Kamenets is a beautiful town in the Brest region of Belarus, situated on the banks of Lesnaya ("The Forest") river
Kamenets was founded in 1276 after the duke Vladimir of Volyn told to do so. The town-planner build a wooden fortress with a tower in the middle. The tower that survived to our days, was an important post that defended the town. Now it's a historical trademark sign of the town.
Jews are first mentioned in local chronicles in 1500. By the middle of the 19th century Jews comprised the majority of town's population. Jews were engaged in trade, craftsmanship and pharmacy. There were windmills that belonged to Jews. Sometimes the local authorities gave the Jewish community an opportunity to manage farms, which they did excellently.
There were six synagogues in the town, one of them still active – the Der-Meyer synagogue was built in 19th century.
The routine of the community was ruined before and during the World War II. Firstly, the Soviet rule abandoned private property and closed the synagogues. Then, during the Nazi occupation a ghetto was founded. The Jewish population there was persecuted, treated in cruelty. Some amount of Kamenets' Jews managed to escape thanks to efforts of the locals that tried to help.
Those who survived the war, emigrated from Kamenets abroad.
Places of interest:
• The Big Der-Meyer synagogue, preserved to our days
• The Hall of Culture, that was previously a synagogue named "Talmud Knesset Beit Yitzhak"
• The "Beit-Midrash" former yeshivah. It's a military enlistment office today
• There are some gravestones that remained from the period of the Jewish cemetery, dated 19th-early 20th century
• A house built in 1779 at Lenin street, formerly the house of local Jewish leather seller
Jewish community nowadays:
The community in Kamenets is not active anyway nowadays. Jews that survived the Holocaust, emigrated to other countries, including USA and Israel. Although there are emigrants that sometimes return to see what was their hometown.