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Revision as of 12:24, 4 April 2017 edit192.153.142.154 (talk) World War II: The previous wording, "The population of Gomel had dropped by a factor of ten" does not make sense. Quantities can multiply by a factor of ten, but it's incorrect to state that something can reduce by a factor of ten. Unclear at best.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 20:38, 3 January 2025 edit undo40bus (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,538 edits Climate 
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{{Short description|City in Gomel Region, Belarus}}
{{other uses}} {{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement {{Infobox settlement
|name = Gomel |name = Gomel
|native_name = Гомель |other_name = Homyel
|native_name = {{native name|be|Гомель|paren=omit}}
|nickname = |nickname =
|settlement_type = ]
|image_skyline = Homieĺ Montage (2017).jpg |image_skyline = Homieĺ Montage (2017).jpg
|imagesize = 250px |imagesize = 250px
|image_caption ='''Top''': Gomel State Circus Arena (left) and Gomel State Post Office heritage building (right)<br />'''Center''': ] and statue of ]<br />'''Bottom''': ], Gomel Nativity of Virgin Mary Church, and Gomel City Council (left to right)
|image_caption =
|image_flag = Flag of Gomel.svg |image_flag = Flag of Gomel.svg
|image_shield = Coat of Arms of Homiel, Belarus.svg |image_shield = Coat of Arms of Homiel, Belarus.svg
|pushpin_map = Belarus |flag_size = 150
|shield_size = 75
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Belarus
| mapsize = 230px
| map_caption = Location of Gomel in Belarus
| pushpin_map = Belarus#Europe
| pushpin_relief = 1
|subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_type1 = ] |subdivision_type1 = ]
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Belarus}} |subdivision_name = ]
|subdivision_name1 = ] |subdivision_name1 = ]
|leader_title = Chairman |leader_title = Chairman
|leader_name = Petr Kirichenko |leader_name = Petr Kirichenko
|established_title = Founded |established_title = First mentioned
|established_date = 1142 |established_date = 1142
|area_magnitude = |area_magnitude =
|area_total_km2 = 135.34 |area_total_km2 = 139.77
|area_land_km2 = |area_land_km2 =
|area_water_km2 = |area_water_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2015 |population_as_of = 2024
|population_footnotes = <ref name="pop">{{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=12 April 2024}}</ref>
|population_note = <ref>{{cite web|title=Belarus - The regions of the Republic of Belarus as well as all cities and urban settlements of more than 10,000 inhabitants.|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Belarus.html|publisher=City Population|accessdate=2016-01-07}}</ref>
|population_total = 526,872 {{increase}} |population_total = 501,102
|population_metro = |population_metro =
|population_density_km2 = 4258.4 |population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone = ] |timezone = ]
|utc_offset = +3 |utc_offset = +3
|timezone_DST = |timezone_DST =
Line 40: Line 47:
|blank_name = License plate |blank_name = License plate
|blank_info = 3 |blank_info = 3
|website = |website = {{URL|http://www.gorod.gomel.by}}
}} }}


'''Gomel'''<ref>{{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|oʊ|m|əl}} {{respell|GOH|məl}}; '']''.</ref> ({{langx|ru|Гомель}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈɡomʲɪlʲ|IPA}}) or '''Homyel'''<!--See WP:BELARUSIANNAMES--> ({{langx|be|Гомель|Homieĺ}},{{efn|].}} {{IPA-be|ˈɣomʲelʲ|IPA}}) is a city in ]. It serves as the administrative centre of ] and ], though it is administratively separated from the district.<ref name="pop" /> As of 2024, it is the ] in Belarus with 501,102 inhabitants.<ref name="pop" />
'''Gomel''' (also '''Homel''' or '''Homyel’''';<ref name="MW">{{cite web|url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/homyel' |title=Definition of Homyel' – Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |publisher=M-w.com |date=2012-08-31 |accessdate=2014-01-15}}</ref> ]: {{lang|be|Го́мель}}, ]: ''Homiel'', {{IPA-be|ˈɣomʲelʲ|pron}}, ]: {{lang|ru|Го́мель}}, {{IPA-ru|ˈɡomʲɪlʲ|pron}}, {{lang-pl|Homel}}, {{lang-yi|''Homl'' ,האָמל}}, {{lang-lt|Gomelis}}) is the administrative centre of ] and with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census)<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/indicators/regions_current_data/vol_1/11.pdf |title=Belstat.gov.by |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2014-01-15}}</ref> the second-most populous city of ].


==History== ==Etymology==
There are at least six narratives of the origin of the city's name. The most plausible is that the name is derived from the name of the stream Homeyuk, which flowed into the ] near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. Names of other Belarusian cities are formed along these lines: for example, ] from the river ], and ] from the river Vitsba.


The first appearance of the name, as "Gomy", dates from 1142.<ref name="EB Homyel">{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Heather |title=Homyel Belarus |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Homyel-Belarus |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=8 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Up to the 16th century, the city was mentioned as Hom', Homye, Homiy, Homey, or Homyi. These forms are tentatively explained as derivatives of an unattested ''*gomŭ'' of uncertain meaning.<ref>''Этимологический словарь славянских языков: праславянский лексический фонд,'' под ред. О.Н. Трубачева, вып.7 (Москва, 1980), стр.21.</ref> The modern name for the city has been in use only since the 16th or 17th centuries.
===Origin of the name===
There are at least six narratives of the origin of the city’s Belarusian name. One of the more plausible is that the name is derived from the name of the stream Homeyuk, which flowed into ] near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. Names of other Belarusian cities are formed along these lines: for example, the name ] is derived from the river Menka, ] from the river ], and ] from the river Vitsba.
In historical sources from 1142{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} to the 16th century, the city is mentioned as Hom', Homye, Homiy, Homey, or Homyi. These forms are tentatively explained as derivatives of an unattested ''*gomŭ'' of uncertain meaning.<ref>''Этимологический словарь славянских языков: праславянский лексический фонд,'' под ред. О.Н. Трубачева, вып.7 (Москва, 1980), стр.21.</ref>
The modern name for the city has been in use only since the 16th–17th centuries.


==History==
During the Soviet period, another story about the city's name was popular: raftsmen on the river Sozh supposedly warned each other about the danger of running into sandy shallows by shouting «Ho! Ho! Mel!». A more recent narrative, propagated by some modern researchers, is that the name is derived from an ancient Belarusian greeting: «Dats u homel», which means «to pat on the shoulder».{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}
===Kievan Rus'===
{{stack|]}}
Gomel was founded at the end of the 1st millennium AD on the lands of the ] tribal union of ]. It lay on the banks of the ] and the ] stream. Sozh's high right bank, cut through by canyons, provided a natural fortification. For some time, Gomel was the capital of the Gomel Principality, before it became part of the ]. Gomel is first mentioned in the ] under the year of 1142 as being territory of the princes of Chernigov. For some time, Gomel was ruled by the prince of Smolensk ] before it was re-captured by ], after whose death it belonged to ] and then to Sviatoslav's son Oleg. Under Oleg, Gomel went to the ]. The next ruler was ] – the hero of '']''. During this period, the town was a fortified point and the centre of a ]. In the 12th–13th centuries, the city's area was not less than 40 ha, and it had developed various crafts and was connected by trading routes with the cities of northern and southern Rus'. Archeological data have shown that the city was badly damaged during the Mongol-Tatar assault in the first half of the 13th century.


===Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth===
===Gomel under ]===
] ]
In 1335, the Gomel region was annexed to the ] by ]. From 1335 to 1406, it was under the ownership of Prince Patricia Narymuntovich and his sons, from 1406 to 1419 the city was ruled by the grand duke's deputies, from 1419 to 1435 it belonged to Prince ], from 1446 to 1452 to Prince Vasiliy Yaroslavich, from 1452 to 1483 to the ] prince Ivan Andreyevich, and from 1483 to 1505 to his son Semyon, who transferred it to the ].
Gomel was founded at the end of the 1st millennium AD on the lands of the ] tribal union of ]. It lays on the banks of the ] and the Homeyuk stream. Sozh's high right bank, cut through by canyons, provided a natural fortification. For some time, Gomel was the capital of the Gomel Principality, before it became part of the ]. Gomel is first mentioned in the ] under the year of 1142 as being territory of the princes of Chernigov. For some time, Gomel was ruled by the prince of Smolensk ] before it was re-captured by ], after whose death it belonged to ] and then to Sviatoslav's son Oleg. Under Oleg, Gomel went to the Principality of ]. The next ruler was ] – the hero of "]". During this period, the town was a fortified point and the centre of a ]. In the 12th–13th centuries the city's area was not less than 40 ha, and it had developed various crafts and was connected by trading routes with the cities of Northern and Southern Rus'. Archeological data have shown that the city was badly damaged during the Mongol-Tatar assault in the first half of the 13th century.


During the ] of 1500–1503, Lithuania tried to regain Gomel and other lands transferred to Moscow, but suffered defeat and lost one-third of its territory. In 1535, Lithuanian and Polish forces under ], ] and Andrzej Niemirowicz re-captured the city after the surrender of Moscow's deputy, D. Shchepin-Obolensky. In the same year, the Great Duke of Lithuania ] founded the Gomel ]. According to the peace agreement of 1537, Gomel together with its ] remained a Lithuanian possession. In 1535–1565 Gomel is the centre of ], and from 1565 onwards Gomel is in the ] ] of the ].
===Gomel in the Great Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth===
]
In 1335, the Gomel region was joined to the ] by ]. From 1335 to 1406 it was under the ownership of prince Patricia Narymuntovich and his sons, from 1406 to 1419 the city was ruled by the Great Duke's deputies, from 1419 to 1435 it belonged to prince ], from 1446 to 1452 to prince Vasiliy Yaroslavich, from 1452 to 1483 to ] prince Ivan Andreyevich, and from 1483 to 1505 to his son Semyon, who transferred it to the ].

During the Second ] of 1500–1503 Lithuania tried to regain Gomel and other lands transferred to Moscow, but suffered defeat and lost one-third of its territory. In 1535, Lithuanian and Polish forces under ], ] and Andrzej Niemirowicz re-captured the city after the surrender of Moscow's deputy, D. Shchepin-Obolensky. In the same year, the Great Duke of Lithuania ] founded the Gomel ]. According to the peace agreement of 1537, Gomel together with its ] remained a Lithuanian possession. In 1535–1565 Gomel is the centre of ], and from 1565 onwards Gomel is in the ] ] of the ].


] ]
In 1560, the city's first ] was introduced. In 1569, Gomel became part of the ]. From this moment on, the city became the arena of numerous attacks and battles between ], Russia and the ]. In 1572, Gomel ] was given to B. Sapega. At the beginning of the 1570s, Gomel was captured by the forces of ], but in 1576 it was re-captured by J. Radziwiłł. In 1581, Gomel was again attacked by Russian troops, and in 1595–1596 it was in the hands of ]'s ]. In 1560, the city's first ] was introduced. In 1569, Gomel became part of the ]. From this moment on, the city became the arena of numerous attacks and battles between ], Russia and the ]. In 1572, Gomel ] was given to B. Sapega. At the beginning of the 1570s, Gomel was captured by the forces of ], but in 1576 it was re-captured by J. Radvila. In 1581, Gomel was again attacked by Russian troops, and in 1595–1596 it was in the hands of ]'s Cossacks.


After the beginning of the struggle against ] in Lithuania, ] Nikolayevskiy Cathedral was closed on the order of ] ] ] in 1621. In 1633 the city was besieged by the ] of Bulgakov and Yermolin, in 1648 captured by the Golovatskiy's Cossack detachment, and in 1649 by Martyn Nebaba's detachment. After that, Gomel got through several sieges in 1651 but in 1654 was captured by Ivan Zolotarenko's detachment. He and his sons held the city until 1667 and then began to serve under ], however, after the ] Gomel at last returned to the ], where it first belonged to ] and then – till the ] by the ] – to the ]. During the ] Russian forces under ] stood in Gomel. In 1670, Gomel got the ]. Towards the middle of the 17th century, the city fell into crisis mainly due to the struggles mentioned above. It suffered significant damage, the population decreased severely, and many crafts disappeared. After the beginning of the struggle against ] in Lithuania, ] Nikolayevskiy Cathedral was closed on the order of ] ] ] in 1621. In 1633 the city was besieged by the Cossacks of Bulgakov and Yermolin, in 1648 captured by the Golovatskiy's Cossack detachment, and in 1649 by Martyn Nebaba's detachment. After that, Gomel got through several sieges in 1651 but in 1654 was captured by Ivan Zolotarenko's detachment. He and his sons held the city until 1667 and then began to serve under ], however, after the ] Gomel at last returned to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where it first belonged to ] and then – till the ] by the ] – to the ]. During the ] Russian forces under ] stood in Gomel. In 1670, Gomel received ]. Towards the middle of the 17th century, the city fell into crisis mainly due to the struggles mentioned above. It suffered significant damage, the population decreased severely, and many crafts disappeared.


=== Gomel in the Russian Empire === === Russian Empire ===
<gallery class="center"> <gallery class="center">
File:Rumjanzew-sadunaiski.jpg|] (1725 - 1796) File:Rumjanzew-sadunaiski.jpg|] (1725–1796)
File:Rumyan.jpg|] (1754 - 1826) File:Rumyan.jpg|] (1754–1826)
File:S. Rumyantsev.jpg|Sergei Petrovich Rumyantsev (1755 - 1838) File:S. Rumyantsev.jpg|Sergei Petrovich Rumyantsev (1755–1838)
File:Иван Федорович Паскевич.jpg|] (1782 - 1856) File:Иван Федорович Паскевич.jpg|] (1782–1856)
File:Fedor Paskevich.jpg|Fyodor Ivanovich Paskevich (1823 - 1903) File:Fedor Paskevich.jpg|Fyodor Ivanovich Paskevich (1823–1903)
File:Vorontsova-Dashkova Irina.jpg|Irina Ivanovna Paskevich (1835 - 1925) File:Vorontsova-Dashkova Irina.jpg|Irina Ivanovna Paskevich (1835–1925)
</gallery> </gallery>

The period when Gomel was part of the ] was marked by rapid growth of the population, urban infrastructure, and industrial capacity.
Gomel became part of the ] after the first partition of the ] in 1772 and was confiscated by the imperial treasury. In 1775, ] gave Gomel and Gomel eldership in the eternal hereditary possession of Russian military commander ].
] ]


The period when Gomel was part of the Russian Empire was marked by rapid growth of the population, urban infrastructure, and industrial capacity, predominantly after the construction of railways in the late 19th century.<ref>Экономика Белорусии в Эпоху Империализма 1900-1917. Под редакцией Г. Ковалевского и др. Минск 1963, стр.413</ref><ref>Л. Виноградов Гомель. Его Прошлое и настоящее. 1142-1900 г. Москва 1900, стр.35</ref>
Gomel became part of the ] after the first partition of the ] in 1772 and was confiscated by the imperial treasury. In 1775, ] gave Gomel and Gomel eldership in the eternal hereditary possession of Russian military commander ].


The Peter and Paul Cathedral, designed by architect John Clark, was built in 1809–1819. ] opened the first high school, hotel courtyard, glass, tile, distilleries, weaving and spinning factories, and he built a church, a synagogue, a pharmacy, a hospice and a permanent wooden bridge across the ]. The ], designed by architect John Clark, was built in 1809–1819. ] opened the first high school, hotel courtyard, glass, tile, distilleries, weaving and spinning factories, and he built a church, a synagogue, a pharmacy, a hospice and a permanent wooden bridge across the ].


After the death of Nikolay Rumyantsev, the city came in possession of his brother Sergei Petrovich Rumyantsev. However, due to lack of money, Sergei indebted Gomel with the state treasury of the ]. Subsequently, after not being able to pay off the debt, the treasury sold the city. ] was acquired by Prince ], and the rest of the city by ] (1838). Paskevich had an English garden made around the palace, which is still in place today. In 1856, the estate passed on to his son Fyodor Ivanovich Paskevich. After the death of Nikolay Rumyantsev, the city came in possession of his brother Sergei Petrovich Rumyantsev. However, due to lack of money, Sergei indebted Gomel with the state treasury of the Russian Empire. Subsequently, after not being able to pay off the debt, the treasury sold the city. ] was acquired by Prince ], and the rest of the city by ] (1838). Paskevich had an English garden made around the palace, which is still in place today. In 1856, the estate passed on to his son Fyodor Ivanovich Paskevich.


In 1852, Gomel became the county town of the former Belitsa county (renamed as Gomel county).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Без-Корнилович |first1=М. О. |title=Исторические сведения о примечательнейших местах в Белоруссии |date=1855 |publisher=Alfavit |isbn=5-87264-028-5 |page=211}}</ref> This was preceded by the construction of the St. Petersburg–Kiev highway and St. Petersburg–Sebastopol telegraph line, both of which passed through Gomel,<ref>Л. Виноградов Гомель. Его Прошлое и настоящее. 1142-1900 г. Москва 1900, стр.34</ref> and the opening of a beet sugar factory.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Без-Корнилович |first1=М. О. |title=Исторические сведения о примечательнейших местах в Белоруссии |date=1855 |publisher=Alfavit |isbn=5-87264-028-5 |page=214}}</ref>
By 1913, Gomel was a major industrial city and counted 104.500 inhabitants.


The construction of railways in the territory of Belarus in the late 19th century (] in 1873 and Polesia railway in 1888) made Gomel a major railway junction and "attracted in the town many businessmen, caused the establishment of banks, firms and factories, which in turn changed the pastoral and provincial character of a bygone Gomel into a trading and mercantile one"<ref>Л. Виноградов Гомель. Его Прошлое и настоящее. 1142-1900 г. Москва 1900, стр.35</ref>
=== Soviet period ===
On 14 January 1919, Gomel was occupied by the Red Army, leading to a major revolt. Insurgents took control of strategic objects and executed members of the Soviet leadership of the city. The rebels were defeated.


By 1913, Gomel was a major industrial city with 104,500 inhabitants. Nearly 44% of its industrial output was metalworking, with large workshops servicing the rolling stock of ] and Polesia railway. Other significant industries were timber processing, match manufacturing, breweries and churning.<ref>Экономика Белорусии в Эпоху Империализма 1900-1917. Под редакцией Г. Ковалевского и др. Минск 1963, стр.88</ref>
In 1919, Gomel became the centre of the Gomel governorate in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. After the end of the hostilities, restoration of industry and transport began. In the 1920s, a number of large businesses had been created: shipyards, a factory named "Polespechat", a shoe factory named "Trud", a bakery, and the first phase of a municipal power plant.


=== Civil war and early Soviet era ===
By 1940, 264 industrial enterprises had been established
Preceding the ], on 1 March 1918 the city was occupied (the Executive Committee of the Gomel Council of Workers' Deputies had left already on 21 February) by German forces.<ref name="153431/ Contraband"/> In March 1918, the city became part of ] of the ].<ref name="153431/ Contraband">{{in lang|uk}} , ] (19 September 2018)</ref> After the overthrow of the Ukrainian State Gomel was administered by the ] for 25 days.<ref name="153431/ Contraband"/>


]
===World War II===
On 14 January 1919, Gomel was occupied by the Red Army. In March 1919, the largest uprising against the ]s occurred in Gomel, known as the short-lived Strekopytov Revolt. Rebels seized strategic facilities and executed members of the Soviet leadership in the city. The uprising was crushed by Red Army units dispatched to Gomel.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Golinkov|first1=D. L. |title=Krushenie antisovetskogo podpol'ia v SSSR (1917–1925gg.) |date=1975 |location=Moscow |publisher=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia |volume=3rd Edition |access-date=2024-01-07 |url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Strekopytov+Revolt| language=ru}}</ref>
During ], Gomel was under Nazi occupation from ] until the ]. The city was liberated by ]'s ] during the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed. The population of Gomel had dropped dramatically. According to the data of the registry, the population of Gomel numbered less than 15,000 of inhabitants, compared to 144,000 inhabitants in 1940.


In 1919, Gomel became the centre of the ] in the ]. After the end of the hostilities, restoration of industry and transport began. In the 1920s, a number of large businesses had been created: shipyards, a factory named "Polespechat", a shoe factory named "Trud", a bakery, and the first phase of a municipal power plant. In 1926 the city was passed to the ].
=== The post-war period ===
After the war, restoration of Gomel began promptly. The majority of pre-revolutionary buildings were lost. City streets were considerably expanded, and buildings in ] were erected. In 1950, almost all of the pre-war enterprises resumed their work.


By 1940, 264 industrial enterprises had been established.
===Chernobyl disaster===
As a result of the catastrophe at the ] on 26 April 1986, Gomel suffered radioactive contamination. This significantly worsened both the ecological situation and the socio-economic crisis that had struck the ] in the late 1980s. It caused a sharp decline in living standards and a gradual of depopulation that lasted until early 21st century.


===World War II===
At the beginning of the 21st century, a scientific centre and practice for radiation medicine and human ecology was built in Gomel to overcome and study the consequences of the catastrophe at Chernobyl.
During ], Gomel was under ] from ] until ]. The city was taken by ]'s ] during the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed. The population of Gomel had dropped dramatically. According to the data of the registry, the population of Gomel numbered less than 15,000 inhabitants, compared to 144,000 in 1940.


=== Post-war period ===
The development of radiological dose values varies between individual villages in severely contaminated regions, depending on the surroundings and the economic orientation. In general, life is possible in these areas today, even in some parts of formerly closed-off zones, if appropriate behavioural rules are observed.<ref>Petro Zoriy, Herbert Dederichs, Jürgen Pillath, Burkhard Heuel-Fabianek, Peter Hill, Reinhard Lennartz: Verlag ] 2016, ISBN 978-3-95806-181-1. PDF, 10,6 MB</ref>
After the war, restoration of Gomel began promptly. The majority of pre-revolutionary buildings were lost. City streets were considerably expanded, and buildings in ] were erected. In 1950, almost all of the pre-war enterprises resumed their work.


===Chernobyl disaster===
=== Establishment of the Republic of Belarus ===
As a result of the ] at the ] on 26 April 1986, Gomel suffered ]. At the beginning of the 21st century, a scientific centre and practice for radiation medicine and human ecology was built in Gomel to overcome and study the consequences of the catastrophe at Chernobyl.<ref name="rcrm">{{cite web |title=The Republican Research Centre for Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology |url=http://rcrm.by/english/center_eng.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201114602/http://rcrm.by/english/center_eng.html|archive-date=1 February 2009}}</ref>
On 27 July 1990, the ] was drafted. Gomel became a city in the independent state of the Republic of Belarus.


The development of radiological dose values varies between individual villages in severely contaminated regions, depending on the surroundings and the economic orientation. In general, life is possible in these areas today, even in formerly closed-off zones, if appropriate dietary rules are observed.{{explain|date=November 2023}}<ref>Petro Zoriy, Herbert Dederichs, Jürgen Pillath, Burkhard Heuel-Fabianek, Peter Hill, Reinhard Lennartz: Verlag ] 2016, {{ISBN|978-3-95806-181-1}}. PDF, 10,6 MB</ref>
In the first half of the 1990s, Gomel, like the whole of Belarus, was struck by an acute socio-economic crisis: living standards fell sharply, the death rate exceeded the birth rate, the volume of industrial production fell sharply, and the crime rate increased. From 1996 onwards the situation in the country and in Gomel began to stabilize and improve gradually.


=== Population === === Recent history ===
On 27 July 1990, the ] was drafted. Gomel became a city in the independent state of the Republic of Belarus the following year.


During the ], Gomel became an important base for Russian forces.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |year=2022 |title=Videos show Russian units and missiles advancing toward Ukraine border |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/02/11/satellite-images-russia-military-buildup-ukraine |access-date=2 July 2023 |website=Axios |publisher= |asin=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Knutson |first=Jacob |year=2022 |title=Satellite images show increased Russian military buildup near Ukraine |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/14/europe/russia-ukraine-troops-social-media-video-intl/index.html |access-date=2 July 2023 |website=] |publisher= |asin=}}</ref>
<div style="float:right;margin:0 0 .5em 1em" class="toccolours">
''' Population <br /> of Gomel, 1775–2015 '''
{| cellpadding="2" style="background:transparent"
|-
| 1775
| align="center" | 5,000
|-
| 1858
| align="center" | 13,700
|-
| 1880
| align="center" | 23,600
|-
| 1897
| align="center" | 36,800
|-
| 1913
| align="center" | 104,500
|-
| 1925
| align="center" | 81,900
|-
| 1931
| align="center" | 109,900
|-
| 1939
| align="center" | 139,000
|-
| 1943
| align="center" | < 15,000
|-
| 1959
| align="center" | 168,270
|-
| 1965
| align="center" | 218,000
|-
| 1970
| align="center" | 272,253
|-
| 1975
| align="center" | 337,000
|-
| 1979
| align="center" | 382,785
|-
| 1985
| align="center" | 465,000
|-
| 1989
| align="center" | 500,846
|-
| 1992
| align="center" | 517,000
|-
| 1999
| align="center" | 475,000
|-
| 2006
| align="center" | 479,900
|-
| 2008
| align="center" | 493,700
|-
| 2010
| align="center" | 484,300
|-
| 2012
| align="center" | 507,700
|-
| 2013
| align="center" | 514,968
|-
| 2014
| align="center" | 521,225
|-
| 2015
| align="center" | 526,873
|}
</div>


== Population ==
In 2013, the city's population numbered 515,325.,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/indicators/regions_current_data/vol_1/11.pdf |title=Belstat.gov.by |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2014-01-15}}</ref> indicating a positive population growth and hence a reversal of the demographic crisis that began in 1993.
{{refimprove section|date=April 2024}}
In 2013, the city's population numbered 515,325,<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/indicators/regions_current_data/vol_1/11.pdf |title=Belstat.gov.by |access-date=2014-01-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403195647/http://belstat.gov.by/homep/ru/indicators/regions_current_data/vol_1/11.pdf |archive-date=3 April 2014}}</ref> indicating a positive population growth and hence a reversal of the demographic crisis that began in 1993.


{{historical populations|cols=2|align=none
====Jewish community====
| 1775 | 5,000
| 1858 | 13,700
| 1880 | 23,600
| 1897 |36775| 1913 | 104,500
| 1925 | 81,900
| 1931 | 109,900
| 1939 |139120| 1943 |15000| 1959 | 168,270
|1970|272253|1979|382785|1989|500846|1999|475500|2009|482652|2019|510459|52=501,802<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=10 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cities & Towns of Belarus|url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/belarus-cities.htm|date=2024-04-15}}</ref>}}


=== Jewish community ===
After the annexation of Gomel by the ] and the creation of the ], Gomel gradually became a centre of resettlement for the Jewish population of Russia. According to the 1897 census, 55% of the population of Gomel were ]. In 1903, there was a violent ] against the Jewish population of the city. From that moment on, a gradual decrease of the number of Jews in the city began. 40,880 Jews lived in Gomel in 1939, when they comprised 29.4 percent of the total population. Most Jews had left the city in anticipation of German occupation, but still between 3,000-4,000 Gomel Jews fell victim to the ].<ref name="YV">{{cite web|url=http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=323 |publisher=Yad Vashem |title=The murder sites of the Jews in the occupied territories of the former USSR: Gomel |date=2017 |accessdate=2017-01-07}}</ref> The end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s saw ] of Jews from Gomel, but at the same time restoration of Jewish institutions in the city by the remaining Jewish inhabitants.<ref name="JW">{{cite web|url=http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/homyel/gomel_history.html |publisher=Paul Zoglin |title=Gomel history |date=2009-12-16 |accessdate=2017-01-07}}</ref>

After the annexation of Gomel by the ] and the creation of the ], Gomel gradually became a centre of resettlement for the Jewish population of Russia. According to the 1897 census, 55% of the population of Gomel were ]. In 1903, there was a violent ] against the Jewish population of the city.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13501674.2021.1952023|doi = 10.1080/13501674.2021.1952023|title = Science against Injustice: A Literary Investigation of Vladimir Bogoraz's Silhouettes from Gomel'|year = 2021|last1 = Berkovich|first1 = Nadja|journal = East European Jewish Affairs|volume = 51|pages = 1–17|s2cid = 238861156}}</ref> From that moment on, a gradual decrease of the number of Jews in the city began. 40,880 Jews lived in Gomel in 1939, when they comprised 29.4% of the total population. Most Jews had left the city in anticipation of German occupation, but still between 3,000 and 4,000 Gomel Jews fell victim to the ].<ref name="YV">{{cite web |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=323 |publisher=Yad Vashem |title=The murder sites of the Jews in the occupied territories of the former USSR: Gomel |date=2017 |access-date=2017-01-07 |archive-date=8 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108094358/http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=323 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s saw ] of Jews from Gomel, but at the same time restoration of Jewish institutions in the city by the remaining Jewish inhabitants.<ref name="JW">{{cite web|url=http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/homyel/gomel_history.html |publisher=Paul Zoglin |title=Gomel history |date=2009-12-16 |access-date=2017-01-07}}</ref>


==Geography== ==Geography==
Line 211: Line 150:
On the left bank of the Sozh many kilometers of beaches can be found. On the left bank of the Sozh many kilometers of beaches can be found.


==Climate== ===Climate===
]
The climate of Gomel the moderate and continental. Warm summers and soft winters are caused by frequent arrival of warm sea air masses from the Atlantic and the dominating western transfer.{{Weather box
Gomel has a warm-summer ] (] ''Dfb'', ] ''Dcbo''). Summers see occasional heat spells in the 30s, and are comparatively long, lasting from mid-May to early September, with more than 113 days averaging above {{convert|15|C|F}}<ref>{{cite book|last = Komarovskaya|first=Elena V.|display-authors=etal|year=2017|publisher = Республиканский центр по гидрометеорологии, контролю радиоактивного загрязнения и мониторингу окружающей среды |title = Справочник по климату Беларуси, Часть I|pages = 44–46}}</ref> and highs reaching {{convert|30|C|F}} on roughly 13 days per year.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/5.5/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Belarus/CSV/GOMEL_33041.csv |title=WMO Climate Normals for GOMEL, BY, 1991–2020 |work=] |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref> On 7 August 2010, Gomel recorded a temperature of {{convert|38.9|C|F|abbr=on}}, which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Belarus.<ref name="wu">{{cite web|last=Masters|first=Jeff|title=Bolivia ties its all-time heat record|url=http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1701|work=Weather Underground|publisher=Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog|access-date=23 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124020718/http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1701|archive-date=24 November 2010}}</ref> Like the rest of the central band of the ], the city has its minimum of ] in May, which results from the rapidly rising temperatures and increased air’s water holding capacity.<ref>{{cite book|last = Alisov|first=Boris P.|display-authors=etal|year = 1954|title = Курс климатологии |volume = 3|pages = 40}}</ref> Unlike the eastern portion thereof, however, it does not have a second minimum in July or August as the temperatures are not high enough to dry out the soil to the extent where ] drops significantly, thus preventing the surface layers of the air from moisturizing. Precipitation is common year-round, but even more so in the summer. July in particular brings ample rainfall, often in the form of thunderstorms. Winters, on the other hand, beginning in December and ending in early March, are generally marked by persistently gray skies, subfreezing daily means, and rather moderate snow depths. Thaws are not by any means uncommon and only 48 days throughout the three winter months won’t have temperatures climb above freezing.<ref>{{cite book|last = Komarovskaya|first=Elena V.|display-authors=etal|year=2017|publisher = Республиканский центр по гидрометеорологии, контролю радиоактивного загрязнения и мониторингу окружающей среды |title = Справочник по климату Беларуси, Часть I|pages = 69}}</ref> Based on ] daily means, the period of ] is about 116 days.<ref>{{cite book|last = Komarovskaya|first=Elena V.|display-authors=etal|year=2017|publisher = Республиканский центр по гидрометеорологии, контролю радиоактивного загрязнения и мониторингу окружающей среды |title = Справочник по климату Беларуси, Часть I|pages = 44–46}}</ref>
|location = Gomel

Coming with the ], the frequent invasion of maritime air masses from the Atlantic moderates the climate, explaining the mild winters and relatively cool, somewhat cloudy summers compared to those farther inland. Overall, there is an average of 24 thunderstorms and 42 foggy days annually.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33041.htm|title=Climate of Gomel |publisher=Погода и климат |access-date=January 2, 2025}}</ref> Gomel’s bioclimatic type is upper supratemperate<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rivas-Martinez|first1=Salvador|last2=Rivas Saenz|first2=Salvador|last3=Penas|first3=Angel|date=December 2011| title=Worldwide bioclimatic classification system—World Ombrotypes|journal=Global Geobotany|language=en|volume=1|pages=17}}</ref>{{efn|Sum of positive temperatures based on climate data table.|name=climate table}} subhumid.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rivas-Martinez|first1=Salvador|last2=Rivas Saenz|first2=Salvador|last3=Penas|first3=Angel|date=December 2011| title=Worldwide bioclimatic classification system|journal=Global Geobotany|language=en|volume=1|pages=637}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Gomel (1991–2020, extremes 1927–present)
|metric first = Yes |metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes |single line = Yes
| Jan record high C = 9.6 | Jan record high C = 10.0
| Feb record high C = 15.8 | Feb record high C = 15.8
| Mar record high C = 21.5 | Mar record high C = 24.2
| Apr record high C = 29.3 | Apr record high C = 29.3
| May record high C = 32.5 | May record high C = 32.5
| Jun record high C = 34.0 | Jun record high C = 36.2
| Jul record high C = 37.9 | Jul record high C = 37.9
| Aug record high C = 38.9 | Aug record high C = 38.9
| Sep record high C = 32.2 | Sep record high C = 34.9
| Oct record high C = 27.5 | Oct record high C = 27.5
| Nov record high C = 18.0 | Nov record high C = 18.0
| Dec record high C = 11.6 | Dec record high C = 11.6
|year record high C = 38.9 |year record high C = 38.9
| Jan high C = -2.0 | Jan high C = -1.8
| Feb high C = -1.2 | Feb high C = -0.5
| Mar high C = 4.6 | Mar high C = 5.3
| Apr high C = 13.2 | Apr high C = 14.1
| May high C = 20.2 | May high C = 20.5
| Jun high C = 23.2 | Jun high C = 23.9
| Jul high C = 25.2 | Jul high C = 25.9
| Aug high C = 24.3 | Aug high C = 25.1
| Sep high C = 18.1 | Sep high C = 19.0
| Oct high C = 11.3 | Oct high C = 11.5
| Nov high C = 3.6 | Nov high C = 4.0
| Dec high C = -1.0 | Dec high C = -0.5
|year high C = 11.6 |year high C = 12.2
| Jan mean C = -4.5 | Jan mean C = -4.2
| Feb mean C = -4.2 | Feb mean C = -3.5
| Mar mean C = 0.7 | Mar mean C = 1.3
| Apr mean C = 8.4 | Apr mean C = 9.0
| May mean C = 14.8 | May mean C = 15.0
| Jun mean C = 17.9 | Jun mean C = 18.6
| Jul mean C = 19.8 | Jul mean C = 20.4
| Aug mean C = 18.7 | Aug mean C = 19.3
| Sep mean C = 13.0 | Sep mean C = 13.7
| Oct mean C = 7.1 | Oct mean C = 7.4
| Nov mean C = 0.8 | Nov mean C = 1.6
| Dec mean C = -3.3 | Dec mean C = -2.7
|year mean C = 7.4 |year mean C = 8.0
| Jan low C = -6.9 | Jan low C = -6.5
| Feb low C = -7.1 | Feb low C = -6.2
| Mar low C = -2.8 | Mar low C = -2.2
| Apr low C = 4.0 | Apr low C = 4.3
| May low C = 9.6 | May low C = 9.8
| Jun low C = 12.9 | Jun low C = 13.5
| Jul low C = 14.8 | Jul low C = 15.4
| Aug low C = 13.6 | Aug low C = 14.2
| Sep low C = 8.7 | Sep low C = 9.2
| Oct low C = 3.7 | Oct low C = 4.0
| Nov low C = -1.4 | Nov low C = -0.4
| Dec low C = -5.6 | Dec low C = -4.8
|year low C = 3.6 |year low C = 4.2
| Jan record low C = -35.0 | Jan record low C = -35.0
| Feb record low C = -35.1 | Feb record low C = -35.1
Line 282: Line 227:
|year record low C = -35.1 |year record low C = -35.1
|precipitation colour = green |precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 34 | Jan precipitation mm = 36
| Feb precipitation mm = 33 | Feb precipitation mm = 35
| Mar precipitation mm = 33 | Mar precipitation mm = 36
| Apr precipitation mm = 38 | Apr precipitation mm = 35
| May precipitation mm = 56 | May precipitation mm = 64
| Jun precipitation mm = 80 | Jun precipitation mm = 73
| Jul precipitation mm = 90 | Jul precipitation mm = 100
| Aug precipitation mm = 61 | Aug precipitation mm = 56
| Sep precipitation mm = 58 | Sep precipitation mm = 52
| Oct precipitation mm = 56 | Oct precipitation mm = 58
| Nov precipitation mm = 47 | Nov precipitation mm = 45
| Dec precipitation mm = 40 | Dec precipitation mm = 42
|year precipitation mm = 626 |year precipitation mm = 632
| Jan snow depth cm = 8
| Feb snow depth cm = 9
| Mar snow depth cm = 6
| Apr snow depth cm = 0
| May snow depth cm = 0
| Jun snow depth cm = 0
| Jul snow depth cm = 0
| Aug snow depth cm = 0
| Sep snow depth cm = 0
| Oct snow depth cm = 0
| Nov snow depth cm = 2
| Dec snow depth cm = 5
| year snow depth cm = 9
| Jan rain days = 8 | Jan rain days = 8
| Feb rain days = 7 | Feb rain days = 7
Line 334: Line 292:
| Dec humidity = 88 | Dec humidity = 88
|year humidity = 77 |year humidity = 77
|Jan sun = 54 |Jan sun = 43.3
|Feb sun = 74 |Feb sun = 72.5
|Mar sun = 131 |Mar sun = 143.9
|Apr sun = 176 |Apr sun = 201.3
|May sun = 264 |May sun = 272.6
|Jun sun = 264 |Jun sun = 293.7
|Jul sun = 261 |Jul sun = 297.9
|Aug sun = 246 |Aug sun = 269.9
|Sep sun = 168 |Sep sun = 194.4
|Oct sun = 115 |Oct sun = 119.9
|Nov sun = 44 |Nov sun = 47.0
|Dec sun = 31 |Dec sun = 32.1
|year sun = 1828 |year sun =
|Jan percentsun = 19
|Feb percentsun = 25
|Mar percentsun = 37
|Apr percentsun = 42
|May percentsun = 54
|Jun percentsun = 54
|Jul percentsun = 54
|Aug percentsun = 55
|Sep percentsun = 45
|Oct percentsun = 35
|Nov percentsun = 17
|Dec percentsun = 13
|year percentsun = 41
|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net<ref name = pogoda>{{cite web |source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net<ref name = pogoda>{{cite web
| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33041.htm | url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33041.htm
| title = КЛИМАТ ГОМЕЛЯ | script-title=ru:КЛИМАТ ГОМЕЛЯ
| accessdate = 28 November 2015 | access-date = 8 November 2021
| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат) | publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)
| language = Russian}}</ref> | language = ru}}</ref>
|source 2 = NOAA (sun only 1961–1990)<ref name = NOAA>{{cite web |source 2 =],<ref name=NOAA>
{{cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Belarus/XLS/GOMEL_33041.csv|title=Gomel Climate Normals 1991–2020 |publisher=] |access-date=1 November 2023 }}</ref> Belarus Department of Hydrometeorology (percent sun 1957–1960 and 1973–2000)<ref>{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/BL/33041.TXT
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170426031859/http://www.pogoda.by/climat-directory/?page=289
| title = Gomel Climate Normals 1961–1990
|archive-date = 26 April 2017
| publisher = ]
|url = http://www.pogoda.by/climat-directory/?page=289
| accessdate = 28 November 2015}}</ref>
|title = Солнечное сияние. Обобщения III часть: Таблица 2.1. Характеристики продолжительности и суточный ход (доли часа) солнечного сияния. Продолжение.
|publisher = Department of Hydrometeorology
|language = ru
|access-date = 25 April 2017}}</ref>
|date=April 2012 |date=April 2012
}} }}


==Transportation== ==Transportation==
] in the city centre in 2015]]
]]Public transportation is operated with over 1,000 buses and ]es. Public transportation is generally inexpensive ($14 monthly). Over 210 million passenger rides were registered in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gorod.gomel.by/page.aspx?module=text&page_id=70&section_id=97 |title=Gomel Transportation Statistics (Russian language) |publisher=Web.archive.org |date=2007-12-13 |accessdate=2014-01-15 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213171337/http://www.gorod.gomel.by/page.aspx?module=text&page_id=70&section_id=97 |archivedate=13 December 2007 }}</ref> ] services ($10 for a one-way intra-city ride) are available 24 hours a day. The city is an important railroad hub in the southeastern part of Belarus, as it is situated midway on the ]-] rail link. The strategic location of Gomel near the border with Russia and Ukraine provides a direct connection to the vast railroad networks of those countries.
The public transportation system uses over 1,000 buses and ]es. Over 210 million passenger rides were registered in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gorod.gomel.by/page.aspx?module=text&page_id=70&section_id=97 |title=Gomel Transportation Statistics (Russian language) |date=2007-12-13 |access-date=2014-01-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213171337/http://www.gorod.gomel.by/page.aspx?module=text&page_id=70&section_id=97 |archive-date=13 December 2007 }}</ref> ] services ($10 for a one-way intracity ride) are available 24 hours a day. The city is an important railroad hub in the southeastern part of Belarus, as it is situated midway on the ]–] rail link. The strategic location of Gomel near the border with Russia and Ukraine provides a direct connection to both countries’ vast railroad networks.


A trolleybus network opened on 20 May 1962 and consists of 23 routes (not counting variations). On 15 December 2010, after constructing an overhead wire network in the streets of Egorenko, Sviridov and Chechersk, a new trolley line opened to the terminus "Neighborhood "Klinkowski" that resulted in a change of trolleybus routes 9, 16, 17. The length of the network is about {{convert|74|km|0|abbr=on}} and the total length of trolleybus routes is {{convert|475|km|0|abbr=on}} Rolling stock consist of types ], ], ACSM-213, ACSM-101, ZIU-682. The trolleybus network opened on 20 May 1962<ref name="murray">{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Alan |title=World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia |year=2000 |page=74|publisher=Trolleybooks |location=Yateley, Hampshire, UK |isbn=0-904235-18-1}}</ref> and now consists of 23 routes (not counting variations). On 15 December 2010, following the construction of an ] network in Egorenko, Sviridov, and Chechersk Streets, a new trackless trolley line opened to the terminus "Klinkowski Neighborhood," which resulted in a change of the trolleybus routes 9, 16, and 17. The length of the network is about {{convert|74|km|0|abbr=on}}, and the total length of the trolleybus routes is {{convert|475|km|0|abbr=on}}. The rolling stock comprises ], ], MAZ-203T, and ACSM-213 types.
Тhe number of bus routes is more than 60, totalling 670 kilometers, and for a number of routes there are faster express options available. Rolling stock consists mainly of buses MAZ-105, MAZ-107, MAZ-103 and Ikarus 280, and to a lesser extent by MAZ-104, MAZ-203, MAZ-206, and since 2014 the extra-large-capacity, low-] . On express routes bus type Rodemich-A is used. The 24 minibus lines operate vans of types Ford Transit, GAZelle, Mercedes-Benz, and Peugeot. There are more than 60 bus routes totaling {{convert|670|km|0|abbr=on}}, and a number of express routes. The rolling stock consists mainly of MAZ-105, MAZ-107, MAZ-103 buses, and to a lesser extent MAZ-203, MAZ-206, and since 2014, the extra-large-capacity, low-floor ]. Express routes use Rodemich-A type buses. The 24 minibus lines use Ford Transit, GAZelle, Mercedes-Benz, and Peugeot vans.


] is located {{convert|8|km|0|abbr=on}} north-east from the city. ] is located {{convert|8|km|0|abbr=on}} northeast of the city.


== Sports == == Sports ==
]]]
To overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and to improve the health of the population, the government has paid considerable attention to sports and sports facilities.{{clarify|date=July 2016}}
Gomel is home to a wide range of sports facilities that have been developed and improved in recent years. These facilities, including eight stadiums and the Ice Palace, which has two ice arenas, support common activities such as hockey, track and field, and football. ] of the ] is the local pro hockey team. The ] is the home of Gomel's local football club, ]. Gomel hosts multiple international competitions in these facilities, the annual "Bells of Chernobyl" competition being one of the many.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gomel-region.by/en/sport-en/|title=Gomel Oblast Tourism and sport {{!}} Gomel region {{!}} Gomel|website=www.gomel-region.by|access-date=2016-11-12}}</ref> In addition to sports facilities, Gomel has a multitude of ]s, which are more commonly referred to as sports schools.


Many of Gomel's sports schools prepare athletes from a young age. Numerous champions have been trained by schools such as these. For example, one school, Gomel's Olympic Reserve Number 4, has trained 97 World and European champions as well as two Olympic athletes. Gomel State College of Olympic Reserve, on the other hand, trains coaches rather than athletes. From this school, 44 graduates have participated in the Olympics, European championships, and World championships.<ref name=":1" /> Gomel also participates in the ] and, between the years 2007–2009, has been awarded: two gold medals, one silver medal, and two bronze medals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gomel.belstu.by/gomel_en.html|title=УО "Гомельский государственный политехнический колледж" - официальный Web-сайт|website=gomel.belstu.by|access-date=2016-11-12}}</ref>
Gomel is home to a wide range of sports facilities that have been developed and improved in recent years. These facilities, including eight stadiums and the Ice Palace, which has two ice arenas, support common activities such as hockey, track and field, and football (American Soccer). The ] is the home of Gomel’s local football club, ]. Gomel hosts multiple international competitions in these facilities, the annual “Bells of Chernobyl” competition being one of the many.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gomel-region.by/en/sport-en/|title=Gomel Oblast Tourism and sport {{!}} Gomel region {{!}} Gomel|website=www.gomel-region.by|access-date=2016-11-12}}</ref> In addition to sports facilities, Gomel has a multitude of ]s, which is more commonly referred to as sports schools.

Many of Gomel's sports schools prepare athletes from a young age. Numerous champions have been trained by schools such as these. For example, one school, Gomel’s Olympic Reserve Number 4, has trained 97 World and European champions as well as two Olympic athletes. Gomel State College of Olympic Reserve, on the other hand, trains coaches rather than athletes. From this school, 44 graduates have participated in the Olympics, European championships, and World championships.<ref name=":1" /> Gomel also participates in the ] and, between the years 2007-2009, has been awarded: two gold medals, one silver medal, and two bronze medals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gomel.belstu.by/gomel_en.html|title=УО "Гомельский государственный политехнический колледж" - официальный Web-сайт|website=gomel.belstu.by|access-date=2016-11-12}}</ref>


==Education== ==Education==
Since 1990, ] and ] have attracted many international students from countries around world, including the United States, Germany, China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Iran and countries in Latin America. Gomel State Medical University provides classes in both English and Russian. Many prominent scientists work here as senior lecturers. Since 1990, ], ], and ] have attracted many international students from countries around the world, including the United States, Germany,{{needs update|date=October 2024}} China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, and countries in Latin America.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} Gomel State Medical University provides classes in both English and Russian. Many prominent scientists{{who|date=October 2024}} work here as senior lecturers.


==People== ==Culture==
Throughout the eight hundred-year history of Gomel, only a few sights have been preserved. A small part of them belong to the 1700s and 1800s, the main part belongs to the 20th - 21st centuries. Most of the architectural monuments of the 20th century date back to the 1950s. Most of them are concentrated in the central part of the city.
*], the first Israeli boxing world champion

*], Belarusian Olympic champion and world champion sprint canoer
The Ferris Wheel and the Ferris Tower, located in a park a few hundred meters from the palace complex, are popular for exploring the city. Since the topography of Gomel is relatively flat, the height of the surrounding buildings means it is easy to view the city from the wheel and tower.
*], professional ice hockey player, currently with the ]

*], a Soviet ] (1957–1985) and ] of the ] of the ] (1985–1988)
==Notable residents==
]]]
* ] (1957–2020), athlete
* ] (1885–1938), a prominent member of the Belarusian independence movement of the early 20th century, the only woman at ] and a victim of Stalin's purges of 1937-38<ref>{{cite book | last=Rudling | first=Per A. | title=The rise and fall of Belarusian nationalism, 1906-1931 | publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press | publication-place=Pittsburgh, Pa. | date=2015 | isbn=978-0-8229-7958-6 | oclc=900622615}}</ref>
*] (1770–1857), ] rabbi, author of several works of ]<ref>. ''Chabad.org''. Accessed 20 April 2014.</ref>
*] (born 1980), the first Israeli boxing world champion
*] (born 1936), Belarusian Olympic champion and world champion sprint canoer
*] (born 1976), athlete
*] (born 1982), professional flutist, political prisoner in ] no 4
*] (born 1947), former Belarusian/Russian mob boss
*] (1909–1989), a Soviet ] (1957–1985) and ] of the ] (1985–1988)
*] (born 1994), competitive programming champion
*] (born 1984), retired professional ice hockey player, 10 seasons in the ]
*] (born 1936), artist
*], (1873–1960) Yiddish singer *], (1873–1960) Yiddish singer
*] (1912–1991), American songwriter<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110810105331732|title=Dick Manning}}</ref>
*], Russian businessman and billionaire
*] (born 1972), Russian businessman and billionaire
*], American songwriter
*] (1937–2006), scientist
*], rapper
* ] (born 1979), poet
*], ] from 2003 until December 2010
*] (1868–1937), architect
*], professional road cyclist
*] (1896–1934), psychologist *] (born 1976), rapper
*], Belarusian Olympic medal winner
*] (1770–1857), rabbi of the ] community in Gomel, author of several works of ]<ref>. ''Chabad.org''. Accessed 20 April 2014.</ref>
*], journalist *], journalist
*] (1911–1990), pianist and music educator
*], competitive programming champion
*] (born 1954), ] from 2003 until December 2010
*], athlete
*] (born 1982), professional road cyclist
* ] (born 1978), political activist
*] (1896–1934), psychologist<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41211493|jstor = 41211493|title = PSYCHOLOGY: L. S. Vygotsky's "New" Theory of Mind|last1 = Wertsch|first1 = James V.|journal = The American Scholar|year = 1988|volume = 57|issue = 1|pages = 81–89}}</ref>
*] (born 1965), Belarusian Olympic medal winner



==International relations==
==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Belarus}} {{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Belarus}}
Gomel is ] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partner cities|url=http://gomel.gov.by/en/content/economics/vneshneekonomicheskaya-deyatelnost/goroda-partnyery/|website=gomel.gov.by|publisher=Gomel|access-date=2020-05-19}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
<!--rest - not twinning-->
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|BUL}} ], Bulgaria
*{{flagicon|UKR}} ], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|FRA}} ], France
*{{flagicon|UKR}} ], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|UKR}} ], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|USA}} ], United States
*{{flagicon|CHN}} ], China
*{{flagicon|CHN}} ], China
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|GEO}} ], Georgia
*{{flagicon|LVA}} ], Latvia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|SRB}} ], Serbia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|UKR}} ], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], Russia
<!--rest - not twinning-->
{{div col end}}

=== Former twin towns ===
*{{flagicon|POL}} ], Poland
*{{flagicon|GBR}} ], United Kingdom

On 28 February 2022, the Polish city of Radom ended its partnership with Gomel as a reaction to the Belarusian involvement in the ].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://radom.wyborcza.pl/radom/7,48201,28167153,radom-zerwal-wspolprace-z-rosyjskim-i-bialoruskim-miastem-obywatele.html |language=pl |title=Radom zerwał współpracę z rosyjskim i białoruskim miastem. Obywatele Ukrainy autobusami będą jeździć za darmo | access-date = 12 March 2022}}</ref> On March British city Aberdeen as well ended its partnership with Gomel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aberdeen-news/aberdeen-ends-link-belarus-twin-6769699|title=Aberdeen ends link with Belarus twin city over support for Russian invasion|author=Jamie Saunderson|date=8 Mar 2022|accessdate=2023-10-21}}</ref>


==Notes==
=== Twin towns and sister cities ===
{{notelist}}
Gomel is ] with:
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
*{{flagicon|UKR}} ], ], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|UKR}} ], ], Ukraine
*{{flagicon|UK}} ], Scotland, United Kingdom <small>''(since 1990)''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/web/site/Tourism/SL/tur_TownTwinning.asp|title=Twinning|publisher=Aberdeen City Council|accessdate=2 March 2008}}</ref></small>
*{{flagicon|CZE}} ], Czech Republic
*{{flagicon|CAN}} ], ], Canada
*{{flagicon|IRN}} ], Iran
*{{flagicon|FRA}} ], ], ], France<ref name="Clermont-Ferrand twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.cncd.fr/frontoffice/bdd-region.asp?action=getRegion&id=3#tabs3 |title=National Commission for Decentralised cooperation |accessdate=2013-12-26 |work=Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) |language=French }}{{dead link|date=March 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
||
*{{flagicon|AUS}} ], ], Australia
*{{flagicon|LAT}} ], Latvia
*{{flagicon|RUS}} ], ], Russia
*{{flagicon|POL}} ], ], Poland<ref name="Radom twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.radom.pl/page/192,miasta-partnerskie.html |title=Radom - Miasta partnerskie |accessdate=2013-08-07 |work=Miasto Radom |language=Polish |trans_title=Radom - Partnership cities |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403215958/http://www.radom.pl/page/192%2Cmiasta-partnerskie.html |archivedate=3 April 2013 |deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Radom twins">{{cite web|url=http://radom.naszestrony.pl/?info=miasta_partnerskie|title=Radom - miasta partnerskie|accessdate=2013-08-07|publisher=radom.naszestrony.pl|language= Polish}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|UK}} ], ], England, United Kingdom
*{{flagicon|SRB}} ], Serbia
|}


==References== ==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist|30em}} {{Reflist|30em}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Gomel}} {{Wikivoyage|Gomel}}
{{Commons category|Homel}} {{Commons category|Gomel}}
* *
* *
Line 434: Line 446:
* *
* *
* during ], at ] website. * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108094358/http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=323 |date=8 January 2017 }} during ], at ] website
* {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|1943559|Homyel, Belarus}}


{{Homiel Voblast}} {{Gomel Region}}
{{Belarus Seats}} {{Belarus Seats}}


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] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 20:38, 3 January 2025

City in Gomel Region, Belarus For other uses, see Gomel (disambiguation).

City in Gomel Region, Belarus
Gomel ГомельHomyel
City
Top: Gomel State Circus Arena (left) and Gomel State Post Office heritage building (right) Center: Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace and statue of Nikolay Rumyantsev Bottom: Saint Peters and Pavel Orthodox Church, Gomel Nativity of Virgin Mary Church, and Gomel City Council (left to right)Top: Gomel State Circus Arena (left) and Gomel State Post Office heritage building (right)
Center: Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace and statue of Nikolay Rumyantsev
Bottom: Saint Peters and Pavel Orthodox Church, Gomel Nativity of Virgin Mary Church, and Gomel City Council (left to right)
Flag of GomelFlagCoat of arms of GomelCoat of arms
Gomel is located in BelarusGomelGomelLocation of Gomel in BelarusShow map of BelarusGomel is located in EuropeGomelGomelGomel (Europe)Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 52°26′43″N 30°59′03″E / 52.44528°N 30.98417°E / 52.44528; 30.98417
CountryBelarus
RegionGomel Region
First mentioned1142
Government
 • ChairmanPetr Kirichenko
Area
 • Total139.77 km (53.97 sq mi)
Elevation138 m (453 ft)
Population
 • Total501,102
 • Density3,600/km (9,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK)
Postal code246xx, 247xxx
Area code+375 232(2)
License plate3
Websitewww.gorod.gomel.by

Gomel (Russian: Гомель, IPA: [ˈɡomʲɪlʲ]) or Homyel (Belarusian: Гомель, romanizedHomieĺ, IPA: [ˈɣomʲelʲ]) is a city in Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2024, it is the second-largest city in Belarus with 501,102 inhabitants.

Etymology

There are at least six narratives of the origin of the city's name. The most plausible is that the name is derived from the name of the stream Homeyuk, which flowed into the river Sozh near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. Names of other Belarusian cities are formed along these lines: for example, Polotsk from the river Palata, and Vitebsk from the river Vitsba.

The first appearance of the name, as "Gomy", dates from 1142. Up to the 16th century, the city was mentioned as Hom', Homye, Homiy, Homey, or Homyi. These forms are tentatively explained as derivatives of an unattested *gomŭ of uncertain meaning. The modern name for the city has been in use only since the 16th or 17th centuries.

History

Kievan Rus'

Gomel's inner fortress in the 12th century

Gomel was founded at the end of the 1st millennium AD on the lands of the Eastern Slavic tribal union of Radimichs. It lay on the banks of the Sozh River and the Homeyuk stream. Sozh's high right bank, cut through by canyons, provided a natural fortification. For some time, Gomel was the capital of the Gomel Principality, before it became part of the Principality of Chernigov. Gomel is first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex under the year of 1142 as being territory of the princes of Chernigov. For some time, Gomel was ruled by the prince of Smolensk Rostislav Mstislavich before it was re-captured by Iziaslav III Davidovich, after whose death it belonged to Sviatoslav Olgovich and then to Sviatoslav's son Oleg. Under Oleg, Gomel went to the Principality of Novgorod-Seversk. The next ruler was Igor Svyatoslavich – the hero of The Tale of Igor's Campaign. During this period, the town was a fortified point and the centre of a volost. In the 12th–13th centuries, the city's area was not less than 40 ha, and it had developed various crafts and was connected by trading routes with the cities of northern and southern Rus'. Archeological data have shown that the city was badly damaged during the Mongol-Tatar assault in the first half of the 13th century.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Gomel fortress in the 12th century. Art reconstruction

In 1335, the Gomel region was annexed to the Great Duchy of Lithuania by Algirdas. From 1335 to 1406, it was under the ownership of Prince Patricia Narymuntovich and his sons, from 1406 to 1419 the city was ruled by the grand duke's deputies, from 1419 to 1435 it belonged to Prince Svitrigaila, from 1446 to 1452 to Prince Vasiliy Yaroslavich, from 1452 to 1483 to the Mozhaysk prince Ivan Andreyevich, and from 1483 to 1505 to his son Semyon, who transferred it to the Grand Principality of Moscow.

During the Second Muscovite–Lithuanian War of 1500–1503, Lithuania tried to regain Gomel and other lands transferred to Moscow, but suffered defeat and lost one-third of its territory. In 1535, Lithuanian and Polish forces under Jerzy Radvila, Jan Tarnowski and Andrzej Niemirowicz re-captured the city after the surrender of Moscow's deputy, D. Shchepin-Obolensky. In the same year, the Great Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Kęstutaitis founded the Gomel Starostwo. According to the peace agreement of 1537, Gomel together with its volost remained a Lithuanian possession. In 1535–1565 Gomel is the centre of starostwo, and from 1565 onwards Gomel is in the Rechytsa Powiat of the Minsk Voivodeship.

Coat of Arms of Gomel, 1560

In 1560, the city's first coat of arms was introduced. In 1569, Gomel became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From this moment on, the city became the arena of numerous attacks and battles between Cossacks, Russia and the Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth. In 1572, Gomel Starostwo was given to B. Sapega. At the beginning of the 1570s, Gomel was captured by the forces of Ivan the Terrible, but in 1576 it was re-captured by J. Radvila. In 1581, Gomel was again attacked by Russian troops, and in 1595–1596 it was in the hands of Severyn Nalyvaiko's Cossacks.

After the beginning of the struggle against Orthodox Christianity in Lithuania, Orthodox Nikolayevskiy Cathedral was closed on the order of Greek Catholic Eparch Josaphat Kuntsevych in 1621. In 1633 the city was besieged by the Cossacks of Bulgakov and Yermolin, in 1648 captured by the Golovatskiy's Cossack detachment, and in 1649 by Martyn Nebaba's detachment. After that, Gomel got through several sieges in 1651 but in 1654 was captured by Ivan Zolotarenko's detachment. He and his sons held the city until 1667 and then began to serve under Alexis of Russia, however, after the Truce of Andrusovo Gomel at last returned to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where it first belonged to M. K. Radvila and then – till the annexation by the Russian Empire – to the Czartoryski family. During the Great Northern War Russian forces under Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov stood in Gomel. In 1670, Gomel received Magdeburg rights. Towards the middle of the 17th century, the city fell into crisis mainly due to the struggles mentioned above. It suffered significant damage, the population decreased severely, and many crafts disappeared.

Russian Empire

Gomel became part of the Russian Empire after the first partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772 and was confiscated by the imperial treasury. In 1775, Empress Catherine II gave Gomel and Gomel eldership in the eternal hereditary possession of Russian military commander Pyotr Rumyantsev.

Map of Gomel in 1799

The period when Gomel was part of the Russian Empire was marked by rapid growth of the population, urban infrastructure, and industrial capacity, predominantly after the construction of railways in the late 19th century.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral, designed by architect John Clark, was built in 1809–1819. Nikolay Rumyantsev opened the first high school, hotel courtyard, glass, tile, distilleries, weaving and spinning factories, and he built a church, a synagogue, a pharmacy, a hospice and a permanent wooden bridge across the Sozh river.

After the death of Nikolay Rumyantsev, the city came in possession of his brother Sergei Petrovich Rumyantsev. However, due to lack of money, Sergei indebted Gomel with the state treasury of the Russian Empire. Subsequently, after not being able to pay off the debt, the treasury sold the city. Gomel Palace was acquired by Prince Ivan Paskevich, and the rest of the city by Nicholas I (1838). Paskevich had an English garden made around the palace, which is still in place today. In 1856, the estate passed on to his son Fyodor Ivanovich Paskevich.

In 1852, Gomel became the county town of the former Belitsa county (renamed as Gomel county). This was preceded by the construction of the St. Petersburg–Kiev highway and St. Petersburg–Sebastopol telegraph line, both of which passed through Gomel, and the opening of a beet sugar factory.

The construction of railways in the territory of Belarus in the late 19th century (Libau–Romny Railway in 1873 and Polesia railway in 1888) made Gomel a major railway junction and "attracted in the town many businessmen, caused the establishment of banks, firms and factories, which in turn changed the pastoral and provincial character of a bygone Gomel into a trading and mercantile one"

By 1913, Gomel was a major industrial city with 104,500 inhabitants. Nearly 44% of its industrial output was metalworking, with large workshops servicing the rolling stock of Libau–Romny Railway and Polesia railway. Other significant industries were timber processing, match manufacturing, breweries and churning.

Civil war and early Soviet era

Preceding the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, on 1 March 1918 the city was occupied (the Executive Committee of the Gomel Council of Workers' Deputies had left already on 21 February) by German forces. In March 1918, the city became part of Chernihiv Governorate of the Ukrainian State. After the overthrow of the Ukrainian State Gomel was administered by the Ukrainian People's Republic for 25 days.

Districts and population of the city

On 14 January 1919, Gomel was occupied by the Red Army. In March 1919, the largest uprising against the Bolsheviks occurred in Gomel, known as the short-lived Strekopytov Revolt. Rebels seized strategic facilities and executed members of the Soviet leadership in the city. The uprising was crushed by Red Army units dispatched to Gomel.

In 1919, Gomel became the centre of the Gomel Governorate in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. After the end of the hostilities, restoration of industry and transport began. In the 1920s, a number of large businesses had been created: shipyards, a factory named "Polespechat", a shoe factory named "Trud", a bakery, and the first phase of a municipal power plant. In 1926 the city was passed to the Byelorussian SSR.

By 1940, 264 industrial enterprises had been established.

World War II

During World War II, Gomel was under Nazi occupation from 19 August 1941 until 26 November 1943. The city was taken by Rokossovsky's Belorussian Front during the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed. The population of Gomel had dropped dramatically. According to the data of the registry, the population of Gomel numbered less than 15,000 inhabitants, compared to 144,000 in 1940.

Post-war period

After the war, restoration of Gomel began promptly. The majority of pre-revolutionary buildings were lost. City streets were considerably expanded, and buildings in Stalinist style were erected. In 1950, almost all of the pre-war enterprises resumed their work.

Chernobyl disaster

As a result of the disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on 26 April 1986, Gomel suffered radioactive contamination. At the beginning of the 21st century, a scientific centre and practice for radiation medicine and human ecology was built in Gomel to overcome and study the consequences of the catastrophe at Chernobyl.

The development of radiological dose values varies between individual villages in severely contaminated regions, depending on the surroundings and the economic orientation. In general, life is possible in these areas today, even in formerly closed-off zones, if appropriate dietary rules are observed.

Recent history

On 27 July 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was drafted. Gomel became a city in the independent state of the Republic of Belarus the following year.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gomel became an important base for Russian forces.

Population

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In 2013, the city's population numbered 515,325, indicating a positive population growth and hence a reversal of the demographic crisis that began in 1993.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1775 5,000—    
1858 13,700+174.0%
1880 23,600+72.3%
1897 36,775+55.8%
1913 104,500+184.2%
1925 81,900−21.6%
1931 109,900+34.2%
1939 139,120+26.6%
YearPop.±%
1943 15,000−89.2%
1959 168,270+1021.8%
1970272,253+61.8%
1979382,785+40.6%
1989500,846+30.8%
1999475,500−5.1%
2009482,652+1.5%
2019510,459+5.8%

Jewish community

After the annexation of Gomel by the Russian Empire and the creation of the Pale of Settlement, Gomel gradually became a centre of resettlement for the Jewish population of Russia. According to the 1897 census, 55% of the population of Gomel were Jews. In 1903, there was a violent pogrom against the Jewish population of the city. From that moment on, a gradual decrease of the number of Jews in the city began. 40,880 Jews lived in Gomel in 1939, when they comprised 29.4% of the total population. Most Jews had left the city in anticipation of German occupation, but still between 3,000 and 4,000 Gomel Jews fell victim to the Holocaust. The end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s saw mass emigration of Jews from Gomel, but at the same time restoration of Jewish institutions in the city by the remaining Jewish inhabitants.

Geography

Gomel is situated in the southeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the river Sozh, 302 km (188 mi) south-east of Minsk, 534 km (332 mi) east of Brest, 171 km (106 mi) south of Mogilev, 237 km (147 mi) west of Bryansk and 111 km (69 mi) north of Chernihiv.

The terrain on which the city as a whole is built, is flat. On the right bank of the river, it is a gradually decreasing plain water-glacial and fluvial terrace of the Sozh river. The left bank is a low-lying alluvial plain. The highest elevation of 144 meters above sea level is found at the northern outskirts of Gomel, the lowest elevation of 115 m at the water boundary Sozh river. Novobelitskiy district, which is located on the left bank of the river (i.e., towards the south), has elevations averaging of 10–15 meters lower than the northern and central parts of the city.

On the left bank of the Sozh many kilometers of beaches can be found.

Climate

View of the city after a summer rainstorm

Gomel has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb, Trewartha Dcbo). Summers see occasional heat spells in the 30s, and are comparatively long, lasting from mid-May to early September, with more than 113 days averaging above 15 °C (59 °F) and highs reaching 30 °C (86 °F) on roughly 13 days per year. On 7 August 2010, Gomel recorded a temperature of 38.9 °C (102.0 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Belarus. Like the rest of the central band of the East European Plain, the city has its minimum of relative humidity in May, which results from the rapidly rising temperatures and increased air’s water holding capacity. Unlike the eastern portion thereof, however, it does not have a second minimum in July or August as the temperatures are not high enough to dry out the soil to the extent where evapotranspiration drops significantly, thus preventing the surface layers of the air from moisturizing. Precipitation is common year-round, but even more so in the summer. July in particular brings ample rainfall, often in the form of thunderstorms. Winters, on the other hand, beginning in December and ending in early March, are generally marked by persistently gray skies, subfreezing daily means, and rather moderate snow depths. Thaws are not by any means uncommon and only 48 days throughout the three winter months won’t have temperatures climb above freezing. Based on smoothed daily means, the period of air frost is about 116 days.

Coming with the prevailing westerlies, the frequent invasion of maritime air masses from the Atlantic moderates the climate, explaining the mild winters and relatively cool, somewhat cloudy summers compared to those farther inland. Overall, there is an average of 24 thunderstorms and 42 foggy days annually. Gomel’s bioclimatic type is upper supratemperate subhumid.

Climate data for Gomel (1991–2020, extremes 1927–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.0
(50.0)
15.8
(60.4)
24.2
(75.6)
29.3
(84.7)
32.5
(90.5)
36.2
(97.2)
37.9
(100.2)
38.9
(102.0)
34.9
(94.8)
27.5
(81.5)
18.0
(64.4)
11.6
(52.9)
38.9
(102.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −1.8
(28.8)
−0.5
(31.1)
5.3
(41.5)
14.1
(57.4)
20.5
(68.9)
23.9
(75.0)
25.9
(78.6)
25.1
(77.2)
19.0
(66.2)
11.5
(52.7)
4.0
(39.2)
−0.5
(31.1)
12.2
(54.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.2
(24.4)
−3.5
(25.7)
1.3
(34.3)
9.0
(48.2)
15.0
(59.0)
18.6
(65.5)
20.4
(68.7)
19.3
(66.7)
13.7
(56.7)
7.4
(45.3)
1.6
(34.9)
−2.7
(27.1)
8.0
(46.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.5
(20.3)
−6.2
(20.8)
−2.2
(28.0)
4.3
(39.7)
9.8
(49.6)
13.5
(56.3)
15.4
(59.7)
14.2
(57.6)
9.2
(48.6)
4.0
(39.2)
−0.4
(31.3)
−4.8
(23.4)
4.2
(39.6)
Record low °C (°F) −35.0
(−31.0)
−35.1
(−31.2)
−33.7
(−28.7)
−13.6
(7.5)
−2.5
(27.5)
−0.2
(31.6)
6.0
(42.8)
1.2
(34.2)
−3.2
(26.2)
−12.0
(10.4)
−21.7
(−7.1)
−30.8
(−23.4)
−35.1
(−31.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 36
(1.4)
35
(1.4)
36
(1.4)
35
(1.4)
64
(2.5)
73
(2.9)
100
(3.9)
56
(2.2)
52
(2.0)
58
(2.3)
45
(1.8)
42
(1.7)
632
(24.9)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 8
(3.1)
9
(3.5)
6
(2.4)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
2
(0.8)
5
(2.0)
9
(3.5)
Average rainy days 8 7 10 13 14 16 14 12 14 14 13 9 144
Average snowy days 18 17 10 2 0.1 0 0 0 0.03 2 10 16 75
Average relative humidity (%) 86 83 77 66 64 69 70 71 77 81 87 88 77
Mean monthly sunshine hours 43.3 72.5 143.9 201.3 272.6 293.7 297.9 269.9 194.4 119.9 47.0 32.1 1,988.5
Percent possible sunshine 19 25 37 42 54 54 54 55 45 35 17 13 41
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net
Source 2: NOAA, Belarus Department of Hydrometeorology (percent sun 1957–1960 and 1973–2000)

Transportation

A trolleybus in the city centre in 2015

The public transportation system uses over 1,000 buses and trolleybuses. Over 210 million passenger rides were registered in 2006. Taxi services ($10 for a one-way intracity ride) are available 24 hours a day. The city is an important railroad hub in the southeastern part of Belarus, as it is situated midway on the MinskKyiv rail link. The strategic location of Gomel near the border with Russia and Ukraine provides a direct connection to both countries’ vast railroad networks.

The trolleybus network opened on 20 May 1962 and now consists of 23 routes (not counting variations). On 15 December 2010, following the construction of an overhead wire network in Egorenko, Sviridov, and Chechersk Streets, a new trackless trolley line opened to the terminus "Klinkowski Neighborhood," which resulted in a change of the trolleybus routes 9, 16, and 17. The length of the network is about 74 km (46 mi), and the total length of the trolleybus routes is 475 km (295 mi). The rolling stock comprises ACSM-201, ACSM-321, MAZ-203T, and ACSM-213 types. There are more than 60 bus routes totaling 670 km (416 mi), and a number of express routes. The rolling stock consists mainly of MAZ-105, MAZ-107, MAZ-103 buses, and to a lesser extent MAZ-203, MAZ-206, and since 2014, the extra-large-capacity, low-floor MAZ-215. Express routes use Rodemich-A type buses. The 24 minibus lines use Ford Transit, GAZelle, Mercedes-Benz, and Peugeot vans.

Gomel Airport is located 8 km (5 mi) northeast of the city.

Sports

Central Stadium

Gomel is home to a wide range of sports facilities that have been developed and improved in recent years. These facilities, including eight stadiums and the Ice Palace, which has two ice arenas, support common activities such as hockey, track and field, and football. HK Gomel of the Belarusian Extraleague is the local pro hockey team. The Central Stadium is the home of Gomel's local football club, FC Gomel. Gomel hosts multiple international competitions in these facilities, the annual "Bells of Chernobyl" competition being one of the many. In addition to sports facilities, Gomel has a multitude of Olympic Reserve Schools, which are more commonly referred to as sports schools.

Many of Gomel's sports schools prepare athletes from a young age. Numerous champions have been trained by schools such as these. For example, one school, Gomel's Olympic Reserve Number 4, has trained 97 World and European champions as well as two Olympic athletes. Gomel State College of Olympic Reserve, on the other hand, trains coaches rather than athletes. From this school, 44 graduates have participated in the Olympics, European championships, and World championships. Gomel also participates in the Deaflympics and, between the years 2007–2009, has been awarded: two gold medals, one silver medal, and two bronze medals.

Education

Since 1990, Francisk Skorina Gomel State University, Pavel Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel, and Gomel State Medical University have attracted many international students from countries around the world, including the United States, Germany, China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, and countries in Latin America. Gomel State Medical University provides classes in both English and Russian. Many prominent scientists work here as senior lecturers.

Culture

Throughout the eight hundred-year history of Gomel, only a few sights have been preserved. A small part of them belong to the 1700s and 1800s, the main part belongs to the 20th - 21st centuries. Most of the architectural monuments of the 20th century date back to the 1950s. Most of them are concentrated in the central part of the city.

The Ferris Wheel and the Ferris Tower, located in a park a few hundred meters from the palace complex, are popular for exploring the city. Since the topography of Gomel is relatively flat, the height of the surrounding buildings means it is easy to view the city from the wheel and tower.

Notable residents

Leonid Geishtor


Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Belarus

Gomel is twinned with:

Former twin towns

On 28 February 2022, the Polish city of Radom ended its partnership with Gomel as a reaction to the Belarusian involvement in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On March British city Aberdeen as well ended its partnership with Gomel.

Notes

  1. Official transliteration (2023).
  2. Sum of positive temperatures based on climate data table.

References

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External links

Subdivisions of Gomel Region, Belarus
Districts
(raions)
Coat of arms of Gomel Region
Cities and towns
Administrative seats of the regions of Belarus
Categories: