View source for Valozhyn

{{Short description|Town in Minsk Region, Belarus}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name      = Valozhyn
|native_name        = {{native name|be|Валожын}}<br />{{native name|ru|Воложин}}
|nick_name          =
|other_name         =
|settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Belarus|Town]]
|image_skyline      = St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Valozhyn town.jpg
|image_flag         = Flag of Vałožyn, Belarus.svg
|image_shield       = Coat of Arms of Vałožyn, Belarus.svg
|flag_size          = 150
|shield_size        = 75
|pushpin_map        = Belarus
|map_caption        =
|subdivision_type   = Country
|subdivision_name   = [[Belarus]]
|subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of Belarus|Region]]
|subdivision_name1  = [[Minsk Region]]
|subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Belarus|District]]
|subdivision_name2  = [[Valozhyn District]]
|leader_title       =
|leader_name        =
|established_title  = First mentioned
|established_date   = 14th century
|area_total_km2     = 7.683
|area_land_km2      =
|area_water_km2     =
|population_as_of   = 2024
|population_note    =
|population_footnotes = <ref name="pop">{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402055418/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/|archive-date=2 April 2024|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>
|population_total   = 10,015
|population_metro   =
|population_density_km2 =
|timezone           = [[Moscow Time|MSK]]
|utc_offset         = +3
|timezone_DST       =
|utc_offset_DST     =
|coordinates        = {{coord|54|05|N|26|31|E|region:BY_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m        = 203
|postal_code_type   = Postal code
|postal_code        = 222357
|area_code          = +375 1772
|website            =
|footnotes          =
}}
'''Valozhyn'''<!--See WP:BELARUSIANNAMES--> or '''Volozhin''' ({{langx|be|Валожын|Valožyn}},{{efn|[[Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script|Official transliteration]].}} {{IPA-be|vaˈɫoʐɨn|IPA}}; {{langx|ru|Воложин}}; {{langx|lt|Valažinas}}; {{langx|pl|Wołożyn}}; {{langx|yi|וואָלאָזשין}})<ref>Eliezer Leoni, ed., [http://yizkor.nypl.org/index.php?id=2772 Ṿoloźin: sifrah shel ha-ʻir ṿe-shel yeshivat "ʻEts ḥayim"] [Wolozin: the book of the city and of the Etz Hayyim Yeshiva] (Tel Aviv: Wolozhin Landsleit Associations of Israel and the United States, 1970), English section, p. 15 (image 706).</ref> is a town in [[Minsk Region]], [[Belarus]]. It serves as the administrative center of [[Valozhyn District]].<ref name="pop"/> It is located {{convert|75|km|0|abbr=on}} northwest of the capital [[Minsk]], on the [[Valozhynka River]] in the [[Neman|Neman River]] basin, and the beginning of the [[Naliboki forest]]. In 1995, its population was approximately 11,500. As of 2024, it has a population of 10,015.<ref name="pop"/>
Before [[World War II]], about half the town's population were [[Jews|Jewish]] but they were murdered during [[the Holocaust]].
==History==
===Overview===
[[File:Volozhin yeshiva.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Volozhin yeshiva]]]]
The town was built on the main road leading from [[Vilnius]] to [[Minsk]]. It is divided into two sections: the "lower neighborhood" along the river and the "upper neighborhood" toward the hills. Half of the town square is framed by the remains of 12th century buildings, including a bell tower, a palace, and a monastery. Most of the other remaining impressive buildings in the town are from the 19th century.<ref>[http://www.belarusguide.com/cities/valozyn.html Pre-WWII images of old Valozhyn] On the "Belarus Travel" website</ref>
Valozhyn was established as a "privately owned city" by Count [[Tyszkiewicz family|Tyszkiewicz]] in the 14th century, and remained so until the 20th century. The town was known for its fertile land, mainly supporting flax growing, as well as livestock farming of horses and cattle.
In 1681 the [[Bernardines (Franciscans)|Bernardine]] Monastery was established, which included a Christian college.
Within the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], Valozhyn was part of [[Vilnius Voivodeship]]. In 1793, Valozhyn was acquired by the [[Russian Empire]] as a result of the [[Second Partition of Poland]].
In 1839 Jozef Tyszkiewicz planted a large park and established a public zoo along the Valozhynka river. Three major fires, in 1815, 1880 and 1886, burned the city down, and it was rebuilt.
During [[World War I]], Valozhyn became a strategic location, and was occupied by the Russian army. Most of the residents were allowed to stay in parts of their occupied homes. The town was attacked and bombed and most of the residents left it. In 1919 the Polish National Army took the town. After attacks on Jewish residents, a self-defense organization was established.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}}
In the 2010s, the population declined, along with many other towns in Belarus.<ref>[http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http://www.volozhin.com/&prev=hp&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhgqr_pQ88u1m3ey9KC50UkMAi-H9A On Belarus Population Decline]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} on volozhin.com.</ref> It was a county (powiat) centre in [[Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–39)|Nowogródek Voivodeship]] during [[Second Polish Republic]] period.
{{multiple image
|image1=Volojin Yeshibot 10 rub 2010 Revers.jpg
|caption1=Silver coin of Belarus, 10 rubles, 2010, 925, diam. {{convert|33|mm|0|abbr=on}}, revers, Volozhin yeshiva
|image2=Volojin Yeshibot 10 rub 2010 Avers.jpg
|caption2=Silver coin of Belarus, 10 rubles, 2010, 925, diam. {{convert|33|mm|0|abbr=on}}, avers, Volozhin yeshiva
}}
===Jewish Yeshiva===
The [[Yeshiva]] "Etz Haim", known as the "[[Volozhin Yeshiva]]", was established in 1807, by [[Chaim of Volozhin|Rabbi Chaim Volozyn]] the owner of a large textile factory, and with the assistance of the leading [[House of Tyszkiewicz|Graf Tyszkiewicz]]. This led to an increase in the Jewish population, which by the end of the nineteenth century was roughly equal to the Christian population in the town.<ref>A census from 1894 lists a population of 4500 in the town and its surroundings, with 2500 of them being Jewish (Leoni, ed., [http://yizkor.nypl.org/index.php?id=2772 Ṿoloźin], English section, p. 64).</ref> The Jewish religious seminary was the first of its kind, and served as a model for later similar establishments. It was closed by the authorities in 1892, but, by that time, had spawned a large number of similar institutions in [[Belarus]], [[Russia]] and [[Lithuania]].
===The Holocaust===
[[File:אנדרטת וולוזין.jpg|thumb|left|A monument in memory of the Jews of Valozhyn who were murdered in the Holocaust. In [[Kiryat Shaul cemetery]] in [[Tel Aviv]]]]
On 17 September 1939, the first day of the [[Soviet invasion of Poland]], Valozhyn was occupied by the [[Red Army]]. On 14 November 1939, Valozhyn was incorporated into the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussian SSR]]. All previously allowed religious studies were forbidden.
On the night of June 24–25, 1941, following the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the USSR]], the NKVD started the evacuation of inmates from the local prison. After marching on foot for two days, [[Valozhyn-Tarasovo Death Road|approximately 100 prisoners were executed by the Soviets]] near the village of [[Tarasovo, Minsk District|Tarasovo]].<ref>{{cite book|title= Zbrodnicza ewakuacja więzień i aresztów NKWD na Kresach Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej w czerwcu – lipcu 1941 roku. Materiały z sesji naukowej w 55. rocznicę ewakuacji więźniów NKWD w głąb ZSRR, Łódź 10 czerwca 1996 r.|trans-title=Criminal evacuation of NKVD prisons and detention centers in the Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic in June–July 1941. Materials from the scientific session on the 55th anniversary of the evacuation of NKVD prisoners deep into the USSR, Łódź, June 10, 1996|publisher= Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – Instytut Pamięci Narodowej|location= Warszawa|year= 1997|pages=98–99|isbn =83-903356-6-2|language=pl}}</ref>
On the fourth day of Operation Barbarossa, on 25 June 1941<ref>This day was the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hodesh Tamuz (beginning of the "sadness" Tamuz month)</ref> Valozhyn was bombed, captured by troops of the [[Wehrmacht|German]] [[Army Group Centre]] and mostly burned.<ref>Leoni, ed., [http://yizkor.nypl.org/index.php?id=2772 Ṿoloźin], 580.</ref> Several Jews were murdered by German soldiers who entered the town. On the next day, a 12-member ''[[Judenrat]]'' was appointed by the [[Gestapo]] and shortly after Stanislaw Torsky, a member of the Polish National Democrats "Endek" party with strongly antisemitic views, was appointed mayor. On his second day as mayor, he ordered the arrest of the town doctor along with his daughter, and 10 other Jewish people, who were savagely beaten and shot. On 25 July 1941, Valozhyn was placed under the administration of the newly formed ''[[Generalbezirk Weissruthenien|Generalbezirk Weißruthenien]]'' of ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]''. In August 1941, the Jewish residents of the town, approximately 3500 people, were moved to a [[ghetto]] in the "Aropzu" neighbourhood,<ref>Consisting of "The Crooked" Street, Minsk and Dubinski St.</ref> along with Jewish residents from the neighboring towns [[Vishnyeva]], [[Halshany]] and [[Ashmyany]].<ref>Leoni, ed., [http://yizkor.nypl.org/index.php?id=2772 Ṿoloźin]{{page}}</ref>
The Jews, as well as Russian prisoners in the area, were subjected to forced labour, tortured, underfed, and many of them publicly murdered. Local Christians who were caught having mercy or assisting the Jews in giving food received a similar fate.
On October 28, 1941,<ref>Which was the Jewish "Day of the Rain" 7th of Heshvan</ref> The head of the Gestapo, named Moka, ordered all the Jews in the ghetto to stand at a lecture of his, on work ethics. He freed most of them and kept around 200 people in the town's cinema. From there he took groups of 10 to a pit in the nearby forest and had them shot. Among the murdered was Jakob (Jani) Garber, the head of the ''Judenrat''. Belarus police then stripped the dead of their belongings and covered the pit. Three people escaped and told the townspeople what had occurred.
Public killings continued, including an incident where several Jews were forced to lie down on a spread Torah Scroll and were subsequently shot.
On May 10, 1942, the Jews of Valozhyn were blamed for the killing of three Germans by [[Belarusian partisans]] several days earlier.<ref>[http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=138818 Axis History Forum] – a pro German history, including that of WWII, brings a reference to five German officers being killed in "Wolocyn".</ref><ref>A non-Jewish doctor, who had access to the local German leaders and their plans, warned the Jews a day in advance, but most did nothing about it.</ref> At 5 a.m., the ghetto was cordoned by Belarus and Polish police along with the SS. They entered the ghetto, killed the two Jewish policemen at the gate, and then began shooting and gathering the Jews into a large blacksmith shop, where they set a table with drinks surrounded by machine guns. While drinking and singing they shot into the building "to silence the crying". Inside the building, an argument ensued where some called to die while resisting, but the leading rabbi called on the people to keep up hopes till the last minute.
The head of the police then called over a member of the ''Judenrat'' to polish his boots. When the man bent down, the policeman shot him in the head. This caused the Jews in the building who were able to watch this, to escape while scrambling to the roof and jumping off. Most were shot, but about 12 people escaped. The rest were held in the building till 5 p.m., and were then marched off to the forest in groups of children, women, elderly men and the rest, many in their [[Tallit|prayer shawls]] and [[Tefillin|phylacteries]] from the morning prayers. They were marched through the Christian quarter, where they were met by dancing young men and women, singing, playing music and mocking the marched.<ref>English section, pp. 34 (image 687)</ref>
The people were taken to a house ("the Bulowa house") near the cemetery, and shot. The house was then set on fire.
A short while afterward the remaining Jews of Valozhyn were taken to the graveyard, forced to dig a large pit and were then buried alive by tractors and tanks who drove over them.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070402215454/http://www.e-mago.co.il/Editor/literature-580.htm Testimony of one of the six  remaining Jews of the town]. This site includes a recent picture of the Jewish cemetery</ref>
On 5 July 1944, Valozhyn was recaptured by troops of the [[Red Army|Soviet]] [[3rd Belorussian Front]] during the [[Vilnius Offensive]]. Following its liberation, several Jews who returned openly to Valozhyn were murdered by local townspeople.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070402215454/http://www.e-mago.co.il/Editor/literature-580.htm testimony of Benzion D. Yehoshua], originally of Valozhyn</ref>
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states, translated as "district" in English. It was initially raion centre in [[Navahrudak Voblast]] (1939), later in [[Baranavichy Voblast]] (1939–1944) and [[Molodechno Region|Molodechno Voblast]] (1944–1960) before passing to [[Minsk Region]].
==Climate==
{{Weather box
| width       = auto
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| location    = Valozhyn (1991–2020)
| Jan record high C = 4.2
| Feb record high C = 5.5
| Mar record high C = 13.0
| Apr record high C = 22.4
| May record high C = 26.9
| Jun record high C = 29.2
| Jul record high C = 30.4
| Aug record high C = 30.1
| Sep record high C = 25.4
| Oct record high C = 18.3
| Nov record high C = 10.9
| Dec record high C = 5.8
| year record high C = 30.4
| Jan high C = -1.9
| Feb high C = -0.8
| Mar high C = 4.4
| Apr high C = 12.6
| May high C = 18.5
| Jun high C = 21.9
| Jul high C = 23.9
| Aug high C = 23.1
| Sep high C = 17.3
| Oct high C = 10.1
| Nov high C = 3.7
| Dec high C = -0.4
| year high C = 11.0
| Jan mean C = -4.3
| Feb mean C = -3.6
| Mar mean C = 0.5
| Apr mean C = 7.6
| May mean C = 13.2
| Jun mean C = 16.7
| Jul mean C = 18.7
| Aug mean C = 17.9
| Sep mean C = 12.6
| Oct mean C = 6.6
| Nov mean C = 1.4
| Dec mean C = -2.6
| year mean C = 7.1
| Jan low C = -6.4
| Feb low C = -5.9
| Mar low C = -2.6
| Apr low C = 3.5
| May low C = 8.5
| Jun low C = 12.1
| Jul low C = 14.2
| Aug low C = 13.4
| Sep low C = 8.9
| Oct low C = 3.9
| Nov low C = -0.5
| Dec low C = -4.6
| year low C = 3.7
| Jan record low C = -18.6
| Feb record low C = -16.2
| Mar record low C = -10.0
| Apr record low C = -3.4
| May record low C = 1.1
| Jun record low C = 6.1
| Jul record low C = 9.1
| Aug record low C = 7.7
| Sep record low C = 1.9
| Oct record low C = -3.4
| Nov record low C = -8.9
| Dec record low C = -13.8
| year record low C = -18.6
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 45.4
| Feb precipitation mm = 38.5
| Mar precipitation mm = 37.7
| Apr precipitation mm = 38.4
| May precipitation mm = 66.7
| Jun precipitation mm = 75.9
| Jul precipitation mm = 81.4
| Aug precipitation mm = 74.2
| Sep precipitation mm = 58.1
| Oct precipitation mm = 58.2
| Nov precipitation mm = 46.7
| Dec precipitation mm = 45.2
| year precipitation mm = 666.4
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 10.9
| Feb precipitation days = 9.4
| Mar precipitation days = 9.5
| Apr precipitation days = 7.5
| May precipitation days = 9.4
| Jun precipitation days = 10.1
| Jul precipitation days = 10.2
| Aug precipitation days = 8.8
| Sep precipitation days = 8.2
| Oct precipitation days = 9.7
| Nov precipitation days = 10.5
| Dec precipitation days = 10.8
| year precipitation days = 115.0
| source = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]<ref name="WMONormals">{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Belarus/CSV/VOLOZHIN_26748.csv
|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Valozhyn
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = January 13, 2024}}</ref>
}}
== Demographics ==
{{historical populations|cols=2|align=none|graph-pos=left|graph-type=rect
| source = <ref>Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя: у 12 т. / гал. рэд. П. У. Броўка. — Т. 12: БССР. — Мн.: Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя, 1975. — С. 697.</ref><ref>[http://pbc.biaman.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=2109&from=publication Drugi Powszechny Spis Ludności z dn. 9. XII 1931 r. : mieszkania i gospodarstwa domowe, ludność, stosunki zawodowe : województwo nowogródzkie.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124353/http://pbc.biaman.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=2109&from=publication}} — Warszawa, 1938. — S. 2.</ref><ref name=bse>Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя: у 12 т. / гал. рэд. П. У. Броўка. — Т. 2: Афіны—Ведрыч. — Мінск: Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя, 1970. — С. 575.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr79_reg2.php|title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик (кроме РСФСР), их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу|website=Демоскоп Weekly|accessdate=2019-02-06|archive-date=2012-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521173923/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr79_reg2.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php|title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу|website=Демоскоп Weekly|accessdate=2019-02-06|archive-date=2006-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021151320/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Минская область в цифрах. — Мінск: Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь, 2018. — С. 45–48.</ref><ref>Минская область в цифрах. — Мінск: Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь, 2013. — С. 44–48.</ref><ref name="belstat2015">[http://belstat.gov.by/bgd/public_bulletin?id=613 Численность населения на 1 января 2015 г] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151214220528/http://belstat.gov.by/bgd/public_bulletin?id=613 |date=2015-12-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/izdania/public_bulletin/index_67469/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2023 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2022 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417144107/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/izdania/public_bulletin/index_67469/|archive-date=17 April 2023|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=31 August 2023}}</ref>
| 1897| 4500
| 1931| 6361
| 1939| 6800
| 1959| 4800
| 1970| 5800
| 1979| 7906
| 1989| 10643
| 2006| 10901
| 2015| 10488
| 2018| 10308
| 2022| 9993
| 2023| 10064
}}{{clear left}}
==Notable people==
* Rabbi [[Chaim of Volozhin]], founder and head of the [[Volozhin Yeshiva]]
* Rabbi [[Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin]], head of the Volozhin Yeshiva
* Rabbi [[Chaim Soloveitchik]], born in Volozhin and head of the Volozhin Yeshiva before moving to [[Brest-Litovsk]]
* Rabbi [[Refael Shapiro]] head of the Volozhin Yeshiva
* Rabbi [[Meir Bar-Ilan]],<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110714142740/http://www.myetymology.com/encyclopedia/Meir_Bar_Il%C3%A1n.html About Meir Bar Ilan]}}</ref> leader of Mizrachi party in Israel
* [[Haim Nachman Bialik]], Hebrew poet, studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva
* [[Lauren Bacall]] (born Betty Joan Perske), American actress whose paternal grandparents were born in Valyozhyn
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Valožyn|Valozhyn}}
*[http://yizkor.nypl.org/index.php?id=2772 Online memorial book of Volozhin (Hebrew)] at the New York Library website.] Page 12 and 13 include a map of the Yeshiva area. The book includes also many images of people and of the town at that time and a detailed description of the events in 1941/2 and the war's aftermath in Valozhyn.
*[http://www.volozhin.com City Portal of Valozhyn]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090904071219/http://www.volozhin.com/foto/ Images of Valozhyn today]
*[http://www.radzima.org/eng/gorad/valozhyn.html Photos on Radzima.org]
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=106&letter=V Valozhyn] at [[Jewish Encyclopedia]]
*[http://www.geonames.org/620445/valozhyn.html Map and Aerial view of Valozhyn]
*[http://pomnik.h12.ru/valozyn_crkie01.htm images of Christian Belarus]
*[http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/volozhin/vol963.html Personal memories of Volozhin]
* {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|1951028|Valozhyn, Belarus}}
{{Minsk Region}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Belarus]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities in Belarus]]
[[Category:Valozhyn| ]]