{
  "place_id": "vovkovysk#7953_11359",
  "wikidata": "Q739491",
  "country": "BY",
  "local_name": "Ваўкавыск",
  "names": {
    "en": {
      "main": "Vawkavysk",
      "why": "Established Belarusian-based English form, consistent with BGN/PCGN 1979 spelling.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Vaŭkavysk",
          "why": "Belarusian national geographical romanization of 2007, recommended by the UN in 2012; historical system label, not a claim about unchanged policy after 2023."
        },
        {
          "name": "Vaukavysk",
          "why": "Diacritic-free version of Vaŭkavysk, encountered in international sources."
        },
        {
          "name": "Volkovysk",
          "why": "Russian-based form, common in older English maps and histories."
        },
        {
          "name": "Wołkowysk",
          "why": "Polish historical name used in English studies of interwar Poland and Jewish history."
        },
        {
          "name": "Wolkowysk",
          "why": "Diacritic-free Polish historical form."
        },
        {
          "name": "Ваўкавыск",
          "why": "Belarusian Cyrillic spelling."
        },
        {
          "name": "Волковыск",
          "why": "Russian Cyrillic spelling."
        }
      ]
    },
    "fr": {
      "main": "Vawkavysk",
      "why": "Same form as in English; attested French geographical usage alongside Russian-based Volkovysk.",
      "alternatives": [
        {
          "name": "Vaŭkavysk",
          "why": "Belarusian Latin form also reproduced in French geographical reference tables; same system as in English."
        },
        {
          "name": "Volkovysk",
          "why": "Russian-based name in older French references."
        },
        {
          "name": "Wołkowysk",
          "why": "Polish historical name retained in French histories of the Commonwealth and interwar Poland."
        },
        {
          "name": "Wolkowysk",
          "why": "Accent-stripped Polish form in French historical indexes."
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "about_en": "Vawkavysk is a town in Grodno Region in western Belarus. Its medieval earthworks and later railway development reflect a long history at the meeting of regional routes.",
  "about_fr": "",
  "certainty": "medium",
  "notes": "Belarusian and Russian forms are parallel naming traditions, not a recent municipal renaming.",
  "rank": 255,
  "slug": "vawkavysk"
}