Gomel ( /ˈɡoʊməl/); also Homiel, Homel (Belarusian, Russian: Го́мель, [ˈɣomʲelʲ] (Bel.), [ˈɡomʲɪlʲ] (Rus.); translit: Homieĺ) is the administrative center of Gomel Voblast and the second-largest city in Belarus. It has a population of 482,652 (2009 census). Gomel is situated in the southeastern part of the country, on the right bank of Sozh river, 302 km (188 mi) to the South-East from Minsk, 534 km (332 mi) to the East from Brest, 171 km (106 mi...
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Gomel ( /ˈɡoʊməl/); also Homiel, Homel (Belarusian, Russian: Го́мель, [ˈɣomʲelʲ] (Bel.), [ˈɡomʲɪlʲ] (Rus.); translit: Homieĺ) is the administrative center of Gomel Voblast and the second-largest city in Belarus. It has a population of 482,652 (2009 census). Gomel is situated in the southeastern part of the country, on the right bank of Sozh river, 302 km (188 mi) to the South-East from Minsk, 534 km (332 mi) to the East from Brest, 171 km (106 mi) to the South from Mogilev, 237 km (147 mi) to the West from Bryansk and 111 km (69 mi) to the North from Chernihiv. The city's area is 121 km.
There are at least six versions of the origin of the city's name. One of the best known is that the name is derived from the name of Gomeyuk stream, which flowed into the Sozh river near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. Other Belarusian cities' names are formed on these lines: for example, Minsk's name is derived from the river Menka, Polotsk's – from the Palata river,...
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