Lahojsk

History

First chronicled in 1078, Lahoysk was the centre of a small 12th-century principality, later absorbed into the Principality of Polotsk. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a seat of the Tyszkiewicz family. In the 12th century, it became the centre of its own duchy, the Duchy of Logozhsk. From the 13th century, it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Under the name Logosko, it was mentioned in the List of Russian Cities, Near and Far. In different periods it came into the possession of Jagiello, Skirgaila, Vytautas and Czartoryski princes as well as of the Tyszkiewicz counts. In 1505, in the war against the Crimean Khanate, the town was captured by the Tatars, plundered and burned. During the Northern War of 1700–1721 it was captured by Swedish forces. At the same time the Castle of Lahoysk was destroyed. In 1765 a Basilian monastery was built there. As a result of the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the town became part of the Russian Empire. In 1814–1819, the Tyszkiewicz family built a palace at Lahoysk, which was destroyed during the Second World War. According to some data, in 1842 brothers Konstanty and Eustachy Tyszkiewicz established an archaeological museum in Lahoysk. Its collection has served as the basis for the creation in 1855 of the Wilnius Archaeological Museum. In 1897, Lahoysk became the centre of a parish in the Barysau uyezd. In 1890, the town had 1,180 inhabitants, most of them Jews (685 persons). There was a synagogue, an Orthodox church and a Catholic church in the town. In 1918, Lahoysk became part of the Belarusian Democratic Republic and later of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922. Since 1924, Lahoysk has been the centre of Lahoysk District. In September 1941, during…