{
  "place_id": "bykhiv#7973_11679",
  "wikidata": "Q954948",
  "country": "BY",
  "local_name": "Быхаў",
  "names": {
    "en": {
      "main": "Bykhaw",
      "why": "Belarusian-based English geographical spelling, following BGN/PCGN 1979 conventions.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Bychaŭ",
          "why": "Belarusian national geographical system of 2007, recommended by the UN in 2012; not a claim about domestic rules after 2023."
        },
        {
          "name": "Bychau",
          "why": "Diacritic-free form of Bychaŭ."
        },
        {
          "name": "Bykhov",
          "why": "Russian-based name widely used in English historical geography."
        },
        {
          "name": "Bychów",
          "why": "Polish historical name used in accounts of the Commonwealth."
        },
        {
          "name": "Bychow",
          "why": "Unaccented Polish historical spelling."
        },
        {
          "name": "Быхаў",
          "why": "Belarusian original-script name, retained in quoted addresses and source titles; not a separate English exonym."
        }
      ]
    },
    "fr": {
      "main": "Bykhaw",
      "why": "Same as in English; Bykhaw is also the heading in French geographical reference usage.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Bykhov",
          "why": "Russian-based French reference variant, alongside Belarusian-based Bykhaw."
        },
        {
          "name": "Bychów",
          "why": "Polish historical spelling used in French studies of the former Commonwealth."
        },
        {
          "name": "Bychow",
          "why": "Unaccented form of the Polish historical name."
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "about_en": "Bykhaw is a town in Mahilyow Region on the Dnieper River. Remains of a fortified residence and a substantial former synagogue reflect its history as a defended trading settlement.",
  "about_fr": "",
  "certainty": "high",
  "notes": "Input label is Ukrainian or indirect; local_name gives the native spelling. The dated 2007/UN 2012 geographical system is distinguished from Belarus’s replacement domestic rules of 2023.",
  "rank": 617,
  "slug": "bykhaw"
}