The city is located 300 kilometers away from Minsk. Railways connect it with Mosty, Bialystok (Poland) and Vilnius (Lithuania), and motorway link the city with Minsk, Kaunas (Lithuania) and Lida.
Grodno was first mentioned in historic papers in 1116 as a fortress founded on the bank of the river Neman to control merchant vessels. In the 13th century the city became part of the Great Principality of Lithuania.
In 1284 the city was seized by crusaders, later it was many times attacked by Teutonic Knights.
Grodno city (275 km from Minsk). The first mentioning of Grodno appeared in 1128 A. D. Grodno is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. It was founded in the 11-th century on the picturesque hilly banks of the Neman River. The city takes the first place among Belarusian towns in perseverance of its monuments. Unique relics and monuments of almost all periods of the human history (beginning from the 12-th century), evidencing the Belarusian people's high culture and great skill, survived in Grodno: the orthodox Church of St. Boris and Gleb (It's only one church in Belarus, kept from the 12-th century); the Old Castle (an architectural and historical monument of the 16-th century); the New Castle (a historical monument of the 18-th century); catholic churches and cloisters of the 17-18th centuries. The Old Town is one of the most interesting sights of Grodno, where nearly whole city quarters carry architectural styles of different epochs. There are 300 000 inhabitants in Grodno. The city has The Drama Theatre, Puppet-Show; The Historical - Archaeological Museum, The Museum of the History of Religion, famous for the unique exhibits; where animals from almost all corners of the Earth found home; The State University, 7 institutes, 2 picture-galleries.
In the XVIth – XVIIIth centuries formed the unique complete ensemble of the city building pattern which even today sets Grodno out of other cities of Belarus. The number of monuments of history, architecture, and town-planning that have remained intact in the city on the Nieman river allows to speak of it as the museum-city with a special inherent charm. One can keenly feel here the presence of the past and the historical pulse of the city. . .
Grodno has more than 300 thousand residents. National societies of the Russians, Poles, Lithuanians, Tatars, Germans, Jews and Ukrainians operate here. Therefore, every other year the International Festivals of National Cultures are held in Grodno.
Grodno, is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River (Нёман), close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania (about 20 km and 30 km away respectively). It has 327, 540 inhabitants (2009 census (voblast) and Grodno raion (district).
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