Druck
Encyclopedia
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, 40 kilometres (ca. 25 miles) west of Mahilyow.
The was established in 1078 as an outpost of the Principality of Polatsk on the road from Polatsk
Polatsk
Polotsk , is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people...
to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Chernihov. According to the Drutsk Gospel, the town was built around one of the oldest Christian churches in White Ruthenia erected in 1001.
In the 12th century and 13th century it was a centre of the early medvieval Principality of Druck, ruled by the dukes of the Polatsk
Polatsk
Polotsk , is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people...
branch of the Rurikid dynasty. Since the 13th century there is only limited information about the town available in the chronicles.
In 1284 there was a battle at the nearby village of Mahilna between the Litvin
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
duke Ryngold
Ryngold
Ryngold or Rimgaudas was a mythological Grand Duke of Lithuania from the Palemonids legends and father of Mindaugas, the first King of Lithuania . Ryngold, son of otherwise unknown Algimantas, is first mentioned in the second redaction of the Lithuanian Chronicle written c. 1515 and has no...
and a coalition of Ruthenia
Ruthenia
Ruthenia is the Latin word used onwards from the 13th century, describing lands of the Ancient Rus in European manuscripts. Its geographic and culturo-ethnic name at that time was applied to the parts of Eastern Europe. Essentially, the word is a false Latin rendering of the ancient place name Rus...
n dukes that also included the Duke Dzmitry of Drutsk. Ruthenians were defeated and Dzmitry was killed in the battle, so the duchy of Drutsk became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
.
In 1524 Drutsk has been burned down by Russians in a war and started to lose its political importance. Exact time and reasons of the town's decline are unknown. Historians estimate the period of decline to between 15th and 17th centuries.
Archaeological researches state that Drutsk has been an important military fortress for some period of time. Until mid 17th century it had a castle. Both the castle and the town have been destroyed and rebuilt for several times.
According to the German ambassador of the 17th century Johann Georg Korb, in the 16th century Drutsk was a large city that had about two hundred churches but that was then entirely destroyed in a war. Therefore Korb compared the city with Troya
Troya
Troya is a U. S. brand of hand-made premium cigar originally owned by Lignum-2, Inc. The brand in an old Cuban brand, established in 1932, but the Cuban version is now offered only as an all-machine-made brand of but two vitolas.-History and Background:...
.
The town is also the name-sake of the Drucki-Lubecki and Druckoy-Sokolinski noble families
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
and the name-sake for their coat of arms, the Druck Coat of Arms. The most famous member of those families is Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki
Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki
Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki was an important politician of the first half of the 19th century in the partitioned Poland. He was a prince and minister of the treasury in the Congress Kingdom of Poland. He is known as one of the prominent economists and financiers of his era...
.
Sources
- Анатоль Мяснікоў. Горад на вольнай Друці... // Звязда, 27.6.2001.
- Аляксееў Л. В. Друцк // Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя. У 12 т. Т.4. Графік — Зуйка / Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя; Рэдкал.: П. У. Броўка (гал. рэд.) і інш. — Мн.: Бел.Сав.Эн., 1971. — 608 с.: іл., карты. No ISBN.
- Друцк старажытны: Да 1000-годдзя ўзнікнення горада / Рэд.кал.: Г.П.Пашкоў (гал.рэдактар) і інш.; Маст. У.М.Жук. –Мн.: БелЭН, 2000. —128 с.: іл. ISBN 985-11-0185-0
- Насевіч В. Друцкае княства і князі Друцкія // Друцк старажытны: Да 1000-годдзя ўзнікнення горада. – Мінск, 2000. С. 49–76