Senno
Encyclopedia
Senno or Syanno is a city in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus
. It is 58 km (36 mi) southwest of Vitebsk
on the southern shore of Senno Lake. Its population in 2010 was 8,000.
The village is first mentioned in a document of 1534, although there are indications it already existed in the middle of the 15th century. Fairs were held there, and a lively hay market gave it its name ( seno 'hay'). From the first half of the 17th century it belonged to the Sapieha family; from the second half of the 18th century, to the Ogińskis
. In 1772 it became part of the Russian Empire
.
In 1924 Senno became part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. During World War II
, it was the site of a major tank battle in July 1941. On June 22, 1941, Nazi forces rampaged through this part of Belarus. In three years, they wiped out 80 percent of the country’s 980,000 Jews. Mobile death units rounded up entire shtetls, or towns, of Jews, confined them to cramped ghettos, and then marched them off to pits where they were shot dead.
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 ,...
. It is 58 km (36 mi) southwest of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
on the southern shore of Senno Lake. Its population in 2010 was 8,000.
The village is first mentioned in a document of 1534, although there are indications it already existed in the middle of the 15th century. Fairs were held there, and a lively hay market gave it its name ( seno 'hay'). From the first half of the 17th century it belonged to the Sapieha family; from the second half of the 18th century, to the Ogińskis
Oginski family
Ogiński was a noble family of Lithuania and Poland , member of The Princely Houses of Poland.They were most likely of Rurikid stock, related to Chernihiv Knyaz family, and originated from the Smolensk region, incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania around 14th century...
. In 1772 it became part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
In 1924 Senno became part of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it was the site of a major tank battle in July 1941. On June 22, 1941, Nazi forces rampaged through this part of Belarus. In three years, they wiped out 80 percent of the country’s 980,000 Jews. Mobile death units rounded up entire shtetls, or towns, of Jews, confined them to cramped ghettos, and then marched them off to pits where they were shot dead.