Dzyatlava

Dzyatlava or Dyatlovo (Belarusian: Дзятлава, romanized: Dziatlava; Russian: Дятлово; Polish: Zdzięcioł; Yiddish: זשעטל, romanized: Zhetl) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dzyatlava District.[1] It is located about 165 kilometres (103 mi) southeast of Grodno. The population was 7,700 in 2016. As of 2023, it has a population of 7,881.[1]

Dzyatlava
Дзятлава (Belarusian)
Town
Catholic Church of the Assumption of Mary founded by Sejm Marshal Lew Sapieha
Catholic Church of the Assumption of Mary founded by Sejm Marshal Lew Sapieha
Flag of Dzyatlava
Coat of arms of Dzyatlava
Dzyatlava is located in Belarus
Dzyatlava
Dzyatlava
Location of Dyatlovo
Coordinates: 53°27′55″N 25°24′20″E
CountryBelarus
RegionGrodno Region
DistrictDzyatlava District
Founded1498
Population
 (2023)[1]
  Total7,881
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK)
Postal code
231471
Area code+375 1563
Websitedyatlovo.grodno-region.by/en/

History

Being 80 kilometres south of present-day Lithuania, Zietela's environs had been known by linguists as the outermost indigenous Lithuanian speaking "island" apart from the contiguous Lithuanian language territory. The Lithuanian speakers spoke a unique dialect, known as the "Zietela dialect"; it has been speculated that the ancestors of its speakers might have been Lithuanized Jotvingians. It drew the attention by many prominent linguists, such as Christian Schweigaard Stang, Vladimir Toporov, Kazimieras Būga and Juozas Balčikonis. In 1886, 1,156 people in nearby villages declared themselves Lithuanians, however, the real number might have been much greater.[2] At present the Lithuanian population is virtually extinct.[2]

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Zietela was first referenced in documents from 1498 when it was granted by the King of Poland John I Albert to Prince Konstanty Ostrogski, who later built a wooden castle there.

17th century

In the 17th century, Zietela was owned by Lew Sapieha, who ordered a Catholic church to be erected on the main city square. The church was consecrated in 1646, renovated after a fire in 1743 and still stands.[3]

18th century

During the Great Northern War of the anti-Swedish alliance, Peter I of Russia visited Zietela and stayed there for a week in January 1708. In the 18th century, the town was owned by Stanisław Sołtyk, who built a Baroque residence there in 1751. After the partitions of Poland, until the aftermath of World War I, the town was within the Russian Empire, in the Grodno Governorate, district of Slonim.[4]

Market square in Zdzięcioł, 1938, before the Soviet invasion of Poland

20th century

Between World War I and World War II, Zdzięcioł (now Dzyatlava) belonged to the Second Polish Republic. It was the seat of Gmina Zdzięcioł in Nowogródek Voivodeship.[5] The population was composed predominantly of Polish Jews. The Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland on September 17, 1939, and stationed in the Voivodeship area until the outbreak of their own war with Germany in June 1941. After the Soviet rapid retreat, and several months of Nazi ad hoc persecution, on February 22, 1942 the new German authorities officially created Zdzięcioł Ghetto.[6][7]

During the Holocaust, about 3,000–5,000 Jews were killed near the town during the Dzyatlava massacre of 1942 by a German death squad aided by the Lithuanian and the Belarusian Auxiliary Police battalions.[8] The old Jewish cemetery is considered a minor landmark.

Notable people

References

  1. "Численность населения на 1 января 2023 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2022 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа". belsat.gov.by. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  2. Gediminas Zemlickas, "Paminklas mirusiai ðnektai (2)" [Monument to the Extinct Dialect], Lietuviø kalbos instituto Kalbos istorijos ir dialektologijos skyriaus darbuotojai doc. dr. Danguolë Mikulënienë ir dr. Aloyzas Vidugiris. "Mokslo Lietuva Main Page". Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. Photographs, at globus.tut.by
  4. JewishGen Communities Database for Dzyatlava, Belarus
  5. "Województwo Nowogródzkie". Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - Tom VII - Część I. Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Central Statistical Office of Poland). 1923.
  6. Holocaust Encyclopedia. "Zdzieciol (Zhetel) Ghetto" (Wikipedia OTRS ticket no. 2007071910012533). USHMM. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  7. Piotr Eberhardt, Jan Owsinski (2003). Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-0665-5.
  8. Christian Gerlach (1999). Kalkulierte Morde: Die deutsche Wirtschafts- und Vernichtungspolitik in Weißrußland 1941 bis 1944 [Calculated Murder: The German economic and annihilation policy in Belorussia 1941 to 1944] (in German). Hamburger Edition, Hamburg. pp. 206, 614, 702. ISBN 3930908549.
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