Belarus 4K | Smorgon - the most bear-like town in Belarus.
Sunday 22.09.2024 Time: 14.30 Temperature: 22°C / 72°F
Smorgon is a town on the Oksna River (left tributary of the Viliya River) and its tributary, the Gervyatka River, 110 km northwest of Minsk.
Population: 35,422 people (as of January 1, 2024).
The first written mention of Smorgon is in 1503. A privately owned town of the Zenovichs.
From 1628 until the beginning of the 19th century, Smorgon belonged to the Radziwills.
They founded a trade for catching and training bears. In those days, not a single fair was held without performances of these animals.
And shortly before the war of 1812, the town passed into the possession of Count Karol Przezdecki, but in the 1830s his property, including Smorgon, was confiscated and leased out. In 1842, Smorgon became a state property.
Smorgon was visited by many historical figures. In the 17th century, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund III Vasa came here, and later - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
During the Northern War in the early 18th century, the Swedish King Charles XII stayed in Smorgon for several days, receiving Stanislav Leszczynski, who he had elevated to the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
On December 5, 1812, the retreating Napoleon arrived in the town, and four days later Mikhail Kutuzov appeared here.
By the end of the 19th century, 8908 people lived in Smorgon. There was a post office, 3 schools, 2 colleges, 2 almshouses, 2 hospitals, 2 churches, a Catholic church, 2 synagogues, tanneries, distilleries, tobacco factories, soap factories, brick factories, and breweries. There were flour mills and sawmills. Famous "smorgonki" buns were baked in Smorgon.
In 1904, the town received the status of a city.
During the First World War, the city was completely destroyed, and the Jewish population, which made up more than 70% of the population, was exiled or left for Russia on their own.
In 1921, according to the Treaty of Riga, the western lands of Belarus, including Smorgon, went to Poland.
If before the war, 16,288 residents lived in Smorgon, then according to the 1921 census, only 154 people lived there - a hundred times less. In the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, the number of Jews grew again and now made up about 40% of the city's population.
On September 17, 1939, units of the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border. Smorgon became part of the USSR.
From June 25, 1941 to July 5, 1944, it was occupied by the Nazis. In 1942, most of the Jewish population was taken out of the ghetto and exterminated in the Chancellery camps.
By 1960, the city was completely restored. A missile regiment was stationed here.
In the 70s, the Optical Machine Tool Plant (SZOS) was commissioned.
Since 1991, Smorgon has been part of the Republic of Belarus.
Sights of Smorgon. What to see.
Church of St. Michael the Archangel (17th century).
Oginsky Estate.
Krevo Castle.
F. Bogushevich House.
Transfiguration Cathedral.
Fortifications from the First World War (1915-1918).
Railway station (1920s).
Memorial complex in memory of the heroes and victims of the First World War.
Monument to F. Bogushevich.
Monument to the Bear Academy.
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🔻 Timestamps 🔻
0:00:00 - Announcement.
0:01:36 - Lenin Street.
0:04:38 - Sovetskaya Street.
0:11:24 - Komsomolskaya street.
0:14:18 - Yakub Kolas street.
0:19:19 - Vostochnaya street.
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