Life of the western provinces: Kamenets and Kobrin. Tourist potential - Kobrin

To dilute the Ukrainian theme in the magazine, I’ll tell you about the Belarusian city of Kobrin, associated with the name of the Russian commander A.V. Suvorov. In recent years, I have had the opportunity to visit there three times, but only once thoroughly, at the end of May 2016. There is a story about this visit.

Kobrin is located in Belarusian Polesie, 40 km from Brest. Kobrin has been known since the 13th century and at one time was the capital of an appanage principality, but now it is a regional city of 50 thousand people in the Brest region, located on the road and railway between Gomel and Brest.

1. We’ll start exploring the city from the bridge over Mukhavets, a tributary of the Western Bug. Small arched bridges on the right span the Kobrinka River, which flows into Mukhavets. The city of Kobrin began near the mouth of this river. It is believed that back in the 11th century, the detinets was built in this place by the heirs of the ancient Russian prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise. Later there were Upper and Lower castles, which existed until the 18th century. The name of the city has nothing to do with cobras. According to one version, it comes from the “Obrov”, they are also Avars, a nomadic people who moved to Europe from Central Asia in the 6th century.

A new embankment in the city appeared in 2009 before “Dozhinki” - the main rural holiday of the country. In the distance is the ice palace.

2. Reverse view from the mouth of Kobrinka to the bridge over Mukhavets.

3. The sculpture “Boatswain” on the embankment.

4. We return to the big bridge and take a look at the part of the city across the river where I did not go. There is St. Nicholas Church built in 1750 and a railway station.

5. Moving along Lenin Street from the bridge to the city center you can see the Spassky Women's Orthodox Monastery, founded in the 15th century, in a building of the 18th century.

6. And on the other side of the street is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral from the mid-19th century.

7. Near it is a monument to the first major victory of the Russian army over Napoleon’s army within Russia. The battle took place in the vicinity of Kobrin in July 1812.

8. The monument was erected in 1912.

9. Interestingly, during the interwar period, the Poles remade this monument in honor of their national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko, installing his bust instead of an eagle.

10. Lenin Street and view of the bridge.

11. Ilyich Street leads to the square of the same name.

12. Lenin Square and the building of the district executive committee.

13. To the left of the executive committee there is a monument to the first reliably known owners of the city - the Volyn prince Vladimir Vasilkovich and his wife Olga.

14. Vladimir Vasilkovich waves his hand at Vladimir Ilyich, but he is carried away by someone else and looks in the other direction. The Lenin monument was apparently moved from its center to the edge during the reconstruction of the square. This is not the first time I have encountered such a phenomenon in Belarus.

15. In the park nearby there is a monument to the 40th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.

16. Sovetskaya Street in the center of Kobrin. Pre-revolutionary district development can be found here - the city was the center of the district of the Grodno province.

17. Here you can taste kvass on tap.

18. Nearby is a small spontaneous market with greenery.

19. The cozy pedestrian street Suvorov begins from here.

20. On this street there is a local history museum (in a large red building) and a small military history museum of Alexander Suvorov in an old manor house from the late 18th century. In front of the museum is one of the three Kobrin monuments to Suvorov.

In 1794, Suvorov's army crushed the Polish uprising and took Warsaw. For this victory, Catherine II granted the commander the Kobrin Key estate, which consisted of Kobrin and surrounding villages. Alexander Vasilyevich lived here for some time.

22. Soon the park area begins, where people ride and run.

23. At the end of the street is a rather rare phenomenon in Belarus - a water park.

24. And here begins the park named after Suvorov, founded back in 1768.

25. At the entrance there is a stone with thanks.

26. We don’t stop and walk through a cozy park.

28. Finally, we come to the place where the manor house of the estate in which Suvorov lived stood. The house was apparently built in 1768 by the statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Antony Tizengauz. After Suvorov, the brother of the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, Alexander, also owned the estate. Due to its dilapidation, the house was dismantled in 1894. Later a new one was built, but it burned down in 1939 during the battle for Kobrin between the Poles and the Nazis.

29. In 1950, a monument to Suvorov was erected on the site of the house.

30. Behind the monument is a pond in which a Russian commander once swam. And now swimming is prohibited.

31. Now only ducks swim here.

32. There is another pond at the edge of the park. Behind it begins the multi-storey Kobrin.

33. The park has a summer amphitheater, fountains and attractions.

34. Let's return to the city center and walk along Pervomaiskaya Street, leading to the eastern outskirts of Kobrin.

36. Basically, Pervomaiskaya is built up with one-story houses.

37. It also shows an abandoned synagogue building from the 19th century. At that time, Jews made up the majority of the city's inhabitants.

40. Along the way you come across a park in which there is a small military cemetery. Soviet soldiers are buried here, and among them is Major General Viktor Puganov, who commanded a tank division and died in battle at the very beginning of the war - June 23 or 24, 1941. Also buried here is Hero of the Soviet Union pilot Arseny Morozov, who died during the liberation of Belarus in the summer of 1944.

41. Passing the inconspicuous church of the 19th century, which I did not photograph, you can come to the Peter and Paul Church of the mid-19th century. Once it stood in the center of Kobrin, but then was moved to the cemetery.

43. In this cemetery there is a family burial of the Mickiewicz, including Adam Mickiewicz’s brother Alexander.

44. We return to the center of Kobrin again and walk along Sovetskaya Street to the west. The prison built in 1821 is noteworthy here.

45. Soviet panel on the building of a cinema or public service building (I don’t remember exactly).

46. ​​Wooden house. Possibly pre-war construction.

47. Folk art.

48. Renovated Stalin.

49. Finally, the third Kobrin monument to Alexander Suvorov, this time in full height. Delivered in 1964.

This is what Kobrin is like, cozy and well-appointed. A city where the memory of Russian soldiers of different times is honored. In one of the next posts I plan to talk about the Suvorov Museum in the city of Kobrin. Thank you for your attention!

Have you already visited and now you think that’s enough? Do not do it this way! We have prepared for you an excellent guide to the two most interesting cities near Brest - Kobrin and Kamenets. Go to each one for a day and get inspired by the life of the western provinces!

Kobrin is a nice and cozy city just 40 km from Brest. In the city you will find a large green park, colorful houses of the 18th-19th centuries and a water park, ancient churches and monasteries, the large Suvorov Museum and the place of imprisonment of Napoleon Orda, pleasant cafes and a leisurely atmosphere.

The site of the ancient city center and market square is now the historical part of the city. Once upon a time there was no crowd here near the shopping arcades; a guest courtyard, banks, pharmacies, residential buildings and public buildings stretched along the street. Today, the same place is occupied by clothing boutiques, cafes, travel agencies and offices of various enterprises.

CITY `S HISTORY

It still remains a mystery where the name “Kobrin” came from. According to one version, the city was named in honor of the son of Prince Izyaslav Kobra, who founded the city; according to another version, nomadic tribes of Turks who called themselves “Obra” once lived here. The first mention of the city was in 1287, along with the names of Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich. In 1589, Kobrin received Magdeburg Law and began to flourish; a town hall appeared in the center - a symbol of an independent city. Alas, it did not survive to this day, like the Lower and Upper castles.

There is a night train from Minsk to Kobrin Vitebsk - Brest, you will arrive early in the morning for only BYN 9.13 (€ 4) for a reserved seat. To get to the center, jump on bus number 3 or number 9 - or walk, it's only a 20-minute walk.

If you prefer buses, then several times a day a couple of buses leave from the bus station to Brest, which also stop at Kobrin if necessary. Prices from BYN 13 (€ 5.8). Bus No. 3 will take you to the city from the bus station.

Not the most convenient option due to the lack of a large selection, but you may be able to find someone suitable on Blablacar. Prices on the website from BYN 10 (€ 4.5)

If you are going to visit Kobrin residents from Brest, then they will be happy to take you here on a diesel train - this is the cheapest way to get to the city, a ticket will cost you only BYN 0.87 (€ 0.4)

This is why Brest residents attack the city on weekends - aquapark (Gastello st., 15) with slides, a swimming pool and various saunas. To splash around a lot will cost from BYN 5.4 per hour.

There is a network of excellent restaurants in Kobrin "Discovery" (Lenin St., 4 and at the central market) , where you can drink coffee with fresh pastries or have lunch. The emphasis is on traditional cuisine, but pizza is also available. The interior design is pleasing, everything is made of wood, simple and tasteful. Prices from BYN 4 (€ 1.8) per dish.

Tripadvisor says the best in town is cafe "Veranda" (Dzerzhinsky St., 45a) - you can check it from your own experience. If you get there during lunch, you’ll pay up to BYN 9 (€ 4) for the complex.

No provincial town would be complete without a place with a classic Soviet ambiance - and here it is restaurant "Kobrin" (Lenin St., 11) , which is located right in the city center. For the first, second and compote with a bun you will pay no more than BYN 6 (€ 2.7) - plunge into childhood!

The chain offers the best pastries and coffee in the city Cafe "Lakomka" (at the corner of Lenin St. and Sovetskaya St.) . They didn’t put much effort into the decor here, and the cafes look like ordinary eateries, but look at the ice latte with whipped cream and ice cream! And their magnificent pies with carrots and eggs! And all this is very cheap.

Kobrin is famous for its ice cream. At the central market, ask for the stall of the Kobrin Dairy Plant - there are always queues for half an hour, but believe me, people come here for a reason.

The next day, go to Kamenets - a beautiful city on the Lesnaya River, where the famous White Vezha is located. Just a dozen years ago, the town, where only 8 thousand residents live, was quite dull, but after a series of “Dozhinki” it has noticeably changed.

CITY `S HISTORY

The city is first remembered in the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, where an entry from 1276 says that Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich decided to build a new city in order to strengthen the northern borders of the principality: “And then God put a good thought in the heart of Prince Vladimir, he thought that somewhere Set up a city behind Berestye.” To ensure that the process goes as it should, the prince invites the famous architect Alex, who builds here a defensive structure “stone pillar”, which we know as the White Vezha. In the Middle Ages the city developed rapidly, although the crusaders burned it down quite well. In 1366, Kamenets became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and several decades later became the center of the povet. In 1503 it received Magdeburg Law and became independent. Then the city had to change citizenship a couple of times: in 1795 it transferred to Russia, and from 1921 to Poland.

Kamenets is located only 45 km from Kobrin, but getting to it from here is not so easy: buses run only 4 times a day, and not every time.

But it’s easier to get from Brest. Unfortunately, it won’t work by train (there is no railway network to the city), but minibuses and buses depart from the central bus station almost every hour. The bus will deliver in 70-80 minutes and BYN 2.8 (€ 1.2), and the minibus will deliver in 50 minutes and a couple of kopecks more expensive. On weekends, as you understand, minibuses are the first to be filled, so it’s better to buy a ticket in advance. And don’t forget about the same “Kobrin! Kamenets! uncle.

Agrousadba Kamenetskoe calm (2nd lane Dzerzhinsky, 3) has a garden with a barbecue area and a sauna, the estate is just a couple of steps from the center, so if you want to spend the night in a quiet and cozy place, this is the place for you. Prices from BYN 43 (€ 19) for a double room.

Feel like you're in Italy at the hotel Imperija (industrialnaya st., 7) . The owner of the hotel is from the birthplace of pizza, so in the on-site restaurant you can taste authentic Italian cuisine. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, you can rent a bicycle and ride along the forest or around the city. A large room with a hot tub will cost BYN 65 (€ 29) for two.

If you are not going to stop in Kamenets and are moving towards Belovezhskaya Pushcha, then The hotel complex “Kamenyuki” will be a good option for overnight accommodation. (Kamenyuki village) : enclosures with bison are just a few steps away, there is a restaurant serving national cuisine on site, you can play table tennis or have a barbecue. Rooms cost from BYN 60 (€ 26.7) per person, a rich breakfast is included.

Even those who have never been to Kamenets know about the main attraction of the city - Belaya Vezha(which, by the way, is not white at all). Images of the tower are used on posters, decorated with candy and bottle wrappers, and even placed on the BYN 5 banknote. Alexa was not a freeloader, so he rebuilt the tower conscientiously. The main problem was the swampy soil, and the solution was an unusual foundation: smaller stones were poured into the cracks between the stones and the structure was not held together. This gave the tower the opportunity to maneuver and adjust to the shrinkage of the soil. If it weren't for this trick, we would have our own Leaning Tower of Pisa! Vezha witnessed many bloody events: it was surrounded by the crusaders, the Polish prince of Mazowiecki encroached on it, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Moscow State fought here. The entrance to the 30-meter tower was located at a height of 13 meters, so it was not easy to get here (especially when molten tin and lead are poured on you from above). However, in the 18th century, the tower surrendered under the pressure of looters - they began to tear it down into bricks. After this, the tower was restored and even painted white, hence the name. By the way, Vezha has her own ghost - the girl Galya, who grabs the hands of everyone who wants to steal a piece of the tower as a souvenir. Apparently, the girl doesn’t like this kind of squandering of property.

Today in Vezha there is a local history museum with excellent artifacts, and nearby are several wooden figures of famous Belarusian figures. Entrance costs only BYN 2.2, if you want to climb to the very top with the best view of the city, then for a group of 10 people you need to pay BYN 7 (team up with someone).

There is a building very close by Kamenets gymnasium(Lenin St., 1) , which was put into operation in July 1930. It was a seven-year Polish school, which was called “powszechna”, in simple terms - a comprehensive school. The first students were only 30 children: 9 Belarusians, 3 Poles and 18 Jews. During the reconstruction of the building, builders found a message in a bottle under the roof, which lay there for 72 years: “We leave our names and addresses to our descendants in the future.” According to rumors, the steps of the gymnasium were made from slabs from the old Jewish cemetery.

Located on a high hill St. Simeon's Church- an example of pseudo-Russian architecture. The history of the iconostasis of this church is unusual: it was made of bog oak in Warsaw at the beginning of the 19th century, and the iconostasis was brought here from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Saxon Square, which was blown up in 1926.

Opposite the church there is a large monument to the founder of the city- Vladimir Vasilkovich (many believe that this is a monument to Alex, but this is not so). In his hands the prince holds a scroll with an excerpt from the Ipatiev Chronicle: “...cut down a city in an empty place called Lestne, and call its name Kamenets, and the earth became stone. Having created in it a pillar of stones 17 fathoms high, it is like a surprise for all those who see it.”

If you need to hang out in the city for some more time, and all the places have been examined, you can go to a cult cinema "Mir"(Brestskaya st., 32) , prices start from BYN 1 for a regular film and BYN 1.5 for 3D. There is a good chance that you will be alone in the hall, but you will watch some old movie.

In a Soviet cafe in department store (Brestskaya st., 26) You can grab some tea and pies. Everything is simple and extremely cheap.

Not long ago a pizzeria opened in the city "Vergnano 1882" (Lenin St., 1) - this is the only place in the city where you can eat pizza and have a good time. So the locals simply adore her. The cook, by the way, studied his skills in Italy. Located in the same courtyard bar "Vlad".

A set lunch from BYN 4 (€ 1.8) awaits you in restaurant "Belaya Vezha" (Brestskaya st., 36) . There is a legend about him in the city that one of the guests got lost in the corridors of the restaurant and accidentally walked into the kitchen. History is silent about what he saw there, but he lost his appetite. Apparently, one of the competitors came up with such an unflattering legend, because the food here is simply excellent!

Photo - Andrey Dmitriev, stepandstep.ru, mareeva_irina.livejournal.com

In the west of Belarusian Polesie, 40 kilometers from Brest, there is a cozy and hospitable city. Where the Mukhavets River flows into the Dnieper-Bug Canal, Kobrin has stood for more than seven hundred years. Now more than 50 thousand people live in the city, it is the fourth largest in the Brest region.

Kobrin was first mentioned in chronicles in 1287. The question of the origin of the city's name still remains open. According to one version, these lands were once inhabited by the “Obras” - nomadic Turkic people, who gave the name to Kobrin. According to another version, the city is named after its founder - the legendary Obra. In 1589, Kobrin received Magdeburg rights and a coat of arms - a French shield with images of the Mother of God, the baby Jesus and St. Anne. And, as in any free city, a town hall was built here, which, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. The Upper and Lower castles, destroyed in the 19th century, have also not survived.

At various times, Kobrin belonged to Roman Ratnensky, queens Bona Sforza, Anna Jagiellonka and Constance of Austria, the Russian Empress Catherine II. After the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Catherine II granted Suvorov the Kobrin Key estate for suppressing the uprising of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. And in 1813, the famous Russian poet A.S. Griboedov, at that time a young cornet of the Irkutsk Hussar Regiment, lived in Kobrin.

The best way to start exploring the city is with pedestrian street Suvorov, which will lead the tourist to an ancient park founded in the mid-18th century. Here is also the visiting card of the city - the museum of the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov in Kobrin. Kobrin is still proud of his historical closeness with the famous commander. The museum estate, city park, monument and numerous busts of the commander remind us of Suvorov.

Spassky Monastery in Kobrin, built, according to legend, by Prince Ivan Semenovich in the 15th century, is the oldest building in the city. Until recently, the monastery building housed a police station, but in 2010 a convent was reopened here. The Church of St. Nicholas in Kobrin also attracts attention, which is a striking example of wooden architecture and is located on the banks of the Mukhavets River. And on the other side, the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky is comfortably located. Not far from the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kobrin there is a cemetery for Polish soldiers who died during the Soviet-Polish War, as well as a columbarium. The surviving ordinary urban buildings of the late 19th century in Kobrin create a special atmosphere - a tourist can imagine what the city looked like more than a hundred years ago.

Walking through the historical center, you can’t help but notice monument to Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich and Princess Olga Romanovna in Kobrin, whose names are associated with the first mention of the city. And on the embankment of the Mukhavets River, not far from the Ice Palace in Kobrin, there is a monument to a boatswain with a parrot on his shoulder. Among other monuments, noteworthy is the monument in honor of the first victory of Russian troops over the French on July 15, 1812 in the battle of Kobrin. Fans of active recreation in Belarus should visit the water park in Kobrin.

A small town with a big history will not leave indifferent tourists who choose to holiday in Belarus. The perfectly preserved monuments of the cultural life of Kobrin will tell their romantic and exciting stories to every person interested in these places.

- now a district town, once the capital of the appanage principality of the Kobrin princes. Kobrin belongs to the ancient settlements in the region. In 1286 Prince. Vladimir Vasilkovich bequeathed Kobrin to his wife Olga Romanovna, but the castle is believed to have been founded in the 11th century. Soon annexed to Lithuania, Kobrin inherited the Olgerdovich line. The princes were called Kobrin, also owned Pinsk and were the founders of several churches and monasteries. In 1497, Prince Ivan Semenovich Kobrinsky and his wife Theodora founded the Spassky Monastery in Kobrin, in which they were buried. This Ivan was the last in the line of the Kobrin princes. Sigismund I gave Kobrin to his wife Bonya Sforchia, then, in 1589, it was given to Anna Jagiellonka, the wife of Stefan Batory, who introduced Magdeburg law here. After Anna, the owner of the principality was Constance, the wife of Sigismund III. In 1626, a gathering of Uniate bishops took place here under the leadership of Metropolitan Joseph Benjamin of Rut. From the inventory of 1597 we see that the Kobrin fortifications consisted of upper and lower castles with towers, surrounded by ramparts. There were 20 guns in the castle. At that time in Kobrin there were 4 churches, 1 church, 26 parade grounds and 6 streets. In the 13th century, the city already had 5 churches and a Bernardine monastery. After the third partition, Kobrin was made a county town, first in Slonim and then in Grodno province. The fortifications were demolished by order of Prince Suvorov, who lived here for some time after the Italian campaign. He was given a large forest near Kobrin by Catherine II. In 1812, a battle with the French took place near the city. Kobrin lies near the Mukhavets and Kobrinka rivers. According to Mukhavets, bread and salt are brought here from Pinsk, while the holiday trade consists of alcohol, timber, bricks, etc. There are about 9000 inhabitants. 39 versts from Kobrin is the Tarakonsky Epiphany Orthodox Monastery. On the Dnieper-Bug Canal there is a town called Gorodets, one of the oldest settlements. It is mentioned in chronicles of the 13th century. In Kobrin district, and it seems also in Belsky, the Shuisky princes, descendants of Moscow boyars, but of the Catholic confession, still live. One of the Shuiskys, who were traveling with Tsar Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky to Warsaw, fell ill on the way and then completely settled in Lithuania. From his descendants came the family of Lithuanian princes Shuisky. They owned the town of Yakovo, in Kobrin district, on the border of Minsk province. This area is also known for the activities and sad death of the zealot of Catholicism, the Jesuit Andrei Boboli, who was killed on May 19, 1657. Pope Benedict XIII canonized him as a saint.

The Kobrin princes owned, among other volosts, the village of Dobuchin, in which they had their own hunting yard. Prince Ivan Semenovich Kobrinsky and his wife Theodora founded an Orthodox Church here in the name of the Nativity of Christ in 1473. When, with the suppression of the prince’s family, The Kobrin eldership was formed in Kobrin, Dobuchin was owned for some time by Vaclav Kostevich, who founded a church in the name of St. in 1522. Sigismund and Wenceslas. At this time, it is not known with certainty why, Dobuchin began to be called Pruzhana. Tradition says that the nurse, who was holding the owners' child in her arms, accidentally threw him into the Mukha River and that the river devoured (pozarta) the child. This is why Dobuchin allegedly began to be called Pozharla, which was later changed to Pruzhana. Such an interpretation is of course not logical, but subsequent facts in some way confirm that the child played some role in this renaming of the name. It was Anna Jagiellonka, the wife of Stefan Batory, who owned this city after her mother Bona Sforchia, who gave Pruzhany in 1588 a coat of arms depicting a blue snake (the Sforchia coat of arms) holding a child in its mouth. IN 1796 The city of Pruzhana was appointed as a district town. The city is located on both banks of the Mukha River. There are about 5000 inhabitants. The oldest settlement in Pruzhany district should be considered the town of Gorodechn, which is proven by the name itself. On July 31, 1812, a bloody battle between the Russians and the French took place here under the leadership of General Tormasov. Between Kobrin and Pruzhana there is the village of Sekhnoviche, the Kostyushkov family estate, granted to them by Casimir Jagiellon in the 15th century. Here is the Kostyushkov family burial crypt. The famous Tadeusz Kościuszko spent his youth here. His sister was married to Estka, and after the death of the childless Tadeusz Sechnowicze passed into the Estko family.

Kobrin is a city of regional subordination, the center of the Kobrin district of the Brest region of Belarus. Located on the Mukhavets River, 52 km from Brest. Railway station on the Brest - Gomel line, road junction to Minsk, Brest, Pinsk, Kovel, Malorita.

Kobrin is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The first written mention of it as a city is found in the Ipatiev Chronicle in 1287. At this time it was already a city. We do not know the exact date of the city’s foundation, nor do we know when life first appeared in this place. We only know that at first it was a fishing village. According to legend, it was founded by a descendant of the Kyiv prince Izyaslav, who was hunting in the local forests and came across a very beautiful island. This island was washed by the Mukhovets River and two branches of the Kobrinka River. There were many fish in them, and the surrounding forests abounded in all kinds of game. Unfortunately, we do not know where the name of the city came from, just as we do not know what was named first: the city or the river. There are only assumptions by scientists that perhaps some influential person once lived here and his name was Cobr or Odr, after whom the city was later named, and then the river, or vice versa. There is another assumption. V.I. Dal in his “Explanatory Dictionary...” mentions the verb “to shave” - to bury, hide, conceal something. It is quite possible that something was hidden at this place (or people were hiding, hiding), so later the place was called Kobrin.

As the years passed, the fishing village grew. Houses were built and the surrounding fields were plowed more and more. The forest retreated, and the convenient place for life increasingly attracted the eyes of various conquerors. To protect themselves, a fortification was built on the island. What it was like at that time is unknown to us.

At the end of the 10th century, our territory was part of the Old Russian state. The Vladimir-Volyn principality was formed here. Volyn land subsequently passed from hand to hand more than once.

The 13th century will bring difficult trials for Rus'. In the 40s, it was hit by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, which reached Kyiv, Galich and Vladimir-Volynsky. Once again, like half a thousand years ago, people will seek refuge beyond the Pripyat, in these forests and swampy areas. As a result, the population here will increase, the number of agricultural settlements will increase and the importance of the city as a commercial and industrial center will increase. One should also take into account the advantageous geographical position of Kobrin on the waterway from the Baltic to the Black Sea, known in ancient times: Vistula-Bug-Mukhovets-Pina-Pripyat-Dnieper.

Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich, who owned Kobrin in the second half of the 13th century, is known as the builder of defensive structures in the north of the Volyn land. From this side, the expansion of the Lithuanian state, which sought to take advantage of the weakening of Rus' caused by feudal fragmentation and the Mongol-Tatar yoke, intensified in those years. In Kobrin, most likely, it was at this time that the first castle was built. But it was not possible to protect these territories from capture. They were rejected under the Lithuanian prince Gedemin (1305-1341), and during the first half of the 14th century, the power of his heirs extended to most of the Western Russian lands.

A competitor in the struggle for the Galicia-Volyn principality was the Polish king Casimir the Great (1310-1370), who captured the cities of Lvov, Galich, Vladimir-Volynsky, Berestye in 1349, ousting Lyubart Gedeminovich from Volyn. The older brothers Keistut and Olgerd hastened to help Lubart. As a result of two wars, Casimir the Great was forced to leave most of his acquisitions, including Kobrin.

By the end of the 14th century, the descendants of Olgerd firmly settled in Kobrin. One of them, Roman Fedorovich, from 1387 began to officially be called Prince Kobrin.

The Kobrin princes immortalized their names by building churches and castles, only occasionally appearing in major events. For example, Semyon Romanovich Kobrinsky (died 1460) participated in the war of Orthodox feudal lords against the Polish king, undertaken with the aim of expanding political rights. Defeated in one of the battles, he was then forced to sit out in his Kobrin castle, waiting for better times.

The subsequent rulers of the city - the widow Princess Ulyana, her son Ivan Semenovich and his wife Fedora - became famous for their donations to the Orthodox Church. Under them, the Kobrin monastery of St. Spasa (Orthodox). In the same Spassky Monastery they buried Ivan Semenovich, who died around 1490, the last male representative of the Kobrin princes. His sister Anna Semyonovna became the wife of royal marshal Vaclav Kostevich in 1501, converting from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. Then, for the first time, a church appeared in Kobrin and Anna Semyonovna sent her donations to the Catholic treasury. In this way, she managed the income from her estates, where Orthodox peasant farmers worked by the sweat of their brow.

Anna Semyonovna died in 1518. The Kobrin inheritance passed to her husband Vaclav Kostevich for lifelong ownership. But Kobrin with the lands adjacent to it became an eldership, administratively subordinate to the king. The ruler Kostevich now ruled in his name. After his death in 1532, the wife of the Polish king Sigismund Bon became the owner of the Kobrin eldership. The Queen often visited her domains. She came to Kobrin several times. Urban planning work intensified here, and the castle service was put in order. Caring about increasing income, Bona encouraged the development of agriculture, trade, and crafts. Apparently, the first reclamation work near Kobrin began at the same time. Until now, the canal flowing through the southwestern outskirts of the city is called "Bona".

And another valuable endeavor is associated with the name of this energetic queen. Under her, it became a practice to conduct state statistical studies - so-called audits. The data collected by auditors and emissaries was to play an important role in streamlining the economy in the royal domains. Documents from these surveys in 1563 and 1597. paint a fairly detailed picture of the socio-economic life of the city in the second half of the 16th century.

In the description, the “revision” of 1563, we first encounter the names of the city’s streets, buildings, the names of their owners, and the occupations of some residents. So, from this revision we learn that the business center of the city was the market, as in other cities of the Middle Ages. The square was surrounded on all sides by various buildings, mostly two-story. The upper floor was usually reserved for housing, the lower floor served as a shop or craft workshop. Four streets opened onto the market square: Ratnenskaya, Pinskaya, Beresteyskaya and Ostrometskaya. In their names one can easily guess the connection with the directions of routes coming from distant or nearby settlements.

In general, the city occupied a fairly large area, on which there were 377 courtyards with houses. In addition to their gardens, residents cultivated arable plots located outside the city limits.

The local administration was located on the territory of the Lower Castle. The revision for 1563 contains a detailed description of it. It consisted of two parts; Upper and Lower castles. The upper castle stood approximately where the “House of Youth Creativity” is now located. The prince lived in it, and during his absence - the governor with an armed squad. The Upper Castle was more fortified, but smaller in area than the Lower Castle, which occupied the entire current area of ​​the 700th anniversary of Kobrin and the adjacent cathedral square. However, in order to imagine Kobrin Castle, one must mentally abandon the bridge over the Mukhovets River. In the 16th century, the crossing over Mukhovets was at the end of the "17 September" street. The castle stood on a mountain, which, obviously, was specially poured during the construction of the castle. Access to the castle was made difficult by a water barrier, that is, the Kobrinka River surrounded it on both sides, and on the northern side a ditch was dug, traces of which are still visible today.

Not far from the castle mountain, the last Kobrin prince Ivan Semenovich founded the Orthodox monastery of St. Spasa. One of the monastery buildings has survived to this day, although it has greatly changed its original appearance.

After the introduction of the Union of Lublin in 1596, this monastery was transformed into the Basilian Uniate Monastery. The residents of Kobrin, who still remained Orthodox, built their monastery in the village of Lepesakh, closest to the city. In 1691, on Easter Day, the Uniates took it by storm and plundered it.

From the second half of the 16th century, Kobrin completely became royal property, and the Kobrin economy became the vast dining estate of the Polish king, including almost 800 hectares of arable land and about 100 hectares of hay meadows.

In 1583, Kobrin went to the dowager queen Anna Jagiellonka, daughter of Bona and Sigismund the Old. In 1589, in order to stimulate the development of crafts and trade, she granted Kobrin self-government on the model of Magdeburg. Anna Jagiellonka personally arrived in Kobrin and solemnly presented the residents with privileges, according to which Kobrin residents could henceforth have their own administrative body - the magistrate, headed by the burgomaster. Townspeople were allowed to freely engage in crafts or trade, maintain a tavern or tavern, use government measures and weights, organize weekly trading on Mondays at the market, and hold fairs twice a year - in autumn and winter. Kobrin was given a coat of arms and a seal. In 1596, the city received its own coat of arms for the first time.

The introduction of Magdeburg Law revived the economic life of the city - artisans and merchants united in workshops, trade flourished. But in the 17th century, the Catholicization of the local population intensified, aggravated by national and feudal oppression. All this led to a grand liberation war of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples led by Bohdan Khmelnitsky. In October 1648, the peasants of the Kobrin economy rebelled. Soon, however, they were brutally suppressed by the Polish feudal lords. In 1660, Kobrin was occupied by the Swedes, who sought to profit from the warring parties. And in 1662, the rebellious Lithuanian army, commanded by Marshal Zheromski, rushed here. Without receiving the payment required for the service from the king, the “Rokoshans” rushed to plunder his estate. This attack devastated the city more than the previous visit of the Swedes.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Kobrin residents faced new challenges. In connection with the Northern War, Charles XII of Sweden invaded the territory of Belarus. The invaders broke into peaceful cities, plundered, and imposed indemnities. Kobrin did not escape the same fate. The marauders did not manage to make much profit from the impoverished townspeople. Then they drove the entire small population to the market, where the gallows already stood. Among the hostages were three burgomasters. Kobrin residents gave away all their remaining savings and ransomed their fellow countrymen.

But the troubles of the Kobrin residents did not end there. In 1711, a pestilence carried away more than half of the inhabitants of Kobrin. Previous wars led to ruin and economic decline. production. The city only nominally retained Magdeburg law; there were almost no candidates for election to the magistrate. In the 60s, there were only 690 male souls in the city. Based on the fact that Kobrin, as a Magdeburg city, had completely ceased to generate income, in 1766, on the orders of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, it was deprived of the right of self-government. But the Kobrin economy as the king's dining estate was preserved, although it needed significant reorganization. Thus, since 1677, Kobrin was relegated to the rank of economic unit "Kobrin Key". The economy administration moved from the castle, which was in a completely unsightly state, to the Gubernia estate, built on the southern outskirts of the city.

At the end of the 18th century, about 2 thousand inhabitants lived in Kobrin. In 1795, the Kobrin Key estate was donated to A.V. Suvorov. Kobrin Castle was also supposed to belong to him. However, by that time it had become very dilapidated and it was impossible to live in it. Therefore, Suvorov ordered to tear down the remains of the castle fortifications. But the order was not carried out, since in documents for 1812 we find mention of the Kobrin Castle. On July 15, 1812, in the ruins of the Kobrin castle, the remnants of General Klengel’s detachment, which came here with Napoleon’s army, resisted. On this day, the first victory over Napoleon’s troops within the Russian state was won in Kobrin, and the first victorious salute of that war was given from the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In honor of this event, 100 years later, a monument was erected in Kobrin, which stands not far from the registry office. The castle finally disappeared from the “face” of Kobrin in the 40s of the 19th century, when the Moscow-Warsaw highway was laid through the city. Then the earth from the castle mountain was used for the embankment and a bridge was built across the Mukhovets River.

The battle in July 1812 caused great damage to the city. Of the 630 city housing constructions, only 79 remained. Gradually the city was rebuilt. Its development was favored by a long period of peace. First of all, this affected population growth: in 1817, 1.7 thousand people lived here, in 1857 - 4.3 thousand. At that time, Kobrin residents were engaged in such crafts as making clothes and shoes, baking, carpentry and joinery, and pottery. Even three brick factories appeared. During these same years, Kobrin began to stand out as a major highway junction.

Kobrin became an active trading center. By the middle of the 19th century, there were six fairs here, which were attended by residents not only of that district, but also from neighboring ones, as well as from Minsk and Volyn provinces, and from more remote places in Belarus.

In 1845, the city received a new coat of arms - a plow in a green shield field, which symbolized the agricultural nature of the occupation of the population of Kobrin district. And yet, despite the seemingly favorable development, Kobrin was a classic example of a provincial town, immersed in a half-asleep existence. The main reason for this lay in the impossibility of providing a growing population with stable incomes under feudal serfdom. Some simple types of crafts provided a living wage for only part of the townspeople; the rest were forced to intensively engage in gardening and even farming. Those who had some profit from their activities tried not to invest it in the development of industry or in the construction of houses in Kobrin.

With the reform of 1861, which marked the beginning of the period of capitalism in Russia, certain changes occurred in the economic and social development of Kobrin. The population increased significantly, reaching 10.4 thousand people in 1897. Back in 1882, traffic opened on the Pinsk-Zhabinka section of the Polesie railway. A railway station appeared in Kobrin.

At the very beginning of the 20th century, Kobrin district in the Grodno province ranked first in terms of rural population and penultimate in urban population. Human resources were abundant in both the city and the countryside. Therefore, the local population, in search of a better life, was forced to leave their homes and go to work in Western countries. So only in 1906, about one and a half thousand people left the district for the USA and Canada.

When the First World War began, Kobrin residents were forced to leave their homes and evacuate deep into Russia. The return lasted until 1922. At this time, the Kobrin region was part of the Polish state.

During the almost 20-year stay of the Poles on this land, the Kobrin region has hardly changed. By 1939 its population numbered about 13 thousand people. To replace the wooden shopping arcades that burned down during the First World War, brick ones were built on a cooperative basis. There was still a market in the city center. As before, the first floors of houses were small shops where they sold one or two types of goods. As before, the townspeople lived on income from the land, and those who had little of it also sought happiness abroad. The population has grown slightly since the beginning of the century. Many men were afraid to get married and have children because they were unable to feed them. Therefore, among the Kobrin residents there were a lot of old bachelors and bachelors. Industry hardly developed, and in the central regions of Poland Kobrin was known as a cheap market for pigs and bread.

September 17, 1939 brought big changes to Kobrin. The reconstruction of the Dnieper-Bug Canal began, on which Kobrin residents worked with great enthusiasm.

In 1940, a regional industrial complex opened in the city, merging small workshops together. Modern equipment was delivered here, and the state provided assistance in personnel training. Unemployment disappeared in the city. But this happy life was short-lived. On June 22, 1941, Nazi troops violated the border of the USSR. Kobrin was occupied on June 23, 1941. During the war years, the city suffered enormous damage: one third of all city buildings were destroyed, a power plant, a railway station and many other buildings were destroyed. Over 13 thousand residents of the city and region were killed. Among them are almost 6.5 thousand Jewish population.

On July 20, 1944, the city was liberated by the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front. 12 regiments were given the honorary name "Kobrin".

Since then, Kobrin has been constantly under construction. In July 1944, there were no more than 2 thousand people in Kobrin. Over time, the population constantly increased. Today more than 50 thousand people live in Kobrin.

Today the city has a tool factory, a cannery, and a flax mill; a new powerful bakery, creamery, and repair plant were built. Ten years ago, a spinning and weaving factory came into operation, employing more than 2 thousand people; The clothing factory is one of the most advanced in Kobrin for the production of new fashionable products. There are more than 10 construction organizations in the city.

The city's population is constantly increasing. This means that we are constantly faced with solving problems with housing, providing places in preschool institutions, schools and other social and cultural institutions. Today there are 8 secondary schools and one elementary school in the city. Construction of the 9th secondary school has begun. In Kobrin there is a music school, a youth sports school, a chess and checkers school, a boarding school for hearing-impaired children, a school orphanage, a home for youth creativity, and a station for young technicians. A new building for the School of Arts is being built.

Despite the constant rise in prices and the lack of loans, difficulties in purchasing building materials and the queue to receive land plots, Kobrin residents take on this hard work. During 1993 alone, the executive committee received 400 applications for the allocation of land plots, and in total there are 600 people in the queue.

Despite the general economic crisis, Kobrin's cultural institutions have not yet lost their former positions. The city held 8 holidays in 1993: Independence Day, City Day, Kupalle, Radunitsa and others. In the city House of Culture there are 6 amateur artistic groups and amateur associations that have the title “People’s”. There is also an amateur association of single men and women “For those over 40...” and others. In total, there are 27 groups working in cultural institutions in the city, in which over 600 people participate, 250 of them are children. 476 children study at the music school. At the music school there is an orchestra of folk instruments, which recently became a laureate of a republican competition. The city has a military history museum named after. A.V. Suvorov, as well as commercial television.

Our city has good connections with various cities not only in the near and far abroad. For several years, the city has been receiving humanitarian aid from residents of the German cities of Ulzen and Artern, as well as the Swiss city of Glarus.

In 1993, an ECB prayer house was opened in Kobrin. Various foreign organizations donated for its construction. The burgomaster of Glarus donated an organ worth 48 thousand francs to this house of worship.

Kobrin regularly hosts children from Germany on vacation, and then Kobrin schoolchildren go on vacation to Germany. Several Kobrin residents study in schools in Switzerland.