Bykhaw ( be, Бы́хаў,
Łacinka
The Belarusian Latin alphabet or Łacinka (from be, лацінка or łacinka, BGN/PCGN: ''Latsinka'', ) for the Latin script in general is the common name for writing Belarusian using Latin script. It is similar to the Sorbian alphabet an ...
: ''Bychaŭ'', ) or Bykhov (russian: Бы́хов, pl, Bychów, yi, italic=yes, Bihov, , lt, Bychavas) is a town in the eastern
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 ...
ian
Mogilev Region
Mogilev Region or Mogilev Oblast or Mahiliow Voblasts ( be, link=no, Магілёўская вобласць; ''Mahiloŭskaja voblasć''; russian: link=no, Могилёвская область; ''Mogilyovskaya Oblast''), is a region (''oblast'' ...
. It is located 44 km south of
Mogilev
Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...
(M 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 Ukrain ...
(Dniapro), and is the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, L ...
of the
Bykhaw District
Bykhaw District ( be, Быхаўскі раён, russian: Быховский район, Bykhovsky raion) is a raion ( district) in Mogilev Region, Belarus, the administrative center is the town of Bykhaw. As of 2009, its population was 35,148 ...
. As of 2009, its population was 17,031.
History

In the
early modern times Bykhaw was an important fortress known for hard battles.
Bykhaw is known for its 17th-century
synagogue. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Bychaw was occupied by the
German Army from 5 July 1941 until 28 June 1944 and placed under the administration of the ''
Generalbezirk Weißruthenien
Generalbezirk Weissruthenien (General District White Ruthenia) was one of the four administrative subdivisions of ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'', the 1941-1945 civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany for the administration of the th ...
'' of ''
Reichskommissariat Ostland
The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initi ...
''. The Jews of Bykhov were killed in two mass shootings in September and November 1941. According to the German and Soviet archives, there were 4600 Jews from Bykhaw who were shot in Voronino.

There is an abandoned military airfield, inside a military town called , which is now a
microdistrict
Microdistrict, or microraion (russian: микрорайо́н, ''mikrorajón''), is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet and former Socialist s ...
of Bykhaw.
References
External links
Bykhaw. SynagoguesJewish EncyclopediaThe murder of the Jews of Bykhawduring
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, 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.
Bykhovsky Uyezd
Holocaust locations in Belarus
Populated places in Mogilev Region
Populated places on the Dnieper in Belarus
Towns in Belarus
{{Belarus-geo-stub