Raion Smalyavichy Elevation 250 m (820 ft) | Founded 1963 Time zone EET (UTC+2) | |
 | ||
Zhodzina (officially transliterated as Žodzina, also spelled Zhodino, Belarusian: Жо́дзіна, [ˈʐodzʲina], Russian: Жо́дино, [ˈʐodʲɪnə]), is a city in Belarus, located in the Minsk Region, 50 km to north-east from Minsk. The city covers an area of 19 km² and has a population of 61,800 (2010).
Contents
History
It is one of the newest cities in the country; its construction began in 1963.
Geography
The city, the most populated in the Smalyavichy Raion, is situated 50 km (31 mi) in north-east of Minsk and 15 km (9 mi) south-west of Barysaw. It is crossed by the Plisa river and has a little lake in its southern suburb.
Education
There are nine schools, two high schools, one professional lyceum and Zhodzina polytechnical college in the city. Currently, there are no higher educational institutions in the city.
Economy
The BelAZ automobile factory (The Belarusian Automobile Plant) is the largest employer in the city, and with about 11,000 workers, about one-sixth of the local population work there. Every third mining truck in the world is produced by them - their biggest weighs 360 tonnes and can carry 450 tonnes. Another important factory is the clothing manufacturer "SVITANAK", which produces children's and adults' clothes. Its products are exported to European countries.
Transport
Zhodzina is served by the M1 motorway, part of the European route E30, an international highway that links Berlin and Warsaw to Moscow. It counts two railway stations (Zhodzina and the stop of Zhodzina Yuzhny) on the international line Minsk-Moscow; and its main station is served by some international trains as the Sibirjak Berlin-Novosibirsk. Minsk International Airport is in 40 km (25 mi) from Zhodzina.
Sport
The local football club is the Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino, playing in the Belarusian Premier League. Its home ground is the Torpedo Stadium.