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4. Novogrudok

Novogrudok

 Coat of arms of Novogrudok presents a red baroque shield with the image of St. Michael the Archangel with wings of blue, clothed in black robes, with a sword in his right hand and scales - in the left. In the Old Testament, Saint Michael is one of the seven archangels (also called archistrategists), who dominate the multitude of angels in the fight against the dark forces of hell. As the defender of a militant church, Michael led the heavenly host to victory over Lucifer and the fallen angels. The sound of his trumpet will usher in the day of the Last Judgment, and Michael will await next to Christ the Judge, holding the scales in his hands to weigh human sins. The coat of arms is unique because there was no other "black angel" anywhere in the Christian age, as the angel is supposed to be white! Black color of Michael’s clothes is explained by the fact that the population of Vitebsk, Polotsk and Smolensk was the first to adopt Christianity in the territory of North-Eastern Russia. At the same time, the inhabitants of Novogrudok worshiped pagan gods a little longer than their neighbors, for which they received the name of "Black Russians". So, the concepts "White Russia" аnd "Black Russia" appeared.

 Construction of the Novogrudok Castle, 13th century

About Novogrudok:

The town lies on the so called Novogrudskaya hill. This is the highest spot of the hill called Zamkovaya Mountain. Its height is 323 meters over the sea level, thus the town has the highest location in Belarus. Not by chance it was chosen for the settlement in the early 11^th century by Kiev prince Yaroslavl the Wise. Around 1044 he founded the fortress on the highest spot of the mountain and the settlement grew at the bottom of the hill in no time.  Already in the XIth century the streets of the settlement were laid with wooden boards , brick-and-earthen stoves were put, houses had glass windows, although in the XIIth century glass in Russia was very expensive and it was  only in large stone churches that glass windows were put. During the first two centuries Novogrudok grew into a very rich town which established   trade connections with Byzantium, Baltic and Scandinavian Princedoms. In the middle of the XIIth century the construction of a stone castle was launched on the Zamkovaya mountain, which was completed at the beginning of the XVIth century. The castle had 5 stone towers with the height of the walls being 4 meters. It was surrounded with a deep moat with water. Only two towers have survived resembling rotten teeth on the thinned jaw. Prince Mindovg who originated from the dynasty of Polotsk princes accepted catholic baptism in 1251 and in 1253 was crowned as the King of Lithuania at the Novogrudok Farny Catholic church. He united the lands of Belarus and Lithuania into one state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to withstand numerous raids of the crusaders. It was prince Mindovg who made Novogrudok the capital of the new state. It was only in 1323 that the capital was shifted to Vilno, present Vilnius. In Novogrudok, state seims, meetings of kings and ambassadors, meetings of the highest Court of Appeals - the Main Tribunal were held. In the year of 1422 king Yagaylo of Poland married Princess Sophia Golshanskay at the farny church in Novogrudok. From their marriage the famous dynasty of the Yagelons started.  In 1511 Novogrudok was granted the Magdeburg right and as a result became a self-governed town with its own coat of arms and the town flag. Military events, urban fires and epidemics of the XVII-XVIII centuries led Novogrudok to political and economic decline. In the year 1795, after the third partition of Poland, Novogrudok became part of the Russian Empire. Novogrudskaya gentry actively participated in the uprisings of 1830-1831 and then in the years of 1863-1864. During the World War II Novogrudok was occupied by the Nazi. During the occupation the Nazi created a ghetto in which they killed 10, 000 Jews. In mid-May 1943, the last surviving prisoners of the ghetto began digging a 250-meter long underground passage beyond the ghetto, and five months later, on September 26, 1943, an escape was made through it. In total, 232 people fled through the tunnel. More than 100 Jews escaped through the tunnel fought in the partisan detachment of brothers the Belskies, also Jewish. . Among those there was a grandfather of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Charles Kushner. Several dozen of Jews were fighting in other partisan detachments. After the war both the Belskies and the Kushners immigrated to the USA. The total number of people killed during the war was 45,000; the town was destroyed by 80%. Today’s Novogrudok is a district center of the Novogrudskiy district of the Grodno region in the Republic of Belarus..

Read about sights of  Novogrudok and Novogrudok district: Excursions & Museums:

Interesting facts about Novogrudok and Novogrudok district:

On the streets of Novogrudok already in the 11th century, plank floors were laid, brick-adobe stoves were installed, the houses had glazed windows, although it is believed that in Russia  glass was very expensive and it was installed only in large stone churches.

Culture and Education:

In Novogrudok there are 7 secondary schools and a lyceum. In addition, two colleges of secondary specialized education work in Novogrudok: Novogrudok State Agrarian college and State Trade and Economic College.

Economy:

Novogrudok is an industrial town with 14 enterprises: these include: plant of the gas equipment, Novogrudok sewing factory, butter factory, plant of fruit wines and drinks,  plant of hardware and etc.