About Belarus

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David-Gorodok, Belarus

David-Gorodok is the second largest town in Stolin District with the population of over 7 000 people. The castle mound and St. George Church (XVII) are the historic highlights of David-Gorodok.

Encyclopedias date the city back to 12^th century while the ceramic artifacts discovered during the expeditions of the 1930s suggest at least 11^th century. Back at that time the town reported to Kiev and its name probably originates from the name of the owner – Prince David. At that time the town was famous for its professional jewelers, woodcarvers and artists.

The castle mound is still on the bank of the river. On top of it there were two castles and from the Lower Castle a bridge took one to the square. From the square which made the city center the streets ran in all directions.

Chronicles list David-Gorodok as a property of the dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It belonged to the Polish Queen Bona Sforza since 1523 at which time Jews were encouraged to settle in David-Gorodok and since 1551 to the Radziwill family. Information about its having the Magdeburg right is scarce and still needs confirmation. In 1655 the Russian army invaded and flattened the town. Since 1793 it was a part of the Russin Empire.

Since very old times the population of David-Gorodok practiced different crafts. There were tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, ship-builders, soap-makers and many others.

Between 1921 and 1939 David-Gorodok was under control of Poland. In 1931 about 3 500 Jews resided in the town. They mostly lived along Yurievskaya (today - Sovetskaya) Street. The Nazi occupation of the town took place between 1941 and 1944. When the Nazi stormed into David-Gorodok they murdered all the men over 14 years old while the women, children and elders were evicted. They fled to Stolin where they joined their compatriots who later landed into a ghetto and were all destroyed in it.

However, a ghetto was established in David-Gorodok, too, to accommodate the Jews who survived the aktions of 1941 and their compatriots from the nearby villages like Olshany. The total population of the ghetto of 1200 was eliminated in September 1942.

In 1986 a standard obelisk was installed on the execution site of David-Gorodok. In 2010 it was replaced with a menorah-shaped monument with commemoration inscriptions in Russian and Hebrew.

If you wish to take a tour to David-Gorodok, please do not hesitate to contact me.