Pruzhany

Pruzhany (Belarusian: Пружаны, [pruˈʐanɨ]; Russian: Пружаны, Polish: Prużany, Yiddish: פרוזשענע‎, Pruzhani) is a town in Brest Voblast, Belarus. Pruzhany is the center of a district in Brest Region, Belarus. Its population is about 20.000 people. The town is located at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal, which give the start to Mukhavets River.

History

Pruzhany has been known as Dabuchyn since 1487. In the 16th century it belonged to queen Bona Sforza of Poland. She brought Renaissance influence and development of trades in this part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1589, her daughter Anna granted a town charter and the coat of arms of Pruzhany (a blue snake swallowing a baby on a silver shield). The coat of arms was borrowed from that of the Sforza family of Milan. Pruzhany was a center of pottery trade at those times. In the mid-19th century a wealthy Polish landlord Walenty Szwykowski laid out a park and built a pretentious palace that houses a museum today after a restoration. The museum has a rich collection on the history and arts of the region. Another tourist attraction is the landmark at the confluence of the Mukha River and the Vets Canal. It presents a statue of a passionate pair rising over waves.