Kreva (, ; ; ; ) is an agrotown in

Smarhon District Smarhon district or Smarhoń district (; ) is a districts of Belarus, district (raion) of Grodno region in Belarus. The administrative center is Smarhon. As of 2024, it has a population of 48,464. Historically the district's center Smarhon was p ...

, Grodno Region,

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 Krevas

selsoviet A selsoviet (; , ; ) is the shortened name for Selsky soviet, i.e., rural council (; ; ). It has three closely related meanings: *The administration (''soviet (council), soviet'') of a certain rural area. *The territorial subdivision administered ...

. The first mention dates to the 13th century. The toponym is derived from the name of the

Krivichs The Krivichs or Kryvichs ( rus, кри́вичи, p=ˈkrʲivʲɪtɕɪ, krivichi, links=y; , ) were a tribal union of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 12th centuries. It is suggested that originally the Krivichi were native to the area a ...

tribe.

History

The

Kreva Castle Kreva Castle (, , ) is the ruins of a major fortified residence of the grand dukes of Lithuania (Gediminas and Algirdas) in the village of Kreva, Belarus. The village lies above sea level. During the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), Jogail ...

, built of brick and stone, dates from the early-mid 14th century in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, and was likely commissioned under Grand Duke

Gediminas Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...

. It stood in what was then a linguistically mixed region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, politically ruled by Lithuanian dynasty but inhabited predominantly by East Slavic (Ruthenian) populations. After Gediminas' death in 1341, Kreva became the patrimony of his son and successor,

Algirdas Algirdas (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...

. In 1382, the Grand Duke

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( – 3 or 15 August 1382) was sole Duke of Trakai from 1342 to 1382 and List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1342 to 1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (from 1377 to ...

was imprisoned in Kreva during the Lithuanian Civil War and subsequently murdered on the order by his nephew Jogaila. In 1385, the

Union of Krewo In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva (also spelled Union of Krevo, Act of Kreva; ; ) comprised a set of prenuptial promises made at Kreva Castle on 14 August 1385 by Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in regard to his prospectiv ...

(Act of Kreva) was signed in Kreva. In 1387, following the

Christianization of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania () occurred in 1387, initiated by the Lithuanian royals Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Catholic Christianity by Li ...

, the Grand Duke Jogaila established the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the Lithuanian

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

lands and built a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

which is now known as the Church of St. Mary. The ruins of the castle were severely damaged during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as they were near the front lines. They remain extant to the present day. Before World War II, 500 Jews lived in the village. After the German occupation of the town they were kept imprisoned in a

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

and used as slave labourers in harsh conditions. They were deported in other ghettos in

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 ...

and

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

in 1942.

Notable people

Nathan Mileikowsky Nathan Mileikowsky (, ; ; 15 August 1879 – 4 February 1935) was a Russian-born Zionist political activist, Rabbi, and writer. Mileikowsky's son was the scholar and academic Benzion Netanyahu, and his grandson is the current Israeli Prime Mini ...

, a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, grandfather of

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

, Prime Minister of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Al Kelly Abraham Kalish (December 18, 1896, – September 7, 1966), known by the stage name Al Kelly, was an American vaudeville comedian. Kelly was known as a double-talk artist, and went on to stooge for other comedians such as Willie Howard and E ...

, vaudeville comedian

References

External links

Kreva.Travel
Tourist website of Kreva * {{commonscat-inline, Kreva Populated places in Grodno region Smarhon district Agrotowns in Belarus Holocaust locations in Belarus