Vowpa

Vowpa[lower-alpha 1] (Belarusian: Воўпа; Polish: Wołpa; Russian: Вольпа, romanized: Volpa; Lithuanian: Volpos) is an agrotown in Vawkavysk District, Grodno Region, in western Belarus.[1][2] It serves as the administrative center of Vowpa selsoviet.[3]

Vowpa
Воўпа (Belarusian)
Agrotown
Church of Saint John the Baptist
Seal
Vowpa
Coordinates: 53°22′08″N 24°22′18″E
CountryBelarus
RegionGrodno Region
DistrictVawkavysk District
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK)

History

At various times it was either a royal town of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or a private town of the Holszański and Sapieha families,[4] administratively located in the Wołkowysk County in the Nowogródek Voivodeship. It was often visited by King Stephen Bathory during his stays in nearby Grodno.[4] In 1643, Kazimierz Leon Sapieha received King Władysław IV Vasa in the town.[4]

The Wołpa Synagogue is located in the town, and is reputed to be the "most beautiful" of the wooden synagogues of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,[1] a "masterwork" of wooden architecture.[5]

In the interwar period, Wołpa, as it was known in Polish, was administratively located in the Grodno County in the Białystok Voivodeship of Poland. In the 1921 census, 59.9% people declared Polish nationality, 38.9% declared Jewish nationality and 1.2% declared Belarusian nationality.[6]

During World War II, the town was first occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941, then by Nazi Germany until 1944, and re-occupied by the Soviet Union afterwards.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
18861,634—    
19211,731+5.9%
Source: [4][6]

Notes
  1. Also spelled Voŭpa, Volpe, Wolpe, Wolp, or Woupa

References
  1. Carol Herselle Krinsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1985, Synagogues of Europe: Architecture, History, Meaning, Dover Publications, 1996, p. 225 ff.
  2. "Voupa, Belarus".
  3. Gaponenko, Irina Olegovna (2004). Назвы населеных пунктаў Рэспублікі Беларусь: Гродзенская вобласць. Minsk: Тэхналогія. p. 127. ISBN 985-458-098-9.
  4. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XIII (in Polish). Warszawa. 1893. p. 913.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Thomas C. Hubka, Resplendent Synagogue: Architecture and Worship in an Eighteenth Century Polish Community, by Brandeis University Press, 2003, p. 63
  6. Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Tom V (in Polish). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 1924. p. 43.
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