Grodno

In 2002, Grodno is a city and a district in Belarus, a member of the Confederated Independent States of the former Soviet Union. The Lithuanian name of the city is Gardinas. The grand dukes of Lithuania allowed the creation of a Jewish commune in 1389. It was one of the first Jewish communities in the grand duchy. The name of the city in Yiddish as גראָדנע. L. L. Zamenhof (1859 - 1917), the creator of Esperanto, was active in Grodno.

The Grodno district is located in northwest Belarus, bordering on the north with Lithuania and on the west with Poland. Over the centuries it has been included in these other countries or in Russia, in 1891 it was in Russia. Four rivers - the Bug, Narew, Nieman, and Bover - run through the district

1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article
Brief history and old photographs with an 1887 census near the bottom of the page.
Another history with photographs
Early history of the jewish community of Grodno before 1650 with some pictures.
More photographs
A longer and somewhat confusing history of Grodno with more 1887 census information.
History of the Jewish community of Grodno
Remembrances by Yekheskl Kotik recalling a visit to Grodno by Czar Aleksander II (1818-1881)
Are Russian Jews Descended from the Khazars?
indicates that the Khazars founded a glass factory in Hrodna (Grodno) in the late ninth century or the early tenth century.
Jewish genealogical records in Belarus a lecture
National historical archives of Belarus in Grodno searchable for a fee.
Grodno travelogue 1996

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