Pruzhany

General information

Pruzhany is a town in the Brest region and the administrative center of the Pruzhany district. It is located at the intersection of highways Slonim – Ruzhany – Pruzhany – Vysokoye.

The attractive and cozy town of Pruzhany is known for its rich architectural heritage and is located 90 kilometers north of Brest, on the banks of the river Mukhavets. Pruzhany has a population of just over 19, 000 people. Junction of highways to Brest, Vysokoye, Bereza, Slonim, Shereshevo, and Kobrin are located in Pruzhany.

Pruzhany had the Jewish ghetto located there because of forced resettlement of the Jews during the time of their persecution and extermination when Belarus was under the occupation of Nazi German forces during World War II.

History of Pruzhany

Pruzhany was mentioned for the first time in written sources in 1487. There are several legends associated with the origins of the name. One such story claims that the word Pruzhany is derived from the word ‘proso’ which was the main crop in the area at the time. According to other sources in the late 13th to early 14th centuries Pruzhany region was inhabited by Baltic tribes of Prussians. The town was called Dobuchin until 1589.

At the time the town was a part of the Duchy of Kobrin, but later came into the possession of the Polish Queen Bona Sfortza. In the town a famous Pruzhanski was built which is a ‘royal courtyard’ that consisted of a wooden palace, stables, outbuildings and other unique structures. However, the numerous wars of the later centuries sweeping through Belarus did not bypass this place and it was completely destroyed. The city became a major trading center and received Magdeburg Law, which gave even greater impetus to its development. After the 3rd partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Pruzhany became a part of the Russian Empire. Queen Catherine II gave the town to her commander Count Rumyantsev-Zadunayskiy for the brutal suppression of the Tadeusz Kosciuszko uprising. Soon the Shvykovskih family became the new owners of Pruzhany leaving a bright mark in the history of the region.

Pruzhany reference information

Sightseeing in Pruzhany

The mansion of Shvykovskih in Pruzhany is a town hallmark that attracts the most tourist attention .The estate was built in the neo-Renaissance style in 1850 and has the features of an Italian villa. In addition to the main building, the old park with the linden alley was also preserved as well as the hydrological system, consisting of ponds and canals with islands and bridges. Nowadays, there is a museum called ‘Pruzhanskі palatsyk’ offering visitors the opportunity to get acquainted with the history of Pruzhany, its owners, legends and crafts of the region. The museum contains a unique wooden icon of the 16th century ‘The Last Supper’. There is also an ancient stone idol in the courtyard of the estate complex, brought here not long ago from the village of Butko.

Pruzhany managed to preserve a number of buildings that are of architectural and historical value. Among such are shopping rows in Pruzhany located in the central square that were once at the heart of the business life of the city. There are a couple of churches in Pruzhany; Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary built in 1883, and the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. The construction of the church that is a monument of classicism was completed in 1880. We cannot ignore the regular typical buildings of the city, one such building is a pharmacy that could have been built anytime between 1811 and 1828, it is considered to be one of the oldest buildings in Pruzhany.

Every year the city hosts two landmark events; the festival of light aviation and aeronautics ‘Slavyanskoe bratstvo’ and Republican jazz festival that attracts music lovers to the city.

Accommodation in Pruzhany

A couple of hotels and motels, farmsteads and sanatoriums ‘Nadzeya’ and ‘Bug’ are available for accommodation.

Economy

The Pruzhany Industry is represented by enterprises processing agricultural raw materials, electronic components factory, building materials and forestry amongst others. The industrial complex of the district is represented by 9 companies. The leading companies are ‘Pruzhany molochniy kombinat’, ‘Ruzhanskaya mebelnaya fabrika’, ‘Pruzhansky kombinat stroitelnih materialov’ and ‘Pruzhansky konservniy zavod”.