russian

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

. The incident, known as the Pinsk massacre, created a diplomatic crisis noted at the Versailles Conference.''Best of the memory books'', Marcin Wodzinski, ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'', Books, February 2009, pp. 28–30

Interwar period

Pińsk was the initial capital of the Polesie Voivodeship, but it moved to Brześć-nad-Bugiem (now

Brest, Belarus Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug (river), Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as ...

) after a citywide fire on 7 September 1921. The population of the city grew rapidly in interwar Poland from 23,497 in 1921 to 33,500 in 1931. Pińsk became a bustling commercial centre, and 70% of the population was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, in spite of considerable migration.

Second World War

Following the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

in 1939, Pinsk and the surrounding area was annexed to the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...

. It was the seat of the Pinsk Oblast from 1940. After

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, Germany occupied Pinsk from 4 July 1941 to 14 July 1944, as part of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. Most Jews were killed in late October 1942 during the liquidation of the Pińsk Ghetto by the German ''

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...

'' and the Byelorussian Auxiliary Police, 10,000 being murdered in one day. In 1945, after postwar border adjustments of Poland, Pinsk again became part of the

Post-WWII and independence

In 1954 it became part of the Brest Voblast. Pinsk has formed part of the Republic of Belarus since Belarusian independence from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1991.

Landmarks

Three main sights of the town are lined along the river: the Assumption Cathedral of the Monastery of the Greyfriars (1712–1730), with a campanile from 1817, the Jesuit collegium (1635–1648); a large Mannerist complex, whose cathedral was demolished after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by communists; and the Butrymowicz Palace (1784–1790), built for Mateusz Butrymowicz, an important political and economical figure of Pinsk and Polesie. The Church of St. Charles Borromeo (1770—1782) and St. Barbara Cathedral of the Monastery of the St. Bernard Order (1786–1787) are placed near historic centre in the former Karolin suburb, which is now part of Pinsk. The foremost modern building is the black-domed Orthodox Cathedral of St. Theodore. File:Pinsk-Rynak.jpg, Old Market Square File:Pinsk, Nabiarežnaja-Rynak. Пінск, Набярэжная-Рынак (1920).jpg, Cathedral of St. Stanislaus and church of St. Dominic File:%D0%9Fi%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA,%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%86%D1%91%D0%BB.JPG, Cathedral of Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary File:%D0%9F%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA._%D0%91%D1%8B%D0%B2%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D1%80%D1%8C_%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%B2..JPG, Monastery of the Greyfriars File:Цэнтр Пінска 12.jpg, Jesuit collegium File:Church_of_St._Charles_Borromeo,_Pinsk.JPG, Church of St. Charles Borromeo File:%D0%9Fi%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA,%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%86%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0.JPG, St. Barbara Cathedral File:Pinsk Saint-Feodor-Cathedral.jpg, St. Theodore Cathedral File:Synagogue_in_Pinsk.jpg, Old Synagogue File:%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%86_%D0%91%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%96%D1%87%D0%B0_3.jpg, Butrymowicz Palace

Climate

Notable people

* Aaron of Pinsk (died 1841), rabbi * Matheus Butrymowicz (1745–1814), Polish-Lithuanian statesman, reformer of Polesye * Vladimir Chub (born 1948), governor of Rostov Oblast in Russia * Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich, (1808–1884), Belarusian writer, poet, dramatist and social activist, author of the play ''Pinskaya shlyakhta'' * Baruch Epstein (1860–1941), bookkeeper, rabbi and prolific Jewish scholar, best known for his Torah Temimah commentary on the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

* William Moses Feldman (1880–1939), child physiologist, born in Pinsk * Semyon Furman (1920–1978), Chess grandmaster and trainer of World Champion Anatoly Karpov * Jonah Gogol (died 1602), Orthodox and later an Uniate bishop *

Olga Govortsova Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35. On 29 August 2011, she peaked at No. 2 ...

, (born 1988) Belarusian tennis player *

Haim Gvati Haim Gvati (; 29 January 1901 – 19 October 1990) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. He held several ministerial portfolios and served as Minister of Agriculture between 1964 and 1974. Biography Born in Pinsk in the Russian Empir ...

(1901–1990), Israeli Minister of Agriculture * Chaim Kanievsky (1928–2022), rabbi * Ryszard Kapuściński (1932–2007), Polish writer and reporter * Danila Klimovich (born 2003),

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

prospect currently under contract with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

, and currently on the active roster for the AHL

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hocke ...

Moshe Kol Moshe Kol (; 28 May 1911 – 7 July 1989) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence. Biography Born Moshe Kolodny in Pinsk in the Russian Empire (today in Belarus),

(1911–1989), Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the

Israeli declaration of independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

* Igor Kolb (born 1977), principal dancer of Mariinsky Ballet * Andrzej Kondratiuk (1936–2016), Polish film director, screenwriter, actor, and cinematographer *

Simon Kuznets Simon Smith Kuznets ( ; rus, Семён Абра́мович Кузне́ц, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn ɐˈbraməvʲɪtɕ kʊzʲˈnʲets; April 30, 1901 – July 8, 1985) was a Russian-born American economist and statistician who received the 1971 Nobe ...

(1901–1985), 1971 Nobel laureate in economics *

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

(1898–1978), fourth prime minister of Israel, born in Kiev, lived two years of her childhood in Pinsk * Shabsay Moshkovsky (1895–1982), noted physician, research scientist and malariologist * Adam Naruszewicz (1733–1796), Polish-Lithuanian poet, historian, bishop * Narymunt (1277–1348), Prince of Pinsk * Theodore Odrach (1912–1964), Ukrainian and Polesian writer of novels, short stories and memoirs * Napoleon Orda (1807–1883), Polish-Lithuanian musician, pianist, composer and artist * Sławomir Rawicz (1915–2004), Polish Army lieutenant, claimed to have walked from Siberia to India during World War II *

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen consort, Queen of Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Poland and List of Lithuanian consorts, Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund the Old, and Duchess of Bari and ...

(1494–1557), Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania, Princess of Pinsk * Yauhen Shatokhin (1947–2012), Belarusian painter and political activist * Izya Shlosberg (born 1950), Jewish American artist, born in Pinsk and lived in Pinsk for 44 years * Sir Isaac Shoenberg (1880–1963), electrical engineer born in Pinsk, principal inventor of the first high-definition television system, as used by the BBC * Helena Skirmunt (1827–1874), Polesian painter and sculptor * Raman Skirmunt (1868–1939), Belarusian and Polesian statesman, aristocrat and landlord * Kazimierz Świątek (1914–2011), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Metropolitan Archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev and Apostolic Administrator of Pinsk *

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

(1874–1952), first president of Israel, born in Motal, near Pinsk and educated in Pinsk * Tatiana Woollaston (born 1986), professional snooker referee, born in Pinsk * Leo Zeitlin (1884–1930), composer, born in Pinsk before studying in Odessa and later moving to the U.S.A. * Ivan Zholtovsky (1867–1959), Soviet architect and educator

References

External links

Yad Yisroel - Pinsk

"The Jews of Pinsk"
by Jeremy Rosen. ''The Algemeiner'', July 28, 2013.
Jewish Community in Pinsk on Virtual Shtetl

Photos on Radzima.org

* ttp://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=338&letter=P&search=Pinsk "Pinsk" ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

''
Images of the Assumption Cathedral

News from Pinsk
* {{Authority control Populated places in Belarus Holocaust locations in Belarus Populated places established in the 11th century Populated places in Brest region Historic Jewish communities in Belarus