Kreva
During a visit to my parents I went to Kreva. It's about 110 km from Minsk. Kreva is a township in Belarus. In the old days it was the capital of Kreva Duchy, and later it was the town in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.The wooden castle stood here before, that after 1338 the Lithuanian prince Algirdas turned into a brick castle. In 1338 Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas make his son Prince Algirdas a ruler of the castle Kreva. This is the first mention of the castle in chronicles, and this date is considered the official date of construction. The castle was sacked and burned by the Crimean Tatars in the early 16th century (no later than 1506) and stood unoccupied for a long time. By the 19th century, much of the walls had crumbled away. The First World War dealt a final blow to the decaying structure. The ruins of the castle remain extant, to the present day.
The city walls form a quadrangle 100x100 m.
A tower in the southern corner of the wall served for defense purposes, and was at the same time housing the prince. In the basement of the tower was a prison.
In 1856-83 the castle looked like this (lithograph of Napoleon Orda)
Reconstruction of Siarhej Pryshchepa
As Wikipedia says in 1387 following the Christianization of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila established a first Roman Catholic parish here in pagan lands and built a church which was known as the Church of St. Mary, it's not preserved. There is a Church of St. Alexander Nevsky here, it was build in 1854.
A Catholic Church of the Transfiguration was build in 1997. Some websites on the internet name it the Church of St. Mary, but last one is not preserved. In the 18th century, there were 6 Unitarian churches (according to other reports, 8) and 1 Catholic church in Kreva. Alas, none of the churches has not been preserved
to our days.
Jews lived in Belarus from 1300 years. In 1897 Kreva numbered 2201 residents, 809 persons from that were the Jews (36,7%). Most historians of the view that the Jews came to the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from Western Europe, where against them in the XIV century were inflicted most severe repression.
One of the worst sides of the Nazi occupation regime was a genocide against people of Jewish nationality. Brutal extermination of Jews by the Nazi policy of thugs with unparalleled rigidity began to spend the first days of occupation in the whole territory of Belarus. Jews were deported to the ghetto in 1941 and subsequently killed.
There are ruins of synagogue in Kreva. It was build in the end of 19 century
Several years ago it was in better condition
A mikveh
A household building
The Jewish cemetery
There are a lot of ancient pagan cult boulders there too. This is one of them and my brother is standing by the side.
The city walls form a quadrangle 100x100 m.
A tower in the southern corner of the wall served for defense purposes, and was at the same time housing the prince. In the basement of the tower was a prison.
In 1856-83 the castle looked like this (lithograph of Napoleon Orda)
Reconstruction of Siarhej Pryshchepa
As Wikipedia says in 1387 following the Christianization of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila established a first Roman Catholic parish here in pagan lands and built a church which was known as the Church of St. Mary, it's not preserved. There is a Church of St. Alexander Nevsky here, it was build in 1854.
A Catholic Church of the Transfiguration was build in 1997. Some websites on the internet name it the Church of St. Mary, but last one is not preserved. In the 18th century, there were 6 Unitarian churches (according to other reports, 8) and 1 Catholic church in Kreva. Alas, none of the churches has not been preserved
to our days.
Jews lived in Belarus from 1300 years. In 1897 Kreva numbered 2201 residents, 809 persons from that were the Jews (36,7%). Most historians of the view that the Jews came to the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from Western Europe, where against them in the XIV century were inflicted most severe repression.
One of the worst sides of the Nazi occupation regime was a genocide against people of Jewish nationality. Brutal extermination of Jews by the Nazi policy of thugs with unparalleled rigidity began to spend the first days of occupation in the whole territory of Belarus. Jews were deported to the ghetto in 1941 and subsequently killed.
There are ruins of synagogue in Kreva. It was build in the end of 19 century
Several years ago it was in better condition
A mikveh
A household building
The Jewish cemetery
There are a lot of ancient pagan cult boulders there too. This is one of them and my brother is standing by the side.