Orsha
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Orsha (Belarusian: Во́рша; Russian: О́рша; Polish: Orsza) is a city in Belarus. Orsha is situated by Dnieper River where Arshytsa River (Аршыца) flows into it. It is a major railway node where the Minsk–Moscow line is crossed by the North-South connection: North to Vitsebsk and South branching to Mahilyow and Krychau.
First historical references to Orsha are dated by 1067. It was granted the Magdeburg Rights in 1620.
The famous Battle of Orsha occurred around 1514. Armies from Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland, half of which were litvins (Belarusians from Grand Duchy of Lithuania), defeated the Russian army.
First use of Katyusha rocket launcher artillery was used here by the Red Army during WWII.
Facts
- Location: Template:Coor dms
- Population: 124,300 (January 1, 1999)
People
- Lev Vygotsky was born in Orsha.
- Native town of Uladzimir Karatkevich, famous Belarusian writer.
External links
- Coat of Arms (http://txt.knihi.com/hierb/vorsa.gif)
- Photos on Radzima.org (http://radzima.org/pub/miesta.php?miesta_id1=viarvors)
- Map of Orsha (http://uk.multimap.com/wi/751.htm)
- Memories from a childhood in Orsha (http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/newsletter/orsha.htm)be:Ворша
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