Ivanava ( be, Іванава, russian: Иваново, pl, Janów Poleski, he, יאנוב/ינוב על יד פינסק) is a city in the

Brest Region Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cent ...

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 ...

, an administrative center of the Ivanava district.

History

First mentioned in the 14th century, initially it was a village named ''Porkhovo''. In 1423 it was granted by the king

Władysław Jagiełło Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym * W ...

to the cathedral in

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

. Renamed to Janów, in 1465 it was granted with city rights. A small town in

Polesia Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

, it shared the fate of the region. On May 16, 1657 it was the seat of the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

dom of Saint

Andrzej Bobola Andrew Bobola, SJ ( pl, Andrzej Bobola; 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 U ...

. Annexed by Russia during the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

in 1795, the town did not develop much, mostly because of the proximity of much more populous town of

Pinsk Pinsk ( be, Пі́нск; russian: Пи́нск ; Polish: Pińsk; ) is a city located in the Brest Region of Belarus, in the Polesia region, at the confluence of the Pina River and the Pripyat River. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk a ...

. At the end of the 19th century it had circa 3000 inhabitants, mostly peasants and workers in a local minor textile works. Between 1915 and 1918 occupied by Germany, in 1919 it was transferred to Poland. During the Polish-Bolshevik War it was briefly occupied by the Russians between July and October 1920. After retaken by Poland, the town was the centre of mobilization of Gen. Jarosławcew's 3rd Volga Infantry Division, part of Gen. Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz's forces. Between the wars, the town remained a minor and rather non-notable centre of commerce in the area. In 1926 it was linked with the world by a new

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. This however did not lead to fast development as the industry preferred other regions of Poland. In 1939, the town was retaken by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and annexed to the

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

. On June 27, 1941 the town was occupied by

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. During the German occupation most of the Jewish inhabitants of the area were murdered in the Holocaust. On January 22, 1943 30 locals were murdered as a reprisal for ''

Ponury Jan Piwnik (31 August 1912 – 16 June 1944) was a Polish World War II soldier, a '' cichociemny'' and a notable leader of the Home Army in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. He used the nickname ''Ponury'' ("Gloomy" or "Grim") and ''Donat''. Biog ...

's'' action against the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

prison in Pinsk (see 1943 Pinsk Prison Raid). In July 1944 the town was liberated by the Soviet 61st Army. A seat of a

rayon Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose f ...

between 1954 and 1962 and again from 1965, since 1991 the town is part of independent Belarus.

External links

Photos on Radzima.org

Pre-war photos of Janów Poleski

Janów on a lithography by

Napoleon Orda Napoleon Mateusz Tadeusz Orda ( be, Напалеон Орда; lt, Napoleonas Orda; 11 February 1807 – 26 April 1883) was a Polish-Lithuanian musician, pianist, composer and artist, best known for numerous sketches of historical sites of the ...

Janów-Kamień Koszyrski railroad as of 1926
* {{Authority control Cities in Belarus Shtetls Populated places in Brest Region Brest Litovsk Voivodeship Kobrinsky Uyezd Polesie Voivodeship Holocaust locations in Belarus