Pinsk 484583 217894278 2008-06-08T05:12:23Z 70.78.204.161 /* History */ {{otheruses|Pinsk (disambiguation)}} [[Image:Coat of Arms of Pinsk, Belarus.png|right|120px|thumb|Coat of Arms]] '''Pinsk''' ({{lang-be|Пінск}}, {{lang-ru|Пинск}}, {{lang-pl|Pińsk}}), a town in [[Belarus]], in the [[Polesia]] region, traversed by the river [[Pripyat River|Pripyat]], at the confluence of the [[Strumen River|Strumen]] and [[Pina]] rivers. The region is known as the [[Pinsk Marshes|Marsh of Pinsk]]. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of [[Minsk]]. Population 128,300. The city is a small industrial center producing ships sailing the local rivers. The historic city has a beautifully restored downtown full of two-story buildings dating from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. == History == Pinsk is first mentioned in the chronicles of [[1097]] as Pinesk, a town belonging to [[Sviatopolk II of Kiev|Sviatopolk]] of [[Turov]]. The name is derived from the river Pina. Pinsk's early history is closely linked with the history of [[Turov]]. Until the mid-12th century Pinsk was the seat of Sviatopolk's descendants, but a cadet line of the same family established their own seat at Pinsk after the [[Mongol invasion of Rus]] in [[1239]]. The Pinsk principality had an important strategic location, between the principalities of [[Navahrudak]] and [[Halych-Volynia]], which fought each other for other Ruthenian territories. Pinsk did not take part in this struggle, although it was inclined towards the princes of Novaharodak, which is shown by the fact that the future prince of Novaharodak and [[Vaisvilkas]] of Lithuania spent some time in Pinsk. In 1320 Pinsk was won by the rulers of Navahrudak, who incorporated it into their state, known as the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. From this time on Pinsk was ruled by [[Gedimin]]'s eldest son, [[Narymunt]]. Afterwards, for the next two centuries the city had different rulers. In 1581 Pinsk was granted the [[Magdeburg rights]] and in [[1569]], after the union of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] with the [[Crown of the Polish Kingdom]], it became the seat of the province of [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]]. From 1633 on Pinsk had a secondary school, a so-called brotherhood school (the brotherhoods were religious citizens' organisations with the aim of providing education for their members and their children). During the Cossack rebellion of [[Bohdan Chmielnicki]] ([[1640]]), it was captured by [[Cossacks]] who carried out a [[pogrom]] against the city's Jewish population; the Poles retook it by assault, killing 24,000 persons and burning 5,000 houses. Eight years later the town was burned by the Russians. In 1648, on the eve of the [[Russo-Polish War (1654-1667)]], Pinsk was occupied by Ukrainian Cossack army under commander Niababy and could only be reconquered with great difficulty by prince [[Janusz Radziwiłł]], a high-ranking commander in the Polish-Lithuanian army. During the war between Moscow and Poland-Lithuania (1654-1667) the city suffered heavily from the attacks of the Muscovite army under Prince Volkolnsky and its allied army of Ukrainian [[Cossacks]]. [[Charles XII of Sweden|Charles XII]] took it in [[1706]], and burned the town with its suburbs. In spite of all the wars the city recovered and the town developed with the existence of a printing workshop in Pinsk from 1729-44. Pinsk fell to the [[Russian Empire]] in [[1793]] in the [[Partitions of Poland|Third Partition of Poland]], became part of [[Poland]] in [[1920]] after the [[Polish-Soviet War]] and was incorporated into [[Soviet Union]] in [[1939]]. At this time, the city's population was over 90% Jewish. From [[1941]] to [[1944]] it was occupied by [[Nazi Germany]], and its Jewish population interned in concentration camps. Between 18,000 and 30,000 Jewish residents of Pinsk were killed by the Nazis in the [[Holocaust]]. Ten thousand were murdered in one day. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in [[1991]] Pinsk has belonged to the Republic of [[Belarus]]. == Sights == [[Image:Pinsk View-from-Pina-river-bridge.jpg|thumb|150px|The Assumption Cathedral]][[Image:Pinsk Jesuit collegium.jpg|thumb|150px|Jesuit collegium]]Two main sights of the town are lined along the river. These are the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery of the [[greyfriars]] (1712-30) with a campanile from [[1817]] ([http://globus.tut.by/pinsk/kostelfranc_tn_glr.htm picture)] and the Jesuit collegium (1635-48), a large Mannerist complex, whose cathedral was demolished after the [[World War II]] ([http://globus.tut.by/pinsk/iezuitcollegium_gallery.htm picture)].[[Image:Pinsk Saint-Feodor-Cathedral.jpg|thumb|120px|The St. Theodore Cathedral]] The foremost among modern buildings is the black-domed Orthodox cathedral of St. Theodore. ==Famous people== * [[Matusz Butrymowicz]], local judge * [[Ryszard Kapuściński]] (1932-2007), Polish writer and reporter * [[Anzia Yezierska]] (c. 1890-1970), writer * [[Simon Kuznets]] (1901–1985), 1971 [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel laureate in economics]] * [[Golda Meir]] (1898–1978), fourth [[prime minister of Israel]] * [[Adam Naruszewicz]] (1733–1796), polish poet, historian, bishop * [[Chaim Weizmann]] (1874–1952), first [[president of Israel]] * [[Karol Wyrwicz]] (1717–1793), historian * [[Ivan Zholtovsky]] (1867–1959), famous Russian and Soviet [[architect]]. * [[Igor Kolb]] (1977?-), principal dancer of Mariinsky Ballet ==External links== {{commonscat|Pinsk}} * {{pl_icon}} [http://www.kapuscinski.info/page/zyciorys/10 Ryszard Kapuscinski about Pińsk] * {{pl_icon}} [http://pater.kul.lublin.pl/akademia/2004_10_25/biblioteka_seminarium_pinsk_2.htm Photos Pińsk] * [http://www.rzeczna2004.republika.pl/f.pinska.htm Pinsk Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy] * [http://radzima.org/pub/miesta.php?miesta_id1=brpipins Photos on Radzima.org] * [http://www.dws.xip.pl/WojnaObronna/images/porty/6bb.jpg Pre-war aerial photo of Pinsk] * [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=338&letter=P&search=Pinsk "Pinsk"], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' * [http://www.pinsk.su Pinsk] * [http://www.mypinsk.by Pinsk] {{Brest Voblast}} {{CoorHeader|52|07||N|26|06||E|type:city}} [[Category:Cities and towns in Belarus]] [[Category:Shtetls]] [[be:Горад Пінск]] [[be-x-old:Пінск]] [[bg:Пинск]] [[cs:Pinsk]] [[de:Pinsk]] [[et:Pinsk]] [[es:Pinsk]] [[fr:Pinsk]] [[ko:핀스크]] [[id:Pinsk]] [[it:Pinsk]] [[he:פינסק]] [[lt:Pinskas]] [[hu:Pinszk]] [[nl:Pinsk]] [[ja:ピンスク]] [[pl:Pińsk]] [[pt:Pinsk]] [[ru:Пинск]] [[fi:Pinsk]] [[sv:Pinsk]] [[uk:Пінськ]] [[vo:Pinsk]] [[zh:平斯克]]