Pruzhany
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Pruzhany (Belarusian: Пружаны, IPA: [pru'ʐanɨ]) is a town in Brest Voblast, Belarus. Pruzhany is the center of a district in Brest Region, Belarus. Its population is about 20.000 people. The town is located at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, which give the start to Mukhavets River.
[edit] History
Pruzhany has been known as Dabuchin since 1487. In the 16th century it belonged to the Italian queen Bona Sforza of Poland. She brought Renaissance influence and development of trades in this part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1589, her daughter Anna granted a town charter and the coat of arms of Pruzhany (a blue snake swallowing a baby on a silver shield). The coat of arms was borrowed from that of the Sforza family of Milan. Pruzhany was a center of pottery trade at those times. In the mid 19th century a wealthy Polish landlord Walenty Szwykowski laid out a park and built a pretentious palace that can be seen today. The palace houses a rich collection on the history and arts of the region.
In 1941 the Nazis hoarded the Jews here to create a ghetto. During January 28 - 31, 1943 the Nazis deported 10,000 Jews of Pruzhany to Auschwitz, via Birkenau, where the men, women and children were ruthlessly and sadistically liquidated.[1][2][3][4]
In 2003 the central part of the town was reconstructed to prepare the town for the national harvest festival “Dozhinki” in autumn 2003.
[edit] References
- ^ Holocaust Encyclopedia (accessed 21 September 07)
- ^ The Holocaust Chronicle (accessed 21 September 07)
- ^ Dr. Philip Riteman biography, Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada (accessed 21 September 07)
- ^ Women of Valor: Partisans and Resistance Fighters (accessed 21 September 07)
[edit] External links
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