History of the development
Logoisk is one of the most ancient East Slavic settlements. Most likely the city received its name from the words «log», «logchina», since it is located in the valley of the floodplain river. Numerous archaeological excavations indicate that in the Middle Ages, Logoisk occupied a large area and was well fortified.
The first mention of Logoysk (then Logozhsk) refers to 1078. At this time, the city was part of the Principality of Polotsk. In the XII century the city becomes the center of the Logoga principality, and from the XIII century is the part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For the first time under the name Logoisk is mentioned as a Lithuanian city in the «List of Russian cities far and near».
For various historical periods, the city was owned by the Lithuanian princes Jagiello, Skirgailo, Vitovt, the princes of Chartari. From 1528 to 1917, Logoisk was the patrimony of the graphs of Tyshkevich.
During its long history, Logoisk has been repeatedly attacked and destroyed. So, in 1505 during the war with the Crimean Khanate, the city was captured by the Tatars, looted and burned. A few centuries later, during the Northern War (1700-1721), Swedish troops captured Logoisk. As a result of the occupation, the Logoisk Castle was destroyed. Later, in 1756, on the site of the castle, a monastery of the Basilian Order was erected.
As a result of the second section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1793, Logoisk became part of the Russian Empire. In the years 1814-1819 in the city, the palace of the Count of Tyszkiewicz was erected, which, unfortunately, was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Logoysk reached its greatest prosperity in the middle of the XIX century, at a time when the city was governed by Konstantin Tyshkevich and Evstafy Tyshkevich. In 1831, Konstantin Tyshkevich opened a weaving and spinning factory in Logoisk. In addition, iron foundry and agricultural inventory workshops operated in the city.
However, the brothers were most famous for the first archaeological excavations in the city and beyond. Konstantin Tyshkevich examined the ancient settlements of Logoisk and Zaslavl, unearthed the Logoisk burial mounds. In addition, Konstantin Tyszkiewich was the first in Belarus to begin to draw up topographic plans for archaeological monuments. As a result of the excavations carried out in the environs of Logoisk, numerous historical artifacts were found that served as the basis for the exposition of the museum that Tyszkiewicz opened in Logoisk in 1842. In addition to the values found in the mounds, the museum exhibited valuable coins, medals, engravings, a flag captured from the Swedes during the Northern War, the saber of Peter the Great, numerous paintings by foreign artists, ancient artifacts from the excavations of Pompeii and much more. In the museum there was also a count library, numbering more than three thousand volumes. Later, the collection of graphs was transferred to the archeological museum opened in 1855 in Vilna .
By the end of the XIX century. Logoisk became the center of the parish of Borisov district. The population of the city was about 1,180 inhabitants, most of whom were Jews. After the October Revolution of 1917 and the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1920 that followed it. the city was occupied first by German, and later by Polish troops. In 1920, during the retreat of the Polish army, the city was significantly destroyed. Since 1924, Logoisk became the center of the district. During World War II, Nazi troops almost completely wiped the city from the face of the earth. The whole center of the city was ruined, the hospital complex and all industrial enterprises were destroyed.
In the post-war period, active restoration and development of Logoisk is taking place. Today it is a modern and comfortable city in which several industrial enterprises, sports, cultural and educational institutions function.
Tourism potential
Logoisk has a rich tourist potential. First of all, the attention to the city is attracted by the hilly terrain, which is not typical for Belarus, called Belarusian Switzerland, on which the city is located. Numerous tourists and lovers of winter sports are attracted by two ski centers located in Logoisk district. The first of them the Republican Ski Center «Silichi» is equipped with three ski slopes of varying degrees of difficulty and length, as well as slopes for snowboarding and tubing. The second ski sports complex «Logoisk» also serves amateur skiers and snowboarders. The architecture of the complex is made in the original Belarusian style with a small admixture of «Alpine» romance. All this makes the ski resort «Logoisk» one of the most attractive places in Belarus for recreation.
In Logoisk itself, the church of St. Nicholas, which was first mentioned as early as 1653, is of interest to tourists. A stone building of the church, built in 1845 instead of the former, rather dilapidated building, has reached our days. The church holds one of the most revered Belarusian icons the image of the Logoisk Mother of God.
The center of the ancient city is Site of ancient castle, ocated on the right bank of the river Gaina in Logoisk Park. According to historical data, the Logoisk castle was a powerful defensive fortification: the fortress was surrounded by a moat with a depth of 22 m and a width of 32 m. Also of interest is the neo-gothic church of St. Casimir, built in 1999 on the site of the family church-tomb of the Tyshkevich family.
In Logoisk, there is a local history museum opened in 2003. The museum’s exposition tells about the history of the Logoisk region from antiquity to the present day, as well as about the activities of the brothers Konstantin Tyshkevich and Evstafy Tyshkevich.
Not far from Logoysk there is the «Khatyn» Memorial Complex is a monument erected in memory of hundreds of Belarusian villages destroyed by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. On the territory of the complex there is the only one in the world «Cemetery of villages» - 185 graves, each of which symbolizes one of the unrestored Belarusian villages burned together with the population. The grave of each village is a symbolic ashes, in the center of which is a pedestal in the form of a tongue of flame is a symbol of the fact that the village was burned. In the mourning urn is stored the land of the village. On the grave are written the name of the village and the name of the district in which the village stood. Memorial complex «Khatyn» is included in the state list of historical and cultural heritage.
