Antopal

Antopal Антопаль
Old bank in Antopal, 2009
Country	Belarus
Region	Brest Region
District	Kobryn District

Antopal or Antopol (Belarusian: Антопаль, Russian: Антополь, Yiddish: אנטיפאליע‎ Antipolie, Polish: Antopol) is an agrotown in Belarus near the towns of Kobryn and Brest (Brest-Litowski). The approximate population in a 7 kilometer area from the center of this town is 2,469.

Antopol is situated in the Polesian Lowland near the river Pripyat which flows into the Dnieper River. The Polesian Plain is a region of lakes and moors, well suited for agriculture. It changed hands frequently between Poland and Russia. Between the two world wars, western Polesia was part of the Kresy region of Poland.

According to Encyclopedia Judaica published during the Cold War, Jews lived in Polesia already in the 14th century. They settled in Antopal in the middle of the 17th Century. The town has an old Jewish Cemetery and a bathhouse. During the Swedish occupation (1706) many Antopal Jews were killed. On the road to the town there are rows of Jewish graves, called "The Swedes." Two emissaries from Jerusalem visited Antopal in the 1880s and mentioned the Jewish community in their records. In 1847, there were 1108 Jews in Antopal and in 1897 about 3140, out of a total population of 3,870.

From time to time, fires broke out in the town. In 1869, almost the entire town was burned down and then rebuilt. Before the 2nd World War, there were 5 Beth Midrash in the town and also a Hassidic Shtibl. The old synagogue burned down during the 1st world war and a new synagogue was built in its place.