Rakaŭ

Rakaw or Rakov is an agrotown in Valozhyn District, Minsk Region, Belarus. It stands on the Islach River from Valozhyn and from Minsk, the capital of Belarus. In 2001, it had a population of 2,106.

==History== The area has been inhabited since ancient times, which was proven when the settlement known as Valy was found on the river Islach. In the 16th century, the ruins were used as a platform for feudal castle building. The Rakaw castle can be found on the map created by Tomasz Makowski in 1613. In 14th-century documents, settlements near-contemporary Rakaw are mentioned for the first time. Rakaw itself is mentioned in 15th-century chronicles. In 1465 Casimir Jagiellon gave Rakaw as a gift to the chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Mykolas Kęsgaila. In 1550, it passed to Jan Zawisza of Zadora coat of arms as a part of an inheritance. Raków was a private town, administratively located in the Mińsk Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the 17th century, it passed to the Sanguszko family. In 1686, noblewoman Konstancja Teodora Sanguszko founded a Dominican Catholic monastery, and in 1702 Kazimierz Sanguszko, voivode of Minsk, founded a Basilian Uniat monastery.