Grodno is an administrative centre of Grodno region located 280 km from the city of Minsk. This major city of Belarus is situated on the banks of Neman river, on the border with Lithuania and Poland. Nowadays its population is around 354 thousand inhabitants.
Grodno is one of the oldest cities on the territory of modern Belarus. This location was mentioned for the first time in the chronicle of the year of 1005. The official date of its establishment is regarded to be the year of 1128 when the city was put for the first time in the Hypation Chronicle. During the 12-13th centuries the city and its outskirts were attacked by the German knights.
In the city of Grodno many historical and architectural monuments have preserved. The oldest buildings in the city are religious ones. Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier was founded in 1678. The cathedral is beautifully decorated with sculptures and frescoes. In Grodno there is a functioning Great Choral Synagogue established in 1578, and today it is considered to be the biggest synagogue on the territory of the former USSR.
In the city of Grodno some unique architectural monument exists that is preserved in its original form. It is a wooden church built in the 12th century, the name of which is Sts Boris and Gleb Church or Kalozha Church. In 1183 almost all the functioning churches and cathedrals of Grodno burnt because of a thunderbolt, but the only untouched church was St Boris and Gleb Chrch. In the 20th century it was included into the UNESCO List.
Grodno and Grodno region are famous for their castles. In the city of Grodno there is a splendid two-storied castle, built in the neobarokko. This is the Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskiy Palace that was established in 1908. In turn, Grodno region is famous for its mystical castles such as the Mir Castle, the Golshany Castle, the Lida Castle, the Novogrudok Castle, the Krevo Castle.
However, the main sight of Grodno is considered to be the Old Castle which was built in the 11th century and in the 14th century it became the second most important residence of Vytautas the Grand Duke of Lithuania. After the Old Castle had been partially destroyed in the 18th century by the Swedes, they built the New Castle in Grodno where the last king of Poland abdicated in the year of 1797. In the city of Grodno there are wonderful theatres such as Grodno Regional Drama Theater, Grodna Regional Puppet Theatre. The Zoo in Grodno is the oldest in Belarus that was founded in 1927.
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