Bielsk Podlaski
Polska / podlaskie
 | Synagogues, prayer houses and others |  | Cemeteries |  | Places of martyrology |  | Judaica in museums |  | Other |
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History
Aleksandra
The first information about Jews in Bielsk Podlaski dates back to the end of the 15th century. In 1487 King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk leased the duty collection to two Jews from the town of Łuck. At that time the Jewish community in Bielsk Podlaski was small and was not organized. It was only in 1542 that an organized Synagogue Community came into being.
In the end of the 16th century in 1564 there was a conflict between Christians and Jews. Two years later Jews were given new privileges in town by King Zygmunt August. It did not last long though. The census from 1580 and the one from 1591 do not record any Jews in Bielsk Podlaski at that time. According to other sources the Synagogue Community existed there until the year 1662.
Renewed Jewish migration to Bielsk Podlaski took place in the end of the 18th century. As early as 1802 or 1803, Jews were given official consent to settle in town. In 1807 a new Synagogue Community was created and consisted of 31 members. Jewish people were slowly but surely migrating to Bielsk Podlaski. In 1847 the Synagogue Community of Bielski District numbered 298. In 1861 there were three synagogues or houses of prayer for 1,256 Jews. In 1878 Bielsk Podlaski had 5,810 inhabitants, of whom 3,968 were Jewish. In the beginning of the 20th century the number of Jews started to decrease. In 1938, the Jewish population made up 38 percent of all inhabitants of Bielsk Podlaski. Under the Russian rule the town hosted 6,000 of them. During the German occupation a ghetto was created for Jews from Bielski District, Narwia and Orla. After the dissolution of the ghetto Jews were murdered in Treblinka camp. Mosze Aron Bendas was the last rabbi in Bielsk Podlaski.
Most of the Jewish shops and houses were around the marketplace and the town hall. Jews lived at main streets of Bielsk Podlaski – Mickiewicza, Szkolna, Bóżnicza, Wąska, Widowska and Ogrodowa Streets. The main town synagogue was made out of wood, stood in the center and was surrounded by a couple of houses of prayer that were pulled down after the war. Not far away there was a Hasidic synagogue. An old Jewish cemetery, to be utterly destroyed in years to come, was located in the center of the town. A new cemetery was established next to the main road towards the town of Brańsk.
In 1898 the old main synagogue was replaced by a
Local history
Aleksandra
The earliest traces of settlement in Bielski region found in the towns of Haćki and Hryniewicze Duże date back to 2nd century B.C.E. Nevertheless, it was the town of Bielsk Podlaski that became the center of the region. It was there, on the castle hill that ruins of a 10th or 11th century castle were founded. According to researchers, Bielsk Podlaski was already a developed town at that time.
Bielsk Podlaski is first mentioned in documents dated 1253 (Halicko-Wołyński Chronicles). Morover Bielsk Podlaski was documented as the battlefield during the conflict between the Russian princes and Jaćwingowie tribes in 1264. After 1320 the town became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
After Władysław Jagiełło ascended to the Polish throne the situation of Bielsk Podlaski improved. The town was located next to the busy road leading from Cracow to Gniezno and Vilnius.
In the 16th century Bielsk Podlaski saw a lot of development. The local noblemen, especially the Siecheniewicz family, used the harbor in Narwia to trade wood and leather products with the town of Gdańsk. At the same time the number of the inhabitants increased reaching 4,000 or 5,000 in the end of the 16th century. Bielsk Podlaski suffered in 1564 during the Sejm Litewski (with the participation of the King Zygmunt August) as the wooden castle burnt in a fire. After a few years the town became a part of the Polish Kingdom. At that time with its 550 or more houses it was considered to be the biggest town in Podlasie District. However, in 1591 the town suffered major damages in another big fire.
The wars in the years 1655–1660 brought an economic disaster and mass killings. Only a few dozen of houses with their inhabitants were left. Trade was almost non-existent. In the beginning of the 18th century other wars and epidemics suppressed any attempts to bring the town back to life. In the years 1779–1781 a special royal committee (Boni Ordninis) inspected the town and its bordering areas in detail in order to prevent any local economic or social problems. Their report shows the existence of 269 households and 97 craftsmen, most of whom were tanners and furriers.
In 1807 Bielsk Podlaski came under Russian rule. In 1897 the population numbered 8,400 people. The town had its own school, a couple of parish schools, a few synagogue
Summary
| Province: | podlaskie / białostockie (before 1939) |
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| County: | bielski / bielski (before 1939) |
| Community: | Bielsk Podlaski / Bielsk Podlaski (before 1939) |
| Other names: | Бельск Падляшскі [j.białoruski] Більськ Підляський [j.ukraiński] ביילסק [j.jidysz] |
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Location
Aleksandra
Bielsk Podlaski is located in Podlaskie Province where the road from Siemiatycze to Białystok and the road from Zambrów to Białowieża cross.
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