Smolyany is an interesting and poorly mastered by tourists Orshanshchina place, although there are many unique monuments for the region. The name of the town came from the word "pitch": as historians believe, in the old days there were tar tar stands. Some scholars hold a different point of view: the village was located on the border of the Polotsk and Smolensk voivodship - the word Smolyany arose from the name of the border region

The first mention of Smolyan - 1484, then it was the possession of the princes Belsky. Then it changed the host princes more than once - Kurbsky, Ostrogsky, Sangushko

The famous genus Sangushko, which descended from Olgerd, distinguished itself in the history of this settlement. One of the representatives of this family name - Shimon (Symon or Simeon) Samuel Sangushko built a castle here. Shimon was a Vitebsk voivod, a Mstislav kastelyan, participated in the war with Sweden and Russia at the beginning of the XVII century. Studied abroad - at the University of Munich. So, Shimon is building the White Kovel impregnable castle in his possessions. Why such a name?

Firstly, the palace was white, and secondly, the Sangushko manor used to be located in Kovel in Ukraine - they lost it, but continued to miss it - so the old name was transferred to a new family nest. By itself, the castle was a rectangle 100 by 200 meters, surrounded by water. The building in the Dutch style was very beautiful - it was not only a castle, but also a palace-residence of one of the largest families of the Great Lithuanian Lore!

In 1678 Smolyany became a place (something between town and country, now it is an urban-type settlement). During the war of 1812, a battle took place between the forces of P. Wittgenstein and the Napoleonic marshals of Saint-Cyr and Victor. In 1942, a tragic event occurred in Smolyany - about 600 Jews, prisoners of the local ghetto, were shot. Only one survived - Kagan Navum, who then went to the partisan detachment.

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Smolyany are located in the Orsha district of the Vitebsk region. If you go by car from Minsk on the M-1 highway, you need to turn left under the village of Star and drive about 15 km along the P-15 road. If you travel by public transport, then it is best to take a bus or a bus that goes to Shibeki (walk about once every 1.5-2 hours) at the Orsha bus station