Rakaw

The Church of Saint Virgin Mary in Rakaw is a Catholic church in Minsk Region, Belarus. It was constructed between 1904 and 1906 on the bank of the Islach river and consecrated in the name of Our Lady of the Rosary. The church is listed as a Belarusian Cultural Heritage object. The Catholic parish in Rakaw was established in 1676, and the first wooden church was built then. In ten years it became a part of the Dominican monastery. The church was destroyed by fire in 1712 and 1812, but restored both times. In 1835 the monastery was closed and the church became a parish. Between 1904 and 1906 the current Neo-Gothic stone church was constructed on the site of the former wooden one. The new church was made of yellow bricks and decorated with counterforts, peaked windows and arches, and a rose window in the main facade.

The Rakaw Ghetto was established on 21 August 1941 in Rakaw, in the Byelorussian SSR of the Soviet Union (now Belarus), soon after the city's capture by Nazi Germany during Operation Barbarossa. An estimated 1,050 Jews were killed in the ghetto between its creation on 21 August 1941 and its liquidation on 4 February 1942.

The Belarusian Ridge (Belarusian: Беларуская града, romanized: Bielaruskaja hrada) is a line of terminal moraines, which is almost entirely in the northwest of Belarus. The feature is part of the East European Plain. This ridge, consisting of low, rolling hills, runs for about 500 km in the direction from west-southwest to east-northeast, from the area of the Brest region, which is close to the border of Poland to the Russian town of Smolensk. The ridge is a limit of the last advance of the ice sheet, which defines its geological constitution: mostly moraine loams with added glacial and alluvial sediments. River valleys divide the ridge into sections, uplands. The ridge stretches approximately from west to east and separated two major lowlands: Polesie Lowland to the south and Neman Lowland and Polatsk Lowland to the north.

Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (Belarusian: Дзяржынская гара, romanized: Dziaržynskaja hara, [dzʲarˈʐɨnskaja]) is the highest point in Belarus. The hill is 345 meters (1,130 ft) above sea level and is located west of the capital Minsk, near Dzyarzhynsk, in the village of Skirmantava. The original name of the hill was Svyataya hara (Belarusian: Святая гара, lit. 'holy mountain'). In 1958, the hill was renamed Dzyarzhynskaya hara, in honour of Soviet revolutionary and politician Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the OGPU.

Harani (Belarusian: Гарані; Russian: Горани, romanized: Gorani) is a village in Minsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It is administratively part of Harani selsoviet. It is located about 15.5 kilometres (9.6 mi) from the Minsk Ring Road, west of the capital Minsk. In 2010, it had a population of 128.

Skirmantava (Belarusian: Скірмантава; Russian: Скирмантово, romanized: Skirmantovo) is an agrotown in Dzyarzhynsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It is administratively part of Putchina selsoviet. It is located 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Dzyarzhynsk and 49 kilometres (30 mi) from the capital Minsk. As of 2009, it has a population of 617.

Navasyellye (Belarusian: Наваселле, romanized: Navasiellie; Russian: Новоселье, romanized: Novoselye) is an agrotown in Minsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Harani rural council. It is located 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of the capital Minsk. In 1999, it had a population of 1,221. In 2010, it had a population of 1,231.

Chachkava (Belarusian: Чачкава, romanized: Čačkava; Russian: Чачково, romanized: Chachkovo) is an agrotown in Minsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It is administratively part of Harani rural council. It is located about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the Minsk Ring Road, west of the capital Minsk. In 2010, it had a population of 1,047.

Pyatryshki (Belarusian: Пятрышкі, romanized: Piatryški; Russian: Петришки, romanized: Petrishki) is an agrotown in Minsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Pyatryshki selsoviet. It is located about 24 kilometres (15 mi) northwest of the capital Minsk. In 2001, it had a population of 1,844. In 2010, it had a population of 2,005.

Zaslawye or Zaslavl is a town in Minsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of the capital Minsk. In 2009, its population was 14,400. As of 2025, it has a population of 17,317.

Lashany (Belarusian: Лашаны, romanized: Lašany; Russian: Лошаны, romanized: Loshany) is an agrotown in Minsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Lashany rural council. It is located 26 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of the capital Minsk. In 1998, it had a population of 539. In 2010, it had a population of 654.