Mstislaw or Mstislavl ( be, Мсціслаў, [], russian: Мстиславль [msʲtʲɪˈslavlʲ], pl, Mścisław, lt, Mstislavlis) is a town in the Mogilev Region, Eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mstsislaw District. As of 2009, its population was 10,804.

History

Mstislavl was first mentioned in the

Ipatiev Chronicle The Hypatian Codex (also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis; be, Іпацьеўскі летапіс; russian: Ипатьевская летопись; uk, Іпатіївський літопис) is a ''svod'' (compendium) of three ''l ...

in 1156. It was initially a part of the

Principality of Smolensk The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Kievan Rus' lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princi ...

, but had become the capital of the Principality of Mstislavl by 1180. In the Middle Ages, it was the family seat of Princes Mstislavsky.

Pyotr Mstislavets Pyotr Timofeyevich Mstislavets (Timofeyev) ( be, Пётр Цімафеевіч Мсціславец; russian: link=no, Пётр Тимофеевич Мстиславец (Тимофеев)) was a Belarusian printer and Ivan Fedorov's associate i ...

is believed to have been born in Mstislavl. In 1377, it was conquered by the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

. The first Lithuanian duke of Mstislavl was Karigaila, brother of Jogaila. The town remained part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

under the

Mścisław Voivodship Mstislaw Voivodeship or Mścisław Voivodeship ( be, Амсьці́слаўскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo Mścisławskie, la, Palatinatus Mscislaviensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand ...

until the Partitions of Poland in 1772. Buildings of historic interest include the Carmelite church (1637, renovated 1746–50) and the Jesuit cathedral (1640, renovated 1730–38, turned into an Orthodox cathedral in 1842). Jews had a historic presence in the town. In 1939, there were 2,067 Jews living in Mstislavl which represented almost 20% of the local population. The German army occupied the town in July 1941. In early October, they killed 30 elderly Jews. On October 15, 1941, together with the local police, they murdered from 850 to 1,300 Jews. It is the birthplace of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

historian and writer

Simon Dubnow Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov, rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪtɕ ˈdubnəf; yi, שמעון דובנאָװ, ''Shimen Dubnov''; 10 September 1860 – 8 Dece ...

, Jewish statesman and Communist politician Yakov Chubin, and expressionist artist Abraham A. Manievich, among others. File:Mstislaw Jesuit Collegium building front.JPG, Jesuit Collegium building, from the 17th century File:Mstislaw Gimnasium building.JPG, Mstislaw Male Gimnasium, from the beginning of the 19th century File:Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Mstislavl.JPG, Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral, built in the 19th century on the foundation of an earlier Catholic Cathedral

References

External links

Photos on Radzima.org

The murder of the Jews of Mstsislaw
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 ...

, 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. {{Authority control Towns in Belarus Populated places in Mogilev Region Mstsislaw District Mstislaw Voivodeship Mstislavsky Uyezd