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A 'shtetl' (, diminutive form of Yiddish 'shtot' שטאָט, "town", pronounced very similarly to the South German diminutive"Städtle", "little town") was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust Central and Eastern Europe. Shtetls (Yiddish plural: שטעטלעך, ''shtetlekh'') were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia, and Romania. A larger city, like Lemberg or Czernowitz, was called a ''shtot'' (); a smaller village was called a ''dorf'' ().
The concept of shtetl culture is used as a metaphor for the traditional way of life of 19th-century Eastern European Jews. Shtetls are portrayed as pious farming communities following Orthodox Judaism, socially stable and unchanging despite outside influence or attacks.

Contents

History

Shtetls (listed by present-day country)

Others

Shtetl in fiction and folklore

See also

Reference

External links

History

History of the oldest Eastern European shtetls began about a millennium ago and saw periods of relative tolerance and prosperity as well as times of extreme poverty, hardships and pogroms.
The May Laws introduced by Tsar Alexander III of Russia in 1882 banned Jews from rural areas and towns of fewer than ten thousand people. In the 20th century revolutions, civil wars, industrialization and the Holocaust destroyed traditional shtetl existence. However, Hasidic Jews have founded new communities in the United States, such as Kiryas Joel and New Square.
There is a belief found in historical and literary writings that the shtetl disintegrated before it was destroyed during World War II; however, this alleged cultural break-up is never clearly defined.[1]

Shtetls (listed by present-day country)

=== Lithuania===

★
★ Jurbarkas

★
★ Šiauliai

★
★ Tavian (''Tevyan'' or ''Tavyan'' or ''Taujenai'')

★
★ Trakai, Karaite community

★
★ Tryškiai
=== Belarus ===

★
★ Antopol [2]

★
★ Berezino

★
★ Chavusy (''Chausy'' or ''Chaussy'')

★
★ Davyd-Haradok [3]

★
★ Hrodna

★
★ Ivye

★
★ Lakhva

★
★ Lyubavichi

★
★ Luniniec (''Luninietz'' or ''Luniniets'')

★
★ Motol

★
★ Obech, Belarus

★
★ Pinsk

★
★ Polotsk

★
★ Shklov

★
★ Slonim

★
★ Slutsk

★
★ Vitebsk
=== Poland ===
:: Note: Towns formerly in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia are marked with "(G)". Towns in formerly Russian Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (Zaglembia) are marked with "(Z)".

★
★ Bardijev

★
★ Będzin (''Bendin'') (Z)

★
★ Bełchatów

★
★ Białobrzegi

★
★ Białystok

★
★ Bielsk-Podlaski (''Bielsk-Podliask'')

★
★ Bircza (G)

★
★ Brody

★
★ Brzeźnica

★
★ Brzozów (G)

★
★ Bukowsko (G)

★
★ Bytom (''Beuthen'')

★
★ Chełm

★
★ Chęciny (''Khentshin'')

★
★ Ciechanów

★
★ Czeladź (Z)

★
★ Częstochowa (''Tshenstkhov'')

★
★ Czyżewo

★
★ Dąbrowa Tarnowska (''Dombrov'') (G)

★
★ Dąbrowa Górnicza (Z)

★
★ Dębica (''Dembits'') (G)

★
★ Dukla (G)

★
★ Dynów (G)

★
★ Frysztak(''Fristik'') (G)

★
★ Gąbin (''Gombin'') ([4])

★
★ Głogów Małopolski (G)

★
★ Głowaczów

★
★ Głowno

★
★ Gorlice (G)

★
★ Gostynin

★
★ Góra Kalwaria (''Ger'')

★
★ Grębów (G)

★
★ Grodzisk Mazowiecki

★
★ Hrubieszów (''Rubieshov'')

★
★ Iłża (Drildzh)

★
★ Inowłódz

★
★ Iwaniska (''Ivansk'')

★
★ Jabłonka

★
★ Janów Sokolski

★
★ Jarosław (G)

★
★ Jasło (''Yaslo'') (G)

★
★ Jedwabne

★
★ Kamieńsk (''Kaminsk'')

★
★ Kańczuga (G)

★
★ Kielce (''Kelts'')

★
★ Kiernozia

★
★ Kleczew (''Kletchoi'')

★
★ Klimontów

★
★ Knyszyn

★
★ Kock, north of Lublin, the town of the Rabbi Menahem Mendel (1787-1859) and the site of two battles

★
★ Kolbuszowa (G)

★
★ Kolno

★
★ Korczyna (G)

★
★ Kozienice

★
★ Krasnosielc

★
★ Krosno (G)

★
★ Łańcut (G)

★
★ Łask

★
★ Lelów

★
★ Leżajsk (''Lizhensk'') (G)

★
★ Łomża

★
★ Łosice

★
★ Lubaczów (G)

★
★ Majdan Królewski (G)

★
★ Międzyrzec Podlaski (''Mezritsh'')

★
★ Mielec (Melits) (G)

★
★ Mińsk Mazowiecki (''Novominsk'')

★
★ Mława

★
★ Mstów (''Amstov'')

★
★ Mszczonów (''Amshinov'')

★
★ Niebylec (G)

★
★ Nowy Dwór

★
★ Nowy Korczyn (''Nayshtot'')

★
★ Nowy Sącz (''Tsanz'') (G)

★
★ Nur

★
★ Olkusz (''Elkish'')

★
★ Opatow (''Apt'')

★
★ Opoczno

★
★ Ostrołęka (''Ostrolenka'')

★
★ Ostrów Mazowiecka

★
★ Ożarów

★
★ Pabianice (''Pabenits'')

★
★ Pilica (''Pilts'')

★
★ Pilzno (''Pilsno'') (G)

★
★ Piotrków Trybunalski (''Pyetrykov'')

★
★ Płock

★
★ Połaniec (''Plontch'')

★
★ Przemyśl (''Pshemishyl'') (G)

★
★ Przeworsk (G)

★
★ Radom (''Rudem'')

★
★ Radomsko (''Radomsk'')

★
★ Radomyśl Wielki (G)

★
★ Radziłów (''Radzilow'')

★
★ Radzyń Podlaski

★
★ Ranizów (G)

★
★ Ropczyce (''Ropshits'') (G)

★
★ Różan

★
★ Rozwadów (G)

★
★ Rymanów (G)

★
★ Rzeszów (''Reysha'') (G)

★
★ Sanniki

★
★ Sandomierz (''Tsohzmir'')

★
★ Sanok(''Sunek'') (G)

★
★ Sędziszów Małopolski (G)

★
★ Sejny (Seini)

★
★ Sidra (''Sidre'')

★
★ Sławków (Z)

★
★ Sochocin

★
★ Sokołów Małopolski (G)

★
★ Sompolno

★
★ Sosnowiec (''Sosnovtse'') (Z)

★
★ Staszów (''Stashov/סטאשעוו'')

★
★ Strzyżów (''Strizev'') (G)

★
★ Supraśl

★
★ Suwałki (''Suvalk'')

★
★ Szczebrzeszyn

★
★ Szczuczyn (''Stutshin'')

★
★ Tarnobrzeg (''Dzhikev'') (G)

★
★ Tarnów (''Turne'') (G)

★
★ Tyrawa Wołoska (G)

★
★ Tomaszów Mazowiecki

★
★ Trochenbrod

★
★ Trzcianne

★
★ Tyczyn (G)

★
★ Tykocin (''Tyktin'')

★
★ Ulanów (G)

★
★ Warta (''Dvoort'')

★
★ Wielkie Oczy (''Vilkatch, Vilkatchi'') (G)

★
★ Wizna

★
★ Włoszczowa

★
★ Wojsławice

★
★ Wysokie Mazowieckie

★
★ Wyszogród

★
★ Zabłudów

★
★ Żabno

★
★ Zakroczym

★
★ Zambrów

★
★ Zduńska Wola

★
★ Zelów

★
★ Zgierz (''Zgerzh'')

★
★ Żmigród Nowy (G)

★
★ Zolotnaja [fictitious, from ''Fiddler on the Roof'']

★
★ Żołynia (G)
=== Ukraine ===
::Note: Towns formerly in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia are marked with "(G)".

★
★ Anatevka (fictitious, from ''Fiddler on the Roof'')

★
★ Bar

★
★ Bibrka (G)

★
★ Belz (''Belz'')

★
★ Berdychiv (''Berditchev'') (G)

★
★ Berehove

★
★ Berezhany

★
★ Bolekhiv (''Bolechów'') (G)

★
★ Boryslav (''Borysław'') (G)

★
★ Borzna

★
★ Boiany (''Boyan'')

★
★ Brody (G)

★
★ Bratslav (''Breslov'')

★
★ Buchach

★
★ Budaniv

★
★ Bukachevtsy (''Bukaczowce'')

★
★ Burshtyn (''Burshtin'') (G)

★
★ Chernigov

★
★ Chernivtsi

★
★ Chernobyl (''Chernobyl'')

★
★ Chortkiv (''Chortkov'') (G)

★
★ Delyatin (G)

★
★ Derazhnia

★
★ Dolyna (G)

★
★ Drohobych (G)

★
★ Dunaivtsi

★
★ Gorodenka (G)

★
★ Husiatyn (''Husiatyn'') (G)

★
★ Horodok (G)

★
★ Hornostaypil

★
★ Justingrad

★
★ Kalynivka

★
★ Kalush (Kałusz) (G)

★
★ Kamyanets-P'odils'k'yy (''Kamenets-Podolsk'')

★
★ Khorostkov (''Chorostków'') (G)

★
★ Khotyn (''Hotin'')

★
★ Komsomolske (''Machnovka'')

★
★ Kolki

★
★ Kolomyia (G)

★
★ Korolevo

★
★ Kopychintsy (''Kopyczyńce'') (G)

★
★ Kosiv (''Kosov'') (G)

★
★ Kovel

★
★ Kremenets (''Krzemieniec'')

★
★ Kupel

★
★ Lityn (''Litin'')

★
★ Letychiv

★
★ Liuboml (''Luboml'' or ''Libivne'')

★
★ Lozisht (''Ignatowka'')

★
★ Lvovo

★
★ Lutsk

★
★ Lyubar

★
★ Makariv (''Makarov'')

★
★ Medzhybizh (''Mezhbizh'')

★
★ Mel'nitsa-Podol'skaya (''Mielnica'') (G)

★
★ Mikulints (''Mikulińce'') (G)

★
★ Mukachevo (''Munkacs'') (G)

★
★ Murafa

★
★ Nadvirna (''Nadvorna'')

★
★ Nemyriv

★
★ Nizhyn

★
★ Novohrad-Volynskyi (''Zhvil'')

★
★ Olhopil

★
★ Oles'ko (''Alesk'')

★
★ Ottynia (G)

★
★ Ozeryany (''Jezierzany'') (G)

★
★ Pavoloch (''Pavolitch'')

★
★ Pliskov

★
★ Podgaytsy (''Podhajce'') (G)

★
★ Podkamen (''Podkamień'') (G)

★
★ Pohrebysche

★
★ Polonnoye

★
★ Pomortsy (''Jazłowiec'') (G)

★
★ Poninka

★
★ Priluki

★
★ Probezhna (''Probużna'') (G)

★
★ Rachmastrivka

★
★ Rava-Ruska (G)

★
★ Rohatyn (G)

★
★ Rivne (''Równo'') (G)

★
★ Rozdol (G)

★
★ Rozhnyatov (''Rożniatów'') (G)

★
★ Ruzhyn (''(Ruzhin'')

★
★ Sadagóra (''Sadigura'')

★
★ Sambir (''Sambor'') (G)

★
★ Savran (Savran'')

★
★ Seletin

★
★ Shargorod

★
★ Shchirets (''Szczerzec'') (G)

★
★ Shepetivka

★
★ Shpykiv

★
★ Shumskoye (''Shumsk'')

★
★ Skala-Podol'skaya (''Skala'') (G)

★
★ Skalat (G)

★
★ Skvyra (''Skver'')

★
★ Slavuta

★
★ Snyatyn (''Śniatyn'') (G)

★
★ Snitkov

★
★ Sosnovoye (''Selisht'' or ''Ludvipol'')

★
★ Starokonstantinov

★
★ Stepan

★
★ Storozhynets (''Storojinet'')

★
★ Stryi (''Stryj'') (G)

★
★ Sukhostav (''Suchostaw'') (G)

★
★ Tarashcha

★
★ Teofipol (''Tschon'') (G)

★
★ Tetiev

★
★ Terebovlya (''Trembowla'') (G)

★
★ Tlumach (''Tłumacz'') (G)

★
★ Tluste (''Tovste'') (G)

★
★ Trostyanets (''Trościaniec'') (G)

★
★ Trochinbrod

★
★ Tuchin

★
★ Ulashkovtse (''Ułaszkowce'') (G)

★
★ Uman

★
★ Uzhgorod (''Ungvár'')

★
★ Verkhniy Bystryy

★
★ Vishnevets

★
★ Volochisk

★
★ Voynilov (G)

★
★ Vyzhnytsia (''Vizhnitz'')

★
★ Yavoriv

★
★ Yablanov (''Jabłonów'') (G)

★
★ Yagelnitsa (''Jagielnica'') (G)

★
★ Zabolotov (''Zabłotów'') (G)

★
★ Zbarazh

★
★ Zalishchyky (''Zaleszczyki'') (G)

★
★ Zhmerynka

★
★ Zhovkva (G)

★
★ Zhydachiv (''Zidichov'') (G)

★
★ Zinkiv (''Zinkov'')

★
★ Zlatopol

★
★ Zolochiv (''Zlotshov'') (G)

Others

★
★ Vishki, Latvia [5]

★
★ Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary

★
★ Gura Humorului, Romania

★
★ Radevits, Romania

Shtetl in fiction and folklore

Chelm figures prominently in the Jewish humor as the legendary town of fools. Kasrilevke, the setting of many of Sholom Aleichem's stories, and Anatevka, the setting of the musical ''Fiddler on the Roof'' (based on other stories of Sholom Aleichem) are other notable fictional shtetls.
The 2002 novel ''Everything Is Illuminated'', by Jonathan Safran Foer, tells a fictional story set in the Ukrainian shtetl Trachimbrod.( Trochenbrod )
The 1992 children's book "Something From Nothing," written and illustrated Phoebe Gilman, is an adaptation of a traditional Jewish folktale set in a fictional Shtetl.
==Shtots (larger towns with significant pre - World War II Jewish populations)==

Present-day Country	City/Town	Yiddish Name	Romanized Form	Pre-World War IIJewish Population
Austria	Vienna [6]	װין	''Vin''	166,000 [1]
Belarus	Bobruisk [7]			21,558 [2]
Belarus	Brest [8]	בריסק	''Brisk''	30,000 [3]
Belarus	Minsk [9]	מינסק	''Minsk''	90,000 [4]
Belarus	Pinsk [10]	פינסק	''Pinsk''	20,200 [5]
Czech Republic	Prague [11]	פּראָג	''Prog''	56,000 [6]
Hungary	Budapest [12]	בודאפעסט	''Budapest''	184,000 [7]
Latvia	Daugavpils [13]	דענענבורג	''Denenburg''	11,106 [8]
Latvia	Riga [14]	ריגע	''Rige''	43,672 [9]
Lithuania	Kaunas [15]	קאָװנע	''Kovne''	38,000 [10]
Lithuania	Vilnius [16]	װילנע	''Vilne''	55,000 [11]
Moldova	Chişinău [17]	קעשענעװ	''Keshenev''	70,000 [12]
Poland	Gdańsk [18]	דאַנץ	''Dants''
Poland	Kraków [19]	קראָקע	''Kroke''	60,000 [13]
Poland	Łódź [20]			223,000 [14]
Poland	Lublin [21]	לובלין	''Lublin''	40,000 [15]
Poland	Poznań [22]	פּױזן	''Poyzn''
Poland	Warsaw [23]	װאַרשע	''Varshe''	400,000 [16]
Poland	Wrocław [24]		''Breslau''	10,309 [17]
Romania	Bucharest [25]	בוקארעשט	''Bukaresht''	100,000 [18]
Romania	Cluj-Napoca [26]	קלויזענבורג	''Kloizenberg''	16,763 [19]
Romania	Iaşi [27]	יאס	''Yos''	51,000 [20]
Russia	Kaliningrad	קעניגסבערג	''Kenigsberg''
Slovakia	Bratislava [28]	פרעשבורג	''Pressburg''	14,882 [21]
Ukraine	Chernivtsi [29]	טשערנאָוויץ	''Cernowitz''	50,000 [22]
Ukraine	Ivano-Frankivsk	סטאַניסלעװ	''Stanislev''	30,000 [23]
Ukraine	Kyiv [30]	קיִעװ	''Kiev''	175,000 [24]
Ukraine	Kharkiv			130,200 [25]
Ukraine	Khmelnytskyi [31]		''Proskurev''	13,500 [26]
Ukraine	L'viv [32]	לעמבערג	''Lemberg''	150,000 [27]
Ukraine	Odessa [33]	אַדעס	''Ades''	180,000 [28]
Ukraine	Ternopil [34]			18,000 [29]
Ukraine	Vinnitsa [35]			21,812 [30]
Ukraine	Zhytomyr [36]	זשיטאָמיר	''Zhitomir''	30,000 [31]

See also

★ Jewish diaspora

★ List of Hasidic dynasties

★ History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union

★ History of the Jews in Bessarabia

★ History of the Jews in Carpathian Ruthenia

★ History of the Jews in Poland

★ History of the Jews in Germany

★ Names of European cities in different languages

★ Kiryas Joel, New York

★ New Square, New York

★ Crown Heights, Brooklyn

★ Kiryas Tosh, Quebec

★ Moisés Ville (Argentina)

Reference

1. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t082/t08224.html
2. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t009/t00933.html
3. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t011/t01118.html
4. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t050/t05064.html
5. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t060/t06064.html
6. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t062/t06241.html
7. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t012/t01221.html
8. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t017/t01713.html
9. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t065/t06521.html
10. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t037/t03796.html
11. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t082/t08240.html
12. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t039/t03920.html
13. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t016/t01632.html
14. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t045/t04592.html
15. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t046/t04651.html
16. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t083/t08360.html
17. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t011/t01111.html
18. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t011/t01192.html
19. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t015/t01542.html
20. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t031/t03158.html
21. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t010/t01065.html
22. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t014/t01419.html
23. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t073/t07395.html
24. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t039/t03900.html
25. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t038/t03854.html
26. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t062/t06268.html
27. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t047/t04759.html
28. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t056/t05686.html
29. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t076/t07685.html
30. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t082/t08251.html
31. http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/pages/t087/t08736.html


★ Joshua Rothenberg, "Demythologizing the Shtetl"

External links

★ Boris Feldblyum Collection

★ JewishGen

★
★ The JewishGen ShtetlSeeker

★
★ ShtetLinks

★ Galicia, Diaspora - Jewish Encyclopedia

★ Cities of Poland - Simon Wiesenthal Center Multimedia Learning Center Online

★ Virtual Shtetl

★ Remembering Luboml: images of a Jewish Community

★ The Art of Dora Shampanier

★ Towns in the Encyclopedia of Jewish Life

★ Pre-1939 Kresy (now Ukraine) photo album

★ Jewish Web Index - Polish Shtetls

★ The Lost Jewish Communities of Poland

★ History of the Jews in Poland

★ History of Berdychiv

★ Antopol Yizkor Book

★ The Journey to Trochenbrod and Lozisht aug 2006

★ Shtetl gallery. 80 paintings by Ilex Beller. In German and Russian languages