Before 1500, the history of Pyetrykaw is that of the
Principality of Turov and Pinsk. Thus it passed under control of the
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia in the early 13th century, and was devastated in 1240 by the
Mongols, and thereafter remained under the titular control of the
Golden Horde until it joined the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the early 14th century. In 1502 and 1521 the area was attacked by
Tatars from the newly independent
Crimean Khanate. The first written mention of Pyetrykaw goes back to the year 1523, where the community was under the
Olelkovich family's
Principality of Slutsk–
Kapyl, part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The town became part of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, and so remained until its annexation by the
Russian Empire at the
second partition of Poland in 1793. Pyetrykaw was administratively placed in the
Mozyrsky Uyezd of
Minsk Governorate. By the 19th century, it had come under the control of the
Chodkiewicz noble family. In 1900, Pyetrykaw was located in the
Pale of Settlement, an area of the Russian Empire that allowed resident Jews and thus had a Jewish community of 2,151, 38.8% of the total population. The town was occupied by the Germans in World War I. It was taken by the
Poles in 1920-1921, during the
Polish-Soviet War. Pyetrykaw received its status as a
town in 1923. During World War II, the town was first occupied by the Soviet Union and then by the Germans who exterminated the Jewish community. Pyetrykaw was taken from the Germans on 30 June 1944 as part of
Operation Bagration by the soldiers of the 55th Mozyr Red Rifle Division of the 61st Army of the
1st Belorussian Front and sailors of the 20th Brigade of the
Dnieper Flotilla. More than 3,000 casualties were suffered by the Soviet troops during the battle for Pyetrykaw. Pyetrykaw is located in the area affected by the
Chernobyl disaster. == Notable people ==