Masty, Belarus Explained

Masty
Native Name:
Other Name:Мosty
Settlement Type:Town
Flag Size:150
Pushpin Map:Belarus
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Belarus
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Grodno Region
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Masty District
Population As Of:2024
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:14,447
Timezone:MSK
Utc Offset:+3
Coordinates:53.417°N 24.55°W
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:231591
Area Code:+375 1515
Blank Name:Car plates
Blank Info:4

Masty or Mosty (Belarusian: Масты; Russian: Мосты; Polish: Mosty) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Masty District.[1] As of 2024, it has a population of 14,447.[1]

History

Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Masty was part of Trakai Voivodeship. It was located on a trade route connecting Grodno and Slonim.[2] In 1539, Queen consort of Poland Bona Sforza founded the Saint John the Baptist church.[2] In 1795, Masty was acquired by the Russian Empire as a result of the Third Partition of Poland.

From 1921 until 1939, Mosty, as it was known in Polish, was part of the Second Polish Republic, within which it was administratively located in the Grodno County in the Białystok Voivodeship. In the 1921 census, the entire population declared Polish nationality, of which 88.4% were Catholics and 11.3% were of Jewish faith.[3]

At the start of World War II, in September 1939, the town was occupied by the Red Army and, on 14 November 1939, incorporated into the Byelorussian SSR. From 25 June 1941 until 13 July 1944, Masty was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of Bezirk Bialystok.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа. https://web.archive.org/web/20240402055418/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/. 2 April 2024. belsat.gov.by. 11 May 2024.
  2. Book: . Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VI. 1885. pl. Warszawa. 714.
  3. Book: . Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Tom V. 1924. pl. Warszawa. Główny Urząd Statystyczny. 39.