Uzda ( be, Узда; russian: link=no, Узда) is a city in the

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

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 the administrative seat of

Uzda District Uzda District is a second-level administrative subdivision (raion) of Belarus in the Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бл� ...

. As of 2009, its population was 10,000. The town's name means "bridle."

History

Uzda was first referred to in 1450 as a country estate belonging to the Korsaks. From the second part of the sixteenth century, it belonged to the Kavechinskys, Zavishas, and Krasinskys. In 1574,

Symon Budny Szymon Budny or Symon Budny ( be, Сымон Будны, pl, Szymon Budny, russian: Симеон Будный; c.1533, Budne – 13 January 1593, Vishnyeva) was a Polish- Belarusian humanist, educator, Hebraist, Bible translator, Protestant ...

spent time there working on a Bible publication. In 1793, 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 1798, the owner of the town, Kasimir Zaviha, built a wooden Catholic church named the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (preserved to the present day). At the time there was also a functioning Orthodox church named Saint Peter and Paul. In 1839–1849, the town had a printer, a school, four primary schools, a brewery, a mill, a pharmacy, a post office, 30 shops and a Sunday Fair. In 1886, it had a public college, a local board of administration, a school, a distillery, a brewery, a cloth factory, two mills, 24 shops, Orthodox and Catholic churches, a synagogue, a mosque, and three prayer houses. From 1894 to 1939, the population increased from 2,800 to 3,500 people. The Jewish population in Uzda in 1900 was assessed as 2,068 people. On 1 July 1924, it was made the center of the Uzda district of the Minsk region. On 28 June 1941, it was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. About 5,600 people, including 1,740 Jews in the ghetto, were murdered. On 29 June 1944, it was liberated by the 300th Voroshilov Partisan Brigade. On 25 December 1962, it was made a part of Dzerzhinsk district. On 30 July 1966, it became an independent district. Between 1970 and 1989, the population increased from 4,300 people to 9,500.

Geography

Uzda is located 72 km south-west 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 ...

, 31 km from the town of Stoŭbcy, and 24 km from the town of

Dzyarzhynsk Dzyarzhynsk or Dzerzhinsk, formerly Koidanova or Koydanava ( be, Дзяржы́нск, Dziaržynsk, formerly , ; russian: Дзержи́нск, Dzerzhinsk, formerly , ; pl, Kojdanów; yi, קוידאַנאָוו, Koydanov; lt, Kaidanava), in t ...

. Both of these towns are crossed by the M1 highway (part of

European route E30 European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork in Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follows the Trans-Siberian Highway an ...

Demography

Population

Notable people

Devorah Baron Devorah Baron (also spelled Dvora Baron and Deborah Baron) (27 November 1887 20 August 1956) was a pioneering Jewish writer, noted for writing in Modern Hebrew and for making a career as a Hebrew author. She has been called the "first Modern Heb ...

, pioneering Jewish writer *

Salomon Bernstein Salomon or Schlomo Bernstein (1886 in Uzda, Belarus – 1968 in Holon, Israel) was a painter. He completed art studies in Vilnius, Odessa as well as at École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He immigrated to Ottoman Palestine in 1914, ...

, painter *

Moshe Feinstein Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—J ...

, American Orthodox rabbi, came from this town, before emigrating to the United States

References

External links

Uzda official website
* Towns in Belarus Populated places in Minsk Region Uzda District 1450 establishments Minsk Voivodeship Igumensky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Belarus {{Belarus-geo-stub