Early history Barysaw is first mentioned in the
Laurentian Codex as being founded (as Borisov) in 1102 by
Rogvolod Vseslavich,
Prince of Polotsk, who had the baptismal name of
Boris. During the next two centuries, it was burned and then rebuilt south of where it was before.
Under Lithuania From the late 13th century to 1795, the town was part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was part of the Polish-Lithuanian union since the
Union of Krewo (1385) and the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after the
Union of Lublin (1569). In 1500, during the
Lithuanian–Muscovite War,
Alexander Jagiellon resided in Barysaw Castle. In 1563, it was granted
Magdeburg town rights by King
Sigismund II Augustus. In the last years of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, troops were stationed here, including the
2nd and
4th Lithuanian Vanguard Regiments and 1st Lithuanian Infantry Regiment. King
Stanisław August Poniatowski established the town's coat of arms (decree #17435), the top half containing the coat of arms of
Minsk, while the lower half had two stylized towers on a silver background with a passage between them and
Saint Peter above the towers holding a key in his hand. Barysaw became part of the
Russian Empire in 1793 as a result of the
Second Partition of Poland.
19th century After the
Partitions of Poland, Barysaw was an
uyezd town in the
Minsk Governorate. In 1812, Barysaw became a crucial location when
Napoleon's troops
crossed the Berezina river. The French feinted a crossing at the town itself, but successfully escaped the pursuing armies by building two wooden bridges north of the city, at Studianka. This event is reenacted by military locals during town festivals. A cannon from the
Napoleonic era is kept by the town's museum. In 1871, the railway between
Brest and
Moscow passed near Barysaw, and a station was built there. In 1900 the area around the station was annexed the town.
20th century During
World War I, after the fall of Tsarist
Russia, fights broke out for control of the city and it changed owners several times. In November 1917 the area became a part of
Soviet Russia, from early 1918 it was occupied by
Germany, in December 1918 it fell to the Soviets again, from 1919 to 1920 it was controlled by
Poland, before being captured by the Soviets for the third time. Soviet rule was recognized by the
Peace of Riga in 1921 and the city was included in the
Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. The headquarters of the Soviet
10th Army was based in Barysaw shortly before the Soviet
invasion of Poland at the start of
World War II in September 1939. The 10th Army invaded towards
Nowogródek and
Białystok. and most of the city was destroyed. The Germans also operated the Dulag 126, Dulag 184, Dulag 240 and Stalag VI-H
prisoner-of-war camps in the city. Since May 1948 the city has been home to the headquarters of the
7th Tank Army, which became the 65th Army Corps and then the
North Western Operational Command of the
Armed Forces of Belarus in 2001. In 2000s the Head of City Administration, or Mayor, was Vassily Burgun. ==Climate==