Ruzhany, also spelled ''Rozana'' or ''Ruzhana'', 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 Pruzhany District, Brest 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 ...

. As of 2025, it has a population of 2,642.

Geography

Ruzhany is situated on the river Ruzhanka and surrounded by picturesque hills. It is located away from Brest, from

Ivatsevichy Ivatsevichy (; ; ) is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Ivatsevichy District. As of 2025, it has a population of 22,264. History Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ivatsevitshy was part of Nowogróde ...

(where the nearest railway station is located), and north-east from

Pruzhany Pruzhany is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pruzhany District. The town is located at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, where the Mukhavets River rises. As of 2025, it has a popu ...

, on the crossing of the roads from

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

and from

Vawkavysk Vawkavysk or Volkovysk is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vawkavysk District. It is located on the and rivers, roughly from the city of Grodno and from Minsk, the national capital. As o ...

to Kosava.

History

The earliest mentioning of Ruzhany dates back to 1552. Following the

First World War 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 ...

the town was part 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 ...

until September 1939, when it was occupied by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and incorporated into the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

. From 23 June 1941 until 13 July 1944, Ruzhany was occupied by Nazi Germany 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 ...

. Almost the entire pre-war population of 3,500 Jews were killed in the Holocaust, mostly at

Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...

. On 19 September 1659,

Yisrael ben Shalom Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It 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. It occupies the Pale ...

and Tuvyah Bachrach were killed in Ruzhany on

Rosh HaShana Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autu ...

5420, in the infamous

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mu ...

Notable people

Some notable past residents of Ruzhany include: *

Melech Epstein Melech Epstein (, 1889–1979) was an American journalist and historian. His two most famous books, ''Jewish labor in U.S.A.'' and ''The Jew and communism'' are considered standard works. Early life Epstein was born in Ruzhany, Grodno Gubern ...

(1889–1979), American Yiddish language journalist * I. M. Pines, writer and Zionist *

Louis Leon Ribak Louis Leon Ribak (3 December 1902 – 21 December 1979) was an American social realist and abstract painter who was a member of the " Taos Moderns" group of artists. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Grodno in the Russian Empire, Ribak e ...

, American artist *

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir (, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...

(born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; 1915-2012),

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

* The

Sapieha family The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk. Vernadsky, George. ...

, influential Polish-Lithuanian aristocrats, who built a palace at Ruzhany (see below)

Notable sights

Places of interest in Ruzhany include: *

Ruzhany Palace Ruzhany Palace (, ) is a ruined palace compound in Ruzhany village, Pruzhany District, Brest Region, Western Belarus. Between the 16th and 19th centuries Ruzhany, then called Różany, was the main seat of the senior line of the Sapieha noble ...

: a large and impressive but mostly ruined complex, now undergoing complete renovation * Two large churches: Trinity Church (Catholic, dating from 1617) and Saints Peter & Paul (Orthodox, built 1762–1788) * A small chapel named for

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon (; ; ; ; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes Longinus, a Polish chronicler, diplo ...

in the town cemetery * An ancient Jewish graveyard and a large ruined synagogue * A small German cemetery

Notes

References

External links

"All About Ruzhany" (Unofficial Ruzhany Site)

Ruzhany at Radzima.org

Jewish Electronic Encyclopedia page on Ruzhany (in Russian)

Ruzhany
on KehilaLinks * Populated places in Brest region Urban-type settlements in Belarus Holocaust locations in Belarus Pruzhany district {{Belarus-geo-stub