Country Belarus Raion Svetlahorsk Elevation 131 m (430 ft) Area 25.85 km² Local time Sunday 2:10 AM | Region Gomel The first written mention 1560 Time zone EET (UTC+3) Population 68,593 (2015) Area code 375 | |
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Weather 8°C, Wind S at 18 km/h, 90% Humidity Neighborhoods Paliessie, Mikrarajon Šacilki | ||
Svietlahorsk (Belarusian: Светлаго́рск, [sʲvʲetɫaˈɣorsk], Svetlogorsk (Russian: Светлого́рск), until 1961 Šacilki, Belarusian: Шацілкі) is a town in the Svietlahorsk District of Gomel Region of Belarus, the administrative center of the rajon (district). It is located by the Berezina River and has 68,593 inhabitants (2015 estimate).
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Map of Svietlahorsk, Belarus
Svietlаhorsk-na-Biarezinie (Svietlаhorsk on Biarezina) is also a railroad station on the Zhlobin — Kalinkavichy railway line.
Industry
Within Svietlahorsk there are many industrial activities and organizations. They include: the power plant, a chemical man-made fiber plant, a reinforced concrete industrial complex, a Petroleum producing industry, a pulp and paper milk industry, butter-making factory, a bakery, and an industrial college.
Sights
Within Svietlahorsk there is an Orthodox church and cathedral, a Catholic church, a quay, and a museum of local lore.
Health
Svietlahorsk is the region worst affected by HIV-AIDS in Belarus. Although the city accounts for less than 1% of the population of Belarus, it accounts for close to 30% of all the reported cases of HIV infections. Around 6% of the adult population in Svietlahorsk is HIV positive.
Svietlahorsk, like much of Gomel Region, suffered extensive radioactive fallout after the Chernobyl Accident of 1986. This has led to significant health and ecological issues in the city and surrounding countryside.