Rechytsa

Rechytsa (Belarusian: Рэчыца, pronounced [ˈrɛtʂɨtsa]; Russian: Речица; Polish: Rzeczyca; Lithuanian: Rečyca) is a city in the Gomel Region of Belarus. It is center of Rechytsa District. The city is located at on the Rechytsa River, which flows into the Dnieper. As of 2005, the population was 65,532.

Rechytsa

Belarusian: Рэчыца
Rechytsa town centre, Kastrychnitskaya (October) Square
Flag
Coat of arms
Rechytsa
Coordinates: 52°21′50″N 30°23′41″E
Country Belarus
RegionGomel Region
DistrictRechytsa District
Founded1213
Area
 • Total29.4 km2 (11.4 sq mi)
Elevation
128 m (420 ft)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total64,731
 • Density2,200/km2 (5,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
247500
Area code(s)+375 2340
License plate3
Websiterechitsa.gov.by (in Russian)

History
Rechitsa. An engraving of Abraham van Westerveld, mid-17th century.

Rechytsa is one of the oldest towns in Belarus. First settlements in this region are dated back to the epoch of mesolite (9 – 5th centuries B.C.). Later, this area was inhabited by the Dregovichi tribe. The town was first mentioned in the Novgorod chronicle in 1213 as a town of the Chernihiv Principality. Rechytsa was also ruled by Kiev and Turov Grand Dukes. At the time of Gediminas reign (1311–1341) the town was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Rečyca as well as Orsha, Shklow, Mogilev, Stary Bychaw and Rahachow formed a well-developed frontier defense system at the River Dniepr.

Holy Trinity Catholic church

1392–1430 – the reign of Grand Duke Vytautas. He constructed a fortified castle with five towers in the area of the detinets (old Belarusian for the downtown) on the bank of the Dniepr. At that time the town had three fortification lines in the form of water trenches and ramparts with bastions. In the area between the fortress and the second fortification line there was a territory for rich mansions, Church of the Order of Friars Preachers and a trade square. The town inhabitants settled lived between the second and third fortification lines. The construction of the town had clear right-angled forms.

In 1561 the town was partially granted the Magdeburg rights.

In the middle of the 17th century Rechytsa was practically destroyed during the Cossack war of 1648–1651. After the Truce of Anrusovo the town became a part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 Rechytsa joined Russia and became an used center of the Minsk province.

The first permanent town plan of Rechytsa was approved in 1800. During the Napoleon Wars in 1812 the town was a temporary residence of the Minsk governor. Rechytsa (Retschschutz) was occupied by Napoleon's Immense Armee in some of 1812, fought over by Whites and Reds, 1917–1922, occupied by Central Powers Forces C. 1917-1918 and by Hitler's Axis, 1941-1943/4.

Jewish community

Rechytsa had one of the oldest Jewish communities in Belarus, and later the town was a center for Chabad Hasidic Jews. In 1648, Cossacks murdered many of its Jews. The town's Jewish population in 1766 numbered 133, increasing to 1,268 in 1800 (two thirds of the total population), and 2,080 in 1847. By 1897 the town's Jewish population grew to 5,334, which constituted 57 percent of the general population. On the eve of World War I the Jewish population is thought to have numbered some 7,500.[1]

Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn of Rechitsa (d. 1908) led the Kapust branch of the Chabad movement until his death in 1908.[2][3]

World War Two

During World War Two, the Germans occupied the town on 23 August 1941 and in November all 3,000 remaining Jews were gathered in a ghetto. On 25 November the Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Following the war, a few Jews returned to Rechytsa. The town had no synagogue, and in 1970 the Jewish population was estimated at about 1,000. In the 1990s most Jews of the town emigrated to Israel and the West.[1]

Demographics

Population
  • early 1900s? – 1.77 thousand
  • 2005 – 65.5 thousand
  • 2006 – 65.4 thousand
  • 2007 – 65.3 thousand
  • 2010 – 64.7 thousand

Economics

Rechytsa products are well known in the CIS member-states as well as in other countries. Rechytsa produces watercraft, furniture, and beer, which are exported to England, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and several African countries. "Rechitsaneft" is oil and gas production department of "Belarusneft". Was established in 1965. Main activities: oil and natural gas production, development of oil and gas field.

Notable people

References
  1. "Rechitsa". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  2. Kaminetzky, Yosef. Y. Days in Chabad. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn, NY. (2005): p. 21.
  3. "Grave of Second 'Rashab' Found". www.collive.com.
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