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Vawkavysk or Volkovysk is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vawkavysk District. It is located on the Ros and Vawkawyya rivers, roughly 98 kilometres (61 mi) from the city of Grodno and 271 kilometres (168 mi) from Minsk, the national capital. As of 2025, it has a population of 41,020. It is one of the oldest towns in the region.
Vawkavysk was first unofficially mentioned in the Turov annals in 1005 and this year is widely accepted as the founding year for Vawkavysk. At that time it was a city-fortress on the border of the Baltic and the Slavic ethnic groups. Since the 12th century, Vawkavysk was the center of a small princedom. The Hypatian Chronicle mentions the city in 1252.
Vawkavysk was mentioned in a manuscript written by the priest D. Bułakowski at the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century. It was stored in the Sapieha family's library in Ruzhany Palace, where it was translated into Russian in 1881 and published in a Vilnius gazette. According to the legend recorded in the manuscript, in the place where Vawkavysk is now situated, were large swathes of forest, where travelers were frequently attacked. Within this forest, two robbers, named Woloko and Wisek, had their hide-out. A certain prince named Watislaw Zawejko, upon hearing of these attacks, tracked down the robbers and hung them on trees for the birds to feed upon. He built a settlement for his serfs in the location of the robbers' hide-out, which was named Wolokowysek. At the execution site, a large stone was placed but, according to local tradition, was later broken up to be used to build a temple.
Another suggestion that it was named after the Vawkawyya river, the name of unclear etymology.
Vawkavysk is located in the valley basin of the Wołkowyja River near its confluence with the Ros River, which flows, in turn, directly north about 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the Neman River. The historical core of Vawkavysk lies on the left bank of the river. The town has been expanding to the west and south. The town has an urban area of 79 square kilometres (31 sq mi), while together with its metropolitan area it covers 1,192 km2 (460 sq mi).
On the left bank of the Wołkowyja River, the town is surrounded on three sides by hilly terrain, while the highest point of Vawkavysk is Shvedskaya Gora ('Swedish Mountain'), located on the southeastern outskirts of town, with its height from the base to the top of its defensive wall varying from 28 to 32.5 metres (92 to 107 ft). The mountain's base is round with a diameter of about 350 metres (1,150 ft). The flat top of "the Swedish mountain" is nearly round and is 55 metres (180 ft) wide east to west. The perimeter of the flat top is surrounded by a powerful defensive wall broken in the south by the entrance. The mountains of Zamchishche ('Castle Mountain') and Muravelnik ('Mouse Mountain') lie to the west and east of Swedish Mountain, respectively.
Vawkavysk lies in the warm summer continental or hemiboreal (Dfb) climate zone, with four seasons and uniformly spread precipitation. Monthly averages range from -5.0 °C (23 °F) in January to 17.9 °C (64.2 °F) in July. On average, there are 95 days a year when there is snow cover. Vawkavysk receives about 632 millimetres (24.9 in) of precipitation a year. The average period of vegetation is 194 days, and it lasts from April to October. The highest officially recorded temperature in Vawkavysk was 36 °C (96.8 °F) in 1959, while on the other end, the lowest temperature was -38 °C (-36.4 °F) in 1950.
Prior to the 10th century, there were three fortified settlements on the territory of Vawkavysk. Swedish Mountain, along with Muravelnik, and Zamchishcha are considered the territories of current Vawkavysk. Swedish Mountain is a remnant of one of these fortifications. Gradually, as the settlement grew, the boundaries of the town extended to the neighboring hill of Zamchishcha. Industrial and commercial sites were located at the foot of Swedish Mountain along its northern, eastern, and southern sides. Muravelnik was also inhabited, but was not as populated as Swedish Mountain and Zamchishcha. Due to flooding of the Wołkowyja River, there are no other known archaeological sites.
Vawkavysk is one of the oldest towns in Eastern Europe and has played a role in the political development of medieval Slavic civilization. It is believed that Vawkavysk was founded in the 10th century. The origin of the town is developed by legends, one of which tells about a certain prince Wadislaw Zawejko, who in 738 found robbers named Woloko and Wisek and killed them. In the place of their shelter, 10 huts were built, which expanded into a settlement. According to the legend, the name Vawkavysk is derived from the names of the two robbers. Another legend states that the town was founded by the King of Lithuania, Mindaugas.
There is little historical evidence pertaining to the period when the town was founded. Archaeological excavations conducted at the site of the ancient town attest that a Slavic settlement had already existed in the area by the late 10th century, based on the dwellings and defensive works which were discovered during the excavation.
Vawkavysk lies in a region formerly referred to as Black Ruthenia that was subjugated to various invading forces from Baltic and Slavic tribes. At various times, the town was influenced by the Principality of Polotsk and Galicia-Volhynia. On the nights of 15 and 16 February 1038, the town was destroyed by a Baltic tribe of Yatvingians. Up until 1084, this territory belonged to Slavic Kievan Rus and later became a dependent vassal state. After Mindaugas conquered the area in 1239, it was incorporated into what would later become the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was administered from Navahrudak from the 1240s to the 1250s.
Vawkavysk's location on the border between Lithuania and neighboring Galicia-Volhynia resulted in frequent fighting over these territories. The Ipatiev Chronicle mentions Vawkavysk in connection with an invasion of the Galicia-Volhynian prince Daniel Romanovich Galitsky and his brother Vasilko in 1252. Power exchanged periodically during the years of 1254-1258 between the princes of these two kingdoms. The chronicle continues with describing that a peace treaty was signed in 1254 where the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vaišvilkas, transferred Vawkavysk, along with several other towns, to Daniel's son, Roman Danylovich Galitsky. Sometime after this event, in 1255, a prince named Gleb, who acknowledged himself as a vassal of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, became the ruler of Vawkavysk. Prince Gleb participated in a Galicia-Volhynian campaign against the Yatvingians in 1256.
It was not until 1258, after several years of war, that Vawkavysk and Slonim settled as vassal states of Lithuania with Vaišvilkas again reigning from Navahrudak as a vassal of Mindaugas. In 1260, Vaišvilkas and another Lithuanian prince, Toth, captured and killed Roman, which resulted in Daniel marching to the upper reaches of the Neman River to recapture Vawkavysk and take Gleb as prisoner. The chronicle fails to explain what ended this particular campaign. Meanwhile, in 1263, Mindaugas of Lithuania was murdered. In the chaos that followed Mindaugas' assassination, the lands of the Grand Duchy were in disarray, with both local and foreign rulers struggling for power. Additionally, in 1264, Daniel died and his son Svarn Danylovich Galitsky received nominal overlordship over all of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia as its duke, including Vawkavysk. Ownership of the town in 1269 belonged to prince Vladimir.
Following Svarn's loss of the throne in 1269, his brother Lev I of Galicia entered into conflict with Lithuania. In 1274–1276 he fought a war with the new Lithuanian ruler Traidenis but was defeated, and Lithuania annexed the territory of Black Ruthenia with its city of Navahrudak.
During a campaign against the Lithuanians in 1277, the Rus army and their princes, Mstislav Danylovich, another son of Daniel; Vladimir Vasilkovich; and Yuri Lvovich, stopped for the night in Vawkavysk. The last time Vawkavysk is mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle is when Lithuanian Grand Duke Butigeidis transferred Vawkavysk to prince Mstislav Danylovich in exchange for peace in 1289.
Vawkavysk came under the rule of Grand Duke Vytenis and became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1293.
It was from a now non-existent castle in Vawkavysk that, in 1385, Jogaila sent his envoys to Kraków to ask for the hand of the Queen of Poland, Jadwiga. He declared that he along with the Lithuanian people was to adopt the Catholic faith, and received the Polish envoys after a long-awaited decision on 11 January 1386. In 1386 Jogaila was baptized as Władysław II Jagiełło in Kraków and became King of Poland. Jagiełło, while in Vawkavysk in 1387, ordered the destruction of pagan deities.
In 1409 the town was attacked and plundered by the Teutonic Knights under the command of Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen and its residents taken captive. On 16 March 1410, the town was seized again and burnt under the command of Marshal Frederic von Wallenrode and its residents were murdered. On 15 July 1410, the Vawkavysk banner participated in the Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic Order. In 1430 the church of St. Nicholas was built. Vawkavysk was included in the composition of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1441 after being under its authority since 1258.
In 1503 Vawkavysk was granted Magdeburg city rights by Polish king Alexander Jagiellon. These rights were confirmed by different kings up to 1773. The town received its personal coat of arms of a wolf's head on a blue background. In 1507, Vawkavysk became part of the Nowogródek Voivodeship and was capital of Wołkowysk powiat until 1795. By 1513, Vawkavysk had 9 streets. A church was mentioned as having existed since 1536, while a monastery of Jesuits was founded in 1598. From 1566, Vawkavysk was also a venue for General Sejmiks, which provincial delegates and senators attended, that were held for the whole of Lithuania.
The Union of Lublin was signed July 1, 1569, in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. Subsequent to this, Vawkavysk became a royal town within the Commonwealth.
The 17th century was a very difficult time in the history of Vawkavysk, in particular, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in general. The region became the scene of many wars. It was during this time that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth entered into a series of mid-17th century campaigns, known as The Deluge, consisting of uprisings, invasions and Northern Wars with Russia and Sweden. Following the popular uprising led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Ukraine, the rebellion brought into focus the rivalry between Russia and the Commonwealth for hegemony over Ukraine and over the eastern Slavic lands in general. In October 1653 the Russian zemsky sobor declared war on the Commonwealth and in June 1654, the forces of Tsar Alexis of Russia invaded the eastern half of Poland-Lithuania, starting the Russo-Polish War of 1654-67. During this time, Vawkavysk was captured twice by Russian troops in 1655 and 1662 and left heavily damaged.
At the same time, the Swedish Empire, which technically already was in conflict, although with a cease-fire agreement, with the Commonwealth from the Polish-Swedish War of 1626-29, invaded in July 1654 and occupied the remaining half of the country. In 1656, after three days of battle, Vawkavysk was destroyed and burned by the army of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden. The administrative center of the town was a castle on the river near the road to Izabelin, which was destroyed alongside the town.
During the Great Northern War in 1706, the Swedes attacked Vawkavysk again, which resulted in the residents demanding large indemnity.
In 1736, a Jesuit mission was formed at the expense of a E. Linovskiy, as well as a school in 1747. By the second half of the 18th century, several Jesuit and Marianite monasteries operated in Vawkavysk. As of 1792, the town had about 1,000 buildings, and a church in which the Uniates used as well.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Vawkavysk”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.