Gomel, Belarus
Gomel is the second-largest city in Belarus. It lays on the
right bank of the Sozh River.
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| First Gomel's dweller and the lynx |
Brief History of Gomel
12th-17th centuries
Gomel is a very
old city. The first documentary
mentioning of Gomel dates back to 1142. Since the
12th century the city of Gomel has faced a lot. It was under Kievan Rus’, captured by Smolensk Knyaz Rostislav Mstisavovich and later by other knyazes. In the 13th century Gomel was greatly damaged
during the Mongol-Tatar assault. Gomel belonged to the Great Duchy of
Lithuania and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 14-15th centuries. At the
beginning of the 16th century Gomel was joined to the Grand Duchy of Moscow,
however, in 1537 Gomel occurred to be a Lithuanian possession. The year of 1560
became significant as the city got its coat of arms. During the 16th and 17th
centuries Gomel had to survive numerous struggles between the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth and the Russian Empire.
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| Gomel. The Sozh River |
18th – 20th centuries
In the 18th
century Gomel was presented to military commander Peter Rumyantsev-Zadunaysky.
He got the right of the eternal heredity possession of the town from Catherine
II. After the presentation, Gomel started to grow and flourish in many ways. Up
to the 20th century Gomel was a large industrial city. Unfortunately, the
Second World War made a catastrophic stroke for the history of the city. Gomel was badly destroyed. Only 20% of the city remained. After the
WWII Gomel was rebuilt. Unluckily the Chernobyl Catastrophe of 1986 left a huge
negative mark on Belarus and Gomel in particular.
Present Days
Nowadays,
Gomel is a big industrial city with educational and sports facilities. Among places
of interest you can see:
State Circus Building
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| Gomel: State Circus |
Palace and Park Ensemble with the Palace of Rumyantsev-Paskevich
Drama Theater
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| Gomel. Drama Theatre |
Puppet Theatre
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| Gomel. Puppet Theatre |
and many other wonderful sites. Thanks!
More about Belarus and its capital on http://ideasntravelling.blogspot.ru
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