Hrodna Province
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BelarusHrodnaRegion.png
Hrodna voblast on Belarus map
Hrodna Province (Grodno Province) is a province (voblast) of the Republic of Belarus located in its north-western part bordering on Poland and Lithuania.
Hrodna (Grodno) is the capital and biggest city of the province. It lies on the Neman River. Here on the right steepe river bank two castles are located. Many consider this city one of the most beautiful in Belarus; it was captured by the Nazis during the Second World War during the first several days of the invasion before retreating Soviet troops had time to destroy it. Various churches survived in the city, the Russian stone church, dating back to the 12th century, is the second oldest in Belarus.
This region has historically been part of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later Poland. While it was part of Poland-Lithuania in the four centuries proceeding Russian annexation in the 1790's, civic life had been dominated by the Polish and Lithuanian nobility. As part of Poland, the area gained its independence from the Russian Empire in 1917 under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. A small part of the province was controlled by Lithuania at this time. After the Soviets re-invaded the region in 1945, much of the Polish population was deported to formerly German parts of Poland such as Pomerania and Silesia.
The Mir Castle Complex, a 16th century historical landmark as well as part of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha nature reserve both UNESCO World Heritage sites are located in this region of Belarus.
Demographics (2002)
This region has a population of about 1.2 million people. About 63.5% live in rural areas, while 36.5% live in cities and towns. There are 53% thousand women and 47% thousand men in the region. About 310 thousand of these are children under 19, while about 240 thousand are over 60.
The region is home to a significant minority population; in addition to 62.3% of Belarusians, there are 24.8% Poles, 10% Russians, 1.8% Ukrainians, 0.4% Jews, 0.2% Tatars, 0.2% Lithuanians, 0.4% other nationalities (the numbers are rounded).
There are 449 religious communities and 18 denominations, 2 Russian Orthodox eparchial districts, 1 Orthodox nun sorority, 2 Catholic monk brotherhoods, 1 Catholic nun sorority, 2 Orthodox and 4 Catholic monasteries, 165 Orthodox and 169 Catholic churches.
There are a number on national minority associations: 6 Polish, 6 Lithuanian, 4 Jewish, 1 Ukrainian, 1 Russian, 1 Tatar, 1 Georgian, 1 Chuvash.
External link
- Hrodna Regional Executive Committee (http://region.grodno.by/oblast), in Russianbe:Гарадзенская вобласьць