{
  "place_id": "orsha#8028_11690",
  "wikidata": "Q208609",
  "country": "BY",
  "local_name": "Орша",
  "names": {
    "en": {
      "main": "Orsha",
      "why": "Established English spelling of the current city name; Belarusian and Russian source forms are distinguished in the alternatives.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Orša",
          "why": "Belarusian national geographical romanization of 2007, recommended by the UN in 2012. This historical standard is distinguished from the replacement domestic instruction of 2023."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orsza",
          "why": "Polish name, used when discussing the town in Polish historical or family sources; not the current local official form."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orscha",
          "why": "Historical German name, encountered in English historical writing, older maps and family records."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orshe",
          "why": "Yiddish name in Latin transcription, used in Jewish history and genealogy; transcription varies between authors."
        },
        {
          "name": "Орша",
          "why": "Local name in its original Cyrillic script, useful for identifying quotations, signs and local sources."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orcha",
          "why": "French transcription used in French-language accounts; retained alongside the selected main form."
        }
      ]
    },
    "fr": {
      "main": "Orcha",
      "why": "Graphie française du nom actuel de la ville ; les formes issues du biélorusse et du russe sont distinguées dans les variantes.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Orša",
          "why": "Romanisation géographique nationale biélorusse de 2007, recommandée par l’ONU en 2012 ; cette norme est distinguée de l’instruction nationale qui l’a remplacée en 2023."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orsza",
          "why": "Nom polonais repris dans les travaux sur les sources historiques ou familiales polonaises ; ce n’est pas la forme officielle locale actuelle."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orscha",
          "why": "Nom allemand historique, rencontré dans les récits historiques, les anciennes cartes et les recherches familiales."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orshe",
          "why": "Nom yiddish transcrit en caractères latins, employé en histoire juive et en généalogie ; la transcription varie selon les auteurs."
        },
        {
          "name": "Орша",
          "why": "Nom local en alphabet cyrillique, utile pour identifier les citations, les panneaux et les sources locales."
        },
        {
          "name": "Orsha",
          "why": "Forme principale anglaise, utile pour reconnaître les sources anglophones citées dans un texte français."
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "about_en": "Orsha is a city in northeastern Belarus where the Orshytsa meets the Dnieper. Its position has made it an important railway junction and a recurring landmark in the region’s military history.",
  "about_fr": "Orcha est une ville du nord-est de la Biélorussie, au confluent de l’Orchytsa et du Dniepr. Sa situation en a fait un important nœud ferroviaire et un lieu marquant de l’histoire militaire régionale.",
  "certainty": "medium",
  "notes": "Orsha coincides with BGN/PCGN 1979; Orcha is the conventional French transcription. Formal table-derived aliases are labelled separately from attested prose spellings. Coverage of romanization systems and historical aliases is not exhaustive.",
  "rank": 100,
  "slug": "orsha"
}