Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi

1492 The first reference of city in the written sources. At this time the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Casimir gives permission to noble Lord Gostautas, then owner of Lyakhovichi to conduct fairs and to hold korchmy. This witnesses the fact that Lyakhovichi was not only a commercial and agricultural settlement but also the administrative and operational center of large feudal possession. Already in this time, there was a wooden fort in Lyakhovichi on the left bank of the river. Lyakhovici at this time was part of Novogrodek poviet in Novogrodek vovoideship.

1537 Stanislav Gostautas, the son of A.M. Gostautas presents Lyakhovichi to his wife Barbara Radziwill.

1543 Barbara Radziwill becomes the wife of Sigismund Augustus after her first husband Gostautas dies without leaving heirs in 1542. Sigismund is the son of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund. She transfers it to her husband.

1548 – Sigismund Augustus becomes King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania after the death of his father.

1551 – Sigismund receives Lyakhovichi when [his wife] B. [Barbara] Radziwill died 10.04.1551

1572 – Sigismund Augustus exchanged Lyakhovichi for the possession of Svisloch with Jan Yeronimovichem Chodkewiecz. The passage of Lyakhovichi into the hands of this particular feudal lord magnate Chodkewiecz became the beginning of new period in the history of city and rural district

1579 - after death of Jan Yeronimovichem Chodkewiecz, Lyakhovichi passed to his elder son the great Lithuanian Hetman Jan Karol Chodkewiecz who replaced the wooden fort built in the end of the fifteenth century with a [novoital'yanskoy?] fortification system.

1602 He began to construct new [parafial'nyy] church in Lyakhovichi. The Lyakhovichi fort or so-called Lyakhovichi Fortress. ["lyakhovichskaya fortetsiya "]was a powerful stone-construction fort and it was considered as the strongest of the similar structures in all of Belarus both in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the entire Polish Republic. The layout of the fortress had a form of quadrangle with the sizes of [y"shch]*220 m., surrounded by a ditch. In the winter of 1595-1596 the cossacks of nalivayki unsuccessfully stormed the fort.

1621 –At the battle of Chocim, Chodkewiecz died and Lyakhovichi passed to his daughter Anna who was married to the son of Leo Sapieha - Jan Stanislav Sapieha.

1625 - Anna Chodkewicz Sapieha died and Lyakhovichi was forged into a possession of the family of Sapieha.

1648-1654 The city’s fortifications were tested repeatedly during the “antifeudal war of the Belarussian and Ukrainian peoples 1648 – 1654” Three times the city, not the fort of Lyakhovichi, was unsuccessful at keeping out the restored peasants and Ukrainian cossacks. In each case the city itself was destroyed and burned 1654-1667 in the Russian-Polish War, but the fort stood.

1654-1667 The Russian-Polish War portions of Lyakhovichi fell to the severest trials. The war and many month siege of the city in 1660 cost Lyakhovichi dearly. The city, which was destroyed four times in the years of war, had only 17 houses remaining whole. The majority of the inhabitants of city and okresnostey perished, villages were burned out and robbed. Nevertheless Lyakhovichi remained the only city, which czarist troops could not engage.

1661 Taking into account the state of the city and population the Polish Commonwealth’s Seym freed Lyakhovichi and rural district from all taxes for 9 years.

1678 Seym again freed/released city and rural district for 9 years from the taxes.

1700 - 1721 The city did not have time to rise from the ruins, before the Northern War (1700-1721) burst upon Belarus and in 1706 it soaked Lyakhovichi with a Swedish onslaught. (This war was called "the Deluge" in European literature - note by webmaster.)Even as it was underway, the Polish seym decided to hamper the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by moving much of the artillery of Lyakhovichi fortress to Slutsk’s fort. After a half year siege, on 9 May, 1706, held back by a garrison of 1360 people during the prolonged assault when the defenders’ water and powder was finished, it was captured. The Swedes destroyed the fort and the church.

1760 - The heirs of Sapiehas's kind sell Lyakhovichi to prince Mikhail Jozef Masal'skiy.

1775 - Taking into account the great defensive value of the fort the Seym of the Polish Commonwealth, by special decision it transferred the city into the property of state. It freed Lyakhovichi from all state taxes to 10 years.

1793 – With the second division of the Polish Commonwealth, Lyakhovichi moves very near to the Russian empire. The national boundary passed near Lyakhovichi. As state and state possession they are transmitted to Lithuanian Hetman (Military Commander) to Syman Kossakowsk.

1795 - Third division of the Polish Commonwealth. The boundary of Russian empire is moved aside to the West, Lyakhovichi lose their bygone boundary and military znaseniye. In the city there were left the church, synagogue, stores and the romantic ruins of the legendary fort – its tower gates, its entire lift bridge, and its defensive moat and ditchings.

1867 – In Lyakhovichi were 2072 people to 351 courtyards.

1897 – The Polessian rairload extended to Sarny-Vilno which gave impetus to the economic development of Lyakhovichi. At this time there were 5016 inhabitants, and were church, synagogue, mosque, school, hospital, potter workshops, 30 stores, distillery, yearly provdilos' 3 large fairs.

1900 - In the city appeared mail and small industrial enterprise works.

1905 - 1907 City demonstrations of workers

1915 - Lyakhovichi in the front area of First World War.

1917 - Lyakhovichi surrounds severed by front line. The 20th Galacian infantry regiment occupied combat positions here.

12.1918 - 04.1919 – The Soviet regime is established/ in the territory of the Lyakhovichskeyeo region.

04.1919 - 09.1939 . – Lyakhovichi city passed to Poland via the Riga peace treaty and was located in its composition.

09.1939 – Lyakhovichi is restored to the Soviet regime. Schools were opened - seven year school, and then SSH 1, district library, dispensary, film projector, Lyakhovichskaya MTS.

strong> 15.01.1940 – Is made part of the composition of the Baranovichi region when formed The Lyakhovichskiy region centers in Lyakhovichakh. At this time in the city lived 5100 people.

22.06.1941 - 06.07.1944 . - Severely tests the city. Its inhabitants transferred during the years of World War II. In the city during the years of war, Fascist invaders shot about 5 thousand persons of the Jewish nationality of local and from the countries of Europe.

1959 -4,500 inhabitants in census

2001 Today 13 thousand people live here.Belorussians - 81%, Poles - 10%, Russians - 7%, Tatars - 1%, other nationalities - 1%.