View source for Vileyka

{{Short description|Town in Minsk Region, Belarus}}
{{Infobox settlement
|settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Belarus|Town]]
|name               = Vileyka
|other_name         =
|native_name        = {{native name|be|Вілейка|italics=off}}<br />{{native name|ru|Вилейка|italics=off}}
|nickname           =
|image_skyline      = Касьцёл Узьвіжаньня Сьвятога Крыжа..jpg
|image_size         =
|image_caption      = Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
|image_flag         = Flag of Vialejka.png
|image_shield       = Coat of Arms of Vilejka, Belarus.png
|flag_size          = 150
|shield_size        = 75
|image_map          =
|map_caption        =
|pushpin_map=Belarus
|subdivision_type   = Country
|subdivision_name   = [[Belarus]]
|subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of Belarus|Region]]
|subdivision_name1  = [[Minsk Region]]
|subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Belarus|District]]
|subdivision_name2  = [[Vileyka District]]
|leader_title       =
|leader_name        =
|established_title  =
|established_date   =
|area_total_km2     =
|area_land_km2      =
|area_water_km2     =
|population_as_of   = 2025
|population_note    =
|population_total   = 26,375
|population_metro   =
|population_footnotes = <ref name="pop">{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_148168/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2025 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2024 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250329210112/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_148168/|archive-date=29 March 2025|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref>
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone           = [[Moscow Time|MSK]]
|utc_offset         = +3
|timezone_DST       = 
|utc_offset_DST     = 
|coordinates        = {{coord|54|29|50|N|26|54|40|E|region:BY|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m        = 183
|postal_code_type = Postal code
|postal_code        = 222410
|area_code       = +375 1771
|blank_name        = License plate
|blank_info         = 5
|website            = [http://vileyka.minsk-region.by/ Official website]
|footnotes          =
}}
'''Vileyka''' or '''Vilyeyka'''{{efn|{{langx|be|Вілейка|Viliejka}}, {{IPA|be|vʲiˈlʲɛjka|}}; {{langx|ru|Вилейка}}; {{langx|lt|Vileika}}, {{langx|pl|Wilejka}}.}} is a town in [[Minsk Region]], [[Belarus]].<ref name="pop" /> It serves as the administrative center of [[Vileyka District]].<ref name="pop" /> It is located on the [[Viliya|Viliya River]], {{convert|100|km}} northwest of Minsk. The first historical record dates from 16 November 1460. As of 2025, the town has a population of 26,375.<ref name="pop"/>

The [[Vileyka VLF transmitter]] operated by the [[Russian Navy]] is located near Vileyka. It provides [[VLF]] communication between Russian Navy's headquarters and atomic submarines in the Atlantic, Indian and parts of the Pacific Ocean.

==History==
{{refimprove section|date=June 2024}}
In the 10th–13th centuries, the territory was under the [[Principality of Polotsk]], and in XIV–XVII under [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] as [[manor house]] Kurenets. The city was first mentioned in 1460 as a borough center of the Vileyka Starostwo of the [[Ashmyany]] county in [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]].
* 1635 – [[Władysław IV Vasa]] bestowed Vileyka upon [[Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski]] "for exclusive service to the state".
* 1765 – Vileyka has 30 houses, 165 inhabitants, and became a county center.
* 1793 – during the [[Second Partition of Poland]] the town is ceded to the [[Russian Empire]].
* 1795 – under the decree of [[Catherine II of Russia]] the town receives the status of a city and becomes a center of Vileyka [[uyezd]] in [[Minsk Governorate]], then [[Vilna Governorate]] (1842–1917).
* 1810, May 24 – almost the entire city is destroyed by the fire.
* 1861 – 2931 inhabitants, 1880 – 3450, by the end of 19th century – more than 3500 inhabitants.
* 1906 – big [[sawmill]] started.
* 1907 – the city acquires a branch of [[Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway]] and a city station.
* 1915, September 14 – occupied by the German Army, but several days later recovered by the Russian Army during the [[Sventiany Offensive]].
* 1917, November 8 – Soviets come to power during the [[October Revolution]]
* 1918, December – occupied by German Army
[[File:Vialejka. Вялейка (1920-29).jpg|thumb|Wilejka in the 1920s]]
* 1919 – ceded to Poland in the [[Peace of Riga]] following [[Polish–Soviet War]], becoming the center of the Wilejka county in the [[Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939)|Wilno Voivodeship]] (1923–1939)
* 1939 – annexed back to Soviet Union during the [[Soviet invasion of Poland]] in accordance with the conditions of the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]]. Becomes center of the [[Vileyka Voblast]] of [[BSSR]]
* 1941, June 24-25 – following the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the USSR]] over 1,000 inmates from Vileyka prison were [[Vileyka-Barysaw Death Road|forcibly marched eastward]] towards [[Barysaw]]. During the march, an estimated 500 to 800 prisoners died at the hands of guards.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Mikoda |editor1-first=Janina |title= Zbrodnicza ewakuacja więzień i aresztów NKWD na Kresach Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej w czerwcu – lipcu 1941 roku. Materiały z sesji naukowej w 55. rocznicę ewakuacji więźniów NKWD w głąb ZSRR, Łódź 10 czerwca 1996 r.|trans-title=Criminal evacuation of NKVD prisons and detention centers in the Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic in June-July 1941. Materials from the scientific session on the 55th anniversary of the evacuation of NKVD prisoners deep into the USSR, Łódź, June 10, 1996|publisher= Główna Komisja Badania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – Instytut Pamięci Narodowej|location= Warszawa|year= 1997|page=76, 95–98|isbn =83-903356-6-2|language=pl}}</ref>
* 1941, June 25 – occupied by troops of the [[Wehrmacht|German]] [[Army Group Centre]] during the first stage of Operation Barbarossa and placed under the administration of the ''[[Generalbezirk Weissruthenien|Generalbezirk Weißruthenien]]'' of ''[[Reichskommissariat Ostland]]''. Over 15,000 civilians massacred including 6,972 [[Polish Jews]].<ref name="jewishgen">Dr. Smilovitsky, Vileika [http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/belarus/bel160.html (Polish: Wilejka)] JewishGen, Yizkor Book Project. From materials of the Extraordinary Commission.</ref> See also: [[Belarusian Home Defence]] (BKA) pacification actions
* 1941, July 12 and 30 – German SS forces murder the remaining Jewish citizens in Vileyka (over 500 people).<ref name="jewishgen"/>
* 1944, July 2 – Vileyka recaptured by troops of the [[3rd Belorussian Front]] of the [[Red Army]] during the [[Minsk Offensive]].
* 1944 – the center of the [[Vileyka Raion]] formed
* 1954 – furniture plant started
* 1959 – repair plant opened
* 1973 – [["Zenit-BelOMO"]]<ref>[http://www.zenit-belomo.by/index-eng.htm Zenit-BelOMO], zenit-belomo.by</ref> optical plant started
* 1973 – Vileyka reservoir started
* 1994 – Vileyka voted for [[Zianon Pazniak]] in the [[1994 Belarusian presidential election]]
* 1998 – Vileyka [[hydropower station]] started

==Geography==
The modern city is located on the right bank of the river [[Neris|Viliya]], in the northwest part of the [[Minsk]] region, 100 kilometers from Minsk. The town's population numbers 30,000 people. There is a railway station of the Maladzyechna–[[Polotsk]] line in the city. The roads to [[Maladzyechna]], [[Smarhon]], [[Myadzyel]], [[Dokshytsy]], [[Plyeshchanitsy]] run through the city. The town's industry is represented by the Zenit plant, wood processing enterprises (including a furniture factory), a motor repair plant, building materials plants, light and food enterprises. Vileyka also houses the Museum of Regional Studies.

The territory of the Vileyka district is {{Convert|2400|km2|}}. Forests account for 41% of the territory. The main part of the district is situated within the borders of [[Lake Narach|Narach]]-Vileyka lowland. In the year 1974, near the town of Vileyka Belarus's largest artificial reservoir was built — [[Vileyka reservoir]] with a total area of {{Convert|63.3|km2||abbr=on}} and a volume of {{Convert|238|e6m3|}}.

== Demography ==
{{historical populations|cols=2|align=none|graph-pos=left
| source = <ref>Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя: у 12 т. / гал. рэд. П. У. Броўка. — Т. 12: БССР. — Мн.: Беларуская Савецкая Энцыклапедыя, 1975. — С. 697.</ref><ref name=gus>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Tom VII. Część II|year=1923|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Główny Urząd Statystyczny|page=78}}</ref><ref>[http://mbc.cyfrowemazowsze.pl/dlibra/plain-content?id=14478 Drugi Powszechny Spis Ludności z dnia 9 grudnia 1931 r: alfabetyczny wykaz miast w Polsce w granicach administracyjnych z dn. 1.V.1933 r: wyniki tymczasowe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918203113/http://mbc.cyfrowemazowsze.pl/dlibra/plain-content?id=14478}}. — Warszawa: Główny Urząd Statystyczny, 1933. — S. 1–5.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr70_reg2.php|title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик (кроме РСФСР), их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу|website=Демоскоп Weekly|accessdate=2019-02-06|archive-date=2011-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309104048/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr70_reg2.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr79_reg2.php|title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик (кроме РСФСР), их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу|website=Демоскоп Weekly|accessdate=2019-02-06|archive-date=2012-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521173923/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr79_reg2.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php|title=Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу|website=Демоскоп Weekly|accessdate=2019-02-06|archive-date=2006-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021151320/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg2.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Минская область в цифрах. — Мінск: Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь, 2018. — С. 45–48.</ref><ref>Минская область в цифрах. — Мінск: Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь, 2013. — С. 44–48.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/izdania/public_bulletin/index_67469/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2023 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2022 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417144107/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/izdania/public_bulletin/index_67469/|archive-date=17 April 2023|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/|title=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|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402055418/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_89355/|archive-date=2 April 2024|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="pop"/>
| 1897| 3600
| 1921| 3417
| 1931| 5848
| 1939| 7500
| 1959| 8200
| 1970| 12200
| 1979| 20747
| 1989| 28077
| 2006| 28103
| 2018| 26760
| 2023| 26811
| 2024| 26625
| 2025|  26375
}}
{{clear left}}
According to the 1921 census, the town's population was 62.8% [[Polish people|Polish]], 27.4% [[Belarusians|Belarusian]] and 8.1% [[Jews|Jewish]].<ref name=gus/>

== Notable residents ==

* [[Alaksandar Ułasaŭ]](1874-1941), a Belarusian politician, a founder and the first editor of the newspaper [[Nasha Niva|Naša Niva]], and a victim of Stalin's purges

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Belarus}}

===Twin towns — Sister cities===
Vileyka is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:
* {{Flag icon|Russia}} [[Mozhaysk]], Russia
* {{Flag icon|Ukraine}} [[Pereiaslav]], [[Ukraine]]
* {{Flag icon|USA}} [[Willmar, Minnesota]], United States

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Viliejka|Vileyka|Vilyeyka}}
* [http://vileyka.minsk-region.by/en/ Official site of Vileyka Regional Executive Committee]
* [http://englishrussia.com/?p=1207#more-1207 Pictures of nearby Russian Navy long-haul communications center]
* [http://www.radzima.org/eng/town/vileyka.html Photos of Vilejka at Radzima.org]
* [http://vialejka.org Foto,Forum,Articles – Vilejka.be.together!] {{in lang|be}}
* [http://vileykainfo.by Unofficial reference and information site of Vileyka] {{in lang|ru}}

{{Minsk Region}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Holocaust locations in Belarus]]
[[Category:Populated places in Minsk region]]
[[Category:Populated places in Belarus]]
[[Category:Vileyka district]]