Spas-Demensk

Spas- Demensk (Russian Спас - Деменск ) is a Russian town and the administrative center of the homonymous Rajons in the Kaluga oblast. It has 4896 inhabitants (as of October 14, 2010 ), making it the smallest town with city status within the oblast.

Geography

The city is located in the extreme west of Kaluga oblast on the river Demena, a tributary of the Ugra, almost 200 kilometers from the regional capital of Kaluga. Through the town the railway line from Tula to Smolensk runs, and in the south Spas- Demensk is affected by the A101 trunk road on the section between Juchnow and Roslawl.

The nearest towns are Kirov ( 40 km southeast of Spas- Demensk ) and Desnogorsk (57 km southwest); the latter is located in the neighboring Smolensk Oblast.

History

Spas- Demensk was as a settlement Demensk ( Деменск ) in 1494 first mentioned. The suffix " Spas" (literally " redeemer " ) received the place in 1855 after erected here " Church of the Redeemer ."

In the 19th century Spas- Demensk had meaning in which mainly the cultivation of and trade was operated with hemp as an agricultural center. In 1917 the town was granted the city rights.

During the Second World War Spas- Demensk was occupied by troops of the German Wehrmacht and temporarily headquarters of an Army High Command. The town was retaken until 13 August 1943 the Red Army during the so-called Smolensk operation.

Demographics

Note: Census data

Economy

As a very small town has Spas- Demensk up to a few factories in the textile, food and timber industries hardly industrial importance.