Dorogobuzh (; Belarusian: Дарагабуж) is a historic

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

of Dorogobuzhsky District in Smolensk Oblast,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, straddling the Dnieper River and located east of

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, the administrative center of the

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

. Population:

History

First mentioned in 1150, it was established as a fortress defending eastern approaches to

. It was located in the Principality of Smolensk, which in 1404 became part 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 ...

. It passed to the Grand Duchy of Moscow after the Battle of Vedrosha in 1500. In 1508, Vasily III sent Italian masters to build a wooden fort there. During the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

, Dorogobuzh passed between Lithuania and various Muscovite factions several times, and was ravaged, with its population reduced to ten people in 1614. It was captured by

in 1613, and then re-captured by Polish Prince Władysław IV Vasa in 1617. Within the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, it was part of the Smolensk Voivodeship. During the Smolensk War, in 1632, it was besieged and captured by Russia, however, it was restored to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Treaty of Polyanovka in 1634. In 1667, it passed to Russia. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, it was captured by French troops in August 1812, and re-captured by Russia in October 1812. In the late 19th century, the town held an annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

for grain, horses and cattle. Dorogobuzh was occupied by the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

during

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 ...

first from October 5, 1941 to February 15, 1942 (when it was liberated by three partisan detachments and some Soviet troops), then again from June 7, 1942 to September 1, 1943. From 1941 to 1943, the Germans operated a forced labour camp in the town, and in April-May 1942 also the Dulag 184

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 ...

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Dorogobuzh serves as the

of Dorogobuzhsky District.Resolution #261 As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Dorogobuzhsky District as Dorogobuzhskoye Urban Settlement. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban settlement status and is a part of Dorogobuzhsky Municipal District.Law #107-z

Geography

Climate

Dorogobuzh has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

*
Official website of Dorogobuzh

Dorogobuzh Business Directory
*Mojgorod.ru

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Smolensk Oblast Populated places on the Dnieper in Russia