Ruzhany ( be, Ружаны, pl, Różana, yi, ראָזשינאָי, Rozhinoy, lt, Ružanai; former / alternative spellings include Różana and Ruzhinoy) is a small town located in Pruzhany Raion of Brest Region, Belarus.

Geography

Ruzhany is situated on the river Ruzhanka and surrounded by picturesque hills. It is 140 km away from Brest, 38 km from Ivatsevichy (where the nearest railway station is located), 45 km north-east from Pruzhany, on the crossing of the roads from Pruzhany to

Slonim Slonim ( be, Сло́нім, russian: Сло́ним, lt, Slanimas, lv, Sloņima, pl, Słonim, yi, סלאָנים, ''Slonim'') is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus, capital of the Slonimski rajon. It is located at the junction of the Ščar ...

and from

Vaukavysk Vawkavysk ( be, Ваўкавы́ск, ; russian: Волковы́ск; pl, Wołkowysk; lt, Valkaviskas; yi, וואלקאוויסק; names in other languages) is one of the oldest towns in southwestern Belarus and the capital of the Vawkavysk ...

to Kosava.

History

The earliest mentioning of Ruzhany dates back to 1552. Following the First World War the town was part of Poland until September 1939, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union and incorporated into the

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

. From 23 June 1941 until 13 July 1944, Ruzhany was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of Bezirk Bialystok. Almost the entire pre-war population of 3,500 Jews were killed in the Holocaust, mostly at Treblinka extermination camp. On Sept. 19, 1659, R.Yisrael ben Shalom and R.Tuvyah Bachrach were killed in Ruzhany on Rosh HaShana 5420, in the infamous

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

Notable residents

Some notable past residents of Ruzhany include: * The Sapieha family, influential Polish-Lithuanian aristocrats, who built a palace at Ruzhany (see below). * I. M. Pines, a famous writer and Zionist. * Yitzhak Shamir, former Prime Minister of Israel. *

Melech Epstein Melech Epstein ( yi, מלך עפשטײן, 1889–1979) was an American journalist and historian. His two most famous books, ''Jewish labor in U.S.A.'' and ''The Jew and communism'' are considered standard works. Early life Epstein was born i ...

, a US Yiddish language journalist. *

Louis Leon Ribak Louis Leon Ribak (3 December 1902 – 1979) was an American social realist and abstract painter who was a member of the " Taos Moderns" group of artists. Biography Born in the Grodno in the Russian Empire, Ribak emigrated to New York City a ...

, a US artist.

Notable sights

Interesting sights in Ruzhany include: * Ruzhany Palace: a large and impressive, but mostly ruined complex. Now undergoing complete renovation. * Two large churches: Trinity Church (Catholic, dating from 1617 ) and St Peter & Paul (Orthodox, built 1762-88 ) * A small chapel named for

St. Casimir Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...

is in the town cemetery * An ancient Jewish graveyard and a large ruined synagogue * A small German cemetery

References

External links

"All About Ruzhany" (Unofficial Ruzhany Site)

Ruzhany at Radzima.org

Jewish Electronic Encyclopedia page on Ruzhany (in Russian)

Ruzhany
on KehilaLinks * Populated places in Brest Region Urban-type settlements in Belarus Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795) Slonimsky Uyezd Polesie Voivodeship Holocaust locations in Belarus Pruzhany District {{Belarus-geo-stub