Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. It is home to an important railway junction and to Baranavichy State University.

General information

The city of Baranavichy is located on the Baranavichy Plain in the interfluve of Shchara and its tributary Myshanka. Baranavichy is located virtually on a straight line, connecting the regional center Brest (206 km) and

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

(149 km). Nearby cities include Lyakhavichy (17 km),

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

(42 km), Nyasvizh (51 km), Navahrudak (52 km), and Hantsavichy (72 km). Baranavichy is located on flat terrain where the height difference does not exceed 20 m (from 180 to 200 m above sea level). The altitude of the city is 193 m above sea level. The total length of the city is 10 km from west to east and 7 km from south to north. The city is somewhat extended (by 8 km) in the southwest (from Brestskaya Street) to the northeast (to Fabrichnaya Street) and compressed (6.3 km) in the north (Sovetskaya Street) to the southeast (Frolenkov street). The total area occupied by the city is 80.66 km². (8066 ha as of 12 August 2012). The population density is more than 2,000 people per km². The northernmost point of the city is Korolik Street, located to the north of the plant Baranovichsky automatic lines at 53°10' north latitude, and the southernmost is the village of Uznogi located at 53°06' north latitude. The extreme western point is located in the vicinity of Badaka Street at 25°57' east longitude, and the extreme eastern point is located in the vicinity of the intersection of Egorov Street and Kashtanovaya Street at 26°04' east longitude. The geometric center of the city is Lenin Square. In total, the city has about five hundred streets and lanes with an overall length of 252.8 km, 129.8 km of which are landscaped and of which 240 km are lit. The city of Baranavichy is characterized by a favourable geographical position and is a major junction of the most important railways and highways. There is a close location to the main gas pipeline, a developed system of energy and water supply, and a favourable climate. A number of large industrial enterprises are located in the city. As of 1 January 2019, 81,829 passenger cars are registered in Baranavichy. 146,678 adult residents live in the city. Thus, almost every second citizen of the city owns a passenger car. The city of Baranavichy is not only one of the largest cities of

in terms of population (eighth largest in the country) but also one of the most important industrial, cultural, and educational centers of Belarus.

History

Early history

In the second half of the 17th century, Baranavichy housed the Jesuit mission. In the second half of the 18th century, Baranavichy was the property of Massalski and Niesiołowski families. The village was administratively part of the Nowogródek Voivodeship until the Third Partition of Poland (1795) when it was annexed by

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

. In the 19th century, it belonged to the Countess E.A. Rozwadowski. It was part of the Novogrodek (now Navahrudak) okrug, which was part of Slonim Governorate, the Lithuania Governorate, the

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

and then the

Minsk Governorate Minsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Minsk. It was created from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland and existed from 1793 until 1921. Its territory covered th ...

Growth

The town's history began on 17 (29) November 1871, the beginning of construction of a movement to the new section of the Smolensk-Brest. The name of the station arose during the construction of the nearby village, Baranavichy, whose first mention was in the testament of A.E Sinyavskaya in 1627. Then, in 1871, not far from the station, the locomotive depot was built. In 1874 came the appearance of the railway junction. In the wooden station buildings lived the railway workers of Baranavichy. The new railway linked

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with the western outskirts of Imperial Russia. The impetus for more intensive settlement of the areas adjacent to the station from the south was the 27 May 1884 decision by the governor of Minsk to build a town, Rozvadovo, on the lands of the landlord, Rozwadowski. The town was built according to the governor's approved plan. In the village were 120 houses and 500 people. The plans approved by Emperor Alexander III assumed that there would also be one railway linking

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Luninets Luninyets or Luninets is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Luninyets District. As of 2025, it has a population of 23,469. It is home to Luninets air base. History Luninyets is said to be mentioned in ...

Pinsk Pinsk (; , ; ; ; ) is a city in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pinsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is located in the historical region of Polesia, at the confluence of t ...

, and Rovno. Therefore, 2.5 km from the station, the Moscow-Brest railway crossed the track Vilnius-Rovno from Polesie railways. At the junction was another station, Baranavichy (according to Polesie Railways), which became the second centre of the city. As before, workers and traders settled near the station. The new settlement was called New Baranavichy, unlike Rozvadovo, which became informally called Old Baranavichy. It was developed on the land owned by peasants of the villages near the new station (Svetilovichi, Gierow and Uznogi). More convenient than the landlords' land, its lease terms and proximity to administrative agencies contributed to the rapid growth of this settlement.

20th century

At the beginning of World War I, Baranavichy was the location for the

Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...

, the headquarters of the Russian General Staff, until the

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

. After the settlement was left by the Germans, it was captured on 5 January 1919, by the Soviets. In the early stages of the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

, it was briefly captured by the Poles on 18 March 1919 and again captured, for longer, in April 1919, five months after

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

regained independence. The Russians retook it on 17 July 1920, but the Poles took it again on 30 September 1920. On 1 August 1919, it received city rights and became a powiat centre in the Polish Nowogródek Voivodeship. According to the 1921 census, the city had a population of 11,471, 56.2%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 25.5% Polish, 16.6% Belarusian and 1.5% Russian. Soon, the city started to grow and became an important centre of trade and commerce for the area. The city's Orthodox cathedral was built in the Neoclassical style in 1924 to 1931 and was decorated with mosaics that had survived the demolition of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Warsaw. In 1930, a monument to Hungarian Lieutenant colonel Artur Buol, a hero of Polish fights in the

, was unveiled in Baranowicze. In the interbellum, the grandparents and the father of Polish politicians

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

and Jarosław Kaczyński lived in Baranowicze. The city was also an important military

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, with a KOP Cavalry Brigade, the 20th Infantry Division and the Nowogródzka Cavalry Brigade stationed there. Because of the fast growth of local industry, a local branch of the

Polish Radio The Polish Radio (PR; Polish: ''Polskie Radio'', PR) is a national public-service radio broadcasting organization of Poland, founded in 1925. It is owned by the State Treasury of Poland. On 27 December 2023, the Minister of Culture and Nationa ...

was opened in 1938. In 1939 Baranavichy had almost 30,000 inhabitants and was the biggest and the most important city in the Nowogródek Voivodeship. During the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

at the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

took the city on 17 September 1939 and annexed it to the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...

. The local Jewish population of 9,000 was joined by approximately 3,000 Jewish refugees from the Polish areas occupied by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. After the start of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the city was seized by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

on 27 June 1941. It was part of '' Generalbezirk Weißruthenien'' in

Reichskommissariat Ostland The (RKO; ) was an Administrative division, administrative entity of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories of Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945. It served as the German Civil authority, civilian occupation regime in Lithuania, La ...

during the German occupation. In August 1941, the Baranavichy Ghetto was created in the city, with more than 12,000 Jews kept in terrible conditions in six buildings on the outskirts. From 4 March to 14 December 1942, the entire Jewish population of the ghetto was sent to various extermination camps and killed in

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History Donatie ...

s. Only about 250 survived the war. Hugo Armann, head of a unit that arranged travel for soldiers and security police, saved six people from a murder squad and another 35 to 40 people who worked for him. The Germans operated a subcamp of the Stalag 337

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in the city. The city was recaptured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 8 July 1944. It was also the seat of the

Baranavichy Voblast Baranavichy Region, Baranavichy Voblasts, or Baranovichi Oblast (; ) was a region ( voblasts) of the Byelorussian SSR created after the annexation of Western Belorussia into the Byelorussian SSR in November 1939. The administrative centre of t ...

from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1944 to 1954. Meanwhile, intensive industrialization took place. In 1991, the city became part of independent

Climate

Sights

As a fairly young city, Baranavichy does not have many cultural heritage monuments. Most are buildings erected in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, including the Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the former Bank of Poland building, the building of the Polish Radio Baranowicze station, the fire station and the Orthodox Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin. A few old houses from the early 20th century are preserved. There is a railway museum in the city. File:Kasciol Uzvysennia Sviatoha Kryza (Baranavicy).jpg, Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross File:Bank Baranavichy.jpg, Former Bank of Poland building File:Radio Baranavičy.jpg, Polish Radio Baranowicze station File:Будынак пажарнага дэпо.jpg, Pre-war fire station File:Orthodox church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin, Baranavičy 4.jpg, Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin File:Frolenkova 50.jpg, One of the preserved old townhouses

Transport

Belarus-Baranavichy-Ballistic Missile Monument

The city is on the main east–west highway in Belarus, the M1, which forms a part of

European route E30 European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follow ...

. The first rail line through the city opened in around 1870. Additional railways built helped the city become an important rail junction. The large

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

, south of the city, is used by the Belarusian Air Force.

Notable people

* Mirosław Araszewski, Polish photographer and cinematographer * Maja Berezowska, Polish painter * Abraham Foxman, former CEO of Anti-Defamation League * Alina Kabata-Pendias (1929–2019), scientist * Lidia Korsakówna, Polish theatre and film actress * Ihar Losik (1992), Belarusian blogger and activist recognised by Amnesty International as a political prisoner * Kazimierz Świątek, Roman Catholic Cardinal and archbishop * Elchonon Wasserman, rabbi and

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

Valeriya Novodvorskaya Valeriya Ilyinichna Novodvorskaya (; 17 May 1950 – 12 July 2014) was a Russian and Soviet dissident,twinned with: *

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...

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Stockerau Stockerau () is a town in the district of Korneuburg (district), Korneuburg in Lower Austria, Austria. Stockerau has 16,974 inhabitants, which makes it the largest town in the Weinviertel. Stockerau is also called "Lenaustadt" (Lenau Town) because ...

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(2006) suspended the cooperation agreements with Baranavichy due to

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Significant depictions in popular culture

* Baranavichy is one of the starting towns of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in the turn-based strategy game Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms.