Lida

Lida (Ліда, ˈljid̪ä; Лида, ˈljid̪ə; Lyda; Ļida; Lida, ˈlid̪ä; Lyde) is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. The name Lida arises from its Lithuanian name Lyda, which derives from lydimas, meaning "slash-and-burn" agricultural method or a plot of land prepared in this way. Names in other languages are spelled as Lida and לידע. There are passing mentions of Lida in chronicles from 1180. Until the early 14th century, the settlement at Lida was a wooden fortress in Lithuania proper. In 1323, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas built a brick fortress there. The generally considered founding year of Lida is 1380. The fortress withstood Crusader attacks from Prussia in 1392 and 1394 but was burned to the ground in 1710. Following the death of Gediminas, when Lithuania was divided into principalities, Lida became the capital of one of them, the seat of Algirdas. Lida was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After the Union of Krewo (1385), when the Polish–Lithuanian Union was established, and the subsequent Christianization of Lithuania, the Catholic parish was established in the former Lithuanian pagan lands, and a church, whose ruins still exist, was built by King Władysław II Jagiełło, who visited Lida two times, in 1415 and 1422. In the 15th century, the town became a centre of production by craftsmen and trade. Lida was connected with Vilnius, Navahrudak and Minsk. The town had a market square and four streets: Wileńska, Zamkowa, Kamieńska and Krivaya. In 1506, a Sejm was held in Lida, convened by King Aleksander Jagiellon and the Polish-Lithuanian army gathered here before the Battle of Kletsk, in which it defeated the invading Tatars. In 1588, Lida became the seat of Lida District in Vilnius Voivodeship. Polish King Sigismund III Vasa granted Lida Magdeburg town rights in 1590, which were later confirmed in Warsaw by Kings Władysław IV Vasa in 1640 and Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki in 1670 and by the Polish Sejm in 1776.