Różanystok r is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and former monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 in northeastern Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, known regionally for both its ornate 18th-century minor basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 and its agricultural magnet school

Magnet school

In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...

. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south-east of Dąbrowa Białostocka, 27 km (17 mi) north of Sokółka, and 60 km (37 mi) north of the regional capital Białystok.

Geography

Różanystok, formerly known as Krzywy Stok ("Crooked Slope"), is located in the township of Dąbrowa Białostocka, which is in turn situated in the Podlaskie region's Sokółka County division. From the years 1975-1998 the area was part of the Białystok Voivodeship (1975-1998) administrative district. The Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

ian city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 of Grodno can be seen from the Basilica's bell tower.

Part of the village's geographical boundary

Border

Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...

 is defined by a stone wall that remains from its days as a monastery.

Różanystok is a stop on the northeastern Poland PKP

Polskie Koleje Panstwowe

is the dominant railway operator in Poland.The company was founded when the former state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union...

 train line, which also stops in Białystok, Sokółka, Augustów

Augustów

Augustów is a town in north-eastern Poland with 29,600 inhabitants . It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , having previously been in Suwałki Voivodeship . It is the seat of Augustów County and of Gmina Augustów.In 1970 Augustów became...

 and Suwałki.

History

The village is home to a well-known Mary, Mother of God shrine

Shrine

A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....

, to which tens of thousands of pilgrim

Pilgrim

A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...

s travel each year. The shrine's focus is a 17th-century image of Mary holding the infant Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 which is believed to be miraculous. A "coronation" celebration for the Różanystok icon was held on June 28, 1981, and the church was named a minor basilica on August 30, 1987.http://rozanystok.pl/historia/?go=rys

Since 1954, Różanystok has also been the location of a state-run Zespól Szkól Rolniczych (Group Agricultural School). The school's five-year technical program prepares students for work in agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and related fields, while its four-year economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 program prepares students for work in business and/or advanced studies at the university level.

The church complex was used as a military storage depot during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and several of its buildings were destroyed in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.http://rozanystok.pl/historia/?go=rys

Demographics

Most of Różanystok's 510 residents, who primarily live in two three-story apartment buildings within the village, attend, work at, or are retired from employment at the school.

External links

• Official church homepage
• Polish Wikipedia entry - includes geographical coordinates and link to Google map
• Official pilgrimage website (Polish)
• Rozanystok photos on TrekEarth