Dubrowna ( Belarusian Дуброўна ''Dubroŭna''; pl, Dąbrowna) or Dubrovno (russian: Дубро́вно) is a small town on the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

originates from a

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...

term for an oak forest, which may explain the inclusion of oak leaves and acorns in the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

. Dubroŭna is the administrative centre of the

Dubroŭna Raion Dubrowna District (also Dubroŭna District) is a district in Vitebsk Region, Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Белару� ...

of the Vitebsk Voblast in northern

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. In the 19th century Dubroŭna was a centre for weaving. The town had a significant Jewish community that in 1898 formed more than half of its population. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Dubrovno was heavily affected. It was occupied by German forces July 17–20, 1941, and the town's Jews were killed. It was the scene of considerable partisan activity. From October 1943 to June 1944 it was at or near the front line, and was not finally reoccupied by Soviet forces until June 26, 1944. Dubroŭna hosts an annual folk song and dance festival, "Dnepr voices in Dubrovno".

Famous people born in Dubrowna

Harry Batshaw Harry Batshaw (14 October 1902 – 1984) was a Canadian lawyer and a justice of the Quebec Superior Court. Justice Batshaw was the first Jew to be appointed to a superior court in Canada. Born in 1902 at Dubroŭna, Mogilev Governorate, Ru ...

(1902–1984), jurist * Israel Dov Frumkin (1850–1914),

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

* Charles Jaffé (c.1879 - 1941), chess master *Brothers

Yakov Polyakov Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov. Notable people People ...

, Samuel Polyakov (1837–1888) and

Lazar Polyakov Lazar Solomonovich Polyakov (russian: Ла́зарь Соломо́нович Поляко́в, born 1843 in Dubroŭna – died 1914) was a Russian-Jewish entrepreneur. Polyakov founded his first bank in 1872 and by the 1890s owned an influential ...

(1843–1914), businessmen * Kazimierz Siemienowicz (c.1600 - c.1651),

military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...

and

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

pioneer *

Anna Tumarkin Anna Tumarkin ( be, А́нна-Э́стер Паўлаўна Тума́ркін, he, אנה-אסתר פבלובנה טומרקין, 16 February 1875 – 7 August 1951) was a Russian-born, naturalized Swiss academic, who was the first woman to bec ...

(1875–1951),

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of philosophy *

Menachem Ussishkin Menachem Ussishkin (russian: Авраам Менахем Мендл Усышкин ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', he, מנחם אוסישקין) (August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the Je ...

(1863–1941),

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

* Zvi Zeitlin (1922–2012),

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist

References

External links

Dubroŭna Raion Executive Committee

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopaedia Online
* '' Jewish Encyclopedia''
The murder of the Jews of Dubroŭna
during

, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubrouna Towns in Belarus Populated places in Vitebsk Region Dubrowna District Vitebsk Voivodeship Goretsky Uyezd Populated places on the Dnieper in Belarus