A story in an artistic style about the city of Pruzhany. Pruzhany Regional Executive Committee - History

Handsome and cozy town Pruzhany, known for its rich architectural heritage, is located 90 kilometers north of Brest on the banks of the Mukhavets River. The population of the city is just over 19 thousand people.

It has been customary to count down the history of Pruzhany since 1487 - first mention in written sources. At that time, the city was part of the Kobrin principality, but already in the next century it entered the possession of the Polish queen Bona Sforza. The famous Pruzhany "royal court" was built here, consisting of a wooden palace, stables, outbuildings and other buildings. However, the numerous wars of later centuries, which swept through the Belarusian lands like a storm, did not spare the palace - it was destroyed. The city has become big shopping center and received the Magdeburg Law, which gave an even greater impetus to its development. After the third division of the Commonwealth in 1795, Pruzhany became part of the Russian Empire, and Tsarina Catherine II presented the city to her commander Count Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky for the brutal suppression of the uprising of Tadeusz Kosciuszka. Soon, the new owners of Pruzhany became the Shvykovsky family, which left a bright mark on the history of the region.

At garden and park complex Shvykovsky in Pruzhany is the hallmark of the city, attracting the most attention of tourists. The estate was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1850 and has the features of an Italian villa. In addition to the main building, the old park with a linden alley, as well as a hydrological system consisting of a pond and canals with islands and bridges. In Soviet times, a dental clinic was located in the building of the estate. Today it operates here Museum "Pruzhany Palace", offering guests of the city to get acquainted with the history of Pruzhany and their owners, legends and crafts of the region. The museum houses a unique wooden icon of the 16th century, The Last Supper. In the courtyard of the manor complex there is an ancient stone idol, transported not so long ago from the village of Butki.

A number of buildings of architectural and historical value have been preserved in Pruzhany. Among such objects, it is worth highlighting the shopping malls in Pruzhany, located on central square and once the heart of the business life of the city. It should also be noted the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Pruzhany, built in 1883, and the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Pruzhany. The construction of the temple, which is a monument of classicism, was completed in 1880. You can not ignore the ordinary building of the city. One of the oldest buildings is a pharmacy in Pruzhany, built according to various sources in 1811 or 1828.

Two significant events are held annually in the city: festival of ultralight aviation and aeronautics "Slavic Brotherhood" and republican jazz music festival that attracts music lovers to the city.

And connoisseurs active rest in Pruzhany attract a water park and Ice Palace open to everyone.

Without an excursion to Pruzhany it is impossible to imagine tourist routes across Brest. Lovers of recreation in Belarus will find unique sights in the city, bright history and unforgettable experiences.

History of Pruzhany

City, district center. Located on the river Mukhavets, 89 km northeast of Brest, 13 km from the railway station. Oranchitsy (on the line Baranovichi - Brest). Knot highways to Brest, Vysokoye, Shereshevo, Bereza, Slonim, Kobrin.

The first mention of the Prushansky volost dates back to 1433. According to the writer and historian Yu. I. Krashevsky and others, the name arose in connection with the settlement of the Prussians fleeing from the Crusaders (Prussians, Prussians, Prushany) here. Pruzhany have been known since 1487 under the name Dobuchin. Until 1519 in the Kobrin principality. After the death of Prince Ivan Semyonovich of Kobrin, Pruzhany passed into the possession of his wife Fedora, in 1519, by the privilege of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund I the Old, to Marshal V. Kostevich, they were part of the Kobrin starostvo. Since 1520 in the Kobrin povet of the Podlasie Voivodeship, since 1566 in the Brest povet and the voivodeship. In the 16th century belonged to the Queen of the Commonwealth Bona and her daughter Anna. In 1589, the city, which at that time was a fairly large trading center, received Magdeburg rights, and the name Pruzhany was assigned to it. There were 4 fairs a year. According to the inventory of 1563, there were 1250 inhabitants in Pruzhany, 7 streets, 278 households. In the 16th century there was a Pruzhany “royal court” (a wooden palace, 2 outbuildings, a stable, a barn, a firebox, a bakery, 4 barns, a water mill, a garden).

During the wars of the middle of the 17th - 1st half of the 18th century. the city was badly destroyed, the number of buildings decreased by 5 times. In 1776 he was deprived of Magdeburg law. By the end of the 18th century restored, in 1791 - 2094 inhabitants.

Since 1795, Pruzhany has been part of Russia: a city, the center of the Slonim povet, since 1797 Lithuanian, since 1801 Grodno province. In 1845, they received a new coat of arms: a fir-tree with a hunting pipe hanging on the branches is depicted on a light brown background. In 1866, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the center of Pruzhany, and in 1878, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior was built. In 1857 there were 5665 inhabitants in the city. During the uprising of 1863-64. detachments of R. Roginsky, S. Songin and B. Rylsky operated in the Pruzhany region. On February 13, 1863, they occupied the city.
The abolition of serfdom contributed economic development cities.

According to the 1897 census, there were 7,633 inhabitants in Pruzhany (43.4% of literate people), 14 small enterprises, a county and two-year parish school, and 6 hospitals. In the 19th-1st half of the 20th century. Pruzhany is known as the center of pottery. During the revolution of 1905-07. in Pruzhany there were strikes of workers of a tobacco factory and a distillery.

From August 1915 the city was occupied by German troops, from 30.1.1919 to July 1920 - by Polish troops. From July 27 to September 19, 1920, Soviet power was in the city, and the county military revolutionary committee operated. According to the Riga Peace Treaty in 1921-39. Pruzhany was part of bourgeois Poland: a district town of the Polessky Voivodeship. The workers' struggle for national liberation was led by the organizations of the KPZB, KSMZB, and the Byelorussian Peasant-Working Community.
Since September 1939, Pruzhany has been part of the BSSR, since 15.1.1940 the center of the district of the Brest region. On June 23, 1941, the city was occupied by Nazi invaders. From 1942, an underground anti-fascist committee operated, from 11/23/1943 to 7/11/1944 - the underground district committee of the CP (b) B, from 09/1/1943 to 07/11/1944 - the underground district committee of the LKSMB. The invaders destroyed more than 4 thousand people in the death camp in the city, the housing stock was destroyed by 70%.

17.7.1944 Pruzhany was liberated by units of the 28th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. In 1959, in the regional design workshops of the city of Baranovichi, a planning scheme for Pruzhany was developed, which streamlined the irregular grid of streets. In 1974, a master plan of the city was developed in the Minsk branch of the Central Research and Design Institute of Urban Development. There are 3 planning districts in the city: southern, western and eastern. The planning structure is determined by the central axial highway (Sovetskaya, Kobrinskaya, Oktyabrskaya streets), Lenin, R. Shirma, Krasnoarmeyskaya streets perpendicular to it and the curvilinear outline of the floodplain of the river. Mukhavets. The historical center of the city is Sovetskaya Square, where architectural monuments of the 19th century have been preserved - shopping malls and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The new administrative and public center Pruzhany was formed on R. Shirma and Sovetskaya streets. In the development stand out the House of Soviets, a hotel, a residential building with shops. central part cities and centers of the eastern and northern regions are built up with multi-storey residential buildings. New microdistricts appeared in the northern part of the city and along the street. October. The southern industrial zone was formed.

The main industrial enterprises are: a canning plant, a butter and cheese plant, a cannery, a flax plant, building materials plants, communal enterprises, and a cooperative industry. The regional association "Selkhozkhimiya", the regional consumer services complex, a sewing and knitting factory, 4 construction organizations and 4 convoys are operating.
In Pruzhany there are a state farm technical school, 4 secondary, music and youth sports schools, 7 preschool institutions, 2 houses of culture, 2 cinemas, 2 libraries, a hospital, the Brest Regional Agricultural Experimental Station, and a zonal agrochemical laboratory.

About 60 billion Belarusian rubles were spent to prepare the city of Pruzhany and the Pruzhany region for the republican festival-fair "Dazhynki-2003", which took place on October 3-4.

As a result of the work carried out, the city has changed a lot.

The Palace of Culture and a new bus station were built in Pruzhany.

Barracks were demolished in the city center and a residential building was erected, on the ground floor of which a pharmacy and a branch of Belarusbank were located.
The city hotel Mukhavets was rebuilt in the European manner.

City, district center. Located on the river Mukhavets, 89 km northeast of Brest, 13 km from the railway station. Oranchitsy (on the line Baranovichi - Brest). Road junction to Brest, Vysokoye, Shereshevo, Bereza, Slonim, Kobrin.

The first mention of the Prushansky volost dates back to 1433. According to the writer and historian Yu. I. Krashevsky and others, the name arose in connection with the settlement of the Prussians fleeing from the Crusaders (Prussians, Prussians, Prushany) here. Pruzhany have been known since 1487 under the name Dobuchin. Until 1519 in the Kobrin principality. After the death of Prince Ivan Semyonovich of Kobrin, Pruzhany passed into the possession of his wife Fedora, in 1519, by the privilege of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund I the Old, to Marshal V. Kostevich, they were part of the Kobrin starostvo. Since 1520 in the Kobrin povet of the Podlasie Voivodeship, since 1566 in the Brest povet and the voivodeship. In the 16th century belonged to the Queen of the Commonwealth Bona and her daughter Anna. In 1589, the city, which at that time was a fairly large trading center, received Magdeburg rights, and the name Pruzhany was assigned to it. There were 4 fairs a year. According to the inventory of 1563, there were 1250 inhabitants in Pruzhany, 7 streets, 278 households. In the 16th century there was a Pruzhany “royal court” (a wooden palace, 2 outbuildings, a stable, a barn, a firebox, a bakery, 4 barns, a water mill, a garden). During the wars of the middle of the 17th - 1st half of the 18th century. the city was badly destroyed, the number of buildings decreased by 5 times. In 1776 he was deprived of Magdeburg law. By the end of the 18th century restored, in 1791 - 2094 inhabitants. Since 1795, Pruzhany has been part of Russia: a city, the center of the Slonim povet, since 1797 Lithuanian, since 1801 Grodno province. In 1845, they received a new coat of arms: a fir-tree with a hunting pipe hanging on the branches is depicted on a light brown background. In 1866, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in the center of Pruzhany, and in 1878, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior was built. In 1857 there were 5665 inhabitants in the city. During the uprising of 1863-64. detachments of R. Roginsky, S. Songin and B. Rylsky operated in the Pruzhany region. On February 13, 1863, they occupied the city.

The abolition of serfdom contributed to the economic development of the city.

According to the 1897 census, there were 7,633 inhabitants in Pruzhany (43.4% of literate people), 14 small enterprises, a county and two-year parish school, and 6 hospitals. In the 19th-1st half of the 20th century. Pruzhany is known as the center of pottery. During the revolution of 1905-07. in Pruzhany there were strikes of workers of a tobacco factory and a distillery. From August 1915 the city was occupied by German troops, from 30.1.1919 to July 1920 - by Polish troops. From July 27 to September 19, 1920, Soviet power was in the city, and the county military revolutionary committee operated. According to the Riga Peace Treaty in 1921-39. Pruzhany was part of bourgeois Poland: a district town of the Polessky Voivodeship. The workers' struggle for national liberation was led by the organizations of the KPZB, KSMZB, and the Byelorussian Peasant-Working Community.

Since September 1939, Pruzhany has been part of the BSSR, since 15.1.1940 the center of the district of the Brest region. On June 23, 1941, the city was occupied by Nazi invaders. From 1942, an underground anti-fascist committee operated, from 11/23/1943 to 7/11/1944 - the underground district committee of the CP (b) B, from 09/1/1943 to 07/11/1944 - the underground district committee of the LKSMB. The invaders destroyed more than 4 thousand people in the death camp in the city, the housing stock was destroyed by 70%. 17.7.1944 Pruzhany was liberated by units of the 28th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front.

In 1959, in the regional design workshops of the city of Baranovichi, a planning scheme for Pruzhany was developed, which streamlined the irregular grid of streets. In 1974, a master plan of the city was developed in the Minsk branch of the Central Research and Design Institute of Urban Development.

There are 3 planning districts in the city: southern, western and eastern. The planning structure is determined by the central axial highway (Sovetskaya, Kobrinskaya, Oktyabrskaya streets), Lenin, R. Shirma, Krasnoarmeyskaya streets perpendicular to it and the curvilinear outline of the floodplain of the river. Mukhavets. The historical center of the city is Sovetskaya Square, where architectural monuments of the 19th century have been preserved - shopping malls and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The new administrative and public center Pruzhany was formed on R. Shirma and Sovetskaya streets. In the development stand out the House of Soviets, a hotel, a residential building with shops. The central part of the city and the centers of the eastern and northern regions are built up with multi-storey residential buildings. New microdistricts appeared in the northern part of the city and along the street. October. The southern industrial zone was formed.

The main industrial enterprises are: a canning plant, a butter and cheese plant, a cannery, a flax plant, building materials plants, communal enterprises, and a cooperative industry. The regional association "Selkhozkhimiya", the regional consumer services complex, a sewing and knitting factory, 4 construction organizations and 4 convoys are operating.

In Pruzhany there are a state farm technical school, 4 secondary, music and youth sports schools, 7 preschool institutions, 2 houses of culture, 2 cinemas, 2 libraries, a hospital, the Brest Regional Agricultural Experimental Station, and a zonal agrochemical laboratory.

The locals are offended that the Pruzhany region is perceived as a transit point on the road to Belovezhskaya Pushcha, but the local interesting places and there are enough sights for several excursion days! The editors decided to check whether this is true, why it is worth going here and how long the first acquaintance with the surroundings will take.

RUZHANY

1st stop. Belarusian Versailles

Belarusian Versailles - that's what everyone wants to see in Ruzhany. The palace of the beginning of the 17th century was originally built by the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lev Sapieha as a defensive castle. And today, the red brick ruins in combination with the entrance gate restored in 2011 look very impressive.

Be sure to check out the museum "Ruzhansky Palace Complex Sapieha" in the entrance wings. Here you will learn about the history of Ruzhany, about where, according to legend, the underground passage from the 3rd floor of the basement leads, when the representatives of the Sapieha family were here for the last time, how many Jews returned to the village after the Second World War, how theatrical registration of marriage. It will not be boring!

The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday inclusive, from 9 to 18.00 and a break (13.00-14.00). Entrance - 2.50 rubles, for students, schoolchildren and pensioners - 1.80 rubles. Group tour for an adult group of up to 25 people, the museum and the complex will cost 12 rubles, only the museum - 7 rubles. For singles private tour the museum and the complex will cost 7.50 rubles.

Events on the territory of the palace are becoming a frequent occurrence. So, on June 3rd, the fifth festival "Ruzhanskaya Brama" was held here with an evening fire show, an exhibition and sale of products of folk craftsmen, children's attractions and an animation program.

2nd stop. Church of the anniversary

In the center of Ruzhany there is a Trinity Church built in 1617 on the site of a wooden stone church. In the 18th century, 2 symmetrical chapels were completed in it - the Holy Cross and St. Barbara, and later several more reconstructions were carried out. The last one was in 1997-2003 with the support of Maria Sapieha and the Ministry of Culture of Poland, as stated commemorative sign at the entrance. Architecture lovers will recognize Baroque and Classicism features in this historic building. It is interesting that many things inside are original, for example, the bench on which representatives of the magnate Sapieha family prayed. By the way, this summer the Trinity Church will celebrate its 400th anniversary.

3rd stop. Icon-savior

On the opposite side of the church, after crossing a small park, look into the Peter and Paul Church. If you are lucky and you find Father Alexander, you will hear from his lips amazing story about how in 1895, after a strong fire in the entire village, only the temple remained unharmed, in which the windows only burst from the high temperature. The inhabitants who were hiding in a stone church from trouble were saved by the Ruzhany icon of the 17th century, the most revered in this area.

4th stop. In the park

In the park near the church, and in some other places in the village, you will notice beautiful wooden sculptures. They appeared in Ruzhany in 2013 after the open air of wood carvers. Here is the great chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Leo Sapieha, and his son Casimir, also the Polish king Vladislav IV Vasa with his wife, and the Polish queen Bona Sforza. Notable craftsmen from different cities Belarus carved dozens of figures in honor of the bright and active personalities who influenced historical and cultural heritage Ruzhan. A few meters from the wooden composition you will see a monument to Soviet soldiers - it was here that the city hall once stood.

5th stop. Papernya

V summer time after walking around the village great place Lake Papernya with coastline 12 km. Its name comes from the fact that in the early 1600s, Lev Sapieha built a paper manufactory here. A picturesque area with a pine forest and swans on the shore inspires and soothes, and thanks to the bright coniferous aroma, it is easy to breathe here. Perhaps that is why the sanatorium "Ruzhansky", which is located in the Ruzhanskaya Pushcha, is always full of vacationers. People come here for mud therapy, hirudotherapy, halotherapy in a salt cave, hypoxic therapy - breathing mountain air.

6th stop. Unique village

Locals will advise you to go from Ruzhany to the surroundings, namely to the village of Lyskovo. On the way, you can have a bite to eat at the Taverna cafe, decorated in the spirit of the Middle Ages. There is nothing left of the ancient castle in the swamps near Lyskov, except that in some places defensive ditches are visible. But in the village itself, you can admire the majestic and dilapidated building of the Trinity Church, which previously belonged to the monastery of 1751. Another attraction of the village - Orthodox Church Nativity of the Virgin, built - attention! - in 1933. The year of construction is explained by the fact that until 1939 the territory was part of Poland, and there was no Soviet power here. It is also noteworthy that this is the only monument of wooden architecture in Belarus, made under the influence of the architecture of Transcarpathia and the Art Nouveau style. Lyskovo is unique not only for its preserved wooden church, but also for the fact that it was here that the famous “Chronicle of Bykhovets” was created - a collection of Belarusian-Lithuanian annals of the 16th century.

Given the rich excursion program, you can stay overnight in Ruzhany. But there's only one here private hotel. It is better to go to Pruzhany, where there are more accommodation options and there are certainly free rooms. We recommend the Mukhavets hotel.

PRUZHANY

1st stop. miraculous icon

Three portraits will look at you from the building next to the Mukhavets hotel - these are famous fellow countrymen of Pruzhany. One of them is Mikhail Zabeyda-Sumitsky, the first Belarusian to perform at Milan's La Scala Opera House. Nearby are the two main sights of the city center - the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the shopping arcade of the late XIX century. The temple was built in just two years with donations from the townspeople, landowners and peasants, Moscow merchants. It contains an icon, which in 1934 performed a miracle - tears flowed from the eyes of the Mother of God. The malls were originally wooden, and in 1867 they acquired a modern look. In each niche there was a separate shop, where, as a rule, Jews traded.

2nd stop. “Fly and Vets”

A couple of minutes walk from the Palace of Culture, which, like many other things in the city, was transformed in preparation for Dozhinki 2003, there is the only sculptural composition in Belarus over the Mukha and Vets River. Installed in 2009, it symbolizes the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, where the Mukhavets River, the right tributary of the Western Bug, originates. Let the sculptures do not look grandiose, but they will completely pass for a sweet business card cities.

3rd stop. Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary opened its doors to parishioners as a church only in 1998, although construction began in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The history of the Catholic church was influenced by the uprising of 1863, as a result of which the practically completed building passed to the Orthodox believers. locals they say that during the Great Patriotic War, soldiers warmed themselves in this temple, kindling a fire from an organ. Now it is the only church in Pruzhany.

Walking in the city in hot weather, you can refresh yourself - go to the ice or water palace. For adults, an hour of skating with skate rental will cost 3 rubles, for children under 16 years old - 2.45 rubles. And in the water palace there is a swimming pool and a small water park. Its visit will cost 5.35 rubles (70 minutes) for an adult, 4 rubles for children.

4th stop. Pruzhany Palace

"Museum-Estate Pruzhany Palatsik" we recommend to see both outside and inside. In the building of this unusual early Renaissance rural villa today there are several museum expositions: ethnographic, a salon with a piano and copies of the works of Napoleon Orda, a hunting cabinet, an exhibition of contemporary artists, an icon hall. The guide will tell you in detail about the owners of the estate, built according to the project of the Italian architect, and their fate. And in the hall of ethnographic composition you will see products of glossy and black-smoky ceramics, widely known in the Pruzhany region since the 16th century and, unfortunately, are practically not developed in our time.

5th stop. "Wooden" people

In the Pruzhany region there is a village in which the famous folk master of traditional arts and crafts Nikolai Tarasyuk, a tenth generation peasant, lived all his life. In the village of Stoyly, Nikolai Vasilievich remained the last inhabitant, except for his beloved “wooden people”, who still live in a small house next to the master’s. The figurines, skillfully made by the craftsman from wood, vines and straw, “tell” about rural life and the way of life of Belarusian peasants. Unfortunately, Stoyly does not yet have a full-fledged museum where anyone can come, but the daughter of a famous master is always happy to have guests. You can see the work not only in the village, but also in National Museum history and culture, in the Brest Museum of Local Lore.

If the second day of such a mini-trip seems to be eventful for you, and there really is something to see in the Pruzhany region, do not rush home. There are many good estates in the surrounding villages where you can stay for the night with a hot homemade dinner.

Pruzhany district, one of the most remarkable parts of Belarus, is located in the northwestern part of the Brest region on the border with the Republic of Poland, it includes a significant part Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

According to archaeologists, the lands of the current Pruzhany region began to be settled about 8-9 thousand years ago. The first settlements that arose along the banks of the Yaselda, Mukhavets and Left Lesnaya laid the foundation for the villages of Noski, Khoreva, Trukhonovichi, Smolyanitsa, Rudniki, Chakhets, Shereshevo, Brody ... Located after 3-5 kilometers, they, as it were, dottedly outlined the oldest and shortest route from Varangian to the Greeks, linking the rivers Narew and Yaselda, the Baltic and the Black Sea region.

The uniqueness of the area and its location on the watershed of the rivers flowing into the Baltic and Black Sea. This factor has big influence on the originality of the spiritual and material culture of the Pruzhany region.

During the Middle Ages, the Pruzhany region was at the crossroads of the most important trade and military transport routes connecting Western Europe with Muscovy (later - Russia), the Baltic states with Ukraine, which undoubtedly gave the inhabitants of this region many advantages and at the same time brought many disasters.

The first historical evidence of the "parish of Prushanskaya" dates back to 1433. There are several legends related to the origin of the name. One of them claims that Pruzhany comes from the word “millet”, which was the main agricultural crop in this area in the distant past. In accordance with other sources, the settlement on the site of the current Pruzhany in the late 13th - early 14th centuries was occupied by the Baltic tribes of the Prussians fleeing from the crusaders. Hence the name Prussians, Prussians, Pruzhany.

In 1589, the town of Pruzhany was granted Magdeburg privileges along with the city's statute, seal and coat of arms. It is noteworthy that the coat of arms granted to Pruzhany is very close in its content to the coat of arms of Milan. On its silver field, a snake is depicted, from the mouth of which a half-baby appears. The people of Pruzhany owe this similarity to Anna Jagielonka, who granted the coat of arms in memory of her mother Bona, Queen of the Commonwealth and daughter of the Duke of Milan, Giano Galeatso Sforza.

The charter of King Sigismund III is the only document that explains the real meaning of the figures depicted on the coat of arms. It is from the mouth of the snake that the child appears, which symbolizes the newly awakening eternally young force combined with wisdom, the ability of the world to self-purify and renew itself. All other sources claim that he is already swallowing a baby.

During its long history, the city had several coats of arms, which changed, as a rule, with the change of the next owner. But in 1998, with the efforts local authorities the old coat of arms was recreated and is now the main symbol of the city.

Among the earliest medieval settlements on the territory of the Pruzhany region, the urban settlements of Shereshevo and Ruzhany are known, which also used the Magdeburg right in their time.

Shereshevo is located on the outskirts of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, 20 kilometers from Pruzhany, it has been known since 1380 as a village in the Kamenets district. Located on the most important transport route connecting the two capitals - Vilna and Krakow, the Shereshev place played an important role in ensuring the safety of the royal route, and the inhabitants maintained trade relations with many cities in Europe. During the campaign of Stefan Batory in 1578 against Moscow, it became a gathering place for Polish and Lithuanian troops.

The village has preserved unique monuments architecture, among which is a wooden bell tower, cut down in 1799 without a single nail. Shereshevo origin has the gospel - a Belarusian written monument of the 16th century and an iconostasis created in the icon painting school of the local church. Both of these values ​​are stored in the State Art Museum of Belarus.

Ruzhany has been known since 1552, located 45 kilometers from Pruzhany, surrounded by picturesque hills. The glory and flourishing of the ancient settlement are associated with the well-known in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania magnate family Sapieha, who acquired Ruzhany at the very end of the 16th century. One of the representatives of this genus is Lev Sapega (1557 - 1633), the creator of the "Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" - a code of laws that had no analogues in Europe. Under the new owners in 1606, Ruzhany was called a place located on "a large hotel leading from Slonim to Berestye and Podlasie, which great ambassadors and merchants used to travel to." In 1617 the Trinity Church of the Dominicans was built at the expense of Sapieha, which, along with the Peter and Paul Church located opposite and the building of the former Basilian monastery, is still a landmark of the village today.

But the main pearl of Ruzhany, of course, is the Sapieha palace complex. It began to be built in the 16th century and was rebuilt several times over the course of two centuries. Kings have been here twice, ambassadors have been received and even proteges to the Moscow throne have been prepared. The treasury of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the arsenal were stored in huge cellars. In 1665, the Vilna Chapter, fleeing from the troops of the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, delivered the relics of St. Casimir, the heavenly patron of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to the Ruzhany Palace.

The Ruzhany palace complex, which was famous for its untold wealth, had a large library and an art gallery, a theater and an arena, gradually fell into decay: for Sapieha's participation in the uprising of 1830-1831. Ruzhany possessions were confiscated and turned into a cloth factory by the new owners, and the first and second world wars finally destroyed the palace. Currently, the state is making attempts to conserve the remains of the complex and restore it.

Many historical documents, burial mounds, monuments, famous and nameless graves have been preserved in the region, which testify to the courage and resilience of our ancestors.

The Chronicle of Bykhovets, one of the first Belarusian chronicles of the 16th century, was found in an old family estate in the village of Mogilevtsy.

The Russian-Polish (1654-1667) and Northern (1700-1721) wars, the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the first and second world wars swept over Pruzhany in their bloody stream.

The restored chapel near the village of Poddubno reminds of the battle between the Russian army under the command of General A.P. Tormasov and the Napoleonic troops during the Patriotic War of 1812.

The events of the Polish national liberation uprising of 1830-1831 did not bypass the Pruzhany region. The insurgent detachment actively operating in the Kobrin region was formed in the family estate of its leader Titus Puslovsky-Plyant, which was located in the Pruzhany region.

National liberation movement 1863-1864 under the leadership of K. Kalinovsky against tsarism, it found wide support among a significant part of the nobility, residents of the city and shtetls, single-palace peasants, and the Catholic clergy of Pruzhany. On the account of the rebels, the capture of the city of Pruzhany on the night of February 12-13, 1863, an attack to punish traitors and scammers on the town of Shereshevo in August 1863, battles near the villages of Mikhalin, Guta, Lososin and others. The restored monument to 40 dead soldiers of V. Vrublevsky's detachment on the outskirts of Ruzhanskaya Pushcha reminds of those events today.

The revolutionary events of 1905 found their response in the Pruzhany region as well. An underground revolutionary organization operated in Ruzhany. Dyers and weavers went on strike in Ruzhany, workers at a pasta factory in Pruzhany. In November 1905, the rise of the rural movement began, which covered the entire Pruzhany district.

On August 1, 1914, the First World War. Pruzhany landed in the frontline zone. In the spring of 1915, the district was occupied by the troops of Kaiser Germany. The soldiers of the Kaiser's army exported to Germany everything that was of value to them.

In the middle of 1919, our area was liberated from the invaders by the troops of the Red Army. But the Soviet-Polish war began and Western Belarus was already captured by the Polish invaders. In July 1920 Pruzhany was liberated from the White Poles. On September 19, Pruzhany was captured by the Polish army, and on the basis of the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty, it became part of bourgeois Poland.

After almost twenty years of occupation of the White Poles, the Pruzhany district became part of the BSSR. On January 15, 1940, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Republic, districts were created in the western regions instead of counties. Not only Pruzhany, but also Shereshevo, which was previously part of the Pruzhany district, and Ruzhany, which were an integral part of the Kossovsky district, became regional centers. After the reorganization of the administrative-territorial division, Shereshevsky (in 1956) and Ruzhansky (in 1962) became part of the current borders of the Pruzhany region.

The land of Pruzhany from the first hours of the Great Patriotic War was on fire and became a place of fierce battles. The pilots of the 33rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was stationed near Pruzhany, were the first to enter the battle with the fascist invaders. It was then that Senior Lieutenant S.M. Gudimov made one of the first rams in the history of the Great Patriotic War.

The fight against the invaders in the occupied territory was organized by the underground anti-fascist committees created at the end of 1941, which were headed by M.E. Krishtafovich (Pruzhansky), I.P. Urbanovich (Ruzhansky) and I.Yu. - underground district committees of the party and the Komsomol. From scattered partisan groups in January 1942, the first detachment named after Stalin was created in the Guto-Mikhalinsky forests under the command of Lieutenant A.A. Zhurba. By the time the region was liberated from the Nazi invaders, two partisan brigades of several detachments each operated on its territory. An underground printing house, which has been operating uninterruptedly since 1942, has played a major role in intensifying the fight against the enemy, changing its location several times.

The enemy brutally treated not only those who resisted, but also civilians. Mass executions of prisoners of war, Soviet activists and citizens of Jewish nationality were carried out in the Slobudka tract near Pruzhany. During the three war years, according to incomplete data, more than 10 thousand people were killed here. The invaders organized a ghetto, which occupied several central quarters of Pruzhany. Jews from Ruzhany, Shereshevo, Bialystok were brought here. During the occupation, 58 villages were destroyed in the region, 7 of which were not restored at all, 19,457 civilians died.

Pruzhany were liberated by units of the 28th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front on July 17, 1944. The victory came at a high price: more than 8 thousand inhabitants of Pruzhany region fought on different fronts, of which about 3 thousand died or went missing. Two natives of the region were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Lieutenant General S.A. Bobruk (born in the village of Shubichi) and Colonel M.V. Khotimsky (born in the town of Shereshevo). A resident of Pruzhany, R.T. Krotov, became a full cavalier of the Order of Glory. A participant in the liberation of the Pruzhany region, S.P. Kosterin, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously for the battle near the village of Vilyanovo.

The path of post-war economic and cultural development was not easy. The war brought great losses and destruction, it took a lot of work to restore everything and move forward. Collective farms created before the war were revived in the villages, new ones appeared. Gradually they were enlarged, in 1957 there were already 380 tractors, more than 160 trucks, 105 grain harvesters in three MTS and 36 farms of the region. Significant changes took place in the industry of the region: in the ten post-war years, the volume of gross output increased nine times. In 1957, the Pruzhany State Farm College graduated the first 95 graduates.

Since 1965, a new stage in the development of agricultural production began. Purchase prices for the products of collective farms and state farms were raised, guaranteed wages for rural workers were introduced, and land reclamation began. It was then that the Heroes of Socialist Labor appeared in the Pruzhany region - milkmaids M.G. Makarchuk and E.A. Melisevich, a pig farmer A.I. .Kudinov, excavator driver V.P. Shapoval.

Time is merciless. It carries away into eternity the events and images of past eras. It seems beyond his control only living witnesses of the past years - monuments of archeology, architecture, history, ancient parks of landlord estates in Pruzhany, Kashtanovka, Stary Kuplin ...

Invisible threads connect the past with the present wonderful creations of architects and folk architects who erected in Ruzhany the palace complex of the Sapieha princes (16-18 centuries), the Trinity Church of the Dominicans (17-19 centuries), the Peter and Paul Church and the Basilian Monastery (2nd half of the 17th-18th centuries), a Jewish synagogue (19th century), a church and a monastery of missionaries in the village. Lyskovo (1763-1785).

It is impossible to pass by the ancient castle in Lyskovo (15-16 centuries), which belonged to the Polish queen Bona Sforza, whose ruins remind of the past glory and tragedy of its defenders and owners.

Folk wisdom, architectural perfection and completeness emanates from the wooden Shereshevskaya bell tower, cut down in 1799 in accordance with local canons.

All of these are witnesses of the glorious past of Pruzhany, hard work and courage of the people living here.