| Zhabinka | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Flag Size: | 150px |
| Pushpin Map: | Belarus |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Belarus |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Brest Region |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Zhabinka District |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1817 |
| Population As Of: | 2024 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 14,418 |
| Timezone: | MSK |
| Utc Offset: | +3 |
| Coordinates: | 52.2006°N 24.0233°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 225101, 225102, 225110 |
| Area Code: | +375 1641 |
| Blank Name: | License plate |
| Blank Info: | 1 |
Zhabinka (Belarusian: Жабінка|Žabinka, in Belarusian pronounced as /ˈʐabʲinka/; Russian: Жабинка; Yiddish: זשאבינקע|Zhabinke; Polish: Żabinka) is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Zhabinka District.[1] As of 2024, it has a population of 14,418.[1]
Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Zhabinka was a part of Brest Litovsk Voivodeship. In 1795, Zhabinka was acquired by the Russian Empire as a result of the Third Partition of Poland. The name of the place was first mentioned in Russian official papers in 1817.
In 1882, a railway station was built here on the railway line that connected Warsaw, Brest and Moscow. It gave a powerful impetus to the development of the place. Within two decades Zhabinka turned from a village into a town, attracting people of commerce, after the station boosted the economic development of the place. From 1921 until 1939, Zhabinka was part of the Second Polish Republic.
On July 30, 1920, the 63rd Infantry Regiment of the Polesie Group of the Polish Army, stationed near Żabinka, engaged with units from the Soviet 10th Rifle Division as part of their withdrawal to the Brest area during the Polish–Soviet War. At Żabinka, the battalions of the 63rd Infantry Regiment achieved a spectacular victory, launching attacks from multiple sides. The Soviet 10th Rifle Division suffered a severe defeat, losing prisoners and 12 machine guns.
See main article: Battle of Żabinka (July 1920).
In September 1939, Zhabinka was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR.
From 23 June 1941 until 21 July 1944, Zhabinka was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of the Generalbezirk Wolhynien-Podolien of Reichskommissariat Ukraine.
For 125 years, the town has been sprawling along the road from the railway station southwards to the highway Brest-Moscow, that is the major transcontinental traffic artery E30 today. After World War II a big sugar refinery was built north of the railway line. A big settlement appeared around it.
Today Kirov Street starts form the railway station, runs across the town center with a big square and a park, further on southwards to the highway.
In 2004, a Polish woman named Floria Budziszewska, who risked her life to save two Jewish children in Zhabinka, was posthumously awarded the Righteous Among Nations title.[2]
Žabinka is located on the Mukhavets River at the confluence of the tiny Zhabinka River, which is considered rather a creek. The town has the biggest in the district water reservoir Vizzhar (25 ha), which is located in the western part of the town.
There is a big square and a park in the center of the town.
The town occupies 9.11 km2.