What is Smorgon? District center in Belarus. You might have heard about it if you were interested in the history of wars.
In the harsh 1812, Napoleon, retreating from Moscow, still pretended that he was the commander of the army, temporarily failing. After spending the night in Smorgon, he spat on the remnants of his army, shook off its ashes from his feet and, with a small convoy, rushed to Paris with all the speed that his carriage was capable of.
In the no less severe 1915, Smorgon became the center of the hostilities of the 1st World War. All its inhabitants were ordered to leave the city within 3 hours, and for three years it became front-line.
I was in Smorgon for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to find there a lot of interesting things to see and not only. By "not only" I mean delicious Smorgon ice cream. If you happen to come through this town, be sure to go to a store that proudly calls itself GUM and buy a nondescript plastic cup of vanilla ice cream. The taste is like in Soviet times. No aftertaste of margarine or palm oil, the pure taste of cow's cream and just the right amount of sugar. Incredible delicacy!
Why is Smorgon family? But because at the entrance to the center of the Belarusian town of Smorgon you are met by the registry office with painted doves:
Like, did they fly, doves? Please sign the document!
At the same time, all conditions are created for lovers. Here you are, please, a bench for kissing: 
Above the bench there are a couple more doves, cooing about love: 
If it is not clear in pigeon, here is a translation carved in stone: 
Immediately behind the bench there is an openwork bridge, especially for those who want to hang a castle (some idiot came up with it!). The bridge is lovely 
And only after all the procedures, you can proceed to what the long-awaited lady hints at, again carved in stone. Like, I managed to turn to stone, but you still don’t go! 
Although, if you go in the opposite direction, you get the reverse sequence of actions. But still, you won’t miss the registry office!
Rovnenko opposite the registry office is a church. Although new, but very beautiful: 
Would you like to get married? You don’t have to go far, everything is at the service of the couple.
Oh, are you Catholic? Excuse me, sir, there is a church over the river. archangel Michael. 
But before we approach the church, pay attention to the summer amphitheater. How interesting it is built: the stage is on one side of the river, and the seats for the audience are on the other. Artists can perform boldly. Even if the audience wants to beat them, they won’t swim across the river!
Now the church is closer. It is very old, built in 1606-1612. 
From the outside, the temple has corners, but from the inside it seems round. There are no supporting pillars in it, so the impression of space and light. The depth of the windows shows how thick the walls are. 
Why I love Catholic churches - there are always beautiful flower beds near them: 
The most elegant man in Smorgon is Christ standing near the church: 
The church is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, who is also standing nearby, dressed in a luxurious skirt, sparkling with his bare knees and trampling on a petty, unfortunate devil. In a strange way, he holds a sword behind his head, as if he is going to demolish half his head. 
Okay, that's his harsh choice.
A memorable feature of Smorgon is the abundance of stones. On the main square there is a stone with the coat of arms of the city: 
There are several pieces near the bridge: 
It looked like a shell. But on the next stone, we disagreed: either a cactus, or a hedgehog, or a turtle: 
The rest did not even try to guess: 
There are a lot of similar boulders with images in the city park across the river: 
The poet Franciszek Bogushevich is also standing, leaning against a huge stone. He stands, frowning sternly. Probably, he is dissatisfied that schoolchildren are walking in the park, instead of cramming his poems from the collections "Belarusian Dudka" and "Belarusian Smyk". 
A memorial sign about the bear academy is also carved on stone: 
Nearby is a nice sculptural group depicting a pet of the academy: 
It would be funny if you don't know what harsh methods the bears were taught to dance in the once famous Smorgon "bear academy". They dug a hole, kindled a fire, put a copper sheet on top and drove a bear onto it. The bear began to raise its legs one by one to save the heels from the heat. The hosts at this time beat the tambourine. After a couple of such sessions, the bear developed a reflex. Hearing the tambourine, he immediately began to shift and jump, as if dancing. The owners took him around the bazaars, showing bear dances for money.
When I saw this beast, at first it seemed that a new bear was being brought to the academy for training: 
Here is such a pretty town of Smorgon in Belarus.
The main street is decorated with pre-revolutionary houses, where shops were usually located: 
On the main square, of course, there is a monument to the soldiers of the Patriotic War: 
Vladimir Ilyich, on a tall pedestal, leaned forward, peering in, how the people live there without his precepts. 
Yes, it's doing well and well.
So don't forget to try the local ice cream!
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Smorgon is a city of contrasts, where the Soviet past seems to have left as many traces as the Polish and Litvin ones. Although Soviet years, when the Smorgonians went to Vilnius just to drink coffee or buy sausages, people here often remember. With the advent visa regime not everyone can afford such joy for the soul and body. Although, it would seem, to Vilnius from Smorgon - 87 kilometers, and to Minsk - 110. Feel the difference, as they say.
To understand what it's like to live in such a provincial town, here you need to look around, get used to the environment and communicate with the locals. But if you reduce the shopping time in Vilnius by a couple of hours and drive into this city and visit the surroundings on the way to Minsk, then you can return home with impressions of an unknown to the capital resident of Belarus.
Why do you need to go to Smorgon if there are ice palaces and Burger King in Minsk? Because all this is not here, but there is something else.
Reason one. Try Smorgon ice cream and see Neklyaev's portrait in the museum
The Belarusian group "Broken Heart Boy" dedicated one of their songs to Smorgon. Specifically, the name of the city is mentioned in the following line: "You are a paedztse ў Smargon, there dzevachki - fire." What exactly the author wanted to say with these words is not worth thinking out for him, but I would like to hope that the song added recognition to the city, and thanks to it there were more tourists in it.
Smorgon - small town in the west of Belarus with a population of over 37 thousand people. Through it pass iron and motor road towards Vilnius. A maximum of two hours by car from Minsk - and you are there.
Some of the enterprises that work here include giants: a branch of MTZ, an optical machine tool plant, a feed mill and a silicate concrete plant. Not all of them are experiencing the most promising times, so some Smorgonians are looking for a better life at construction sites in the Moscow region and at enterprises in Minsk.
A place where, by local standards, it is considered prestigious to get a job is the Austrian company Kronospan, which produces chipboards in Smorgon and also supplies them to Russia.
Today in the center of the city there is a set familiar to the provinces: the district executive committee (which some call the “white house”), the Board of Honor, Lenin, a church, a church, their own GUM and TSUM.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, Napoleon made the last stop in Smorgon before retreating. During the First World War, the city was almost completely destroyed. According to the 1921 census, 154 people lived here.
Residential development in the center of Smorgon, November 2015. According to the Peace of Riga in 1921, Smorgon went to Poland and was part of it until 1939.
The coat of arms of the city depicts a brown clumsy bear. It is also on the packaging of goods of the local dairy products enterprise. Therefore, in almost every grocery store in the area you will see a bear - a symbol of the former glory of Smorgon. But if it seems that the clubfoot will stop chasing you on this, you are mistaken. In this city, they are almost at every step, and this is not deja vu: wooden, copper, they stand in courtyards, parks and the district museum.
The city has been known since 1503 as the possession of the Zenovichs, Radziwills and Przezdetskys. During the time of the Radziwills, there was a bear academy here, where animals were taught to dance. Bears for training were brought from local forests.
The academy was located on the site of the district hospital. There were deep pits with brushwood, on which were cages with a copper bottom. When the brushwood was set on fire, the bottom heated up, and the bears began to dance from the heat that hit their paws. At this time, the trainers were banging on the tambourine. A few months later, the bears were taken out of the cages, and it was enough for them to hear the sounds of a tambourine to start shifting from paw to paw.
District Library, November 2015. From spring to early November, bears were taken to fairs Western Europe and earned money, then returned with them to Smorgon.
Another interesting fact from the history of the city is the local bagels, which once conquered the soul of more than one tourist. Interestingly, it is Smorgon that is considered their homeland. There is a version that initially bagels were used as a treat for bears from the academy. An article is devoted to bagels from Smorgon in the newspaper Kultura. It contains a quotation from the work of the historian and ethnographer Adam Kirkor:
- In Smargony, Ashmyantska pavet, Vilna province, ice not all myashchanskaya population is busy baking small bagels, but krendzyalko, yakiya karystayutstsa vyalikay vyadomastsyu pad call smargon abvaranka. Leather praezdzhy abavyazkovy kupіts nekalkі zvyazak gety bagels; acres of tago, transporting them to Vilnius and other garadas.
In the Smorgon Museum of Local History, November 2015. Despite the fact that in the 30s of the XX century there were about 60 bagel bakers in Smorgon, today there is a hole in the city from the bagel image. Because if it were not for Wikipedia or the stories of historians, local historians, guides and just caring citizens, who would know about these bagels?
Although the grandmother of the author of this material, who lived in Smorgon, a few years ago on Christmas Eve baked bagels, then soaked them in syrup made from grated poppy seeds, water and a little sugar. Poppy first had to be rubbed with a pusher in cast iron for at least half an hour. For this task, the most patient member of the family was chosen. After kutia and lenten dishes were eaten, the infused "abaranki" were considered the most long-awaited delicacy.
This dish is still cooked in some families in Smorgon. Of course, bagels are no longer baked, but bought in a store. But it seems that if someone decided to revive the original Smorgon dish, it could again become a symbol of the city and delight tourists.
Unlike the mythical bagels, Smorgon ice cream is gaining unprecedented popularity. Vanilla or chocolate ice cream in a package with a bear already familiar to readers.
Ice cream can be bought at almost every grocery store. Visitors buy several packs, and some residents of Minsk even bring ice cream to their relatives in the capital in cooler bags.
Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Church in Smorgon. Those who want to take a break from the bustle of the capital will like the calm and measured life of Smorgon. It’s good to walk past low-rise buildings, look into the park, where you can sometimes find quite modern and not always unambiguous architectural forms (for example, a sculpture with several stone faces), visit the church and Orthodox church which are approximately 200 meters apart.
Sculpture in the park. By the way, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, the former Calvin collection, is considered a monument of the 16th-17th centuries. There is a legend that from the tombs of the church there was once a direct passage to Vilnius and Kreva.
Church of St. Michael the Archangel. Curious guests of the city can go to the local local history museum, where, with the help of the exposition, they can consolidate their knowledge about the bear academy, and about bagels, and about the Radziwills. The museum also has a portrait of an honorary citizen of the region, a poet and a former presidential candidate in the 2010 elections Vladimir Neklyaev.
Portrait of an honorary citizen of the city Vladimir Neklyaev in the city museum. A cinema called "Cosmos" in Smorgon was closed a few years ago. In its place, the Space Cinema Club appeared, where film screenings and discos are held. But film premieres here, unlike in Minsk, are shown late, if they are shown at all. Therefore, local youth go to watch them, including at the Rodina cinema in the neighboring city of Molodechno, which is 40 kilometers from Smorgon.
There are about ten cafes and restaurants in the city. But entertainment and sports facilities are not enough for local residents. Many young people who have a car go to Molodechno and Minsk for recreation and spectacles.
Capital life and mass consumption instinct came to Smorgon together with Euroopt and Mart Inn supermarket chains. Today, Smorgonians are discussing bargain prices for some goods among themselves and pass information about discount promotions by word of mouth.
Tourists in Smorgon can stay at a hotel in the city center. It has over 70 rooms.
The city has seven schools, one gymnasium and a boarding school, also known. The first plants were planted here in November 1997. The greenhouse has exhibits of the flora of Africa and America, the green inhabitants of the tropics and subtropics, as well as plants of the native temperate zone.
View of GUM. Of course, when you talk about Smorgon, the thought often arises that all the most interesting things in the tourist sense are in the past. Today no one will show the dancing bears to the guests of the city, they are unlikely to treat them with “abaranki”, and not every city dweller knows about many people who were born or lived in Smorgon. And if someone knows, they may not want to tell for ideological reasons.
For example, if you walk along one of the central streets of the city called Sovetskaya and ask people who Rostislav Lapitsky Most likely, no one will answer for sure. And this man was a member of the anti-Soviet underground in the Smorgon and Myadel regions in 1948-1949.
Rostislav Lapitsky was shot for his activities, and Smorgon schoolchildren who participated in his anti-Soviet organization were given 25 years in prison.
Before the Second World War, a significant part of the population of Smorgon were Jews. Among the Smorgon Jews there were several people who glorified hometown. For example, a poet Abram Sutzkever, educator and writer Aba Gordin, writer and poet Moses Kulbak, Soviet children's writer Yakov Taits, actor Shmuel Rodensky, warlord Beni Marshak.
The second reason. Take a selfie in front of the ruins of Kreva Castle
In the Smorgon district there is an agro-town of Krevo, where the famous Krevo castle is located. Interestingly, the village is mentioned in documents in the 13th century, earlier than Smorgon. Today, more than 600 people live here.
Ruins of the Krevo Castle, November 2015. Krevo Castle was built in the XIV century during the GDL. It was the first stone castle in the principality. It was here that in August 1385 the Union of Krevo between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland was signed. The castle was repeatedly destroyed during the siege and the First World War.
Today the castle remains in ruins. Although the conservation of the object began in 1929 and periodically returned to it.
As part of the state program "Castles of Belarus", it was also planned to carry out conservation, but the project faced financial difficulties. Head of the Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture Igor Cherniavsky at a press conference on August 13, 2015, that during the formation of the state program it was assumed that the events within it would be held "a little differently." But during complex studies of objects, nuances appear.
For example, only for the conservation of the former princely tower of the Krevo Castle you need to spend a “significant amount”. Therefore, the funds allocated by the republican budget for this year will complete the project documentation. Most of the work within the first stage will be included in the next year's budget.
Nevertheless, tourists still have a chance to see the castle ruins before their condition gets worse, and at least take a selfie against their background.
In addition to the castle, in Kreva there is the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky.
Reason three. See the ruins of the Holy Transfiguration Church before they disappear
On the road from Smorgon to Krevo there is the village of Novospassk. Here once upon a time sir Bukaty, chairman of the Polish Sejm in Warsaw, founded a Uniate church. According to various estimates, the temple was built during the GDL in the 18th century or in 1808.
There is a legend that the pan laid a cache in one of the walls for the overhaul of the temple in the future.
The temple remained Orthodox until the beginning of the 20th century. During the First World War, the village went to Poland, and the temple was made Catholic. During the fighting, the church was destroyed. After the war, they wanted to restore the temple, but some of the villagers advocated that it be Orthodox, and some - Catholic. As a result, they did not restore it. But a new Orthodox church has been built next to it today.
Reason four. Find out in which interiors Francysk Bogushevich himself worked
Belarusian poet Francis Bogushevich lived in the village of Kushlyany, Smorgon district. Now there is his house-museum.
Although the poet was born in the Svirana farm of today's Ostrovets district of the Grodno region.
Bogushevich is known for his collections of poems "Belarusian Dudka" and "Belarusian Smyk".
The estate in Kushlyany was once bought by Bogushevich's great-great-grandfather, and in 1841 his family moved here to permanent place residence.
The region is proud of the fact that the famous poet was involved in the history of Smorgon. In the city park there is also a monument to Bogushevich, and on the wall of one of the houses in the center of the city there is his quote: “Do not pakidaitse our Belarusian language ...”.
Monument to Francis Bogushevich in Smorgon, November 2015. Reason five. See where Mikhail Kleofas Oginsky worked
In the agricultural town of Zalesye, Smorgon district, there is a museum-estate of a diplomat and composer Michael Cleophas Oginsky. After restoration, it was opened in 2014.
According to one version, it was here that Oginsky wrote the famous polonaise Farewell to the Motherland.
Video: Polonaise "Farewell to the Motherland". piano performance
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But this assumption is erroneous, since the composer wrote the polonaise in 1794, before he moved to Zalesye.
The composer lived in this estate for 20 years, and he got it from his uncle Francis Xavier, Lithuanian cook.
Oginsky rebuilt the estate and laid an English park near it.
In the late 30s of the XX century, the manor and the park were acquired by a resident of Warsaw Maria Zhabrovskaya. The estate has been turned into a summer boarding house.
In 1939-1941 there was a rest home for Minskers here. In 1961, a nursing home was organized in the estate. In 1977, it was given to the balance of the local enterprise Smorgonsilikatobeton. They wanted to build a sanatorium here. But in the early 90s, the estate became a branch of the Museum of Theater and Musical Culture.
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The city of Smorgon is the center of the district of the same name in the Grodno region of Belarus. It is located on the river called Oksna, which is the left tributary of the river called Viliya, as well as its tributary, the river called Gervyatka.
It is located 110 kilometers from Minsk and 260 kilometers from Grondo. About 37,000 people live on its territory. This number includes not only Belarusians, but also Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, and many other nationalities.
History of Smorgon
The very first mention of a place called Smorgon was in the documents of the Vileika diocese. At that moment, the territory of the city was owned by the princes of Zenovich. In 1533 the first Calvinist cathedral was founded in the city, and in 1590 the first school, hospital and paper mill were built. Which one, find out here.
In the 17th century, the territory became the property of Radzilov, who created a bear training school here, which was called the Smorgon Academy. In 1795 the city became part of the Russian Empire.
Napoleonic troops retreated through the territory of the modern city in 1812. City status was granted by Nicholas II in 1904. During the 1st World War, the city was completely destroyed, only in the period 1960-1980 in Smorgon was built a large number of largest industrial enterprises.
What is the best way to get to Smorgon?
Transportation of goods and passengers is fully performed by the branch of the Car Park at number 17. From the bus station located in Smorgon, 7 international routes depart (to Minsk, Komarovo, Baranovichi, Svir, Grodno, Molodechno), as well as 33 suburban ones. Also, a route from Postavy to Grodno passes through the city. In addition, 12 routes operate in Smorgon public transport: 3 express routes, as well as 9 regular services.
Prices in Smorgon
It cannot be said that the city of Smorgon has too many shops or shopping centers. Trade in this city is basically on the same level as in the whole of Belarus. In addition, it cannot be said that prices here are noticeably different from other cities. In principle, we can safely say that in none of the Belarusian cities there are very different prices from each other. Throughout the country, prices are kept at the same, certain level.
The same can be said about the prices of rooms in numerous hotels and hotels. That is why you can safely choose any hotel or inn you like, only based on their location in the city center.
What interesting places can be seen in Smorgon
The Church named after St. Michael the Archangel is located on the territory of the modern city of Smorgon. This church was built during the Renaissance. The thickness of the walls of the church varies from 1.8 to 3 meters. It was built back in 1552. And in 1866 the church became a church, and it was turned back into a church in 1921. In 1947, the church was closed, and then it was turned first into a shop, then into an exhibition hall, and then into a museum. Only in 1990 the church was again returned to the property of believers.
Under the church there is a dungeon, which since ancient times has been considered the tomb of the Zenovich family. Since the tomb has not yet been explored, there are legends that there are a large number of passages in the dungeon up to Kreva and Vilnius. In 2003, cosmetic repairs were carried out over the church, thanks to which it acquired an attractive appearance. Despite the fact that the city has a long history, very few historical sights have been preserved here.
Nature and climate
The main part of the territory in the region is located on the Narachan-Vileika lowland. And its southern part is located on the Oshmyany Upland. The highest place in the region is a town called Milidavska, the height here is about 320 meters. On the territory of the city there is a large number of minerals: peat, sand for construction, sand and gravel material, loam, and clay.
In the month of January average temperature is about 6.2 degrees below zero and in the month of July it is about 18 degrees above zero. About 6 hundred millimeters of precipitation falls during the year of the city. In addition, not only the river called Viliya flows through the territory of the entire region, but also a large number of its tributaries.
About 38 percent of all areas of the city are covered by forests. In the area of the city, a biological reserve called Dubatovskoye has also been created, as well as the biological lakes of Golubye of local significance.
Smorgon Photos
Take a photo with a bear, eat ice cream and be silent at the war memorial. We tell why Smorgon was called " dead city and why you should come there at least once.
1. Visit the Renaissance monument, a rarity for Belarus
Monuments of the Renaissance in Belarus can be counted on the fingers. And the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Smorgon is the most famous among them.
After the Reformation came to the Belarusian lands in the 16th century, practically no new churches were built: most often, older Catholic churches were converted to Protestant fees. But the Church of St. Michael in Smorgon is an exception. It was originally built precisely as a Calvin collection (Calvinism was the most common reformation trend in the GDL). The donor of the temple, Krishtof Zenovich, a prominent statesman of his time, was also a Calvinist.
But the temple did not serve the Protestants for long. The Catholic Church in the middle of the 17th century finally regained its lost positions and the assembly in Smorgon became a church. The temple is still Catholic today - it belongs to the monastic Order of the Salesians. And only the discreet decor of the interiors reminds of its Protestant past.
2. Learn the military history of the "dead city"
During the First World War, the city desperately defended itself from the German army. For the fierce battles that took place here in 1915, Smorgon is often compared with Stalingrad. It was hellish here: among the soldiers of those years there was even a saying - "Whoever has not been near Smorgon, he has not seen the war." After 810 days of defense, the city was deserted. Newspapers of the time dubbed it the "dead city".
Here, on the Eastern Front of the First World War, future writers Mikhail Zoshchenko and Valentin Kataev fought. And in Zalesye, near Smorgon, the youngest daughter of Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Tolstaya, nursed the wounded.
Story " dead city» immortalized in memorial complex in memory of the heroes and victims of the First World War, opened here in 2014.
3. Take a photo with a bear at the "bear academy"
“Bear Academy” is compactly located in the city park Yes, yes, you heard right. There was such an educational institution in Smorgon in the XVII - XIX centuries. “Bearish” in this case is not an allegory; bears “studied” at the academy. The most real ones. Bears in Smorgon were trained for various fun. Four-legged students could do the most difficult tricks - bow, dance, march, look in the mirror.
The academy in Smorgon reached a special flourishing in the 18th century, under Karol Stanislav Radziwill Pan Kokhanku. The same one that went sledding in Nesvizh in the summer. On roads made of salt. He was still a merry fellow and a joker. Pupils of the Smorgon "academy" were known far beyond the GDL. Trained Smorgon bears could be found at fairs in Prussia, Schleswig, Bavaria and Alsace.
True, the methods of training and education in the institution would not be approved by Greenpeace. But Academician Pavlov, perhaps, would have appreciated. On the site of the current district hospital, deep pits with brushwood were dug, on which cages with a copper bottom stood. When brushwood was set on fire in the pits, the bottom became heated, and the bears began to dance from the heat. The trainers at this time were banging on the tambourine. After a few months of "training" the bears were released from the cages. After such training, the animals always began to shift from paw to paw, barely hearing the sound of a tambourine.
An excellent photo is obtained if you try to climb right into the paws of a cast-iron bear. It takes some getting used to, but it's worth it. On the picture: Alfred Mikus
Today, of course, bears are not trained in Smorgon: the educational institution finally ceased to exist in 1870. But the academy was sung in stone relatively recently - in 2013.
4. Try Smorgon ice cream
The bear academy in Smorgon no longer exists, but the bear's glory remains. In addition to the sculpture in the park, there is an installation with a bear in the local museum of local lore, the bear flaunts on the coat of arms of the city and ... on the package with local ice cream.
Photo: Evgenia Chaikina But if Smorgon ice cream were packed even in a gray nondescript container, it would certainly have enjoyed no less popularity. It's so delicious and natural. The good old Soviet GOST guarantees the absence of chemical additives and an attack of nostalgia for those who were born before the 1990s.
Ice cream can be bought at almost any grocery store in Smorgon and several other nearby cities. This divine delicacy cannot be found in Minsk and other regions. So eat up in the prok. Or take a pack or two with you in a cooler bag.
Today, Smorgon is famous for its ice cream, and in the 17th-19th centuries, bagels were the culinary "trick" of the city. By the way, initially these delicacies were intended for bears with a sweet tooth. And they were not rings, but sticks. And only after a while the recipe was adapted for people. Bagels "rounded off" and poppy seeds, honey and Cahors were added to the dough. In the sources you can find different names for the Smorgon delicacy: abvaranki, smargonki, and (our favorite name) - abarzhanki.
5. Take a walk in the rock garden
The stone faces in Smorgon are not about the hospitality of the Smorgon people, no. We are talking about a stone slab with bas-reliefs in the form of women's faces.
This and other amusing sculptures appeared in the central park of the city not so long ago, during the plenum of young sculptors. Artists worked outdoors for a month to cope with such a complex natural material as stone. The result is impressive. And although some statues are abstract and conditional, the result of creative impulses unusually organically fits into the urban environment.
The central park offers a great view of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior Here, in the central park, there is a monument to Frantisek Bogushevich - a poet, one of the founders of the new Belarusian literature. If you have time, visit the Bogushevich Manor in Kushlyany - here the poet spent the last years of his life. It has been restored and perfectly conveys the atmosphere. late XIX century. And in the Smorgon district is located the village of Krevo, with the ruins ancient castle. It was here that in 1385 Vitovt and Jagiello signed the Union of Kreva. The very one that served as the beginning of the unification of the Belarusian lands with Poland.
You can get acquainted with Smorgon, as well as look into the Oginsky estate in Zalesye and see 5 unique churches of the Grodno region within excursion route"Ostrovets round the world" by contacting one of the travel companies in Belarus.
The editors of the site thank the National Tourism Agency for the opportunity to get acquainted with the monuments of Smorgon.
REVIEW 1. List the common features of military-political alliances. 2. Name their differences. Military-political alliances on the eve of World War I Entente 1907 England, France, Russia, and 30 other countries Triple Alliance 1882 Germany, Austria-Hungary Italy.
The 100th anniversary of the beginning of one of the bloodiest and largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind, the First World War, is coming. It is already known that the main events dedicated to this event will be held in Smorgon. And it is no coincidence. It was this corner of the Grodno land that was one of the epicenters of the past, it was here that the Great War (as it was called in the interwar period) left one of those traces that will never be erased from the people's memory. However, despite numerous losses, Smorgon survived, did not submit to the enemy ... LET'S LEARN ABOUT THE EXPLOITATIONS OF PEOPLE IN SMORGON. THIS IS WHAT OUR TODAY'S LESSON IS DEDICATED TO.
SMORGON: BACKGROUND In World War I, the front line literally passed through Smorgon. The local chronicler of history, Vladimir Nikolaevich Liguta, says: “Smorgon was the only city on the front from the Baltic to the Black Seas, which the Russian army defended for so long and stubbornly for 810 days in the First world war... "Yakov Matveyevich Liguta (on the right)
The city of Smorgon is located in the north-west of Belarus within the Narochano-Vileika plain, two kilometers southwest river Viliya. From September 1915 to February 1918, the line of the Russian-German front passed through Smorgon. As a result of positional battles, the 16,000th city turned into ruins. After 810 days of defense, it practically ceased to exist. Newspapers of the time called it the "dead city". The first gas-balloon attack of the Russian army was carried out in the Smorgon region on September 56, 1916. In memory of the battles near Smorgon, the composer Herman Blume wrote the Smorgon March.
Formed in Russia in 1917, the Women's Death Battalions took part in the hostilities only once in July 1917 near the village of Krevo, near Smorgon, the "First Women's Military Death Team of Maria Bochkareva" steadfastly repelled the attacks of the Germans who went on the counteroffensive. The following took part in the battles near Smorgon: the future Marshal of the Soviet Union and the Minister of Defense of the USSR, the machine gunner of the 256th Elisavetgrad Regiment Rodion Malinovsky, the future Marshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov and Alexandra Tolstaya (daughter of Leo Tolstoy), as well as the staff captain of the 16th Mingrelian Grenadier Regiment Mikhail Zoshchenko (world famous satirist). Tens of thousands of soldiers and officers gave their lives defending their Motherland, hundreds of unknown and 847 known heroes of Smorgon became St. George's Cavaliers in those battles. Several documentaries by domestic and foreign directors were shot about that terrible time.
THE MOST TRAGIC PAGES OF THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR GAS ATTACKS. The first gas attack on the territory of Belarus was undertaken by them on the night of June 20, 1916 in the area of the town of Smorgon in the sector of the front occupied by the 253rd Perekop and 254th Nikolaevsky infantry regiments of the 64th Infantry Division of the 26th Army Corps.
READ EYEWITNESS REPORTS OF THE GAS ATTACKS AND THINK: HOW DANGEROUS IS THIS MEANS OF WAR? From the memoirs of Leo Tolstoy's daughter Alexandra (she was in charge of a front-line hospital in Zalesye): “We reached a deep low dugout along the narrow passages of communications. It could only be entered by bending over. The general was sitting at a table covered with papers. He confidentially informed me that our army was preparing to attack before dawn. He asked me about the medical staff, the number of ambulances, the hospital. We waited tensely. At two o'clock in the morning we noticed that, as they burst, the German shells emitted yellow smoke. It spread out across the hollow, and the smell of chlorine came from it. Masks! Put on your masks! Half an hour passed. The gas-filled shells continued to explode in a thick yellowish mist. Something smelled like cherries, brothers! Potassium cyanide! Again this terrible animal fear! Jaws trembled, teeth chattered ... "
Local historian Vladimir Liguta, the events of July 1916: “... - On July 2, at 3:15 am, German artillery opened heavy fire on the trenches of the first and second lines, along the lines of communication, on the artillery positions of the 64th brigade and throughout the rear, including chemical weapons. A few minutes later, the Germans released the first cloud of bluish gases. Gases escaped from the cylinders with a strong hiss. As soon as the cloud was seen, the signalmen played a prearranged signal on their horns, the fighters rushed to their places, put on their masks and prepared for battle. Immediately after the first, a second wave of gases, denser, 6-8 meters high, was already approaching the advanced trenches. Behind the gas cloud was a smoke screen, and behind it appeared four chains of German infantry... In 1.5 hours of attack, the gas penetrated to a depth of 19 km and inflicted heavy damage on the troops of the 26th Corps. 40 officers and 2076 soldiers were poisoned. The carts carried away the blackened bodies of the dead, the ambulances were overflowing with poisoned ones. The fallen were buried in mass graves in the villages of Belaya and Zalesye ... Almost to Molodechno, the forest and fields stretched in lifeless, yellowed stripes beyond Smorgon ... "
READ THE EXTRACT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH LOCAL HISTORIAN HISTORIAN VLADIMIR LIGUTA AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS Smorgon during the First World War is sometimes compared to Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War. What unites these cities and should they be placed side by side? Smorgon is similar to Stalingrad in terms of the degree of destruction and fury of the autumn battles of 1915. But as for the duration of the confrontation, here Smorgon is better correlated with the besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War. On Smorgon land, the Russian army stubbornly resisted the enemy for 810 days! Here is what I read in the memoirs of German officers who were captured: “How is it? The Russians surrendered Brest, Grodno, Vilnius, and this small town they fight to the death...” It is known that under the impression of the battles near Smorgon Kreva in the summer of 1917, the “Smorgon March” was written in the German Bundeswehr, which still sounds there today. It turns out that really "who was not near Smorgon, he did not see the war"? This saying is a tragic soldier's folklore. So they said about other terrifying places of that war. However, there is certainly a reason for these words. The battles for Smorgon were very terrible. Our military received an order: “Stand to the death! No step back! Russia is behind us." Only in one day on September 25, 1915, 5.5 thousand Germans and 3.5 thousand Russian soldiers of the guard regiments died. In defiance of all orders, a truce was arranged to collect the dead and wounded from the battlefield near the Viliya River. Smorgon will later be called the "dead city": it will be completely destroyed and burned. After the war, out of 16 thousand inhabitants, only 130 people will return here ... And who are the heroes of Smorgon? I adhere to the point of view that the heroes are those who fought the enemy in Smorgon. And the Germans were the enemy. The Russian imperial army, true to its oath and military duty, stood to the death on Belarusian soil, holding the front until 1917, thinking about the Victory. The names of 838 soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers and generals of the Russian army, the Knights of St. George, who were awarded for heroic deeds in the battles near Lake Vishnevo, Smorgon and Krevo, are already known.
WOMEN'S DEATH BATTALIONS On June 19, 1917, the Provisional Government formed the first women's death battalion. Not a single army in the world knew such a female military formation. The initiator of their creation was a soldier Maria Bochkareva. On June 21, 1917, on the square near St. Isaac's Cathedral, a solemn ceremony of presenting a new military unit of the banner with the inscription "The first women's military command of the death of Maria Bochkareva" was held. On June 29, the Military Council approved the regulation "On the formation of military units from female volunteers." The main goal was considered to have a patriotic impact on male soldiers through the direct participation of women in hostilities. As M. Bochkareva herself wrote, “soldiers in this great war tired and they need help ... morally. Strict discipline was established in the women's battalions: rising at five in the morning, classes until ten in the evening, and simple soldier food. Women were shaved bald. Black epaulettes with a red stripe and an emblem in the form of a skull and two crossed bones symbolized "unwillingness to live if Russia perishes"
WOMEN'S DEATH BATTALIONS On June 27, 1917, the "death battalion" consisting of two hundred people arrived in the army. And he was sent to the rear of the 1st Siberian Army Corps of the 10th Army of the Western Front. The women's battalion, commanded by M. Bochkareva, was located in the area of the city of Molodechno, near Smorgon. In offensive battles near Smorgon, the battalion suffered serious losses in killed and wounded. M. Bochkareva herself was seriously shell-shocked. Perhaps, given the sad fate of this battalion, in August 1917, a special commission for the reduction of staff in the army expressed its negative attitude towards women's formations to the chief of staff of the supreme commander.
The reports said that "Bochkareva's detachment behaved heroically in battle", it became clear that women's military units could not become an effective fighting force. After the battle, 200 female soldiers remained in the ranks. Losses were 30 killed and 70 wounded. M. Bochkareva was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and later to lieutenant. In January 1918, the women's battalions were formally disbanded, but many of their members continued to serve in parts of the White Guard armies. Maria Bochkareva herself took an active part in the White movement. On behalf of General Kornilov, she traveled to the United States to ask for help in the fight against the Bolsheviks. Upon returning to Russia on November 10, 1919, M. Bochkareva met with Admiral Kolchak. And on his behalf, she formed a women's sanitary detachment of 200 people. In November 1919, after the capture of Omsk by the Red Army, she was arrested and shot.
FORGOTTEN WAR... FORGOTTEN HEROES... Hundreds of thousands of documents of this terrible First World War gather dust in the archives. More than 35 states were involved in this war, the war was going on in Europe and Asia. On the oceans and seas, ships were sunk, including civilian ones, on which there were no military. The terrible war took with it many millions of human lives. Smorgon stood to death, as there was an order “Not a step back! Stand to death! Russia is behind us!” Such an order was received by 582 officers, 24 thousand guardsmen and 1100 cavalrymen. Add to this 90 machine gun crews, 145 artillery pieces and 5 airplanes. These forces were sent to stop the advance of the German war machine. And the Russian army coped with its task. The enemy did not pass. Smorgon defended itself for 810 days. It was the "Stalingrad" of the First World War!
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