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 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 princ ...
, but had become the capital of the
Principality of Mstislavl by 1180. In the Middle Ages, it was the family seat of
Princes Mstislavsky
Mstislavsky (Russian Мстиславский) was a Russian princely family of Gediminid origin who prior to their move to Russia ruled the principality of Mstislavl. In the following, the Mstislavsky family produced some notable military commande ...
.
Pyotr Mstislavets 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 Karigaila ( pl, Korygiełło, died on 16 September 1390 in Vilnius) was a son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver. He became the ruler of Mstsislaw after he captured it from the Principality of Smolensk. He ...
, 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 ...
under the
Mścisław Voivodship 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