Grodno Region

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Grodno Region Гродзенская вобласць (Belarusian) Гродненская область (Russian)
Region
From the top to bottom-right: Mir Castle Complex, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Sviack Palace, Vawkavysk District, Devil's Lake
Largest cities		Grodno - 373,547[1] Lida - 101,616 Slonim - 49,441
Districts	17 Cities: 12 Urban localities: 21
City districts	2
Government
• Chairman	Vladimir Karanik[2]
Area
• Total	25,118.07 km2 (9,698.14 sq mi)
Highest elevation	323 m (1,060 ft)
Lowest elevation	80 m (260 ft)
Population  (2023)[3]
• Total	998,600
• Density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
GDP [4]
• Total	Br 23.4 billion (€6.9 billion)
• Per capita	Br 22,600 (€6,300)
ISO 3166 code	BY-HR
HDI (2021)	0.805[5] very high · 3rd
Website	www.region.grodno.by

Grodno Region or Hrodna Region,^[7] also known as Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts (Belarusian: Гродзенская вобласць, romanized: Hrodzienskaja voblasć; Russian: Гродненская область, romanized: Grodnenskaya oblast; Polish: Obwód Grodzieński), is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center, Grodno, is the largest city in the region.

Located in western Belarus, it lies on the Neman River. The region borders Minsk Region to the east, Brest Region to the south, Poland (Podlaskie Voivodeship) to the west and Vitebsk Region and Lithuania (Alytus and Vilnius counties) to the north. Grodno's existence is attested to from 1127. Two castles dating from the 14th to 18th centuries are located here on the steep right bank of the Nemen. One of the city's surviving masterpieces is the 12th century Orthodox Church of St Boris & St Gleb (Kalozhskaya Church), which is the second oldest in Belarus.

History

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This region comprised the westernmost "borderlands" of the

(GDL) in the 13th century.

In 1413, the area around the town of Grodno, part of the

Grand Duke of Lithuania and future King of Poland. In 1444, Grodno received its coat of arms from Casimir's hands as well as substantial trading privileges.

The strong economic development of the area continued during the reign of Casimir's son - Duke

, Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania between 1518 and 1548, established her royal residence in Grodno. According to medieval surveys, Grodno had 35 streets and 700 houses in 1558.

The golden age of Grodno came with the reign of Stephen Báthory, King of Poland from 1576 to 1586. During his reign, Grodno became a royal headquarters and began to host sessions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Senate and Parliament. In 1580, on the king's order, the castle of Grodno was rebuilt in Renaissance style of architecture by Scoto di Parma.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Grodno, one of the most developed and important cities in

, the Treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Administrator of Polish Royal Estates, governed the capital and the province. Tyzenhaus fostered around 50 new commercial endeavours in the region with the building of manufactures, mills and workshops.

As part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forming the Grand Duchy's

.

During

broke out; it continued until 1921.

Under the terms of

Wilno

.

After

Dziarečyn

, which originally had large Jewish populations, were greatly reduced.

As a result of

]

In 1944, Belastok Region was dissolved and Grodno Region established.

Since 1991, the Grodno Region constitutes one of six regions of independent Belarus.

Heritage and tourism

Main tourist attractions in the region are numerous old architectural constructions such as castles in Mir, Lida, Novogrudok. A part of Białowieża Forest is situated here, but the tourist excursions start from the Brest Region part of the National Park. Zhyrovichy Monastery is also a destination for religious travellers. The

, etc.

There are about 45 travel agencies in Grodno Region, half of them provide agent activity, the other half are tour operators.[8]^[9]

Demographics

The province covers an area of 25,100 km² and has a population of 1,065,100, giving a population density of 42/km².^[10] About 63.5% live in cities and towns, while 36.5% live in rural areas. Females account for 53% of the region's population and men 47%. There are about 310,000 children under 19, and about 240,000 people aged over 60.

Nowadays, Belarusians account for 62.3% of the population. The region is a home to significant minority populations.

Demographics 1930

• Poles (60.5%)
• Jews (37.5%)
• Belarusians (0.5%)
• Russians (0.5%)
• Ukrainians (0.2%)
• Lithuanians (0.2%)
• Tatars (0.2%)
• Lithuanians (0.2%)
• other nationalities (0.2%)

Demographics 2002

• Belarusians (62.3%)
• Poles (24.8%),
• Russians (10%),
• Ukrainians (1.8%),
• Jews (0.4%),
• Tatars (0.2%),
• Lithuanians (0.2%),
• other nationalities (0.4%).

Whereas Belarus as a whole is primarily

.

There are a number on national minority associations: 6

.

• 
  Belarusians in the region

    >90%

    80–90%

    70–80%

    60–70%

    50–60%

    40–50%

    <40%
• 
  Poles in the region

    >50%

    30–50%

    20–30%

    10–20%

    5–10%

    2–5%

    <2%
• 
  Russians in the region

    >10%

    8–10%

    5–8%

    <5%

Administrative subdivisions

The Grodno Region is subdivided into 17

.

Districts of Grodno Region

Cities and towns

Population of cities and towns in Grodno Region:^[3][11]

English	Belarusian	Pop. (2023)	Pop. (2018)
Grodno	Гродна	358,717	373,547
Lida	Ліда	103,915	101,616
Slonim	Слонім	49,113	49,441
Vawkavysk	Ваўкавыск	41,991	44,004
Smarhon	Смаргонь	35,781	37,527
Novogrudok	Навагрудак	28,021	29,424
Ashmyany	Ашмяны	16,870	16,875
Shchuchyn	Шчучын	15,653	15,475
Masty	Масты	14,683	15,838
Astravyets	Астравец	14,805	10,878
Skidzyelʹ	Скідзель	9,742	10,713
Byarozawka	Бярозаўка	9,657	10,311
Dzyatlava	Дзятлава	7,881	7,624
Iwye	Іўе	7,243	7,702
Svislach	Свiслач	6,098	6,426

Economy

Belarusian nuclear power plant

(under construction)

In 2016, Grodno Region produced 10.9% of industrial output of Belarus.^[12] The biggest company was a nitrogen fertilizer producer Grodno Azot (16% of regional industrial output).^[13] In 2017, the biggest taxpayer of the region was Grodno tobacco factory.^[14]

Average salary (before income tax) in the region in 2017 was 700 BYN, or lower than average salary in Belarus (820 BYN). The highest salary in the region was recorded in Grodno (810 BYN).^[15]

Unemployment rate in 2017 was estimated at 4.4%, but only 0.8% of population of employable age was registered as unemployed.^[16]

See also

• Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919-1939)
• Second Polish Republic’s Białystok Voivodeship (1919–1939)
• Wilno Voivodeship (1926–39)

References

External links

• Grodno Regional Executive Committee Archived 2006-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, in Belarusian, Russian, English and Chinese

53°45′N 25°20′E / 53.750°N 25.333°E / 53.750; 25.333