Zhitkovichi

Zhitkovichi: a small town with a big history           

This town is situated in Gomel region. Despite its small sizes, it has an ancient and rich history. Zhitkovichi is rich in historical monuments. There are 126 monuments in this area. You can explore amazing nature protected by the government. Here you can find the Pripyat National Park, Zhitkovichi botanical reserve of medicinal plants and the Pontic azalea plantation natural monument. The Sluch state botanical reserve is partially situated in the Zhitkovichi district. Due to its natural resources, Zhitkovichi district is a real pearl of Polesie.

The history of Zhitkovichi

It is unknown when Zhitkovichi was founded. According to the Lithuanian Metrics, the first mention dates back to 1500. The territory belonged to local szlachta lands. It was a small village called Zhidkovichi. Throughout its history, the land changed its owners many times. It was a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Rzeczpospolita. After the second division of the Rzeczpospolita in 1793, the Zhitkovichi area became a part of the Russian Empire.

For a long time, Zhitkovichi was a small village and developed slowly. Everything changed when Polesie railway was paved through this territory. One of the main railway routes has become the key factor in the development of the district.

The 18^thZhitkovichi board guards of NKVD became a part of the town history, they were located in Zhitkovichi district for 20 years (1921-1941). During the Great Patriotic war, Zhitkovichi was occupied by Nazi invaders. The liberation of the town took place in 1944.

Despite dynamic development, Zhitkovichi was granted the status of a town only in 1971.

Sights of Zhitkovichi

There are several monuments of Christian architecture in the town. One of them is a wooden St. Paraskeva church. It was built in 1520. Unfortunately, the church was burned and utterly destroyed in 1975. A new church was built in 2003.

The St. Trinity church was built in 1842. You can see and enjoy its beautiful construction today. It is a wonderful wooden church built in Neo-Russian style.

Chamber music is one of the main reasons why people like Zhitkovichi. The classic music festival takes place annually in this town under the direction of the Belarusian conductor Mikhail Finberg.