The history of Grodno has more than 800 years. Many centuries ago – in the X century on the banks of the mighty Nemunas river, where it empties into the river Gorodnichanka, a new settlement was founded, which was called Gordini. It appeared on the crossroads of trade routes, so it quickly turned into a small but very well-fortified town with a fortress. There is a theory that it is from the words "city", "police" and the name of the city. There is another assumption: Grodno received its name from the river Gorodnya (Gorodnichanka). Historians do not exclude that the name could go from the Nemunas river, which once bore the name of Kronon.