Kalinkovichi

The town of Kalinkovichi is located in Gomel region, near one of the biggest towns of Polesie named Mozyr. Only 8 kilometers separate these two towns. The distance continues decreasing, so it is possible that there will be a merger in the near future.  Kalinkovichi is one of the key railway lines located in Polesie, it explains its rapid development.

THE HISTORICAL NOTE

Archaeological excavations, conducted in Kalinkovichi, helped to suggest that there had been one of the most ancient human settlements in Belarus. People lived there 24 thousand years ago.

The first mention of the town dates back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1560, Kalinkovichi was a part of the Mozyr district. In the middle of the XVIII century, the town consisted of only twenty-five houses, but even then it became a center of the religious region, called parish. After the second division of the Rzeczpospolita in 1793, Kalinkovichi was a part of the Russian Empire. There were 36 yards with 117 men.

Kalinkovichi was expanding; there were one hundred houses in 1866. In 1882 the railway station was built, in 1916 the town became known as an important railway junction. Due to rapid growth, in 1925 Kalinkovichi was granted the deserved status of a town with ten thousand inhabitants.

15 years later the Great Patriotic War started on the territory of Kalinkovichi. In August 1944 the town was occupied by the Nazis. Like other towns in Belarus, in late September there was a Jewish ghetto in Kalinkovichi, where Nazis had exterminated the majority of people who had Jewish roots.

During the Great Patriotic War, there existed an underground organization, called «Smugnar». This organization left a trace in the history of the town. It resisted the German troops until 1942 when the Nazis killed most of the heroic members. The courage and dedication of the «Smugnar» members was immortalized in a monument. By the way, there is a large number of memorials and monuments dedicated to war heroes - pilots, tank crews, and guerrillas.

The liberation of the town took place on January 14, 1944. During the Second World War, 853 Belarusian soldiers and 15 heroes of the Soviet Union were killed.

POPULAR SIGHTS OF KALINKOVICHI

You can find memorials in the town that immortalized the names of those killed during World War II. The town does not have many examples of architectural heritage. However, the district of Kalinkovichi has. It is here, near Kalinkovichi, where the famous village of Yurovichi is located. This village is considered to be the most ancient settlement on the territory of Belarus. You can observe well-preserved ancient architecture there. In 1961 the huge amount of coins of the 17th century were found in Kalinkovichi, it is a remarkable archaeological find.

Every two years Kalinkovichi becomes the center of Belarusian humor. The famous Belarusian festival of folk humor «Avtyuki» takes place in the town. Kalinkovichi is called «the town of humor and treasure». This place will surprise everyone.