Baranavicy, city in southwest central Belarus, in Brest Oblast, about 140 km (about 90 mi) southwest of Minsk. Baranavicy is located on the southern edge of the Navahrudak Hills, which serve as the drainage divide between the Baltic Sea to the northwest and the Black Sea to the southeast. The city's industries include food processing, cotton and linen textile milling, metalworking, and machinery production. Dense stands of pine trees are a noteworthy feature of the city. Baranavicy is an important junction for two major rail lines. One of the lines was first built in 1871 to connect Brest, in southwestern Belarus, and Moscow; the other was completed in 1884 to connect Vilnius, Lithuania, with Kyiv, Ukraine. Baranavicy was founded in the late 19th century, its development coinciding with that of the railroads. Like the region of which it is a part, the city has at times come under Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, and Soviet rule. In June 1941, during World War II, Nazi Germany captured Baranavicy; troops of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) retook the city in July 1944. Before the Holocaust Baranavicy had a large Jewish population. Population (1996 estimate) 171,998.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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