Porazava is an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

in Svislach District, Grodno Region, in 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 is located near the town of Svislach. As of 2025, it has a population of 616.

History

The first church was built in 1460 by Jan Rynwid. It was a royal town of 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 ...

, administratively located in the Nowogródek Voivodeship. In the late 19th century, the Christian population was mostly employed in

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, whereas the Jews mostly lived off trade. In the interwar period it was administratively located in the

Wołkowysk County __NOTOC__ In the period between 1919 and 1939 Wołkowysk County was part of the Second Polish Republic. It was part of the Białystok Voivodeship and the seat of . Under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was divided between the S ...

in the Białystok Voivodeship of the

Republic of 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 ...

. According to the 1921 census, the population was 84.8% Polish and 14.9% Jewish. The town had a thriving Jewish community and synagogue prior to

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 ...

. During

, Porozów was occupied by the Soviet Union from September 1939 to June 1941, and then by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

until 15 July 1944 and administered as a part of

Bezirk Bialystok Bialystok District (German language, German: ''Bezirk Bialystok'') was an administrative unit of Nazi Germany created during the World War II invasion of the Soviet Union. It was to the south-east of East Prussia, in present-day northeastern Pola ...

Demographics

According to the

2009 Belarusian census The 2009 Belarusian census was the second census in Belarus after it became an independent state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The census was carried out during October 14–24, 2009. The initial results are to be announced by February ...

, the population was 51.5% Belarusian, 44.6% Polish and 3.0% Russian. In 2024, it had a population of 653.

Notable people

* Ester Rachel Kamińska (1870–1925), actress

Notes

References

External links

{{commons cat, Porazava
Porozowo – A tribute to its former Jewish community

Parafia

Radzima.org

Urban-type settlements in Belarus Populated places in Grodno region Svislach district